There are several good O/Us that are made with similarities to the Perazzi, but they ain't Perazzis. I've shot them all, I think, and nothing, but nothing handles and shoots like the the original. A Google search will bring up the brands that share similarities with the Perazzi.
Actually, the gun that is the closest to feeling like my MX8 is the 32" Beretta 682 Gold E.
SRH
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.
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
