Oddball question time

[armoredman]

Years ago I handled a strange double barreled side by side shotgun. It had a sliding breech block activated by lifting a lever at the front centered on the top of the receiver, and lifting it up and back, sliding the whole thing back on rails. The only marking I remember was a stylized "F" on the spoon shaped end of the lever.

No pictures, sorry, this was many years ago. Any ideas? Incidentally, the owner dumped it to a pawn shop soon after I saw it for $200 - she had no knowledge of firearms and didn't want to sell to a private person.

 

[PapaG]

Darne. French. Quality gun.

 

[Jim Watson]

I thought there was another brand with the sliding action but found that Paul Bruchet was a Darne employee who bought out the defunct company's equipment and parts in 1981. He made them under his own name for 11 years until he was able to acquire the Darne trademarks. So you might see a Bruchet shotgun and wonder what it was, too.

Charlin, that's it.

There was once a gunzine article about a FOUR shot gun of the type. The rather boxy looking receiver held a shell under each barrel breech. load the receiver, load the barrels, close. Shoot the first pair, stroke the action back and forth, shoot the second pair. A repeating double barrel, who'da thought.

 

[JohnBT]

Charlin was another. No doubt there were other copies of the Darne after they invented the action in the late 1890s.

 

[armoredman]

I was called over to clean the guns in this collection, deceased father-in-laws collection. The sister took possession of the entire thing, including a Colt Tombstone commemorative signed on one stock in ink my John Wayne, all dumped for pennies on the dollar. All I remember of that shotgun was it was in great condition and I wished I could have kept it. After PapaG posted Darne, I went looking...looked just like that...and that pawn shop guy probably is STILL laughing over that score. :banghead:

 

[JohnBT]

Maybe this will take your mind off of it.

www.thegungeek.com/SGP/viewtopic.php?t=233

Charlin, St. Etienne- 12 Ga. Gun of Maharaja Of Patiala.

"This particular specimen was made for the Maharajah of Patiala who presented it as a gift to an American engineer working in India for Pratt and Whitney."





More pics at the link.

 

[armoredman]

Oh. Wow. I don't think I would dare BREATHE on that one, much less actually handle it. Beautiful.

 

[rcmodel]

This from a 1967 Shooter's Bible.






rc

 

[armoredman]

If only I had offered her $300...