“Trophée des Arquebusiers” 2023
The “Trophée des Arquebusiers” was held this year on May 12th. For its tenth edition, it brought together eleven candidates who came to present their masterpieces to a jury composed of 15 members, including gunsmiths, representatives of hunters’ federations and members of civil society whose activity was related to the field of weapons. This jury also included several members of the French “Éducation Nationale”: the inspector of the academy, the principal of the Lycée Fourneyron and the teachers who make up the educational team.
All candidates for the title of best arquebusier held the BMA (“Brevet des Métiers d’Art”), a gunsmithing option taught at the “Lycée Professionnel Benoît Fourneyron”. They defended individually their achievements and their dossiers resulting from their end-of-course project. The presentation of the projects and the deliberations of the jury took the whole morning. It was only in the early afternoon, after several interventions by the luminaries present on site and a general presentation of the training, that the results were communicated to the young gunsmiths competing for the title.
Among the 11 weapons presented to the jury were 10 Mauser bolt-action rifles and a tilting kipplauf rifle, built on a shortened Simplex frame. Each of the projects was documented with a “book” that included all the technical and aesthetic aspect of the weapon presented. The weapons each had a name related to the design chosen by its designer.
After a long wait and a skillfully distilled suspense, the 2023 “Trophée des Arquebusiers” was won by Yoan Nardi for his “Supercar” rifle. A weapon of very modern design that had already allowed him to win several awards. This rifle, designed for hunting and sport shooting, stood out for its aggressive, very contemporary shape inspired by the exceptional cars that supercars are. The weapon mounted on an aluminum casing, covered with carbon, was characterized by a mode of rapid disassembly, in several sub-assemblies which allowed it to be easily transported in a backpack. Two other prizes accompanied the trophy. One for aesthetics and the other for technique. They were won by Maxence Allois and Louis Lacour respectively.
The atmosphere was warm and benevolent, and the large audience enthusiastically welcomed the statement of results. The winners of course, but also all the participants for their investment and the excellence of their work. Our friend Jean-Paul Sape from SDS who was one of the members of the jury had brought prizes for the winners. He was not the only one, all the participants benefited from many gifts. I myself participated on behalf of the UFA as well as many sponsors such as Verney-Caron, Beretta, Jean-Louis Rouanet, owner of “L’Armurier Saint-Etienne”, Gérard Aubert president of the federation of hunters of the Loire, Eric Fleischer “vice-president Paris” of the CSNA and many others like Pauline Zacharie of the James armory in Autun.
These young gunsmiths, future elite of the profession, showed us in a few hours that the French gunsmithing genius was still alive, thanks to the excellence of the transmission of the knowledge of their masters and the energy they put into honoring the teaching of their professors.
Jean-Pierre Bastié
