doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com LC A-1 replacement barrel by Armaf??? Anyone know of this?

A recent post I listed that my brother bought an A-1 with a steel replacement barrel. Barrel was engraved with " Barrels by Armaf" and under the barrels was stamped, Made in Belgium. Also, proof marks that had PV, a crown and an oval with ELG in the oval. Anyone have any experience with this Armaf Company. Randy

Flaigs in Pittsburgh used to send your shotgun overseas for new barrels in the 50's and 60's. Sorry, I don't remember their source for the work.
bill

Speaking of replacement barrels, S.D. Hughes' shotgun book has a section on replacing a blown out barrel on a double. After sawing off just forward of the monobloc joint I think he said to bore out the remaining stub in the chamber and thus produce an orignal size monobloc barrel hole. Then the new barrel would be slid in under pressure.

I am curious to know if anyone, after disjointing the ribs, ever removed a barrel out by inserting a chamber sized plug and then used hydraulic pressure to force it out. I am trying to guess what would hold the monobloc in place as there isn't much of anything left to act as support.

Randy,
This is not much, but I've got a gun that I've been told by a strong source was probably made by Armaf. The same source put a value of about $1000 on it a few years back. It's nothing fancy,but well made, with side clips, a Greener type crossbolt, boxlock with the locks all polished up nicely. I've hand blacked it,[so got a good close look], and the barrels were well struck, with close attention to detail along the ribs, etc.
My guess would be that at least they made a decent set of barrels.
I've done some looking on the net, but come up with only military related hits when searching the name. If you find anything more, please let me know.
Thanks,
Jim

Jim F/Trafalgar,Randy,& Mr Piekarczyk, If Memory Serves.....Mr Steve Tasitritsis,AKA 'ATLAS ARMS', 2704 N Central,(later)7952 Waukegan Rd. Niles.Illinois. Used to send Re-Bbl. jobs to'Armaf'I worked on several guns(& DB. Rifles) that had been to Belg.He was a Greek Gentleman,I met a Mr Ralph Capone'(Younger Brother of the Mr Capone)at his place of business one time. CC.

I've seen Parkers that had been rebarreled by the same outfit. There used to be an advertisement in one of the mags (or maybe gun list) for this servise. I think it was touted as a way to make these damascus barrels "safe".

Chiselian -

I knew the 2704 N. Central shop though never in it. They had a lot of shotguns on display. Later, with an interest in guns developing a model airplane club friend (and later a dentist) said the owner was under massive persecution by the city (Mayor Daley, Sr.). I passed the shop on Waukegan Rd. a few years ago but was never in it.

The Capone family had about five or seven brothers. One killed himself and another was killed in what may have been a police gun battle in Cicero. One went straight and may have becomne a local cop somewhere and was arrested in Florida on a minor shoplifting charge. I think he then changed his name. Another family member or two may have also done that. The Capone grave in a suburban Chicago cemetary had the headstone removed as it was being vandalized by families of past and relatively recent victims. The family is buiried in two cemetaries actually.

I had a Winchester 12 ga. model 11 (pump the barrel) shotgun which supposedly did time on guard duty in a Capone garage on the south side of Chicago 1927 and later. The guy I got it from was a credible source on the story.

,Atlas Arms ran Ads in American Rifleman in the 1960s-70s for both Belg, Italian, and Spanish made Replacement Bbls. I Re-bbld sevaral Winch, 21s 12&20b.I also got my Bbl'Blank-Tubes from Steve. My 1st'Sleever' was a VH Parker..Ahemmmm. not tobe spoken abouteveragain!!!!!(I always wondered how do you pull in the front of the tubes when they are3/4" apart??Sort of like a 'Ducks-Foot" boarding pistol from Nelsons days!!!)I was told'Stick to Stocking, you will never be a Bbl maker as long as you have a hole(you know where)....They were good steel,a L/Pigeon shooter did have a Churchill 12b'Sleeved" with them,I belive it was by the Swiss Gunsmith Mr Kurt Blumer,Late of Marshall Fields Gun Room, c1969. .040"chokes in both Bbls. 2.3/4" chambers,and not Proofed' Gun was at a L/Pgeon Shoot in Fla.Jan 2000. still going strong. FSP..Have you a copy of William J Helmer.s"The gun That Made The Twenties Roar"? He and I were Good Buddies. In fact He made me a member(IN good standing)of his John Dillinger Died For You Society' Horace Naismith, Founder. We had several'Good American Built Doubles" that had made their name in Chicagoland History, Double'O'Buck was very popular from Cyl.Bore 16"Bbls.I think there is a Ithica 4E DB(With the afore mentioned modifications) in a Musuem in Nashville, Indiana.Baby-Face someoneorother'tossed it from a speeding Auto as he left a'Shoot'(Dont know if it was a'Sporting Event or a'Running-Person' Shoot that was a popular Shotgunning Event in that Priod of American'Gunning History)Would be interesting to check out the Sr.# with the Ithica Records!!!!Smile, Your on Candid Kamera,(Too much walnut dust on my Wheaties this AM. ..........C/C

Armaf
Rue du Vertbois, 54 – Liège
Fusion of the Manufacture Liègeoise d'armes à feu and Rongé fils.
Literally, "Manufacture Inhabitant of Liège of weapons with fire" and "Ronge and son"
1929-1972

Their catalogs covered everything from military weapons, hunting shotguns and rifles and personal hand guns.

Pete

crossedchisles,
I'm afraid the Dillinger Museum is no longer in Nashville. Me and my lady met Jack and Barb Haugh over there last fall (about this time) for lunch and gun talk. He had never been to the museum so we checked around - finally making our way to the visitor's center where thay gave us the bad news. Next time I'm through I'll stop to ask where the contents wound up - if anyone knows!

In a conversation with Jack this last weekend your name came up - something about meeting Dan McCombs in your Indy shop and trading work on a Parker. He said you were checkering a fine piece of walnut with a "broom handle" attached to the head & held in a vise. We were discussing my lack of "proper" checkering accessories - I don't have a cradle and only use hand tools - I haven't justified a power checkering tool yet.