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Old February 13, 2002, 09:51 PM   #2
JackM
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 26, 2001
Location: Sask.
Posts: 108
Hi, kmk:
My guess is 1898-1910.

The crowned oval with ELG* vertically was adapted in 1893. If the oval has no crown it's older. The crowned oval is the definitive (final) black powder proof of that time.

The backwards 3 with the fancy L looks more like a fancy script E and the L. It's provisional proof and was first used in 1852. There's no point in finishing the gun if it's going to fail proof.

What you call the golf club is likely the "Perron". It looks like a lighthouse on a diamond shaped base. A very old (1672) mark. The diamond with the 12 over C is the gauge mark for black powder guns, used 1898-1924.

181 & 184 are the bore diameters in millimeters, so 18.1mm = .713" & 18.4mm = .724". Is the word "choke" near the 18s? If it has "choke", then 18.0/18.4 (approximate numbers, directly one above the other) it was made after 1910.

"laminated steel" usually isn't good enough for smokeless powder. Look for the nitro proof mark, which is a "lion rampant" over SCH, EC or PV. If it doesn't have it, don't shoot it. If it does have nitro proof and your friend absolutely has to shoot it, find some data for low pressure loads with IMR 7625 and proceed with exterme caution.

Gun Digest had a series of articles on European proof marks during the 1968-1978 period. The Belgian article is in the 1978 edition.

Bye
Jack
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