Les Fusils de Verney-Carron

    Born in 1800, on the cusp of the gunmakers’ century, Claude Verney was just 20 years old when he entered one of his guns in the prestigious Concours d’Armurerie, a gunmaking competition in Saint Etienne, France. At that time Saint Etienne was already the arms-making capital of the country. Verney was young to win top honors with his entry—described as “a magnificent mounting on a heavily carved gun stock”—especially in a town filled with great gunmaking talent. But he was wise enough to act quickly on the award by launching his own gunmaking business that same year.
    Verney’s winning entry now hangs in Saint Etienne’s Museum of Art and Industry as one of the finest examples of gunmaking from the period. Today—nearly 200 years later—the business that bears his name has become one of the city’s largest and most important.
    Verney was himself a fifth-generation gunmaker—the occupation originating with his great-great-grandfather, Guy Verney, in 1650—and so his family was well known within the town’s trade. And the family took its connections to the trade seriously: Going back all five generations, the patriarchs of Claude’s ancestry had married the daughters of gunmakers. Claude’s bride, Antoinette Carron, was both a daughter and granddaughter of gunmakers, and upon their marriage in 1830 Claude marked his business and his guns with the fused family name: Verney-Carron.
    Today Verney-Carron’s workshop and offices occupy nearly 54,000 square feet and stand where Boulevard Thiers intersects Rue de Verney-Carron. The company is known for producing an impressive range of sporting guns, and it’s safe to say that most hunters in France know the company’s line and many own at least one gun from the maker. The firm currently is in the hands of the sixth generation of the Verney-Carron family, including Pierre Verney-Carron, president; his nephew, Jean, the director-general; and Pierre’s son, Guillaume, the export manager. Each successive generation has remained focused on handing down the skills and values that have ensured loyalty from the company’s customers.

    The factory is easily identified by the famous Sagittaire logo and Romanesque pillars topped with crossed guns standing guard on either side of dark tinted windows. Lending its name to a substantial number of the firm’s guns, the Sagittaire is a French interpretation of the astrological sign Sagittarius, the half-man/half-horse archer, and has become synonymous with quality workmanship among French sportsmen.
    The company’s Sagittaire line of guns was introduced in 1967 and has come to typify the modern Verney-Carron. It was the first mass-produced French over/under shotgun, and it became an instant market leader. In fact, from 1970 to 1975 the company doubled production to keep up with demand, which increased with developments and improvements. Fueled by the Sagittaire’s success, Verney-Carron introduced the Super 9 Trap in 1988 and the Plume, or featherweight model, in 1993. Both enjoyed instant acclaim, and the Super 9 has evolved into the company’s premium shotgun while the Sagittaire has become the entry-level gun. Even as times, production methods and market demands have changed, one principle has remained at the forefront of the company’s business: offering value for money.
    Last year I was lucky enough to visit Saint Etienne for a tour of the Verney-Carron factory. When I arrived, I was met by Guillaume, who ushered me to the company’s boardroom. We walked through a foyer bedecked with displays of Verney-Carron’s latest shotguns and rifles, then up a wide marble stairway past a sculpture of the Sagittaire on an expanse of wall. In the boardroom we found Pierre and Jean Verney-Carron deep in conversation, but they were kind enough to break off and speak with me about the company and its products.
    After a short chat, Guillaume and I headed for the workshops. I found that they resemble those in many modern factories: replete with the latest CAD/CAM machinery capable of producing gun parts to the finest tolerances. But Verney-Carron differs from most gunmakers with its completely in-house production of barrels. Once the high-grade steel has been combined with chrome and molybdenum, the tubes are produced using cold extrusion. This process involves numerous passes through a rotary hammer barrelmaking machine, which effectively shapes the original billets into barrels.
    In fact, barrels from Saint Etienne—and Verney-Carron—are widely regarded as some of the best in the world. As Guillaume said, “You’d be surprised if you knew exactly who we make barrels for. Some of the biggest names in the industry source them from us.”
    One interesting product the company makes is barrel extensions. Designed primarily for its single-barreled shotguns, the short 20cm versions are complemented by 82cm variants. All attach to the ends of the barrels via standard choke-tube threads. Although this might sound unusual, barrel extensions were developed especially for the American market and sold under the Hastings brand as Metro extensions.
    According to Guillaume, “For hunters who own just one shotgun, we find they prefer a barrel length of 68 centimeters with flush chokes. To allow them to add length, we produce a choke that adds three centimeters to five centimeters to the basic gun, such as the Sagittaire. And for those who wish to add even more, such as duck hunters, we offer even more length—to the degree that we have a range of extended chokes that can almost double the barrel length. Alternatively, we offer extra barrels at minimal cost while ensuring that the new barrels are as well balanced as the originals.”
    Affordability is a key consideration at Verney-Carron, and as such the company has machines for stock shaping, checkering and engraving. Most of the guns the company makes offer features and finishes similar to those of other Continental mass-produced guns. But for those who want the luxury of a bespoke shotgun, Verney-Carron certainly can accommodate. Positioned high above Saint Etienne, L’Atelier Verney-Carron has recently become the company’s custom-gun workshop. Overseen by the main factory and supplied with components and of course barrels, this is where Jerome Lanoue and his 15 fellow artisans add their flair to individually crafted guns.
    A thoroughly modern facility complete with its own range and testing facilities, L’Atelier Verney-Carron was formerly known as Demas, established in 1967. Paul Demas was an artisan gunmaker who had served as the workshop manager for another of the region’s makers. His company was purchased by Verney-Carron in 2004, and Demas remained in charge as designer and gunsmith until recently.
    Jerome Lanoue is one of France’s youngest and most exciting gunsmiths, and he is beginning to make his mark in the bespoke shop. His first creations were aimed squarely at the African hunter: two double rifles in .577 NE and .600 NE unveiled at the 2008 IWA Exhibition, in Nuremburg. A graduate of the Liége school of gunmaking, Lanoue worked for a number of Parisian gunsmiths and shops, where he learned what customers expect from both makers and their guns.
Reflecting this, L’Atelier Verney-Carron guns are built using traditional methods, and they exhibit a level of finish that rivals the world’s best. Offered are a number of side-by-side, over/under and single-shot rifles as well as a variety of shotguns. For example, the Azur AD210 (starting at $9,200) is a boxlock ejector side-by-side shotgun with a scalloped-back, carved receiver and rounded action available in 12, 16, 20 and 28 gauge as well as .410. The Azur AD230 ($10,900) comes with the same rounded action and in the same gauges but has sideplates. The Azur AD Absolu ($13,300) is a combination of the two, with a rounded action, sideplates, carved fences and ejectors. All of these guns are available with double or single triggers, pistol or English grips, and interchangeable choke tubes. (They also are available with rifle barrels.) All feature hand-engraved game scenes and hand checkering.
    The Azur Legend ($40,000) is a side-by-side sidelock hammergun with ejectors and double triggers. It has a sculpted action with rounded fences and is available with fixed or mobile chokes, a pistol or English grip, and in 12, 16 or 20 gauge. It also is available with rifle barrels or as a combination gun.
    All Azur guns and rifles have one of the strongest locking systems made, referred to in the company catalog as a “triple parallel lumps breeching system.” Effectively two guns in parallel with an additional locking mechanism between them, the design is said to eliminate “all shearing when firing thanks to its inherent cross brace and its receiver closed at the front.” The use of 35 NCD 16 steel “makes it possible to manufacture fine receivers that absorb very high pressure levels (5,700 bars) thanks to their triple hooks, their triple recoil face and their wide (24mm) and thick (6mm) flat lock.” This system, which originally was developed for double rifles, has translated well to shotguns.
    One of Lanoue’s design creations is the Azur Diamond Trilogy, a collaborative effort with Parisian jeweller Philippe Tournaire. This 20-gauge side-by-side is a precious-metal-and-stone celebration of man’s passion for the hunt from the earliest times. Replete with double triggers, an exhibition-grade English stock and 28-inch barrels, it is the epitome of a fine lightweight game gun. But where the Diamond Trilogy differs is strikingly obvious: Each bas-relief sideplate is made of 18-carat gold and inlaid with six diamonds—two square, two round and two triangular. In addition the highly decorated silver stock ring boasts nine more diamonds, and the front barrel bead is a .13-carat diamond sitting atop an 18-carat-gold mount.
In the way of over/unders, L’Atelier Verney-Carron offers the SL 1040 and 1050—the latter with sideplates. These guns come in 12, 16, 20 and 28 gauge and have automatic ejectors, 28-inch barrels with fixed chokes (mobile chokes being optional), pistol-grip or English stocks, and double triggers (single selective triggers optional). Engraving on the 1040 is game scenes with floral borders and on the 1050 is rose & scroll and game scenes. Prices start at $8,300.
    Returning to more utilitarian guns, Verney-Carron offers a wide range of models and configurations at more “affordable” prices. The Sagittaire over/unders mentioned earlier are the firm’s bedrock models. They come in various styles, gauges and finishes and with receivers and forend irons made of steel or Ergal aluminum alloy for lighter weight. Depending on the model, embellishment is laser-etched scroll along with ducks, pheasants, woodcock, grouse and game scenes. (In the St. Hubert finishes the central animal engraving is inlaid in gold.) A dual-action trigger system can be used in three ways: as a single trigger by pulling the front trigger for both shots, as standard double triggers, or by reversing the order and pulling the rear trigger before the front. A unique feature on the Sagittaire is the safety catch: a triangular device that pivots forward and aft and is located on the right side of the front trigger, situated so the index finger can sweep it back as it contacts the front trigger blade. When engaged, the catch completely blocks the mechanism from unintentionally firing—a system that could have been invented for the walk-up shooter: safe at all times yet ready in an instant. Prices for the Sagittaire line start at $1,800. (These guns are also available with extra barrels and as rifles or combination guns.)
    Billed as the “jewel in the Verney-Carron crown,” the Super 9 is the company’s top-end over/under production model. It is available in 12 gauge in models with or without sideplates and with steel or Ergal receivers; pistol-grip or English stocks; double, single-selective or adjustable single triggers; and 26-to 30-inch barrels with ejectors. Finishes range from Luxe to Prestige with a variety of engraving patterns, and prices begin at $3,600.
    As Verney-Carron continues to expand, so will its selection of production and bespoke offerings. And as more Americans become familiar with the brand, the company’s reputation for making reliable, affordable firearms will build as well. Uniquely French, distinctly Verney-Carron, this company’s guns will be worth watching in the years to come.

    Author’s Note: For more information, call Verney-Carron’s US importer, Kebco, at 301-460-9563 or contact Verney-Carron, 01133-477-791-500; www.verney- carron.com.

Mark Stone, of Lancashire, England, is a freelance writer and former professional racing driver. He is a competitive sporting clays and skeet shooter as well as a fine game shot. He is a frequent contributor to the Shooting Gazette, Shooting Sports, Clay Shooting and other English fieldsport and motoring publications.