doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Question for you Anglopholes

Exactly. With a nice light barrel set.

'Lively' is the word, the opposite of a K-80.

I've only shot clays with a Perazzi once. They are quite an amazing gun. They feel so natural it's almost unnatural.

If you really want a Perazzi, and the cost of a new one is just too much for your budget, as it was for mine, be patient and watch hard ....... put feelers out. A used gun with many thousands rounds of life left in it can be had without breaking the bank. My first one was an old Ithaca imported MX8, well worn and needed a little TLC, but it was a Perazzi. I got into it for about $1400, as I recall. Had a new bolt installed, ribs relaid and the gun reblued later for another $800. Sold it after getting the one I have now for way more than I had in it.

The MX8 I now shoot is a Winchester imported gun, so still an oldie, but was in much higher condition when I was offered it. I bought it for $2550, in the original hard case. I have shot it hard for ten years or so, and had a new bolt installed in it once. It will outlast me, I'm sure.

Point is, you don't have to take a second mortgage on your home to get into a Perazzi. Just watch, and be patient.

SRH

Shotgunjones makes some sound points:

"Rich Cole sent me a hammer, and it dropped right in."

"The Italian gun makers... tooled up for CNC volume production at just the right time with sound and serviceable designs."

"I currently have 5 PB's... I can keep them running without 'returning them to the maker'."

I would add that the top English makers also went over to CNC, but the benefits were not passed on to the clients.

Service by the maker sounds cute but expensive. Ten thousand dollars for a restock, more for a new pair of barrels and the gun must travel to the maker and stay there for months.

Sending guns to the maker, across international frontiers is a major project. Within the "common market" of the EU a return to the maker across borders requires four import-export permits, each one needing applications, fees and time.

Owner, or at least local gunsmith, serviceability trumps quaintness every time.

My Zoli z-gun Expedition 20 gauge with its 29.5" bbls., open Woodward style grip is a pretty "gamey" like gun with competition gun roots. The gun is built like a tank, but it's balanced perfectly. The trigger group is small, compact, coil spring driven, trigger pulls are like a competition pistol and it's also removable for cleaning, lube isn't necessary because all of the trigger components are coated. I believe the Zoli Kronos is a direct competitor to the Perazzi MX series in the European clays arena. It's a very highly regarded gun. There are a lot of people who also like the characteristics of the Marrochi line of competition guns.
In the last few years, at the clubs I shoot at, guys who shot K guns and Perazzis have been shooting Blasers. There's a lot of them out there and guys seem to really like them.

For me a Perazzi is kinda like Jill St John I can love them with out wanting them. Both are more then I can handle. I don't like to shoot clays. I like to hunt primarily to get to walk with my dog out in a field. I don't want to ruin my hearing any more then it is already by a bunch of shooting. I did have a Ithaca imported Perazzi once. Great gun but not as great as a modern Perazzi.

That Perazzi ages better then either me or Jill St John.

I had gotten the opinion that the Zoli guns are very good, too. Also, some of the Guerinis. Some of them are stocked too high for me, as a general rule, but that does not take away from the quality of the gun. It just requires a bit more personal fitting. I have a Beretta 687 SPII Sporting 20 ga., which comes with 30" barrels .... probably a very similarly handling gun to your Zoli Expedition. It may well be the most perfect dove gun I have ever held in my hands, though I've never had the privilege of trying a Perazzi 20 ga. game gun. Some say they are exquisite for doves.

As for the Blasers, I believe they are very well made, have tried out a couple, but they seem to lack some unquantifiable handling characteristic that my MX8 has. As near as I can tell, it is my ability to get on the second bird in a true pair quickly enough, but I can't say what it is about the guns that causes that. I will say that I was talking with a friend who shoots the live bird circuit pretty regularly, and we were talking about the Blaser. He said he knows at least 20 very serious shooters who have tried Blasers and gotten rid of them because the perceived recoil is so bad. When you talk about recoil in a competition gun you are not always referring to the "ouch!" factor, or always to the fatigue factor from recoil, real though those two may be. To a serious sporting clays shooter or a live bird shooter, the ability to recover from the recoil of the first shot and get on the second bird, or the same bird in the case of pigeons, without "wrestling the gun" back into line under recoil, is crucial. That is what I noticed with the Blaser. I am not convinced that couldn't be dealt with, but for now the Perazzi guns have it "built in", IMO.

SRH

And Smith & Wesson made it better...

This may be the only thing we agree on...

Find a reference during the 1840s or 50s in the old west where a Smith & Wesson revolver was being used by anyone. I'll save you the trouble there isn't one.

Which is better now, I don't know, but that's completely subjective.