doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Need help ID'ind a Darne

Can anyone help ID this? It is 28ga
Is it Pre 1980 Manufacture or 1989 - Current?
Grade?
Thank you,
Dale

It is an R13 that was built pre WW1. It was originally proofed at 65mm, but, as Gene pointed out, (Thanks, Argo) there was perhaps a decade just prior to the first world war when they were marked 6.5 for this identicle chamber length. It has scalloped breech balls, a feature not seen much after the 1920s. It is somewhat odd in that it has that feature, is a later, 1909 patent Darne R model, is a 28 gauge, and does not appear to have monobloc barrels.

Someone, perhaps in Europe, perhaps here, marked the chamber length as a conventional 70mm. I do not see the French marking for reproof, but, the gun had pretty serious proof applied the first time, so, I sure wouldn't let that fact alone be a deal breaker for me. They need to be measured to see just what you have.

It would be a wonderful grouse and woodcock gun, assuming it fits the user. The wrist cannot be bent, so, don't try.

Good luck.

Best,
Ted

Wanna..Ted is the man on Darnes. Here is the thread on dating early 20th century St. Etienne guns:]
http://www.doublegunshop.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=484326

You'll see that from 1889 to 1912 St. Etienne measured their chambers in cm (6.5 rather than the usual mm 65). That's a definitive marker.

Here is a Darne SN chart...Ted will caution that there are errors here...


Your SN looks to be "L106." Now this is interesting. Because in the above line (p.4) you'll see two Darnes - C692 with 6.5 chambers and C643 chambered for 70mm - So at the time I speculated that the changeover in St. Etienne from cm to mm chambering for Darnes occurred in the C600 number series. - i.e. mid-1912. From the chart this would seem to make sense. The Letter/number SN series started in 1910 meaning that from 1910 to mid 1912 about 2600 Darne guns would have been numbered - pretty much within the capabilities of Darne to produce at this time. Yours, however, still uses cm but is in the "L" series - clearly a post WWI number....a mystery, conundrum and incongruence to which Ted will be sagely nodding.

Darne by this time were making their own Barrels...Didier-Drevet, a barrel maker of choice for quality St. Etienne guns for years, refused to raise production above 300 barrels a year to protect the quality of their product, leading Darne to consider alternatives around 1900.

So in the Blue Book for pre 1980 mfg there is R11 AND jumps to R15. The book does not show a R13. ??

Trust Ted. C642 is a type 10 20 gage. And I'll add, "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth." You are not going to second guess the board.

From about 1973 until 1979, James Wayne in Victoria, TX. was the Darne importer, and R10s, R15s, and V19s were stocked. Everything else was custom ordered. On occasion, something special made it into inventory for whatever reason.
I wrote those chapters in the blue book, and they have needed to be updated for almost 20 years. Take them with a grain of salt.

Best,
Ted

Thanks Ted. I sent you a pm for another question.

OK If the the Blue Book is outdated could anyone offer an estimated value on this gun.
Thank you,
Dale

The blue book is out of date on Darne, and other sliding breech guns. I really can�t say if it is or isn�t on any other types of firearms. Steve Fjierstad just passed away, I wonder if it will even exist in the future.

I never got a pm.


Best,
Ted

Thanks Ted. So can you give an aprox idea what this gun is worth?
Thank you