Back in the 19th century, the French were some of the most inventive gunmakers in the world. In many ways, men like Pauly — inventor of the self-contained cartridge — and Lefecheaux — inventor of the drop barrel, breech loading shotgun — created the modern side-by-side shotgun. Regis Darne, another frenchman, was just as inventive, even if his famous Darne sliding-breech shotgun had less impact on the shooting world.
Patented in 1897, the Darne shotgun is still being made today – and it’s as peculiar now as it was 100+ years ago. I’ve owned a couple them. People either love or hate the design, and I wasn’t on the love side. But other folks rave about the Darne’s light weight and unique action. If you’re one of these love folks, the Darne you see here is worth checking out. It’s on Gunbroker.com now, and the auction ends on 1/5/2014 @ 9:00 PM ET.
Darne V19 16 gauge Double Barrel, SxS Shotgun: Exceptional Darne V19 sliding breech 16ga shotgun. Built in the late 60’s or early 70’s. Beautiful wood with original Darne buttplate. Gun is in original and excellent overall condition and appears to have been fired very little. Barrels measure approximately 27.5″ choked modified and full, excellent bores. LOP measures 15.25″ to front trigger and 14.25″ to rear trigger. Gun weighs 5.75″. Nicely engraved. It would be hard to find a nicer example of this gun.
