March
S M T W T F S
1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31
Who's Online Now
2 members (Gunning Bird, L. Brown), 864 guests, and 6 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Forum Statistics
Forums10
Topics38,374
Posts544,015
Members14,391
Most Online1,258
Mar 29th, 2024
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Page 1 of 4 1 2 3 4
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 7
Boxlock
OP Offline
Boxlock

Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 7
Hello all. I am new to this site and was recommended to come here with my question. My father recently passed away and I found this shotgun. I think it's a 16 gauge and on the side it says "A Francotte Maker & Patentee London." Across the top it says "Von Lengerke & Detmold New York U.S. Agents." It is serial # 20169. It looks like it was very nice at one point but it has a lot of wear. I have found a little about the maker but not whole lot. Another thing I was curious about, was this made in Belgium, went to London, and then came to New York? The triggers don't work, someone used a nail to act as a pin, and it's missing at least one more pin. I didn't take it too far apart for fear I would be unable to get it back together. I took pictures of everything I thought would help. Let me know if more pictures are needed. I'm looking for any info: year made, model, value as it sits, worth having restored, etc. Thank you all in advance!












Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 7
Boxlock
OP Offline
Boxlock

Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 7










Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 7
Boxlock
OP Offline
Boxlock

Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 7






Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 4,445
Likes: 201
Sidelock
**
Offline
Sidelock
**

Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 4,445
Likes: 201
damngato,
Subject to correction by other forum members that actually know something,I think the following.The gun likely never went to London, it was built on a action type that Anson & Deely from London held the patent on. It was made and proofed in Belgium. A.Francotte was a well respected maker, which I believe is still in business. Von Lengerke & Detmold were the US agents for several Foreign makers, including Mauser and others. I believe you should have the gun repaired, to replace the missing pins,including the hingepin, which should be carefully fitted. Once it is repaired, you can decide whether you want to spend the money to have it restored.It will still be your fathers gun, even if not restored.
Mike

Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 136
APS Offline
Sidelock
*
Offline
Sidelock
*

Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 136
Your first and best step would be to look at the data base of VL&D guns that Griffin & Howe has.

http://www.griffinhowe.com/research-main.cfm

This will tell you if they have the records. You can then have Bob Beach, the G&H historian, do a letter with the history of the gun.

At best they will have the ledger entries and a chain of ownership- or they may have nothing.

In either case Bob can advise of year of manufacture from the serial #. He is not in every day but does respond.

Bob does a excellent job on the VL&D or VL&A guns.

al

Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 10,737
Likes: 181
Sidelock
***
Offline
Sidelock
***

Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 10,737
Likes: 181
Most interesting A&D APUN 4174 & note it is inverted but with Patent and not Brevete

Kind Regards,

Raimey
rse

Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 7
Boxlock
OP Offline
Boxlock

Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 7
Thanks guys, I appreciate the help and information. I tried looking up the serial number on Griffin & Howe and it doesn't look like they have it :-( I wish I knew where my dad got this one. The search continues

Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 7
Boxlock
OP Offline
Boxlock

Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 7
I found this site but with so many markings I'm not sure I'm looking at it correctly. Would anyone be able to tell year/model from here?

http://damascus-barrels.com/Belgian_All_Proofmarks.html

Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 3,553
Sidelock
**
Offline
Sidelock
**

Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 3,553
Damn',
looking at the tables here on the "Useful info" section, it seems to be made in 1891 or 2.
I couldn't see for sure from the pics...the bbls look like fluid steel? ,are they?
As a lover, but no expert on Francottes , I'd say it was one of their lower/mid priced basic boxlock.
Who knows what has gone on inside..the bent nail doesn't bode well, but you never know.
Get it to a good Gunsmith, pay him to tell you whats wrong with it & how much it'll cost to make it into a shooter....then add the sentimental value & see how you feel about the numbers.
If it checks out ok bbl wise, & its not too bad inside, you could have a nice, sentimental shooter for ????.....hopefuly not too much smile
Please let us know how it works out
good luck
franc

Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 3,553
Sidelock
**
Offline
Sidelock
**

Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 3,553
The lower grade guns were still well built, just not so fancy
franc

Page 1 of 4 1 2 3 4

Link Copied to Clipboard

doublegunshop.com home | Welcome | Sponsors & Advertisers | DoubleGun Rack | Doublegun Book Rack

Order or request info | Other Useful Information

Updated every minute of everyday!


Copyright (c) 1993 - 2024 doublegunshop.com. All rights reserved. doublegunshop.com - Bloomfield, NY 14469. USA These materials are provided by doublegunshop.com as a service to its customers and may be used for informational purposes only. doublegunshop.com assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions in these materials. THESE MATERIALS ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANT-ABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. doublegunshop.com further does not warrant the accuracy or completeness of the information, text, graphics, links or other items contained within these materials. doublegunshop.com shall not be liable for any special, indirect, incidental, or consequential damages, including without limitation, lost revenues or lost profits, which may result from the use of these materials. doublegunshop.com may make changes to these materials, or to the products described therein, at any time without notice. doublegunshop.com makes no commitment to update the information contained herein. This is a public un-moderated forum participate at your own risk.

Note: The posting of Copyrighted material on this forum is prohibited without prior written consent of the Copyright holder. For specifics on Copyright Law and restrictions refer to: http://www.copyright.gov/laws/ - doublegunshop.com will not monitor nor will they be held liable for copyright violations presented on the BBS which is an open and un-moderated public forum.

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5
(Release build 20201027)
Responsive Width:

PHP: 7.0.33-0+deb9u11+hw1 Page Time: 0.083s Queries: 35 (0.054s) Memory: 0.8499 MB (Peak: 1.8987 MB) Data Comp: Off Server Time: 2024-03-29 09:37:55 UTC
Valid HTML 5 and Valid CSS