doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Fabbri guns - an interesting article

I found this to be a highly interesting article, especially the technical parts where barrel assembly and finish are discussed. The article has the classic issue of pushing for a certain narrative at the expense of accuracy, so for example when they compare the prices to the London three they use the price of the titanium Fabbri to give an impression that it's more expensive, when they should have either used the price of the stainless steel Fabbri or compared the titanium one to the Purdey Damascus. Also the actual number of guns produced a year is probably a bit higher but certain gunmakers -not unlike watchmakers- like to promote smaller numbers to appear more exclusive. Still a good read and hope you enjoy it

http://www.thefield.co.uk/shooting/fabbri-italian-gunmakers-26748

I enjoyed the article. Having worked on dozens of Fabbri's over the years, I must say they are incomparable in quality and consistency. They are heavy guns made to stand up to lots of shooting, and more specifically, killing pigeons.

It is most satisfying to restock or restore one. They are always worth the effort, and the price of a restock is inconsequential compared to the value of the gun.

Thanks for sharing the link.

You're welcome James. If you ever talk to them ask them why they won't employ their know-how and machinery to create rifles as well, even in O/U form only. That would be a very interesting weapon!

Beautiful guns he builds. Wasn't Ivo Fabbri a business partner of Daniele Perazzi?

To much history of top tier performance behind the English guns making it hard to compare. Just look at Creed's Moor where the Rigby muzzleloaders easily outshot our best breechloaders. (But because of a mistake by an Irish shooter they lost on the last shot) A rifle built by George Gibbs or James Purdey could and would have done the same.

Says it clearly in the second section of the article the OP posted the link to.

" Ivo Fabbri founded the company in 1968, eight years after he began working with Daniele Perazzi. Their dreams differed. Perazzi wanted to create the best competition gun in the world, something he realised incontrovertibly at the London 2012 Olympics, when Perazzis won 12 out of the 15 shotgun-sports medals. Fabbri, however, was inspired by the traditions of London gunmaking and simply wanted to make the best.
What comprises �the best� is a moot point. The classic definition is a gun that cannot be improved by additional time or expense and it�s one that has served the Mayfair makers well. But they use methods and materials that differ little from when they were founded centuries ago. Computer numerically controlled (CNC) machine tools now do much of the basic work but the factories still resemble Victorian workshops in form and function, with metal-to-metal tolerances checked with soot from a blacking lamp. Yet, with steel, wood and a thousand man-hours, London continues to fashion the world�s best guns � or at least, the best in traditional gunmaking. For, with the exception of the Purdey Damas, which uses a powdered steel process to create a gun with great strength but with Damascus patterning, British bests have not embraced new materials. In contrast, Fabbri rejoices in them."
SRH

That's correct. Just like fine watches, incredible ones come out of Germany, but the Swiss will always have a rich history and pedigree that no one would capture. Britain is where these guns were developed and perfected over the past 200 years, and Fabbri, H&W, or Peter Hofer will never posses that magic. That's on top of the fact that every time one of those makers builds an O/U they mount the barrels on bifurcated lumps as designed by Boss and Woodward, and every SxS they make will have barrels secured by the under-bolt designed by Purdey, all being opened by the spindle designed by William Scott.

The climate is nice people have goods spirits and are fun-loving and friendly. This Fabbri product look like top notch quality work of art that can be used for shooting. It looks to me like fine place for a detour after buying some custom tailored clothing and footwear in Milano. Thank you for the wonderful link.

I think the French and the Germans, especially the French, had far more input into the development of firearms than the English.

Performance, and their remarkable record of performance, that is the key to the English predominance.

Valid claim indeed, and it depends on how one weighs different features. Breech loading and self contained cartridges came from France, yet put against things such as the aforementioned three designs plus the self opening mechanisms and Boss's single trigger etc. the British will have a very good case to make

Their preeminent position is due to marketing.