Don't be put off by the Frenchies. They are light weight for gauge, handle nicely and shoot where you look. And the French invented the break action shotgun among other things. Sometimes it seems they've been standing around for a couple of centuries waiting for someone else (the Brits) to eat their lunch; perhaps a genius for design doesn't always accompany a genius for international marketing which pushes the myth of ultimate quality attached to a few maker names. So it's not a "value added" collector shotgun, Who cares! Don't pass up a Charlin if you find a solid one. Or the wonderful "Ideal" from Manufrance "Bike & Gun". Good luck with your find and notice that you've been told to put it back in service rather than sending it to Merry Oulde Angleland to be reproofed.

jack