Well, I can translate all the French on the barrel flats, but as is often the case with French guns, it's basically meaningless. Sort of the equivalent of advertising copy:
Choke rectifie--the choke has been adjusted.
Portee garantie--the range is guaranteed (but who knows what the range is?)
Acier de surete--Safety steel. (It probably won't blow up.)
Single (normal) St. Etienne proof. R*C is probably the barrelmaker, but those initials don't ring any bells with me. Choke should mean full choke, unless it's been opened.
The gun trade in St. Etienne was very similar to Birmingham. That is, there were a lot of guns made "in the trade" by various specialists working as outworkers: stocker, barrelmaker, actioner, etc. A lot of those guns ended up with a name that belonged to the shop that sold the gun rather than the "company" that made it, because it was a group project. The same thing happened in Birmingham. But you'll also find a lot of St. Etienne "guild" guns with no name, while virtually all Birmingham "trade" or "guild" guns do have a name. Made via pretty much the same process, but we don't really call them guild guns if they have a name, even if the individual named played no part whatsoever in actually making the gun.
Unfortunately, no helpful clues for dating the gun via proofmarks. The PT over a crown means it's 20th century.
Last edited by L. Brown; 08/21/12 11:15 AM.
