doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Galand in a Poke

This is my version of Pig in a Poke (as we say in KY) for auctions this week. I saw this and didn't want to ask many questions because I didn't want to have any revisions posted. The auction pictures weren't great but given the fact that no one was bidding and reading the description, I was intrigued enough to pay a few hundred for it. Also, it is a single to which I am partial. I am posting a few pictures from the listing but am awaiting the delivery to see what I bought.

My observations from the listing were:

Has some serious age on it.
Gun looks pretty substantial.
Barrel is listed as 35" but looks no where near that. Could be but doesn't look it.
Listed as a 10 gauge.
Listed as a "French Made Single" but is marked "Galand Paris" which is a maker that made some really nice guns. The title is one which isn't going to draw a lot of interest. I believe they were Belgian but had offices in Paris and England.
The picture shows a heavy rear sight, which wouldn't be at all appropo for a 35" waterfowl gun.

One of the only single Galand's I found on the internet was in a museum and was a 10 gauge bore rifle.

Any comments before it is delivered would be welcomed.

I have a bunch of 10 ga stuff now I need a gun.that looks like a gun

Is it that heavy someone welded a handle on the barrel?

10 gauge paradox rifle?
Proof marks will confirm.

Belgium or French proofs?

https://www.shotguns.se/html/france.html

Sweet looking firearm

Mike

p.s. some background reading
https://doublegunshop.com/forums/ub...p;Board=1&main=46351&type=thread

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles-Fran%C3%A7ois_Galand

https://littlegun.be/arme%20belge/artisans%20identifies%20g/a%20galand%20gb.htm

This guy seems to take all his pictures with the gun laying on an antique sideboard or bugget, propped up with an old cast iron clothes iron. That is the handle of the iron, I believe.

From the second to last photo it sort of looks off face, doesn't it?

I saw it, but did not bid. Had it been a 12, the story might have been different. Intriguing gun. I hope it is at least as good as you think.

English big bore wildfowling guns quite often had a fixed or folding rear sight.

The idea was that if shooting at a bunch of ducks or fowl on the surface the shot charge arrived precisely at or just above their location for maximum effect.

Looks to be plain but good quality. Hope you are pleased with it when it arrives.

I have some additional pictures I requested, and I believe from them and ones of the other side, that what you see is the extreme side lighting causing a shadow line of the barrel block overhanging the action to a slight extent.

One reason I bought the gun was that it was a 10 gauge. I have an 1872 high frade Scott 8 gauge that looks, in design, similar to this one and a 12 gauge Birmingham gun of the 1890's also of similar design. I was a little puzzled by the gauge. My little bit of research before I bought it indicated that the Belgium maker also had sales offices in Paris and England. I have really seen very few 10 guage shotguns by French makers, which had led me to believe there was little demand for the larger gauges on the continent. I found it odd that a heavy 10 gauge would have been made and marked specifically for that market.

Yeah I know. I was just being a wise ass.

btw: hello neighbor.