The flintlock gun from the Gatchina Palace and Estate Museum is one of the outstanding examples of French hunting firearms. It was made in the 1740–1750s by the gunsmiths Nicolas Pierron and Jean Baptiste La Roche. Before the 19th century there were no considerable differences between service and hunting guns. The only difference was in the quality of manufacturing and decoration. Flintlock guns were used by all European armies from the 17th century till the 1840s. The barrel of the gun around the front sight and near the muzzle face is decorated with a stylised floral pattern inlaid with gold. The flat plane behind the rear sight has an inscription reading ‘Laroche a Paris’ made in the same technique. On the bottom side of the barrel at the breech end there is an oval mark with the letters ‘NP’. The gun has a French type flintlock mechanism. In the center of the lock plate there is an image depicting a scene from the myth of Daphne and Apollo: Apollo chases Daphne who transforms into a tree. In the left corner one can see an ancient Greek river god. To the left of the image there is an engraved inscription along the hammer reading: ‘Laroche a Paris’. The hammer is decorated with images of swans inlaid with gold, while the upper jaw and the frizzed are decorated with images of a hunter’s trophies in the chasing technique. The stock is made of nut wood and is decorated with a carved palmette in front of the trigger guard and a floral pattern near the lower ramrod pipe. The barrel is fixed to the stock with a screw, which goes through the tang of the breech, with the rear side screw and with four barrel pins. The cast furniture is made of silver and includes a butt plate, a trigger guard, a bridle in the lock, a plate on the stock wrist and four ramrod pipes. On the upper side of the butt plate there are images of the goddess Athena’s bust and the goddess Diana with a bow and two dogs on a leash. The trigger guard is decorated with images of a lady’s bust, harpies and sheep’s heads. The openwork bridle in the lock is partially gilded. It is also decorated with images of two putti riding swans, of boys with a dog and of a boar. Moreover, there is an oval medallion with the engraved monogram of Stanisław Leszczyński, King of Poland. His coat of arms is also engraved on the plate on the stock wrist.