One last French gun. This Charlin 12 gauge, sliding breech shotgun is not a war weapon. However it has a very intresting history and deserves a look. It was made sometime before the start of WW II and the barrels were proved at the proof house at St Etienne. The proof mark is stamped on the round part of the barrels. Below the proof is the choke stamp: 'P Choke' is full choke for the left barrel, and '½ Choke' is somewhere between improved and modified for the right barrel. On the flats the barrels are marked 65, this indicates a cartridge 65mm long or 2½ inches, a common lemgth in Europe at that time The running rabbit is a Charlin code marking for the level of quality and the code is unknown. There are perfectly normal markings for a French shotgun of this period; however the markings below them on the flat are anything but normal. '70' indicates the chambers were rebored to 70mm, or 2 3/4 inches, the normal length in the US and were stamped with an eagle ove J to indicate a modification while reproof is indicated by the eagle over N. These are the proof marks of the German civil proof law of 1939-1945. This shotgun was taken as German war boody after the fall of France in June of 1940, and modified by its new German owner. It was probably also taken as war booty again in 1945 by a GI since I found it at a gun show in El Paso.
Photos:
Charlin 12 gauge shotgun, grade: one rabbit.
Action open.
Barrel and flat markings.
Right Barrel Flat markings.
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