doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com My take on the RBL

I finally received my RBL #279, PIF 9/27/2005. Straight 14 3/4" stock in exhibition black walnut, splinter forend, assisted opening, and case colored. So that's about every upgrade available. Overall it is a very nice gun.

Wood to metal fit is excellent with no gaps and the wood is only slightly proud in areas it should be. The figure in the wood is nice though not as good as I would have expected, having seen samples at the last two Vegas shows. Finish is excellent though a bit gossy. Checkering is sharp and dark. However the laser burning of the checkering has left a lot of fuzz and residue in the grooves. I might consider having it lightly recut by hand.

The case coloring is well done. Mine is very dark with little color contrast. Polishing of action is good. Engraving is well cut and just about the right depth. I think the color really gives the engraving nice depth contrast. Most of the sample I've seen were fairly light toned but I think I prefer this darker color--it'll wear well. I did have the engraving on the barrels omitted and am glad I did. In my opinion it just looks better.

The gun is actioned very well and the fit of barrel/lug to the action is excellent. On closing there is a solid sound to it--no clanging. The safety functions perfectly and smooth.

The barrels are neatly joined and ring beautifully. Smooth top rib is swamped and well laid. Polishing is excellent and the outside of the tubes is smooth and even, with no polishing ripples. Bore and chamber work look good. The choke tubes, though a bit hard to remove, fit well and are flush with the muzzle. And there is no apparent enlarging of the tubes at the muzzle for the chokes. The choke wrench supplied is a bit awkward. Per a previous post on this BBS I had already ordered a better choke wrench from Cablelas which works fine. I recommend this (Carlson's Choke Tube Wrench, $18.99).

The double triggers are very crisp and have no creep. Haven't measured pull weights but they're not heavy. The rear trigger is positioned just right for a quick and smooth second shot.

The assisted opener is a lot of fun to play with. It does throw the barrels open with authority and the shells go flying. Closing it takes a bit more effort since the assisted opener and the ejectors are both being compressed. I doubt I'll be using this feature much and have already removed it, which only takes a minute.

The Southgate ejectors are stong and work flawlessly though they're not timed very well. Sometimes they work in unison and other times the right barrel kicks first. Not a big deal.

The case and accesories are nice and make a darned pretty presentation.

Overall, I think the RBL was a very good value. Certainly the basic gun sans the upgrades would be a great bargain. Fit and finish are better than anything in this price range I've seen. I don't think the wood upgrade was worth it. I'll have little use for the assisted opener and consider it an expensive toy. The checkering is a bit of a disappointment when closely scrutinized though in the real world I'll never notice it. I'm glad I added the case color though I doubt it was worth the extra charge.

For those of you still waiting for yours I say don't fret and worry. You'll get a very nice gun that'll go the distance. Just don't be expecting to win the lottery by having a $20,000 gun for $3,000. I can't think of any other gun that comes close to being the same value.

These RBLs look like good deal to me. I would not spend 20k on stupid gun even if I did win the lottery. Those things much like RR cars, Patek Watches,....are for ancient money aristocracy. Some think couple yards of fine silk makes an aristocrat, it does not!

Joe,
Thanks for writing a detailed review.
FWIW, the laser cut checkering on my Rizzini B was also dark in the troughs and needed cleaning up. The Riz was similar in cost as the basic RBL and I kinda expected the same issue when I heard CSMC was using a laser.

Thanks for the report.

Pics????

Thank you, Joe, for taking the time to "write up" your RBL. I feel a bit better about the RBL after reading your opinion. I have a bit longer to wait it appears as I PIF in early January of last year - maybe April? I changed my order recently to add case color, removed the beavertail option and went to 3X wood so I could specify American Black Walnut. Hopefully, mine will be one of the 'good ones'. Time will tell and in the meantime waiting gives me something to think about/obsess over, etc! Thanks again for your report. Would love to see pics of yor RBL!

Joe,
Thanks for the thorough review of your RBL. I ordered mine, PIF, within a couple of days of your order, so I hope this means I'll be getting mine soon. The wood upgrade issue with these guns is interesting to me, as it seems from the photos of some of the guns, and from the comments, that the wood upgrade seems to be a roll of the dice. Some folks got great wood and feel the extra money was well spent, yet I've seen other wood that caused the new owners to question whether they really did get what was paid for. I guess I'll have to keep my fingers crossed that I get a nice piece of wood. Again, glad to see you got your gun and thanks again for spending the time to share your opinion on your RBL with the rest of us.

This might be a dumb question, but do they cut the checkering with a laser? I thought it was cut with computerized wood cutters, somehow. Just curious.

Laser cut. Pretty fast and neat...most of the time.