Guns

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.

This past October we visited my wife’s sister and brother-in-law in central Nebraska. I was a willing participant. I love my extended family, I love visiting that part of my country and I had a selfish motive: shooting at the Oak Creek Sporting Club in Brainard, Nebraska with a pristine thumb lever Purdey built in 1869 loaned to me by a friend. Shooting a classic British shotgun in the heart of the New World intrigued me.

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.

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.

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.

The SHOT Show brings together the firearms industry and its offshoots to the Sands Convention Center in Las Vegas. It’s a candyland of guns with 12½ miles of aisles roughly equal to 13 acres hosting some 1,600 exhibitors hawking weapons, tactical gear for military and law enforcement, and everything hunting related. Last year, the confab drew 67,000 mercenaries, cowboys, cops, soldiers, dealers and manufacturers from 100 countries. And by all accounts, the 37th annual SHOT Show held January 20-23, 2015 will prove more popular.