I was given this rifle when my father passed away. He bought it when he went to France after WWII. He said that is was made for the French and Indian war and was an "engineers" rifle. He was an engineer himself so I see why he bought it! I have been scouring the Internet trying to find what the markings mean, but cannot come up with what I have. Maybe you guys that are more "in the know" can help me out or at least point me in a direction where to research. From the plate it looks like it was made on St. Etienne but I can't find any other era rifles with the same plate to verify.