Darne shotgun!

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gunsaholic

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No, I'm not cussing my gun. With the recent thread on round bottom SxS's, it occurred to me that there might be new shooters, or those interested in doubles, who might not be aware of another type of double barrel out there. That is the Darne sliding breech shotgun. Aside from Darne, there is also the Charlin and probably a couple of others but I will talk about Darne for the purpose of this thread. With the sliding breech system, there is no hinge pin or rotating top opening lever to wear out and supposedly it is unheard of for a Darne to come "off face". Since the gun does not hinge, the stock is one piece. They are also equipped with ejectors.I picked mine up about 4 years ago and find it a delight as far as an upland gun. It is light and agile and comes right into my line of sight when shouldered. I cannot carry that much weight anymore, so whenever I think that I might try to walk any distance, it is the Darne that I grab. By my bathroom scale, it weighs in at just under 6 pounds and that is for a 12 gauge. And herein lies a problem for many. There are a number of shooters who cannot comfortably shoot a 12 gauge this light and agile. The sliding breech system may also take awhile to get used to as well as the lack of a conventional top rib. The rib is "swamped" ,which on this gun ,makes it unnecessary for a bottom rib. There are, of course, different grade levels. I'd love to have a model V22 in 16 and 28 gauge. These are really a gun where it would be advised to be able to try it out for fit and swing etc. before buying. They definitely aren't a gun for everyone but if the gun fits, they really add to the pleasure of hunting with a double barrel. They aren't cheap but if anyone is contemplating something unique, the sliding breech system might be one to consider.
The example below is from 1931 so it shows some "carry wear" to the bluing.


 
Hey gunsaholic, Thanks for the informative post. And
You are right sir. I've never seen one of those. I can see
how ejectors would be nice. How difficult is it to
quickly reload?
 
There is an older gentleman that shoots at D C T A who has one .he brings it out on occasion for a couple rounds of skeet . I have had the pleasure of handling it and as you say it is an upland bird hunters dream . biggest draw back for most would be the 2 1/2 " chambers . if I recall correctly he shoots mostly 20 ga out of his with the aid of chamber reducers . very nice piece thanks for sharing .
 
crunch68 said:
Hey gunsaholic, Thanks for the informative post. And
You are right sir. I've never seen one of those. I can see
how ejectors would be nice. How difficult is it to
quickly reload?
Click to expand...

Once you remember you are using a sliding breech system, it doesn't take long at all. In fact, with some conventional doubles, the barrels might not open all the way when the opening lever is pushed, requiring a rap of the hand to open fully. With the sliding breech you don't have that. On lower grade Darnes, you lift up on the lever and slide back which can be done quickly. On the higher grades, the opening is done in one step. When the lever is lifted up the action automatically slides back.
 
rembolt said:
There is an older gentleman that shoots at D C T A who has one .he brings it out on occasion for a couple rounds of skeet . I have had the pleasure of handling it and as you say it is an upland bird hunters dream . biggest draw back for most would be the 2 1/2 " chambers . if I recall correctly he shoots mostly 20 ga out of his with the aid of chamber reducers . very nice piece thanks for sharing .
Click to expand...

My gun has 2 1/2" chambers which is okay as I use 2 1/2" in all my vintage guns. However, later Darnes did have 2 3/4" chambers.
 
Brutus said:
Very neat design indeed! Pretty cherry hunting gun for Pre-WWII manufacture.
Seems I vaguely remember they also produced an O/U during the 1970s or thereabouts.
Could be wrong on this one.
Click to expand...

Yes, there was an over/under that was produced for a short time called the S series. There was also a box lock SxS.
 
gunsaholic said:
Once you remember you are using a sliding breech system, it doesn't take long at all. In fact, with some conventional doubles, the barrels might not open all the way when the opening lever is pushed, requiring a rap of the hand to open fully. With the sliding breech you don't have that. On lower grade Darnes, you lift up on the lever and slide back which can be done quickly. On the higher grades, the opening is done in one step. When the lever is lifted up the action automatically slides back.
Click to expand...

My lesson for the day thanks :) . I did not know there where two different operating systems for the breech . just to be clear in the lower grade the lever is lifted and then slid back with the breech . the second the lever actually cams the breech open as you lift it . I am familiar with it as that is how the gun I had a chance to drawl over operated .
 
One of the things gunsaholic didn't mention is that Darne's are typically very light for the gauge. 12 gauges are usually around 6 to 6 1/2 pounds.
 
Brutus said:
^No, he mentioned the lack of weight factor in about mid paragraph.

Cheers
Click to expand...

That's what I get for trying to do three things while also reading my gunnutz! Sorry Brian. I should have expected you'd be thorough. BTW, just wanted to say great idea for a thread.
 
It is almost a type of "forced ejection". The momentum from pulling the action back, coupled with the ejectors, causes the shells to be kicked out and they fall over the side. They don't get ejected 15 feet away which makes it nice if you want your old shells. If the shells are unfired they just extract so far so you can pull them out.
 
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