The French love quirky shotguns. One of the quirkiest they’ve come up with is the sliding breech double barrel. Darne is the most popular maker of these side-by-sides. But there was another company who turned out doubles on the same odd-ball idea: Charlin.
I’ve owned a couple Darnes and handled a few Charlins. For some reason, the actions on the Charlins have had a smoother, more refined feeling. That being said, there’s a problem Charlins: they’re hard to find. When you do come across, they’re usually expensive.
But not this one looks like your chance to get one at a decent price. While it looks a bit rough, and its’ probably a low-grade model, it is a real Charlin. And you just don’t see that every day.
More about Darnes and Charlins here at Geoffrey Gournet’s Darne/USA forum.
