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Member Joined: 24 Dec 2005 Posts: 134 Location: Idaho

Ted and revdocdrew, Thanks for the past responses concerining darnes. My new toy is due to arrive on Wed. I know there is a special method Very Happy

to remove the barrels for cleaning and inspection. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance, Larry

Member Joined: 31 Oct 2005 Posts: 446 Location: Wisconsin

Ted will be along but on an R Darne, open the action, reach inside and down and depress a two pronged lever. Hold the gun upside down and with your left hand cradle the action and the barrels. smartly rap the butt, the barrels will release off the action. This works fairly well on butt plate guns, I have taken some apart that the owners don't know if they ever were apart. On an R Darne with a recoil pad, it is somewhat more difficult as the pad soaks up some of the directional energy. I used to put a block of wood on the muzzles of my first R and rap with a plastic mallet and that worked but i like rapping on the butt. Ted says at the factory, they have a piece of carpet on the wall and simply rap the muzzles on the carpet!
In any event, once you have the hang of it, it's not hard!
What Darne are you acquiring? -Dick

Member Joined: 24 Dec 2005 Posts: 134 Location: Idaho

Budrichard,
I don't know which model. It will arrive on Thursday and I will try to post photos. Allegedly it is in good condition. Thanks for the response. Larry Very Happy

Joined: 19 Jun 2004 Posts: 1480 Location: Mpls, MN.

Don't do anything rash when the gun arrives, on the off chance it is a P or V model (hint-button on bottom of forend)

Don't do anything rash on the off chance that it may be one of the clones produced over the years that work a little differently-more than one guy has called a Charlin or an A. Balle a Darne over the years and they work a bit differently then a Darne.

I can likely set you up with a photocopy of directions, but, truth is, one conversation on the phone (or, one reading of the directions) and you won't ever need them again.

Feel free to PM me with questions. As always, stupid looks are still free.
Best,
Ted

Member Joined: 24 Dec 2005 Posts: 134 Location: Idaho

I started a post but it went somewhere else. The darne arrived today. Some good and some bad. The gun looks great. The barrels are rust blued and the stock has a handsome oil finish. The receiver is color case hardened. Someone did a good job. Unfortunately the left barrel has a dent that must be repaired before the gun is fire. Here is what is on the barrel flats. Any help with the grade and the marking would be appreciated. "Acier aucreuset" and "Extra Superielr" Then on each barriel there is a 17/1. Is this the gauge? Then the #65 is here twice. Under a crown is PT. And on top of each barrel is in cursive script DRUIT. Any help would be helpfu. Also the trigger pulls are at least 6 or 7 #. How to fix this problem. But all in all a beautiful gun. Thanks, Larry

Joined: 19 Jun 2004 Posts: 1480 Location: Mpls, MN.

17.1 is the barrel diameter, expressed in mm, which is 16 gauge. 65 is the chamber length, which was 2 1/2 when the gun was new. PT tells us it is proofed for French smokeless powder T, and also hints at the age, which is post 1900. Acier is French for steel.

What, exactly, if anything, does it say on the opening lever? 'Cause at this point in the ballgame, I am beginning to doubt it is a Darne.
Best,
Ted

Member Joined: 24 Dec 2005 Posts: 134 Location: Idaho

Ted,
On the opening lever is the word DARNE and above it is small letters is the word FRANCISQUE, the Q might be an O. It is difficult to read. Is it alright to send some photos to you and then you can take a look? Thanks for the help. Larry

Joined: 19 Jun 2004 Posts: 1480 Location: Mpls, MN.

Suspicions confirmed, Larry-you, believe it or not, don't have a Darne. You are the proud owner of a Francisque Darne, the company founded by Regis Darne's eldest son in 1910. Francisque died in 1917, but his company soldiered on until 1955.
With pics, I can ID it from an old catalog-the guns are NOT identicle to a Darne.

Post 'em here-we all want to see it, I'm sure.
Best,
Ted

Member Joined: 24 Dec 2005 Posts: 134 Location: Idaho

Ted, Somehow or another the photos went to outer space. I do have some copies of the darne on paper. I will try to ger someone to take some pictures next week and post them then. Any ideas about the quality and integrity of the son's guns? Very Happy

Thanks for the help. Larry PS What are the differences between the two guns.

Joined: 19 Jun 2004 Posts: 1480 Location: Mpls, MN.

Well, Larry, there are V, P, R and H grade Darnes, and model Classique, model T, model Fixe, model Platines, model Rotary, model Ordinare, model Renforcés, and model Superieurs Francisque Darne guns. Those are just the pre-war F. Darne guns by the way, there were more after WWII. Since detailing the difference between all of them here isn't practical (and most would find it a bit boring, I'm sure) lets wait to see exactly what you have before we get ahead of ourselves. Further, Francisque Darne made some very good guns, and some turkeys, depending on who was running the company-usually, the older a gun is, the better, but, not always. Again, we will know a bit more when we see it.
Best,
Ted

Joined: 19 Jun 2004 Posts: 1480 Location: Mpls, MN.

Larry's gun turned out to be a Classique model F. Darne, based on the original 1894 Regis Darne patent, with a one piece stock. The gun is pretty, having been recolored at some point in it's life, and, I would guess, reblued barrels as well. Larry, send the photos you sent me to Revdocdrew, if you like, and he will get them up on the board, computer wise 'dude he is.
Best,
Ted

Member Joined: 24 Dec 2005 Posts: 134 Location: Idaho

revdocdrew,
The photos are on the way to you, revdocdrew. Thanks to Ted and you Rev. Larry

Member Joined: 31 Oct 2005 Posts: 446 Location: Wisconsin

Ted what would the differences between this model and an R10 which is what it looks like to me?-Dick

Joined: 19 Jun 2004 Posts: 1480 Location: Mpls, MN.

The main differences between an 1894 patent Regis Darne R design (which, is what a F. Darne Classique really is) and a modern (since 1909) R10 are the safety, which is in the breechblock on on the R10 and in the watertable on the 1894, monoblock barrels on the R10, instead of the brazed tubes we see here, a two piece stock design on the R10, and level of proof, which is generally triple proof on an R10. The case colors on this gun are a little over the top, but, they look nice. F. Darne Classique models also come in much higher grades than we see here, and were available with a coin type polished finish on some of those.
Best,
Ted