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Franchi Falconet 12 and 28 gauge please help!

7K views 6 replies 3 participants last post by  JoeCool 
#1 ·
I just acquired two Franchi O/U's from a realtive sight unseen. I have the blue book of gun values but I'm still having trouble identifying these guns.

The first is a 28 gauge Falconet stamped "SPA Luigi Franchi-Brescia Made in Italy" it has a black finish to it, with separated vented barrels.

Underneath by the trigger guard it says it is a Falconet.

That matches the book for Falconet Field pretty close but this gun has double triggers, there is no such listing for that.

The second is a 12 gauge stamped "SPA Luigi Franchi-Brescia Made in Italy" with no other writing. It is case hardened and It too has double triggers. Is this a falconet as well?

My best information is that they were purchased in Italy 30 or more years ago. I can post pictures if that will help.

Any help would be appreciated!
 
#3 ·
I have two old 12 g Fanchi's, one is a Falconet with the (non steel looking reciever) and the other is plain steel, I love them both but have been able to find little info on them. My father in law bought them from a dept store years ago for some where around $160 ea. Don't really care what they are worth cause they shoot good and are sweet little o/u.

Let us know what you find out about yours.
and enjoy them!
Johnboy
 
#4 ·
JoeCool said:
The receiver on the falconet is not steel. Try a magnet on it and you will see. Now try the magnet on the 12 *****. If it is steel then its not a falconet, probably an Alcione.
That's a good call, the 12 is defintely steel. If it's an Alcione why is nothing listed in the Blue Book? It doesn't fit any of the descriptions. This is driving me crazy!
 
#5 ·
I can only guess as to why you can't find information on it. My guess is that it was bought overseas, quite possibly in Italy. The GIs that bought there had more choices than the public did in the US. The US importers at the time only imported a set product line, which also explains why all the US models had a single trigger. The guys buying overseas often were able to get models made for other countries, in addition to those made for the US. These other models would be marked in different ways than those to the US. Actually there was a Franchi representative that made the rounds to the US service bases and promoted and sold guns to them. He also handled a lot of the "red tape" that had to do with export/import regulations. As part of this personal service he provided to the GIs, he would get you unusual variations if you so desired. These unusual variations might include English stocks, unusual gauges (for Americans) like 16, double triggers, different barrel lengths or choke combinations, etc. I really liked the Franchis a lot, although I did not buy any. In retrospect, this was probably a mistake, as I believe the Franchis were probably a very superior product in many ways. Also they were dirt cheap. One advantage of the double triggers is that they never screw up and even if they do, they are simple enough to make parts for even after parts are not available from the factory. This makes for a gun that can be used forever without parts problems. Your inability to find information on the guns probably leads credence to the fact that these might be special order products, and thereby in a class by themselves. Wow!
 
#6 ·
I know for a fact that both of these guns were indeed purchsed in Italy approximately 30 years ago. I"m not sure where exactly but the relative of mine who purchased them was also in the service and spent a great deal of time in Europe. Do you know if I can contact Franchi to see if they can identify them for me?
 
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