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…
Once the press conference is over in Tuscany, Italy and the pretty girl has held up the shotgun while everyone clamors around with a camera, there’s a much more defining moment. It’s the moment when the gun is in your hands, and the arm of the trap is cocked and loaded with the first clay you’ll shoot with it.
I don’t think anyone could say that U.S. shotgunners suffer these days from a lack of factory shotshell loads. There are now no less than six major shotshell ammunition plants in the U.S. plus a specialty one. As recently as ten years ago there were only three, with no specialty load manufacturers. Additionally, there is at least one company involved full-time in importing and shipping direct to U.S. shooters an Italian-made line of shotshell ammunition. Lastly, there are currently at least three or four shooter groups – mainly in Texas – importing container loads of still more lines of Italian and Spanish-made shotshell ammunition which they then sell direct.
In the James Bond movie “Skyfall,” Agent 007 (Daniel Craig) uses a .500 Nitro Express Double Rifle to kill dangerous game of the two-legged variety from the little-known London gunmaker, Anderson Wheeler.
Whenever shotgun barrels suffer internal damage, the gun’s owner almost immediately leaps to the conclusion that there was something faulty about the ammunition. It is true that certain forms of barrel damage can indeed be caused by faulty ammunition (see this column January and February 2014). However, as we examined in last month’s Part 1 of this series, certain forms of barrel damage can occur from shoddy barrel modifications through no fault of the ammunition whatsoever. Part 1 covered faulty chamber and forcing cone lengthening. In Part 2 here we’ll examine damage that can occur from faulty backboring, porting, and screw-in choke installation.
Whenever shotgun barrels suffer internal damage, the gun’s owner almost immediately leaps to the conclusion that there was something faulty about the ammunition. It is true that certain forms of barrel damage can indeed be caused by faulty ammunition (see this column January and February 2014). However, as we examined in last month’s Part 1 of this series, certain forms of barrel damage can occur from shoddy barrel modifications through no fault of the ammunition whatsoever. Part 1 covered faulty chamber and forcing cone lengthening. In Part 2 here we’ll examine damage that can occur from faulty backboring, porting, and screw-in choke installation.
Silicon Valley has popularized the term “disruptive innovation” to capture the impact of an unexpected advance in value, ingenuity and adoption on a prevailing product segment.
In my last two columns we examined damage to shotguns that can occur from shooting excess pressure loads (January 2014) and from barrel obstructions (February 2014). In this installment let’s begin looking at barrel damage that can occur from improperly performed barrel modifications.
Superb handcrafted shotguns and rifles from James Purdey & Sons have been venerated by shooting aficionados and royalty alike ever since the company opened its doors at 4 Princes Street, near Leicester Square, London, in 1814.
The Invictus is a shotgun, but where did that name come from? Seems like an unusual name for a shotgun. One clue to find out the meaning of Invictus would be to go to the maker — Caesar Guerini. They’re based in Brescia, Italy so that gives us a clue. Digging a little deeper, Invictus has its roots in Latin. You remember Veni, vidi, vici don’t you? Caesar’s “I came, I saw, I conquered!” The translation from Latin to English for Invictus is “unconquerable.”
Following our initial story about the Professional Sporting Clays Association’s anticipated televised tour on NBC Sports, we requested a list of shotguns used by the 60 Pros we’ll see in action beginning April.
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