I'm looking at a French 16 bore double of indeterminate age advertised as having 2 3/4" (70 mm) chambers. I've seen a number of French guns with 70 mm chambers but marked 65 mm (2 1/2"). I generally treat them with caution as being out of proof; they might be fine or not depending on the profile of the barrel walls near the front of the original chambers.
The seller sent me a photo of the proof marks, noting that the gun was clearly marked "65". I might have written the gun off at that point, but when I looked at the photo, I was surprised to see on each barrel flat a "70" stamped just as clearly right next to the 65s.
Has anyone encountered anything like this on a Continental gun? It seems very common in Britain. I'm not sure if I should interpret it as an official reproof, but it seems at the least to indicate that whoever did the work was confident enough to record it. So probably not the cousin of the guy behind the counter at the tackle and bait shop.
I've asked the seller for permission to post the pic here. Will add it if he's agreeable. Other than the altered chambers it's a very appealing little gun in great shape.
Bill
