In the interesting things to know catagory; Francotte was at one time larger than FN. They were the single largest arms maker in Belgium, prior to the military contracts for Mausers that made FN. I was told that by the gent that followed Val Browning as president of that company, so not my own research, but I've never questioned it. I have never seen a Francotte that was not well made; their reputation was based on quality products and virtually every one of them received good fit & finish executed by craftsmen that understood both. They were well respected in Europe before VL&D or VL&A ever sold the first one here. That attention to quality remained true through the 1970's and a bit later until their unfortunate demise as a viable entity. There are some real stunners about from the 70's; Grifnee embelished a number of them.
