Italian-Made Ithaca Shotgun: A Closer Look
The Italian-Made Ithaca Shotgun: A Closer Look
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Author: Irwin Greenstein
The Perazzi MR57: First American Look at the New Italian Olympian
With the new Perazzi MR57, the Italian shotgun maker, which holds 62 Olympic medals, has taken an audacious leap into redefining the competition over/under as a work of art that turns clay targets into fairy dust.
Perazzi has always believed that even the most successful platforms must continue to evolve alongside the sport. As shooting disciplines progress and target presentations become increasingly complex – particularly in sporting clays – the demands placed on both shooter and shotgun continue to change. The MR57 was designed with this evolution in mind.
10 Budget Sporters That Will Keep You in the Action for 2026
The prices of sporting guns have risen sharply over the past few years, most recently driven by a mix of higher manufacturing costs, supply chain disruptions and a wave of tariffs.
For wing and clays shooters, the impact is already impossible to ignore. What were once relatively accessible sports are now under financial pressure for both newcomers and longtime participants – even putting some of our cherished American traditions at risk for future generations.
For 2026 in particular, the whiplash originates from tariffs on raw materials used to manufacture sporting guns, components and ammunition; increased oil prices that impact manufacturing and transportation; and inventories being prioritized for conflicts worldwide. For the weekend clay shooter or upland hunter these market dynamics translate into a direct hit on our wallet. And at the bottom of the food chain (the cash register of your local firearms dealer), tariffs alone on the finished product can add anywhere from 10 to 30 percent on the retail price of an over/under, side by side, pump or semi-auto made in Italy, Germany, the UK, Turkey or Japan.
The Ultra-Rare Perazzi Sidelock Side by Side
Before the Perazzi MX8 made its public debut at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, Daniele Perazzi had built a little-known sidelock side-by-side pigeon gun that established the “pre-MX” era for the premier Italian sporting gun maker, and established the standards of quality and artistry that would later become the ultra-premium SCO grade.
Today, these pre-MX sidelock side by sides from the 1960s are highly sought after by collectors. They were produced during a five-year collaboration between the legendary Ivo Fabbri and Daniele Perazzi before Fabbri left Perazzi’s company to start his own groundbreaking sporting gun firm in 1965 that concentrated on pigeon guns of “luxury functional art.”
The Resurgence of England’s Frederick Beesley as a Maker of Modern Luxury Shotguns
When it comes to reviving the names of long-gone British gunmakers, entrepreneurs face two choices: the easy way or the Tom Ward way.
The easy way is to buy the rights to an extinct marque and laser-engrave its name on a Turkish sporting gun. Case in point: Webley & Scott, William Powell, E.J. Churchill, Cogswell & Harrison and Holloway & Naughton.
But you’ll discover after spending 40 minutes with Tom that the easy way won’t produce a great sporting gun that also pays tribute to the English legends. It took a few years of experimentation and research, but as Director of the London Gun Company, Tom was able to probe a deep well of resources before resurrecting the U.K’s Frederick Beesley with a stable superb, high-performance over/unders.
Longthorne’s Woodward-Inspired Foxcote Gets More Firepower
First introduced by Longthorne Guns in 28 gauge, the Foxcote over/under pays tribute to Foxcote House, an 18th-century country estate in the village of Ilmington, England noted for the owner’s shooting parties dropping in by helicopter.
Now, the English gunmaker has upped the Foxcote’s firepower by adding a 12 gauge – certainly more apropos of us mere mortals for downing the plump high-flying pheasants of that lovely country manor. The 12 gauge continues the design and shooting principles of the growing Foxcote family.
An American Matched Pair: Ernest Hemingway and his Winchester Model 21 Side by Sides
Writer Ernest Hemingway revolutionized modern literature through his distinctive American minimalist style, which has profoundly shaped how writers approach prose even today. Likewise, the legendary Winchester Model 21 side by side emphasized simplicity and strength in an understated design that, in effect, mirrored Hemingway’s own writing style in steel and wood.
Peel away Hemingway’s subconscious and the question arises: was he infatuated with the Winchester Model 21 because he saw it as a symbol of himself?
American hunters would come to appreciate the svelte lines, structural integrity and masculine prowess of the new Model 21 as the same traits that drew readers to Hemingway’s fiction and journalism: authority through restraint.
This Beretta-Webley & Scott Collaboration Opens Door to Collectors
If you were the managing director of the Harris & Sheldon Group on Regent Street in London during the 1970s, you were probably suffering from financial heart burn directly related to your acquisition of the stalwart Birmingham gunmaker, Webley & Scott.
Yes, you were quite pleased with the other companies in your diversified portfolio that churned out office furniture, fishing tackle, luggage and consumer goods. But the 1970s saw an international influx of new-generation competitors to the British trade such as Beretta, AyA, Miroku, SKB and Browning who sold superior mid-market sporting guns at lower prices. For a an old-guard Brit who enjoyed a few gin and tonics over lunch at the club, it may have been a bitter pill to swallow. The U.S., Europe and Japan were leapfrogging British manufacturing by capitalizing on post-war industrial innovation, in particular when it pertained to that Harris & Sheldon financial black eye, the 180-year-old Webley & Scott.
At Grip Plus, Sai Chiang Will Make You the Most Accurate Shotgun Grip on the Planet
When it comes to gun fit, we all know the standard check list: length of pull, cast, pitch, and drop at comb and heel.
But Mark Wade will tell you that something is sorely missing. Over the decades, after 15 custom stocks crafted by experts he describes as “well-known stock makers,” the competitive clays shooter will urge you to add one more measurement: gun grip. At 6 feet/3 inches and 280 pounds, Mark has what he calls “large hands, getting the right grip has always been a challenge,” he says.
For Mark, gun fit has become especially important as he ages. The Florida-based financial advisor has been shooting competitively since 1989 – winning the Grand American Trap tournament in 1992. He recently got bumped up into the ATA’s Veterans Category. But now it feels like Father Time is catching up with him. “At 68, I’m not as good a shooter as I used to be. I’ve had big layoffs in between. My primary game is American Trap, although I shoot all the disciplines. I just want to shoot better.”
Fausti, Beretta, Purdey, Holland & Holland, McKay Brown, Fabbri and Vintage Classics Debut at the New Sprawling Mallards Shooting Supply & Apparel Destination
Enter the luxurious fine gun room of the new Mallards Shooting Supply & Apparel and you’ll be amazed at the names of legendary shotguns resting in the red-velvet-lined cases: Fabbri, Purdey, Perazzi, Buchan, Holland & Holland, Beretta Premium along with vintage collectibles from LC Smith, Winchester and Parker Brothers (plus a selection of stunning Rigby rifles).
It’s Grand Opening Saturday night on November 15, 2025. The classical Julian & Sons built gun room, safeguarded by a massive vault door, is jammed with guests browsing and chatting. Among them are Grant Buchan and his wife Holly. Grant owns Scottish shotgun makers McKay Brown and Buchan Guns. The Buchans arrived from Scotland to help promote the new relationship between McKay Brown and Mallards. Grant explained that he had parted ways with fabled Griffin & Howe, his original East Coast agent, in favor of Mallards because he strongly believed that Mallards is the more visionary of a business partner in the marketing of best shotguns and their new joint program of organizing and promoting Scottish estate driven shoots to Mallard clients.
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Shotgun Life is the first online magazine devoted to the great people who participate in the shotgun sports.
Our goal is to provide you with the best coverage in wing and clays shooting. That includes places to shoot, ways to improve your shooting and the latest new products. Everything you need to know about the shotgun sports is a mouse-click away.
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Shotgun Life
PO Box 6423
Thomasville, GA 31758
Phone: 229-236-1632
