Hi,
just picked up on this thread, just purchased a 20 bore avant tout. From what I know the term "avant tout" refers to their models with an easy-opening system. When I was in my teens and twenties (quite a while ago!) there where quite a few of these about and they had an undeserved reputation for unreliability. They were misunderstood by a lot of jobbing country gunsmiths apparently, it's more difficult to understand their workings than an ordinary boxlock so there was quite a few botched repairs which reflected badly on what is an excellent mass-produced, genuine London-made gun. They are still under-appreciated, if you get one that's been cared for they are great value for money!
