doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com What model Francotte is this?

I recently acquired this lovely 12b Francotte, and I'm at a loss to figure out what model it is. This is my first Francotte, and I'm enamored with it. I inspected the internals and the machining and lock work is superb. No cracks in the wood either. I don't know a lot about them except that they are very high quality and were often made to order, as may be the case with this one. This little 27" beauty only weighs 5.13lbs with its sunken rib configuration. This is a non-ejector gun, so the closest I can come to it is a model 18? Any input is appreciated. Thanks-

Hey, Mark.

Nice gun. I love those lightweight 12 gaguges.

I don't think it fits into any of the grades imported by VL & D or A&F.

It may have been made for the Euro market? Or maybe for another outfit that imported Francottes into the US?

I think this is similar:

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/1115341660

OWD

Wonderful gun Mark.
If you would post full size close up images of every mark on the barrel flats and just forward of the flats we might be able to date the gun.
OWD might be correct, but there are lots of A&F and a few Francotte catalog repros available.
You've seen this?
https://www.shotgunworld.com/threads/abercrombie-fitch-von-lengerke-detmold-and-francotte.393236/
Francotte imported to the U.S. usually had the chamber length marked in inches.

Thank you for the comp. Im guessing it is indeed a custom order gun for the European market. Seems like an ideal chukar gun. Even has sling swivels, which I really like on my chukar guns. Look forward to trying it out in a few months. Has some drop and a shorter stock, probably to save weight.

Very interesting gun.

Sweet gun. It would be awesome on almost any grouse.

How long are the chambers?

Good luck with it.

Chambers are 2.5". I heard from Bob Beach that it isn't in the records of A&F or VL&D, so it appears this is a one off special order gun, which I suspected. Now I just need to order some primers and powder so I can shoot the dang thing!