Darne R-17
 

This little 20 gauge, made in France between 1962 and 1968, saw its first hunt in the upper peninsula of Michigan this week. Missed my only shot on a ruffed grouse and took some woodcock over a few days. Delicious birds by the way (beyond medium rare I hear they may not be so delicious). Three Parkers also made the trip. A VH16, VH12 and DHE12. The 16 also took some woodcock.

Here is the Darne, different action totally and fun to shoot.

http://parkerguns.org/forums/picture...pictureid=7439
http://parkerguns.org/forums/picture...pictureid=7440

Hey, you shoot the becasse with the Darne, eh? Bon Chance mon Ami!




.

What a beautiful little shotgun! From an old recipe I found a few years ago regarding the "doneness" to which woodcock should be finished: "Ideally, a bit of blood will follow the knife." I've found this to be a fine rule to follow. :cheers:

Are you telling me that Rich did'nt try to buy that beauty from you?:)

I had a Darne in a very similar configuration to that one back around 1990 . Actually had a pair a 12 and a 20 . Anyway the guy I got them from claimed they were WWII war booty that some relative had brought back . Lovely guns for bird hunting and carrying ! But that 20 gauge was the bastard from hell when you shot a round of skeet . If my memory serves the little 20 weighed 5 1/2 pounds give or take a few ounces and the 12 was a pound heavier . To me the 12 with my regular skeet loads kicked a good bit less even though I consider 6 1/2 a touch on the light side for a 12 .

No, he didn't. I don't think it is quite up to his standards. Some pretty nice Parkers were in the woods. The kind that make me say WOW were pushing through the popples. I did get to see Gunner's Gun and it is quite amazing to have in hand. That one did not push bush.

I have a field grade Darne 20--no engraving and very blond wood. The gun has perfect case coloring and I keep threatening to sell it but my wife says it's hers, even though she never shot it. Bought it in Mass. In 1973 for $150. I believe Stoeger imported them in that time period.

Jack - I have a French recipe for "la Becasse" which involves eating all the entrails. I will be glad to share it with you, but I haven't tried it myself, so....

Lovely gun...wood looks fantastic! I also have one but on the future "Brian Dudley project list" as LOP isn't optimal for me...needs little tlc too on the stock as can be seen. How can you tell the date of manufacture?


http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...ps469056ff.jpg

http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...s6192246e.jpeg

I had a Darne R-15 28 ga. that I bought from Steve Barnett about 8-10 years ago, one of the most exotic guns I ever owned. When my great English setter "Smoke" ate some hard plastic refuse in the woods and needed abdominal surgery, I agonized over whether he would even survive the anesthesia let alone the surgery at 15 yrs. old, let alone the cost of the operation (approx. $4K). I thought about all the great hunts we had in spooky, secret woodcock covers, and took the plunge. I sold the gun, he survived, and lived to hunt another full season before a cancerous tumor took him out. Best deal I ever made.

I found this site http://www.gournetusa.com/darne04.htm which had this chart. Also found a site that has manufacturers owners manuals for many extinct guns and picked up one for the Darne for the 1962-68 era. http://www.cornellpubs.com/index.php

SERIAL NUMBER FOR AFFIXED BARREL MODEL R V P & HS (Many Exceptions Occur)

0-50000:up to 1910, one piece stock

A001,A002...A999,B001...Z999:1910-1925

AA001,AA002...BB001...ZZ999:1926-1935

3A001,3A002...3B001...3Z999:1935-1948

4A001,4A002...4B001...:1949-1955

4Z 1955-1952

5A001...5Z999:1962-1968 Mine is 5T264 so it fits in this range

6A...1968-1974

7A...1974-1978

8A...up to 8F 1978

8G Bruchet

8F890...8G204 1981-2004

Flesh and bone beats wood and steel hands down. A gun for a gun dog seems a proper trade. Pretty sure we all would do whatever we could for our gun dogs who are such an integral part of what we do and who we are. My hat's off to you Kevin. Regards, Jack

French cuisine can be delicious but..... Well, why don't you give it a try, make a report and then share your thoughts. :) Cheers, Jack