Gentlemen, I am lookng for opinions on the Perazzi MT-6 good, bad and indifferent. Have a friend that is lookng at one and asked me for my opinion, I am not familiar with that particular model.

Thanks.

Steve

Mine has given long and faithful service. I have three stocks and Briley chokes for assorted tasks. Were I allowed only one gun, there is a fair probability that this would be it.

Rocketman, I am shocked! James Woodward would be horrified!

The MT-6 is a discontinued model, originally built for (I think( the Mexico Olympics It isn't fancy, no detachable trigger group and I've never seen a highly decorated one. On the other hand, you could probably run over one with a herd of buffalo, pick it up and fire a perfect score (if you could to start). Highly reliable if a little heavy. Probably not my first choice for a game gun, but fine for any clay sports in the right configuration. You can usually get one for a relatively low price, compared to later models.

the MT-6 was for the Montreal olympics The MX-8 was for the mexico Olympics. Just my $.02 worth

i have the 30" (+/-) version and it has been a great gun. it lacks the classic perazzi feature of a drop out trigger but the coils work fine. many have an externally selectable trigger which is harder to find in other older perazzis but is a nice feature in a clays gun. the striped receiver was not liked when it was new but now i get appreciative comments about the look. i have never seen an engraved one either, and some of the forends were a bit funky. overall a good value i think. it does have an inertial trigger. tmc

The last of them were sold through Winchester & had case coloured flat sided receivers with a flowered scroll motif in the centre of the panel.

I remember Jaqua blowing them out for < $US1400 at the end; they were cased. There were a number of folks down here that bought them and they seemed to be a bit less clunky, probably due to the 27.5" bbls. that were fitted. I don't recall the KG range exactly, but want to say it was closer to field weight than cmpetition weight, so 1.3 rather than 1.5 or 6.

I am partial to the early racing stripe frames, but don't care for the horizontal slits on the fore arms in leiu of chequering, tho it can be remedied easily enough. I know of one early striped receiver gun that had somewhere north of a half million rounds through it w/o issues before an ejector decided to get a bit recalcitrant. The receiver had been nickled twice, so the frame was on its third finish before that happened. I'd say that's fair reliable ;-) It could have used some new parts and it did get freshened up when the issues started, see below ..

Shoot one enough and the firing pin holes in the breech face may elongate, making opening difficult or in a worse case perhaps even breaking the nose of the firing pin. When that happens just send it to Laibs (sp?) and they can fit a carbide type insert in the standing breech face that will likely out live the shooter. I think that when the numbers are high and the care low is where the wear comes into play. Look at the standing breech face and look at the firing pin noses as good indicators of much use. Giacumo (sp?) can bring them back to new, excepting the aforementioned standing breech wear, but the other guys can tend to that.

I shot an MT-6 in tournament skeet for many years and only had one coil spring break, which Giacomo fixed the same day. Mine was aftermarket engraved by Walter Koulach with several gold bird inlays and is one of the most beautiful guns I have ever owned. As with most Perazzi's for a few hundred dollars Giacomo can keep them tighter than when they were new.

I think they are great guns.

Joe is quite right about which Olympics it was. I knew it was somewhere in NAFTA beginning with "M".

ZZ - Had 'ole JW been a bit more prolific in his production of SXS guns of "maughnly" weight, it could be a different story. I'm a bit skeptical of all Brit O/U's for Perazziesque reliability. The Brits were a behind the curve on design, metalurgy, and the understanding of high volume clays shooting with minimal maintenance and interchagable parts.

The MT-6's competition for one-gun-fits-all is currently the NID 4E trap gun. Spreader loads compensate for the lack of choke tubes. I haven't yet looked into stock change-out on the NID. And, I do have to consider how much longer I'll be able to lift and swing a 9# gun with a MOI of 2.95!!

Rocketman, I hate to say it, but I've got one too! An Ithaca MX8. You have to admit, they take a lickin' and keep on boomin'. A bit "clubby" and soulless compared with the Purdey, But on rainy days......
All the best, Mal