Isn’t normal the level of proof? French guns tend to have tons of proof marks which tell me very little.
As an aside I dated a French girl who wore flats and was fairly flat in other respects.
Just the proofmarks I can see tell us that the gun features superior proof with powder T, and, that the bores measured 17.2mm, 9” from the breech. If the bores still measure that and haven’t been otherwise tampered with, you don’t have to worry too much about what you feed it. It has modified and full chokes, that will likely land on the tight side of those marks if it was built pre 1960. The gun was proofed in a finished state, and features “Hercule” steel, a type of steel I’ve seen marked on bunches of French guns. The real top grade guns feature Jacob Holtzer steel. Of course, it is a 2 1/2” gun, but, due to the high level of proof, I might sneak a lower pressure 2 3/4” load in it now and then without much worry.
There are probably some marks on the tubes we can’t see, that might tell us some more. But, French proof pretty much tells you what you need to know to determine if the guns bore has been messed with, and what level of pressure it was proofed with, along with chamber length.
Easy.
Best,
Ted
