I haven't bought a new gun in a while but I just won an auction on Gunbroker for a Franz Sodia, Ferlach Austria 12ga double. The action flats have two sets of numbers and I'm trying to figure out when it was built. The numbers are 33.97 and D959.46 one on each side of the flats. Anyone here able to translate that?...Geo

<https://www.gunbroker.com/Item/941733417>

George, I was wondering why you've been missing meetings of GA (Guns Anonymous). Gil

The Birmingham proof was 1962 George; the crossed halberds with NB on the L barrel flat.
Odd looking '12' and .729" doesn't fit 13/1 which would have been .719 - .728"?



Under the 1954 Rules of Proof the “Highest Mean (transducer) Service Pressure” for 2 1/2"/ 3 tons was 8,960 psi = 618 BAR

I'm interested in the Ferlach marks also

It looks like 1946??

Serbus,

Raimey

rse

To Georg !
Sodia founded in 1870, Franz Sodia shutdown in 1994.
Instead of guessing/asking the BBS universe, there is still a Sodia clan member around,
its Werner Sodia, operating from an address in
Vienna, get in contact with him. Google should provide you contact details.
Good luck
Cheers
F.N.

Dr. Drew, its a sleever so the 1962 Brit measurements might no longer be pertinent. I know that the Ferlach numbers on the action flats disclose the build date. I just wasn't sure which set of numbers. I expect Raimey is correct about the 1946 date.

Thank you for all responses.
Best...Geo

I'd been doing pretty good in the clean and sober treatment for my gun problem, Gil. The wagon tipped a little when I saw the Sodia and I fell off. I bet I can hit something with this one...Geo

Raimey is correct of course, this gun was first proofed in 1946; made under British, for the British.

BTW, if I see correctly this piece is signed Franc and not Franz Sodia.

Cheers,
Jani

Interesting about ole Franc. But Franz's British issued house number - maker code - >>33<< is on the water-table.

Serbus,

Raimey
rse

There is only one set of British 1954-1989 proof marks, placed in 1962 at the time of the sleeving. Had the gun been built for export to England immediately after the war, there would be 1925-1954 marks, including NITRO PROOF and 1 1/8 oz.
I don't see SLEEVED on the flats or the barrels which I believe was required, on both barrels, post-1954, but could not confirm.

Raimey: Franc Sodia and Franz Sodia is the same person of course (in this context), just different spelling.
Cheers,
Jani

Drew,

It was sleeved at a time when the Proof House was insisting that the word SLEEVED was stamped on the outer sides of each barrel just above the barrel flats.

If you look at the Gunbroker pictures you can just make out those markings once you know where to look.

Drew,
The gun was not made for export but for direct sale to a British officer in occupied Austria.
Cheers,
Jani

I agree with Jani. But was not Austria a member of the C.I.P. either on July 14th, 1914 or @ the 1924 confab in Brussels after the delay of WWI?? Then the Brits brought their proof laws forward to mimic or similar on August 3rd, 1925. Austria followed suite on August 14th, 1929 being in force on September 1st, 1929. German forced all under their umbrella during the Second Great Conflict to their June 7th, 1939 rules. After the Germans marched back home in 1945, Austria rescinded the German Rules of 1939 and reverted back to the 1929 rules. Then on June 13th, 1951, a new set of Austrian Proof Rules were devised that were effective on July 1st.

I guess the question that begs is were the Brits a member??

Serbus,

Raimey
rse

It appears that Great Britain was not a member but @ some point did have a special trade agreement with France that allowed importation of British wares that were not subject to reproof.

Serbus,

Raimey
rse

Thanks Parabola

British occupied Kärnten

From 1945 - 1955 Ferlach was in the British Zone

Maybe a part of the riddle. I once had a Cogswell and Harrison with a Paris rib address and Austrian proof marks.

Modell Continental???

Serbus,

Raimey
rse

So is >>Franc<< Slovenian????


Serbus,

Raimey
rse

Man, I need a chapter around here.

Raimey: Yes, Franc is Slovenian. Similary, some Ferlach gunmakers Slovenized their names during the Slovenian/Yugoslavian rule after WWI (terminated in Oct. 1920).

Cheers,
Jani

Tuve una preciosa escopeta superpuesta Franc Sodia, y no Franz, y cuenta la leyenda que esa terminación con la letra "c" y no la "z" se grabó en las armas fabricadas durante la ocupación de la fábrica por parte de los partisanos eslovenos en 1945, cuando terminó la II Guerra Mundial. Mi escopeta del calibre 16, con unos grabados preciosos, era de 1949 y tenía ese nombre grabado: Franc, con "C", Sodia.

It was made in 1946 but needed re-sleeving in 1962.

Unless the barrels suffered some accidental damage (being driven over seems surprisingly common) this may show how corrosive shotgun cartridges were in the UK in the years following World War 2.

.410 cartridges do not seem to have benefited from non-corrosive primers until the early 1960’s, and cleaning with Aquaoil (a water based solution to dissolve the corrosive salts) was still,being recommended.

Yeah, Ludwig Borovnik too was very loyal to his Slovenian heritage / roots after being disparaged by the German occupiers.

Serbus,

Raimey
rse

Thanks for the history. I wasn't even sure Ferlach wasn't in the Soviet block after the war ended. The name on the bottom of the action does appear to be Franc instead of Franz but I figured it was just a mis-stamp. Thanks for the explanation of that. I think it is an interesting gun and I like the way it handles. The sleeving doesn't bother me at all. I'm glad the sleeving stamp got pointed out because I hadn't seen it before and wondered where it had been sleeved, if not England...Geo