doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Unknown French 16ga SXS Help with ID and value

This is a cross post from Shotgun World and 16ga.com. I was told you guys know your stuff. So here goes.

A customer brought this into me for a cleaning, ID, and appraisal. I know little about it other than it is a 16ga, has 27" barrels, and 2.50" chambers. Other searches I have done have not turned up anything of substance.

I think it is a french gun. It hase on the action in what appears to be gold inlay "Martin A Paris" Which turns up nothing in my searches. On the flat of the reciever it is stamped "Denis. m". The only common thread to this gun is the Crown stamp over a "PT" stamp. All of the cross pins in the reciever seem to be rivited and not threaded with heads on them.
I need to find out what, when, where, who, and how much. What is it pressure rated to? Customer want to shoot it if he can. Otherwise it will be a wall hanger or sold if it is a very high dollar piece.

Also it came in a leather case stamped P.D.V.

Here are the pics.

Proofed in St. Etienne with powder T. Appears to be a nicely finished boxlock with sideclips and a crossbolt. Most likely short chambers at 65mm or about 2 1/2". If it is typical, it will have pretty tight bores and chokes.
It isn't worth a fortune. I'd bet it will work out to be a pretty nice shooter. Tell your customer to enjoy the gun and give him some coaching on lower pressure ammunition, in the correct length. We have a lot more access to it then we did 20 years ago.

Best,
Ted

Agree with Ted. An above average shooter, but not a particularly high grade French sxs. The lack of a "name" hurts the value as well, and Martin was probably the dealer for whom the gun was made rather than the maker. Standard, single French proof--14,200 psi. A lot of those guns have had American 2 3/4" loads run through them, and they'll take it, but because most French doubles are pretty light, the recoil can be nasty. As Ted said, lighter 2 1/2" loads are available and should be used, unless the owner wants to get into 16ga reloading.

Leather case looks good. Gun doesn't. Just another 5 hundred bucks French gun. No style, no soul.

There were dozens of "Martin's" involved in the French gun trade. I assume the EM is the trademark. Unfortunately, they covered a broad range, so it nearly impossible to id the maker.

I agree, it is just a standard field gun.

Pete

Geno is correct.

It has far more style and soul then anything Remington will ever import from the former Soviet Union.
Best,
Ted

Are you expecting me to take part in long and insensate discussion about all these crap in your head?
No way.

Best reply ever!...Geo

Gotta agree with Ted on that point. Would I rather have that Frenchie or one of the current Russian imports? No contest! Russians can make good guns, but the ones they're currently sending our way would be a lot better were they the quality of that French piece--which is, indeed, not much more than an average or slightly above French shooter.