Stan, I believe you were with me woodcocking when I shot my R10 20 ga. Take a look at the compilation in the second forum. Page 5 of it compares a boxlock's parts count with the Darne's. 41 parts for the "tipping" gun compared with 27 for the Darne. I've read accounts from helicopter pilots in VN wherein sawed-off Darne's were carried by pilots because of the reliability factor handling swollen paper buckshot hulls. A Darne can cycle water buffalo crap compared with a box lock. French occupation of VN left a lot of Darnes in country when the French left VN. Mishandling the main spring during barrel removal can be a problem due to the design. The tip end is grooved and can be broken by metal tools. Ted recommends the plastic cap of a pen to mash it down for removal if its too stiff for thumb depression. There are ways to get around the goofy safety lever, but don't expect to snap shoot one with the safety on as one can do with a tang mounted safety. All in all, it's a solid design and you'll never hear the term "off face" when applied to a Darne except to compare it to a box lock's "off face" issues. Its extraction of loaded shells and ejection of fired hulls is another positive feature compared with a BLE or BLNE. Gil
