This is a sweet little gun, with a very nice two-stage trigger release (practicing with snap caps), and I'm anxious to get it to the range for a workout at 100 yards, but it definitely has some quirks (typical French?)! For example: NO loading ramp, NO EXTRACTOR, and NO ejector. Fortunately, the receiver chamber access area is shallow enough that manual insertion and extraction (fingernail?) should be no problem. Also, it lacks a bolt withdrawal catch (not lost or missing; just appears there was no provision for it), so when pulling back on the bolt to load or post-firing, you must be careful not to pull the whole bolt assembly back out of the receiver.
I could not find any indication of the manufacturer or year of manufacture.
Interestingly, it is ALL matching serial numbers (73XX), the most I have EVER seen on a training rifle:
1. forestock (penciled in barrel channel)
2. buttstock (penciled under buttplate)
3. buttstock (stamped on right side)
4. buttplate (stamped on underside)
5. front barrel band (stamped - last three digits)
6. middle barrel band (stamped - last three digits)
7. buttstock/receiver mounting bolt (stamped - four digits); this is a long bolt attaching through the rear of the buttstock (access hole under the buttplate), anchoring the wood to the receiver
8. barrel (stamped); also block capital letters stamped "LLH"
9. receiver (stamped)
10. action/cocking bolt(stamped)
11. action/cocking bolt body (stamped)
12. trigger (stamped)
13. trigger guard (stamped - last three digits)
14. trigger guard base plate (stamped)
A little research revealed that the 'LLH' stamped on the barrel is the mark of Laurent Lochet-Habran, a Belgian supplier of firearm-grade steel billets or even finished barrels to various French and Belgian gun makers from around 1900 up through c. WWI-ish. Still doesn't help ID the maker, but at least adds a bit of background to this example.
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