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canvasback
PostPosted: Fri Mar 03, 2017 8:33 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 12 Mar 2012
Posts: 684
Location: Ontario

While I may have committed a bit of heresy by proclaiming my Ideal 6RE-E 12 gauge my favorite shotgun, all is not lost. I continue to scour the world for just the right MF Ideal 16 gauge companion for it. While i don't have a permanent Ideal 16 in the stable as yet, I do have a few that pass through my hands now and again. This one is worth having a look at.

It's a post war Ideal 340 ejector 16 gauge in damn near LNIB condition. 70 cm (27.5") barrels, 14 1/4" LOP and 2 3/8" DAH. 6 pounds, 1 ounce. I don't have a bore gauge so can't be dead sure on chokes but my Galazan gauge says it's IM & Extra Full. Enjoy!

Oh, BTW. Near as I can tell, it's all original finishes.





















Last edited by canvasback on Fri Mar 03, 2017 8:45 am; edited 1 time in total

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1921 Pieper 29" 6 lbs 10 oz
2003 Citori White Lightning 26" 6 lbs 10 oz
1932 Husqvarna 310AS 29.5" 6 lbs 7 oz
1925 Ferlach 29" 6 lbs 7 oz
1923 Greifelt 29" 6 lbs 1 oz
1928 Simson 29.5" 6 lbs
1893 Lindner Daly FW 28” 5 lb 11oz
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Gil S
PostPosted: Fri Mar 03, 2017 8:45 am  Reply with quote
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Joined: 04 Mar 2008
Posts: 1943
Location: Lowcountry Ga.

Very nice, James. Wood is beautiful, but not in your gun's league, but not much else is. Gil
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canvasback
PostPosted: Fri Mar 03, 2017 8:47 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 12 Mar 2012
Posts: 684
Location: Ontario

Gil S wrote:
Very nice, James. Wood is beautiful, but not in your gun's league, but not much else is. Gil


Gil, shouldn't you be working about now! LOL

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1921 Pieper 29" 6 lbs 10 oz
2003 Citori White Lightning 26" 6 lbs 10 oz
1932 Husqvarna 310AS 29.5" 6 lbs 7 oz
1925 Ferlach 29" 6 lbs 7 oz
1923 Greifelt 29" 6 lbs 1 oz
1928 Simson 29.5" 6 lbs
1893 Lindner Daly FW 28” 5 lb 11oz
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16'er
PostPosted: Fri Mar 03, 2017 10:27 am  Reply with quote
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Joined: 08 Oct 2006
Posts: 1393
Location: Tappahannock, Virginia

Beautiful! So much want!
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double vision
PostPosted: Fri Mar 03, 2017 11:12 am  Reply with quote
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Oh my! If there is a proverbial cake, that gun just took it. Cool beyond the normal scale of cool.
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Gil S
PostPosted: Fri Mar 03, 2017 12:51 pm  Reply with quote
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Joined: 04 Mar 2008
Posts: 1943
Location: Lowcountry Ga.

James, your stock looks more like chocolate marble cake. This 16's wood is more like a chocolate layer cake. Both look delicious. Gil
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JonP
PostPosted: Fri Mar 03, 2017 2:07 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 13 Dec 2006
Posts: 694
Location: MN

I've seen a few of these...but never in that condition
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canvasback
PostPosted: Fri Mar 03, 2017 3:19 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 12 Mar 2012
Posts: 684
Location: Ontario

I've had a request for a little more info about these guns so for those who haven't seen them before....here goes.

It is a Manufrance Ideal model 340. Manufrance (or MF) was the largest manufacturer of firearms in France. They were in existence from around 1888 until 1985. They made all kinds of shotguns and rifles....SxS, pumps, single shots etc. To give an idea of the quantity of their production, they made 950,000 of one model of SxS, The Robust.

Total production of all Parkers, for example, was around 500,000. I think all Ithaca SxS total around 700,000.

The Ideal is a classic and true round action design, first produced in 1888 and in production continuously except during the war years until the company shut down in 1985. Like the main American makers, MF would take a design and offer it in multiple quality grades as their method of hitting different price points. And, like the American makers, there was a big enough home market so MF was not particularly aggressive about selling guns outside the borders of France. So they are rare everywhere but France, but common there. In France today I can easily find an old beater Ideal for sale for $400. Or I can fine a pristine high grade for $20,000. And everything in between.

Besides the round action, another uncommon aspect of the ideal is the trigger guard opening lever, rather than having a top lever. Makes for a much better looking gun, IMHO and remarkably ergonomic. Ideals are also known for having a very simple and very strong action design.

If anyone has any further questions I would be happy to respond.

_________________
1921 Pieper 29" 6 lbs 10 oz
2003 Citori White Lightning 26" 6 lbs 10 oz
1932 Husqvarna 310AS 29.5" 6 lbs 7 oz
1925 Ferlach 29" 6 lbs 7 oz
1923 Greifelt 29" 6 lbs 1 oz
1928 Simson 29.5" 6 lbs
1893 Lindner Daly FW 28” 5 lb 11oz
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dilly
PostPosted: Fri Mar 03, 2017 3:51 pm  Reply with quote
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Joined: 15 May 2011
Posts: 351
Location: Ontario, Canada

That is a beutiful gun....wow

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PatrickB
PostPosted: Fri Mar 03, 2017 5:10 pm  Reply with quote
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Joined: 16 Dec 2007
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Location: Minnesota

Interesting and beautiful gun.
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wingshooter
PostPosted: Fri Mar 03, 2017 7:27 pm  Reply with quote
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Joined: 26 Jun 2005
Posts: 425
Location: Big D

Near new and unfired can be found, but are of course rare (even in France) and the price usually reflects it. This one was, as James said, LNIB, and at a very attractive price.

Please note that the gun is not in battery. It took me a missed pheasant and a few unbroken targets to realize what was going on: if the rising bite that engages the doll's head is not flush with the top, the triggers will "soft fire," almost like there is a brake on the strikers, and the gun will not go off. Light primer strikes, but no bang and no bird. It seems, at least in my experience, to only happen with reloads. Factory shells are seldom a problem. In this photo, James has snap caps in, and for some reason the gun has not gone into battery. Just a little doll's heads up to those of you who own, may own, or have a chance to shoot one.


Mike

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Manufrance Ideal 314:
Barrel set 1- (choke) .000 , .007 , chamber 70mm
Barrel set 2- .025 , .047 , 65mm
Barrel set 3- .005, .015
Manufrance Ideal No. 5:
Choke: .000, .010, 70mm chambers
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billwolfe
PostPosted: Fri Mar 03, 2017 8:10 pm  Reply with quote
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Joined: 02 Dec 2013
Posts: 13

Thanks for pointing that out, Mike! It did look a bit odd, and I found myself wondering if it was fully locked up. Some lucky fella's gonna have Christmas a few months later than normal! Wink
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wingshooter
PostPosted: Fri Mar 03, 2017 8:15 pm  Reply with quote
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Joined: 26 Jun 2005
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Location: Big D

It may just be the best condition Ideal in North America...Christmas indeed!

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Consistency is the currency of credibility

Manufrance Ideal 314:
Barrel set 1- (choke) .000 , .007 , chamber 70mm
Barrel set 2- .025 , .047 , 65mm
Barrel set 3- .005, .015
Manufrance Ideal No. 5:
Choke: .000, .010, 70mm chambers
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Savage16
PostPosted: Fri Mar 03, 2017 8:21 pm  Reply with quote
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Joined: 30 Nov 2011
Posts: 1694
Location: Minnesota

Its a beauty! Is there a safety? Maybe the little knob above the triggers?

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wingshooter
PostPosted: Fri Mar 03, 2017 8:24 pm  Reply with quote
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Joined: 26 Jun 2005
Posts: 425
Location: Big D

Yes, and really the weak point of an Ideal. Not much more than a stamped piece of sheetmetal, but those of us who love the gun kinda view it as a small mole on a super model. Razz

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Consistency is the currency of credibility

Manufrance Ideal 314:
Barrel set 1- (choke) .000 , .007 , chamber 70mm
Barrel set 2- .025 , .047 , 65mm
Barrel set 3- .005, .015
Manufrance Ideal No. 5:
Choke: .000, .010, 70mm chambers
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