Even though the Krieghoff Essencia took the Silver Award at the 2003 "Gold Medal Concourse d'Elegance of Fine Guns" and won the Shooting Sportsman Award for a contemporary, custom-fitted gun that best typifies the upland hunting ideal, our Peer Review group approached the Krieghoff Essencia with a measure of skepticism.

Everyone seemed to be wondering the same thing…

Had Germany’s maker of premier over/under shotguns and hunting rifles finally over-reached with its British-style, side-by-side game gun that starts at nearly $30,000?

At first glance, Krieghoff’s Essencia is the epitome of British elegance. You’d expect the color case hardened receiver to bear the name of Holland & Holland, Purdey or Boss rather than the gentle arc of Krieghoff set in gold.

But as we were to discover, the Krieghoff Essencia held many more surprises that pushed the envelope of what we can expect from a “best gun” in the British school of bespoke game guns.

We spent two days with a 20-gauge Krieghoff Essencia at the Southern Side by Side Championship & Exhibition Spring Classic, held at the Deep River Sporting Clays and Shooting School in Sanford, North Carolina.

The Krieghoff Essencia was on loan to us from Griffin & Howe, an authorized Krieghoff dealer exhibiting at the event.

Of course it would have been ideal to use the Krieghoff Essencia on grouse, pheasants or chukars; but given it was out of season we put the shotgun through its paces in one of the most eclectic side-by-side events on the planet. There were shooters resplendent in their vintage accoutrements competing against a more casual set of participants in shorts and sandals acclimatized to the late-April heat wave.

The Southern Side by Side Championship & Exhibition Spring Classic gave us the opportunity to catch up with our Peer Review friends who were eager to see if the Essencia lived up to its mystique of a classic British best gun as rendered by the highly competent Krieghoff.

The Shotgun Life Peer Review column puts a fresh twist on evaluations by letting shotgun enthusiasts who we know and trust shoot the gun and express their opinion – giving our readers a valuable, multi-faceted composite of the gun. As we organized the schedule for the Essencia, one question remained clear: Could Krieghoff really pull this off?

We evaluated the Krieghoff Essencia just as it was approaching a celebrated milestone. Since shipments began in 2004, 94 bespoke Krieghoff Essencias have been completed and delivered – making it quite possible that as you read this production will surpass the magic 100 mark.

With an eye towards the future, the Krieghoff Essencia is obviously a success. But back in 2003, the very idea of a side-by-side from Krieghoff caught observers off guard. The company’s sterling reputation was based on its world-class competition and hunting long guns of sturdy boxlock proportions. A sensuous, round-body, side-by-side was such a radical departure by the company it seemed that the Krieghoff name was gratuitously put in jeopardy.

From within Krieghoff, however, the Essencia made perfect sense. As Krieghoff General Manager, Alex Diehl explained, the Essencia was a “logical consequence” of the company’s storied history in hunting guns. And he let the numbers speak for themselves in regards to the success of the Krieghoff Essencia; the 2003 production allocation of 8-10 guns per year has been increased to a maximum of 20 per year since 2006 and each year’s allotment is spoken for in advance.

The Krieghoff Essencia is available in two round-body configurations: a sidelock and a boxlock. The sidelock is the standard action with the boxlock available on request. Having shot only a sidelock, we can report that the Krieghoff Essencia has near-perfect handling and balance (more on that in a moment).

While the sidelock is available in 12, 16, 20 and 28 gauge plus .410 bore, the boxlock can only be ordered 20, 16 or 28 gauge.

The 20-gauge frame serves as the basis for the 16-gauge gun. Plus the 20-gauge frame handles the 20/28 gauge combo.

In 2007, Krieghoff unveiled the Essencia 28 Gauge Small-Frame sidelock. The scaled down frame dropped the weight from 6 pounds, 6 ounces to slightly under six pounds. The Small Frame sidelock was designed to accept the 28-inch .410 barrels. The Small Frame sidelock can also accommodate a single non-selective option.

Nearly everyone in the Peer Review group found it unacceptable that a $30,000 game gun should have an optional single trigger priced at $1,450 that is non-selective. After all, a side-by-side at one-tenth the price would come with a selective single trigger.

We asked best-gun expert, manufacturer and author Chris Batha about it, as we spent about 30-minutes together in his Boswell tent at the Southern Side by Side.

As Chris explained it, a sidelock has “the equivalent of a Swiss watch on each side of the action. With a barrel selector it becomes difficult to regulate the reliability. You’d also want to put the barrel selector on the wood, and you can’t do that with a sidelock. Besides, the true purist would go for the double trigger anyway.”

During our conversation, Chris extolled the virtues of the sidelock action in the Krieghoff Essencia, comparing it to the universally accepted gold-standard set by Holland and Holland.

The Krieghoff Essencia is built around a back-action sidelock wherein the mainspring is mounted rearward toward the stock versus the muzzle. Reorientation of the mainspring enables a slimmer profile befitting a game gun that demands lightning reflexes.

Anyone who has ever handled a round-body shotgun will immediately recognize the advantages of this remarkably organic shape versus the geometric proportions typical of a boxlock frame; it’s more instinctive to drive the round body toward your quarry with its superior ergonomics.

Whether or not a sidelock is more reliable than a boxlock is the stuff of conversations over single-malt scotch and cigars. Originally, sidelocks came to prominence for their ease of maintenance in the far-off colonies of the Great Empire. You simply knocked out a few pins that held together the sideplates, revealing the action. By comparison, the stock must be removed on a boxlock in order to access the action.

Krieghoff helped ensure the reliability of the Essencia by hand-finishing the action to the closest possible tolerances and then applying a non-corrosive gold wash over the cocking indicators, springs and bridles. The other parts of the action are mostly case color hardened.

Likewise, the automatic ejectors were perfectly machined and performed flawlessly during our test.

“The attention to detail is incredible,” Chris observed. “The Essencia is finished to a best level of quality.”

If you guessed by now that the Krieghoff Essencia is hand-built in a small shop by dedicated craftsmen you would be absolutely correct.

Krieghoff is working in partnership with master German gunsmith Jens Ziegenhahn to produce the Essencia.

Like Krieghoff, Ziegenhahn was started in Suhl, Germany. Suhl is the cradle of the German armaments industry, dating back to 1365 when the city’s coat of arms bearing two hammers signified its prominence in metal working. Drawing upon the regional deposits of iron ores, copper and silver the gunsmiths of Suhl produced cannons beginning in the 17^th century and arms critical to the German Army during World War II. Today, Suhl is home to Germany's only school for armor-making and features a well-respected weapons museum.

The Ziegenhahn clan has perfected the art of hand-made pistols and rifles for more than four generations. Many of their guns are considered highly collectible.

Krieghoff, meanwhile, has been operating in the region since 1886. Based in Ulm, the company initially focused on fine hunting rifles, expanding its offerings to competition shotguns in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Krieghoff continues to be a family owned and operated business, with the fourth-generation Dieter Krieghoff managing the U.S. subsidiary Krieghoff International in Ottsville, Pennsylvania.

Ziegenhahn and Krieghoff marry high-tech, computer-controlled machinery with hand finishing in the production of each Krieghoff Essencia. The frames are machined from of a block of steel. The barrels are cold hammer forged. In terms of assembly, the fitting of the parts is done by hand.

Rounding out the team of German experts working on the Krieghoff Essencia is Jörg Schilling and his firm Schilling Spezialbeschichtungen GmbH. Jörg worked with scientists at the University of Chicago to develop a 20^th century approach to the traditional bone-and-charcoal method of the case hardened finish on the Krieghoff Essencia.

As Alex said, “This level of wood-to-metal finish can’t be done by machine.”

The 20-gauge Krieghoff Essencia at our disposal had a Prince of Wales stock and a forend that Krieghoff calls a “semi-beavertail,” although we would describe it as a hybrid Prince of Wales and splinter forend with an Anson pushbutton release. The nicely figured wood featured Krieghoff’s Tru-oil finish.

A gorgeous checkered butt plate fit seamlessly against the stock. The length of pull was 14 7/8 inches. As we know, side by sides have a reputation for kicking you around, but it was a testament to the Essencia’s engineering that recoil was negligible even with wood instead of rubber against our shoulder.

The 30-inch barrels were chambered for 3-inch shells and were choked IC/IM. They were topped by a concave rib.

When you pick up a Krieghoff Essencia it makes a wonderful first impression. Perhaps that sense of surprise came when the heft felt lighter than what you would expect from a Krieghoff over/under. At the same time, it conveyed an undeniable Teutonic competence – a touch more indomitable than a best-quality British game gun.

That favorable first impression was universally shared among the Peer Review group when they first laid hands on the gun – allaying the skepticism that accompanied the prospect of initially agreeing to shoot it.

Out on the sporting clays range, the Krieghoff Essencia came up with ease. It felt nimble, solid and eager. You never felt as though you had to over-compensate for creep or take-up anywhere in the gun. It readily hit the pocket, your face comfortably on the stock. The swing was effortless as you approached the break point of the target. The unobstructed view, graceful trigger and round-body contour coalesced into a delightful shooting experience.

Stepping into the cage, however, the automatic safety kept dogging us as we would forget to switch it off, but the gun can be ordered with a manual safety. If in fact you wanted to use the Krieghoff Essencia for sporting clays, the gun can be ordered with Briley interchangeable chokes directly from the factory.

The balance of the gun also made it very easy to carry between stations. Of course the ultimate test would be carrying the gun through the fields of Northamptonshire, but it would be hard to anticipate any undue strain.

Now let’s hear from the Peer Review group.

Jim Finkel, Dentist

Gun of Choice: Krieghoff K-80, Beretta 687

“This is a handsome gun. There were no flaws in the finish. It worked great and handled very nicely. Having mostly tournament guns that are made for me, the Essencia fit just as good. I found that the recoil was negligible. The gun was just heavy enough to absorb most of it, but at the same time the gun was light enough to carry. When trying the gun, the only problem is that it has no way to select the barrel, which could easily be cured with a double trigger.”

Jim “Bugsy” Graves, Residential Home Builder

Gun of Choice: Beretta BT10

“Even though the gun was too long for me, I found that it went to the target better than any other 20-gauge I’ve ever shot. It almost felt like a sporting clays gun. On long targets it was very smooth. It felt well-balanced and easy to handle.”

Owen Lanier, Highway Contractor

Gun of Choice: Caesar Guerini 12 gauge

“This is a nice, little gun. It doesn’t kick and seems to handle pretty well. I would need a little more cast to it, though. I liked shooting it. It was real responsive. I’m fine with the single, non-selective trigger.”

Lars Magnusson, President, Blixt & Company

Gun of Choice: British game guns

“This is a very nice set-up. Measurement-wise, it’s set more for driven shooting…a little higher than you’d see compared to U.S. measurements, which I think is nice to see because it’s not very often you see these for measurements. The balance is very nice. It ran away from me a couple of times, but I’m used to shooting a heavier gun. The pointability is very nice. There’s no barrel selector, but that was smart to ensure reliability and knowing Krieghoff I would think the trigger on this gun would be very reliable. The piece of wood is beautiful. I think they did a nice job with the engraving on the receiver. The gun feels very nice in your hand.”

Irwin Greenstein is the Publisher of Shotgun Life. You can send your comments to letters@shotgunlife.com.

Useful resources:

http://www.krieghoff.com

http://www.griffinhowe.com

http://www.blixtco.com

http://www.deepriver.net

http://www.chrisbatha.com

Benilli must be the sexiest brand in shotguns today.

Stainless steel, carbon fiber and the jet-fighter silhouette make Benelli semi-autos all the rage. Yet the underlying engineering is the big payoff.

Benelli's legendary Inertia Driven system has only three primary parts: the bolt body, the inertia spring and the rotating bolt head. With no gas cylinder, springs, action-bar linkage Benellis are famous for their lightning-quick recycling and perfect balance.

Inertia Driven Benellis also burn cleaner than gas-operated semi-autos. Shot residue is trapped in the barrel rather than cycled through the gun's mechanism. Less gunk means higher reliability. Inertia Driven Benelli shotguns are known to have fired over 500,000 rounds without a hitch.

Through its simplicity and elegance, the Inertia Driven operating system never needs adjusting. In the 20 gauge, it will cycle just about any kind of load up to 3-inch magnums.

It's nearly impossible to read anything about Benelli shotguns that doesn't celebrate their inherent reliability, speed and balance. To emphasize the point, Benelli will often invite the outdoor press to Argentina for high-volume wingshooting just to substantiate that these guns are rugged as well as dazzling.

There is no shortage of media coverage that extols the virtues of Benelli's Montefeltro, Super Black Eagle, Legacy, Supersport & Supersport II, M2 and Cordoba semi-autos - as well as the company's line of pumps.

Most of these articles, however, concern the 12-gauge models. By comparison, the 20-gauge guns operate in the shadows of the big-bore Benellis. Since my gun of choice for the past year or so has been a 20/28-gauge Caesar Guerini combo, I was drawn to Benelli's 20-gauge semi-auto. I like smaller, nimble shotguns for their ergonomics and comfort, and the Benelli 20-gauge seemed to jack up those ideals to an entirely new level.

When I received a 20-gauge Benelli Supersport, it was packed in a gray plastic case. Inside were chrome extended Crio chokes: cylinder, improved cylinder, modified, improved modified and full, accompanied by a choke wrench. A shim kit lets you adjust both cast and drop.

A few minutes later the gun was fully assembled. I mounted it, swung it a few times and was raring to go on some clay birds.

Over the coming weeks I would use the gun on skeet, conventional sporting clays, 3-bird sporting clays, 5-stand and poison birds. Along the way, the Peer Review Posse would take turns evaluating the gun and providing feedback.

I had sent an email to the Peer Review Posse that the gun had arrived. Everyone was anxious to try the 20-gauge Supersport, even those who already owned a 12-gauge Benelli. These shotguns are very charismatic, and shooters are drawn to them.

My 20 gauge featured a carbon-fiber finish on the stock and fore-end. The 28-inch, ported barrel had a gloss-blue finish with a metal center bead and fluorescent front bead on the vented rib.


What you don't see is the science behind Benelli's Crio barrels. Crio is shorthand for cryogenics, which is the study of extremely low temperature (below -238 °F) and their effect on the performance of materials.

As Benelli explains it, "when matter is taken to temperatures of -300° F; gases become liquids and solids, ceramics become conductors of electricity and steel is changed at the molecular level."

By cryogenically treating their barrels, Benelli explains that all of the stresses caused by hammer forging are relieved and the surface of the bore takes on a more even-grained, slicker surface that offers less resistance to wads and shot charges. This smoother, more uniform surface patterns betters and stays cleaner longer.

Cryogenics has also been applied to the chokes. Benelli's Crio Chokes are extra-long choke tubes that have a more gradual constriction and a slick, cryogenically treated surface. Benelli reports that the entire Crio System produces denser, more uniform shot patterns with a performance gain of up to 13.2% more pellets hitting the target.

You don't have to shine a flashlight down the barrel to appreciate Benelli's other hi-tech innovations.

Benelli's ComforTech recoil-dampening system is both functional and eye-catching. The embedded rubber chevrons swept up the stock into the ComforTech Comb Insert. A ComforTech Gel Recoil Pad follows the same swooping aesthetics. Along with the carbon-fiber finish, the gun clearly possessed a tactical sensibility. But there was definite functionality behind the macho design. Benelli claims that the ComfortTech system reduces felt recoil by up to 48% "compared to the competition."

This claim was difficult to substantiate with a standard 7/8 ounce, 20-gauge load. But for sporting clays, I prefer the Winchester 1-ounce Texas Heavy Dove & Quail Loads, and that's when I would feel the improvement compared with my over/under.

The Benelli 20-gauge fit quite well out of the box. The stock was perfectly shaped to accommodate the swell of muscles under the thumb and to comfortably wrap your palm and fingers around the pistol grip. The recoil pad was shaped and ribbed to fit right in the pocket of your shoulder without slipping.

I found the fore-end a bit too thin for my liking. What I did appreciate, though, was the ShellView window. This transparent sliver in the fore-end allows you to visually check the number of shells in the magazine capacity of 4+1 at a glance.

Here's the tale of the tape of the Benelli 20-gauge Supersport: Length of pull, 14-3/8 inches; drop at heel, 2 inches; drop at comb, 1-3/8 inches; and weight, 6.3 pounds.

I inserted my laser bore sighter and the gun lined up perfectly with the black dot on the back of the door. Yes, the gun is perfect for bagging grouse, woodcock and quail; but I had every expectation that this 20 gauge would also be a relentless, clay-crushing machine.
The next day I drove to my local club, The Loch Raven Skeet & Trap Center in Phoenix, Maryland. As luck would have it, my friends Alessandro Vitale and Brian Kavanagh were practicing their doubles skeet in anticipation of going dove shooting in Argentina. Alessandro had bought a 20-gauge Benelli Cordoba that he was breaking in, while Brian was shooting up a storm with his Benelli M2.

These guys were fired up and shooting really fast. I discovered that the 20-gauge Supersport put me right in the groove to keep up with them. I found myself loading the gun faster, shooting faster, breaking targets faster. Everything seemed to move faster and faster with that Supersport - my reflexes, break points, eyes...bang, bang, bang...as though the gun converted smoke from the shells into an amphetamine trace that wafted right up into my brain. Soon we were breaking pieces - making some pretty incredible shots.

After Alessandro and Brian left, I took the 20-gauge Supersport down to the 5-stand. Although the 5-stand is adjacent to one of the skeet fields, it is a place unto itself carved out of the communal property and commandeered by a group of fantastic and fearsome-looking shooters.

You'll find them gathered around the picnic table under the shade tree, burning pallets and empty shell boxes in the pot-bellied stove. They set the targets, maintain the trap machines and do anything they can to make the course as challenging as possible.

That afternoon, no one was around except the trapper. Still, their presence was clearly felt in the wicked 5-stand presentations.

There were two loopers at least 50 yards out. A quartering looper came from behind on the left. Two dropping incomers would hit the ground about 30 yards from the cages. Blindingly fast low quartering crossers were thrown from the right. And a rabbit traveled on the other side of a swell, appearing at the very last minute right before it would drop from lost momentum. In the end, I've never broken so many difficult targets so well with a shotgun.

The following weekend we drove to Maryland's Eastern Shore, to shoot at a sporting clays fundraiser for Ducks Unlimited which Shotgun Life sponsored. The 75-target event was held at Pintail Point in Queenstown. We ran into our friends, Al Schindler of Classic Upland Supply Company, and John Wiles of outfitter, SYC Sporting Adventures - forming a pick-up squad of four.

Something happened to me during that game. I could not connect with the gun, as I had with skeet and 5-stand. My shots were slow, the break points elusive. Targets that seemed to hang out right in front of me went unmolested. The obvious answer is mea culpa, but I would find out later in the day that perhaps I could not bond with the Benelli on the slow targets being thrown that day.

Here is why I reached that conclusion...

DU offered a poison bird station. For those of you unfamiliar with poison-bird presentations, it involves three simultaneous targets in close formation, one of which is a different color. The objective is to break the two birds of the same color, leaving the odd-color bird in tact. Break the odd bird, and you score zero for the round.

In this instance, the poison birds were thrown from a hand trap over a pond. Because the targets were slow, the three birds tended to cluster and dive fast. When I stepped into the station and took my first shots, the Benelli suddenly came alive for me again. Of the six poison-bird rounds, I ran five of them.

What this proved to me about the 20-gauge Supersport is that the gun functioned best when pushed - like a great sports car. Sure you can drive it in stop-and-go traffic, but get it on a twisty mountain road and the combination of exhilaration and advanced technology created a zone of competence in which man and machine thrived together.

This theory was to be proven again the following weekend...

Six of us drove north to Central Penn Sporting Clays in Wellsville, Pennsylvania. Central Penn is one of our favorite spots. It's a modest family-run operation that truly excels at dynamic presentations. The targets are set to be demanding rather than humiliating.

Occasionally, Central Penn will hold a 3-bird shoot in which three targets are thrown simultaneously. Unlike the poison-bird throws at Pintail, the 3-bird presentations at Central Penn involve targets of different velocities, trajectories and diameters. For example, you'll get three outgoers veering in different directions then falling at different speeds. Or you'll get thrown a teal, a looper and a quartering outgoer all at the same time.

After the lookers, we would talk about which sequence to break the targets. But sometimes, our plans were flat wrong or after the birds were thrown your eyes picked up one bird over another and you simply followed your upland instincts. So you load your semi-auto with three shells and see what happens.

After we tallied up the results I was shocked. My 3-bird score matched what I would normally shoot in conventional 2-bird sporting clays. Talk about fast... And at a suggested retail price of $1,979 the Benelli 20-gauge Supersport is hard to beat.



Now let's hear about it from the Peer Review Posse.

John Ballard, Vice President, Account Planning
Guns of choice: Benelli Supersport & Browning 625



"Having shot my Benelli 12 gauge for some time now, I was predisposed to like the 20 gauge. Same frame, just yellow shells. I have thoroughly enjoyed my Benelli for about six months now. There are two issues that plague auto loaders, failure to cycle/eject when shooting two rounds back-to-back and cleaning. My experience with my Benelli has not shown any of these auto loader bad habits. It is so easy to clean, takes only a few minutes and you don't get dirty doing it. I have ultimate confidence that the gun will cycle cleanly every time I shoot. Another great feature of this gun is that the recoil is almost unnoticeable, even with the gun being only 7-1/4 pounds with 32-inch barrel. It is so fast and points beautifully. It's a keeper for me."

Brian Kavanagh, Bank Manager
Gun of choice: Benelli M1 Super 90 20-gauge



"The reasons I like it is that it's light, fast swinging and it never fails. I used to shoot a Beretta A303, but this is the type of gun you can shoot all day and never feel it."

Deborah McKown, Editor, Shotgun Life
Gun of choice: Browning Ultra XS Skeet 20 gauge



"I'm not a big fan of semi-automatics, but this Benelli Supersport put me on the path to becoming a convert. It felt lighter than my over-and-under and at the same time it has the control of an over-and-under. For women shooters, it would be a great gun because it was a breeze to swing in a way that inspired confidence. Many women shooters, especially new shooters, can find over-and-unders intimidating to shoot because of felt recoil and a forward weight bias that can make the gun feel heavier than it actually is. That is not the case with the Benelli Supersport 20 gauge. While I found that loading the magazine required more effort than I was comfortable with, the gun was otherwise very easy to shoot."

Jeff Noppenberger, Home Improvement
Gun of choice: Browning Cynergy



"I thought it shot well. It swings very well for a light gun. The trigger pull was crisp and I loved the looks of it."

Scott Rosensteen, Marketing Representative
Gun of choice: Beretta 682 Gold Sporting



"The thing that stands out most for me about this Benelli is that it felt like a solid, sturdy gun. When I shot it, the action was surprisingly quiet. There was very little felt recoil, which made my shooting easier. It's well balanced and it shoots where you point it."

Alessandro Vitale, Entrepreneur
Gun of choice: Benelli Cordoba



"It's a sexy, efficient machine. I like the looks of it, and the finish is incredible. The new Crio barrel is amazingly clean. You can shoot this gun all day, all night, with no felt recoil, no muzzle jump. Some people go with very expensive guns for reliability, but the Benelli is more reliable. The reliability myths of the semi-autos have been debunked with the Benelli. Period. If you want to save money don't buy a Kreighoff. You can buy five Benellis instead for the same money and have a great gun for every sport."

John Weitzel, Retired
Gun of choice: Beretta 391



"The Benelli was light, agile, fast. It had tight groupings. It was a pleasure to shoot."


Irwin Greenstein is Publisher of Shotgun Life. You can contact him at letters@shotgunlife.com.

Useful resources:

http://www.benelliusa.com
http://www.lochravenskeettrap.com/
http://www.blackswingandclay.com/claydetail.asp?ID=757
http://www.theriverplantation.com
http://www.classicusc.com/
http://www.sycsporting.com