Shotgun Life | The Best in Wing and Clays Shooting

Shotguns

There are two challenges to finding a great shotgun — fit and suitability.

The shotguns section of Shotgun Life is dedicated to helping you recognize the perfect shotgun (that you’ll want to keep for the rest of your life, and then hand down to your family for generations to come.)

For some people, finding a great shotgun is simply love at first sight. For others, a great shotgun grows on them — and they find themselves down in the basement cleaning it for absolutely no other reason than just to be in its company.

But for every shotgun owner who falls in love with their pride-and-joy, there are teams of engineers and craftsmen toiling away behind the scenes to bring your gun to fruition.

As you’ll see, shotguns are generally designed for a particular sport. Some shotguns have composite stocks and fore-ends to withstand the travails of duck hunting. Then there are single-shot trap guns with high ribs that help you intercept rising targets. And skeet shooters find that their beavertail fore-end is particularly adept at bringing about a smooth, quick swing.

So let the search begin. Here is what you’ll find in our shotgun section…

  • Shotguns for Clays and Wingshooting
  • Shotgun Actions
  • Break Actions
  • Over/Under
  • Side-by-Side
  • Single-Barrel Shotgun
  • Semiautomatics
  • Pumps
  • Skeet Shotguns
  • Trap Shotguns
  • WaterFowl Shotguns
  • Upland Shotguns

The Affordable Fausti Caledon Shoots Above Its Class

Monday, June 12, 2023
Written by Irwin Greenstein
Categories: Shotguns
Tags: shotguns

At a suggested retail price of around $2,000, the Fausti Caledon is the tip of the spear of affordable shotguns in the company’s Core Line – important for expanding the Italian gunmaker’s share in the American wing and clays market. With some new aesthetic tweaks to the established Caledon, it appears that Fausti’s design team nailed the original Caledon value proposition of an entry-level over/under that continues to be rugged, attractive and accomplished. After shooting the latest Fausti Caledon, it’s easy to walk away with the impression of handling a price-class leader that delivers on functionality and durability, but now with a splash more glitz.

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Longthorne Gunmakers Developing All-Titanium 28-Gauge Expected to Weigh a Scant Three Pounds

Tuesday, May 09, 2023
Written by Irwin Greenstein
Categories: Shotguns
Tags: lightweight shotgun, longthorne gunmakers, longthorne shotguns, longthorne titanium shotguns, titanium shotgun technology

Longthorne Gunmakers of Northampton, England has cemented its reputation for innovation since launching the business in 2008 by offering 100-percent, English-made shotguns with first-of-its-kind barrels machined from a single billet of steel – bucking the gunmaking establishment’s tradition of individual tubes joined through high-temperature soldering or brazing – or in rare exception laser-welded.

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A New Sporter From Arrieta & Arrizabalaga Marks a Sea Change in Traditional Spanish Gunmaking

Monday, April 24, 2023
Written by Irwin Greenstein
Categories: Shotguns
Tags: arrieta, arrieta & arrizabalaga, arrieta & arrizabalaga shotguns, arrieta & arrizabalaga sporter, spanish shotguns, william larkin moore

Spanish gunmakers established their reputation for duplicating the British Best at a fraction of the cost while nearly rivaling the performance of the original. But Dan Moore, owner of fine-gun purveyor William Larkin Moore in Scottsdale, Arizona thinks that the new Spanish Sporter from Arrieta & Arrizabalaga could mark a turning point where design inspiration for Spain’s remaining Eibar-region gunmakers instead comes from the Italian masters.

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New Pointer Side by Side Priced at $699

Monday, January 16, 2023
Written by Irwin Greenstein
Categories: Shotguns

Legacy Sports International in Reno, Nevada has built a solid reputation with their Pointer Line of affordable over/under and semi-automatic shotguns – especially in the youth segment. Now Legacy Sports International is expanding the Pointer family into field-grade side by sides that will be available in both 12 and 20 gauge for $699.00.

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The Parker VH Project: Repair, Restore or Refurbish?

Tuesday, December 20, 2022
Written by Tom Keer
Categories: Shotguns
Tags: parker shotguns, parker vh, shotgun restoring, tom keer

Page one of the online shotgun listing service had some of the sweetest Parkers that I couldn’t afford. It was more of the same on pages two and beyond, but it was on the middle of page 15 where I saw that little bit of magic. If you’ve waded through those listing pages before then you know that anything past page 5 might be called the Bargain Basement. Sometimes that’s just the place to give your spirit a shine.

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