I'm pretty sure four palms was the old pre 1923 superior proof with black powder. My dog ate my copy of Wernsberger, but, it is in there. The danger of relying on catalogs for research is an occasional typo, or, out and out falsehood will be seen in print. Catalogs are put together by writers, who may, or may not have knowledge of the product at hand. Uh, no offense intended, Larry.

If Mr. Customer came in the door and asked for triple proof on his new V grade gun, he got it-not for free, however, they charged a couple bucks (francs) for this. The catalog information does match up with examples I have seen, and the fact that V grade double rifles were discontinued early in the century-an R is a far more robust design, and better suited for slug and double rifle use. If one has a V20 that shows triple proof, well, it was triple proofed. But not all of them (talking pre-war here, I think everything was triple proofed after the war) were. Especially if one purchased it off the rack.

The address for info arms is


Info Arms
PO Box 1262
Champlain, NY 12919

No idea if they are still in business. But I have a stack of reprints I bought from them years ago.

Larry, I got to handle a Darne aviation machine gun, in France. But, it was in the hands of a private "collector" and he would go to prison for the rest of his life if anyone in France found out who he was.
Since it uses uncommon ammunition (12mm, I think) I'm not sure what the big deal is, but, there you have it.

To review today's lessons:

There were two companies that produced sliding breech guns with the name Darne on them. With study, and practice, one can learn to tell them apart. Or, you can just look at the name-one will be marked "F. Darne" and one will be marked "Darne".

There were other companies and individuals that produced sliding breech guns, with, and without a name on them. Some of them are simple copies, some are quite good in their own right, and some, like the Charlin, are arguably more novel or superior in design.

Although, don't argue the point with me, as I prefer a Darne R model over and above anything else.

Class dismissed.
Best,
Ted