Larry, I'm the owner of a 16 ga French double. Not a Verney-Carron ("VC"), but still nice. I like mine a lot.
The French made and make very nice, solid guns. They tend toward lighter guns that are made to carry a lot and shoot a little, i.e., hunting guns. Being relatively light, you don't want to be shooting hundreds of rounds at a clip through them b/c you will feel it. If the gun is older, the gun (and particularly the wood) will, too. Still, the French make them pretty and their craftsmanship is usually first-rate. For VC, that is almost always true.
VC guns are, IMHO, one of the better "makes" out there. They seem to hold their value and are a recognized "name", even in the States. Not a lot of people know about them, which hurts when trying to re-sell one. The issue with value of your gun is twofold: condition and how ornate. To give an idea on your gun, we need pictures. The number one thing, re condition, is the interior of the bores. For whatever reason or combination of reasons, older French guns seem to be prone to pitting. I think it's a combination of being made in an era of corrosive primers, the relatively damp climate of France, and the chemistry of the steel. Just clean carefully and immediately after use. Depending on how ornate the engraving is and the quality of the wood, if your gun is rust-free and in overall good shape, value could be between $300 for a plain farmer's gun and $3000 for a first-rate one.
As to the "short" 26 3/4 inch barrels: currently, longer barrels are in fashion (yes, there is such a thing as fashion in guns) and shorter barrels tend to get lower prices as a result. French guns have their barrels in metric lengths - yours is probably 68 cm. As noted above, a 70 cm length is the most common. 68 are less common. But, I think you'll see that does not detract from and, indeed, enhances the gun's utility for hunting in close quarters. I love mine - which has 70 cm barrels - for grouse.
A couple of the things Ted noted are relevant. Pre-WWII French guns almost uniformly have 65 mm (2.5 inch) chambers. This is not as much of a problem as formerly, as 2.5 inch shells are now readily available from several makers. They also tend to be choked tight. Likewise, Chambers' references to Gournet and to littlegun are helpful, if you read French. Gournet is pretty authoritative on French guns (but, IIRC, he writes like a guy writing English when his first language is French). Verney-Carron's website does have an English language page and you might (stress "might") be able to get some information from them.
Also as noted above, the vast majority of people here in the States have little idea how good a value French guns are, which suits me just fine. This won't help you if you're trying to sell one, but that's the way it is.
If Ted or Chambers if it seemed to you that they were coming across strong. Each of them can be that way some days. All of us can. Both of them were trying to help. Ted is also quite authoritative on French guns - IIRC he used to be an importer for one of the other French manufacturers, has been to the factory and St. Etienne any number of times, and IIRC also speaks the language. I have no intention of offending anyone. Most of us here are quite pleasant most of the time.
Also, since your gun is a 16 ga, you should cross-post your pictures and inquiry at 16ga.com, the home of the 16 Gauge Society. They have a lot of knowledge on these guns and, if you're so inclined, on reloading for them. Even short shells.
Welcome to the site, BTW.
Last edited by Dave in Maine; 10/01/12 04:50 AM.
