The thrill of bird hunting in South Africa struck on our first morning out when, driving on rutted roads to the fields, we spotted zebras, wildebeest, reedbucks, eland and jackals. And as it would play out a jackal had grabbed an Egyptian goose I had downed even before our German Wiredhaired could retrieve it.
In recounting his visit with F.lli Bertuzzi, (the Bertuzzi brothers), Michael Sabbeth provides a window into the rarified world of bespoke shotguns as exalted art.
Let’s face it, side-by-side shotguns are becoming the purview of us old guys. Just visit the best American side-by-side events such as the Southern Side-by-Side, World Vintage Skeet Championships or the Vintagers Order of Edwardian Gunners and you’ll see fellows of a golden epoch savoring the je ne sais quoi of a lissome double gun.
A mixture of superb Perazzis will debut on American clays courses this year, as the Italian maker of bespoke shotguns follows its own muse while also collaborating with select dealers in the West who have a strong competition pedigree.
Imagine shooting a clay target every 1.2 seconds with a goal of shattering more than 3,000 within 60 minutes and suddenly you’re in Dave Miller’s boots as he attempts to set a new high in the Guinness Book of World Records.
Shotgun aficionados have uttered the name “Fratelli Piotti” with a veneration reserved for the English best. The Italian gunmaker has given us among the most beautiful over/unders and side-by-sides ever to grace our planet since opening its doors in the late 1960s.
Africa is in the blood of Joe Coogan and now that he’s left shotgun maker Benelli USA he’s returning to the place that shaped him as a man.
Mr. Coogan, one of the last witnesses to the Golden Age of African safaris, is teaming up with his old-time friend and colleague Soren Lindstrom of Soren Lindstrom’s Africa to offer wingshooting adventures in South Africa, Botswana, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Namibia along with other hunting safaris. Mr. Coogan recently started Africa All Ways from his base in Merritt Island, Florida to support and represent Soren Lindstrom’s Africa here in the U.S.
It took five years to complete, but the vision of Franco Gussalli Beretta and Master Izumi Koshiro was ultimately unveiled on February 5, 2015 at the Safari Club International Convention in Las Vegas.
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