doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Darne History

My 16ga Halifax has a 5 digit SN, 49505. On it while the extractor is spring loaded it also is engaged by a 90° bent lever which projects under the vertical locking bolt. As you raise the key the bolt drops, contacting this lever which cams the extractor out & also starts movement of the breech block. I have never had a problem with this gun extracting any normal shell, plastic or otherwise. Matter of fact have only used plastic in it. It is marked with a #4 which I assume is a grade.

Rabbit,
How did you come up with the vintage of the Charlin?
Best,
Ted

Ted:

Very good question!! I now discover that I have no idea how I came up with 1960s manufacture. Possibly a fifth party assumption based on a fourth party rumour of a third party conjecture. Of course I would very much like to know how old it is. Serial range is 81XXX if that helps; poudre T and the triple palms proof which is something like 1200+BAR. Amazing to me given the weight of the barrels! I love the swamped rib ramped up at the breech; I like what the comb does; I like the long stock. Been some talk about the guns of Indianola MISS on another thread. I think this one was a sleeper for the sub-1K pricetag and I don't care a fig who's laughing or blowing a chauvinist gasket. Hallowell&Co. has one right now. I don't care for the engraving and there's some light rust on the breechblock.

jack

I find the aspect of this topic concerning the extraction most interesting. I have a V19 Serail # Y912. I am not sure when it was manufactured but believe it was in the late 1920's. When I first used the gun some years ago I had no problems with extraction but then for some reason the extraction issues began. The gun wouldn't extract factory or handloads. I checked out the componentry for wear and function but couldn't find anything obvious. I used a chamber gauge to determine if the chambers were somehow damaged or tight. Results inconclusive. Then I made a casting of the chamber. Sure looked tight to me. Sent the gun to a gunsmith who told me he had never seen a set of chambers so tight. Right at the very minimum of the standard. I had him relieve the chambers to mid point of the standard. Regret I don't have the dimensions at my fingertips. I haven't shot the gun since. I hope to do so within the next couple of weeks. I believe that the reason I had no problems when I first acquired the gun is that it had not been shot much and all the components were right to spec. but with some shooting the extractor wore a little and hence would no longer extract the cases from the tight chambers. If this topic is still around and I have found the time to shoot the gun I will let you know if relieving the chambers was useful or not.

To tell you the truth Rabbit, I'd would have liked to see that very gun posed in a bed of purple asters.
Maybe next time eh!

Rabbit,
On those flats are the guns original chamber markings, likely 65 or 70 stamped on each side. If, when peering at the flats you find 65, my bet is the gun is much older than you suppose. In fact, I'll go out on a limb and say it is older than that anyway. Charlins were produced by the Darne company from 1955 (when Charlin went bankrupt, along with about half of St. Etienne) until 1965, when the guns were discontinued, along with P model Darnes. Charlins were NEVER built in great quantities by the Darne company, and have further Darne markings on the barrels, usually, anyway.
Might just be me, but the stuff Hallowell has seems like it is worth a bunch more to him than it is to me, if you know what I mean.
Best,
Ted

No, chambers are 70mm and so marked both sides of barrel flats. Only marks on barrels--aside from Thad's import stamp, bore size, chokes and triple palms--are two upper case letters in a sort of serif script separated by a five-pointed star thus: "J*B". Mine also has five-point stars both sides barrel flats where the bunnies are on the Hallowell example and another far forward on the action body which extends into the forend.







jack

Seems like chambers started being marked and bored 70 sometime after the second big war. I'm still going to say the gun had killed a lot of birds by the time the 1960s came along. Nice piece.
Best,
Ted