On January 18, 2011 Randolph Engineering introduced a shooting-glasses lens advertised as five to six times more impact resistant than standard polycarbonate now widely used by their military and law enforcement clients. Armed with a 12-gauge semi-auto and a box of 1⅛-ounce target loads, we set out to personally verify Randolph Engineering’s boosted safety claim.
Shotgun Life has been leading the charge in breaking the latest information about the new Zoli Bilanx. Now we take it to the next level. I recently relished the opportunity to shoot one of the first to arrive in the U.S. from Italy – allowing me to form several opinions and impressions.
I grew up in a rural area of deep south Texas in an agricultural community where, as a kid, I conjured up some pretty glamorous and exciting ideas about faraway city life. It’s no wonder I went to college in Dallas and stayed eleven years for a corporate career in Dallas and San Antonio. But in those years the lure of the city life wore thin and eventually wore out. The fates were good to me though and caused my path to intersect that of my intriguing future husband, Joe, who lived on a small ranch just outside San Antonio. His home was surrounded by acres of grassy fields and lightly wooded pastures, reminiscent of the openness where I’d grown up. The only thing better than his place was the man himself and his exhilarating enthusiasm for the sporting life, which was a whole new world to me. He introduced me to sailing, dove and quail shooting, deer and turkey hunting, duck hunting, and snow skiing. I wasn’t just an observer. I packed the spinnaker, shot, cleaned and cooked birds and deer, and came down Aspen Mountain my third day on skies.
I have a Remington 870. I love that gun. It’s a work horse and it’s especially great for hunting sea ducks. With its synthetic stock and the non-corrosive coating on the barrel, I can take it right from the ocean to my bathtub and wash off all of the salt. My wife is especially happy when I do that.
The shotgunning websites and magazines are full of stories about the pros and lots of “How Tos” from instructors.
I can read all about a pro’s experiences or how a top-notch instructor recommends approaching a particular target.
Now, there’s nothing wrong with any of this, it’s valuable information that I read and use everyday.
Exactly how fast is the Ithaca Model 37 pump in 28 gauge?
We decided to find out by taking the shotgun to a 3-bird sporting clays event held at Central Penn Sporting Clays in Wellsville, Pennsylvania. In a 3-bird shoot, three targets are thrown simultaneously – certainly daunting for any experienced shotgunner handling a 12-gauge semi-auto. But we showed up with a highly coveted 28-gauge Ithaca Model 37 Featherlight pump. The shotgun was a Fancy A Grade, with walnut that appeared higher grade.
Blackberry Farm receded at a brisk clip as I drove the Porsche Cayenne S west along the Lamar Alexander Parkway through Tennesse’s Great Smoky Mountains toward our next destination – The Inn on the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina.
The Lamar Alexendar Parkway presented a superb stretch of American highway. The Great Smoky Mountains bestowed a warm, benevolent morning with the radio tuned to satellite-radio XM 14, Bluegrass Junction, regaling us through 14-speaker surround sound.
Caesar Guerini has a number of new shotguns, a few introduced very late in 2010, while some really new ones are just arriving in the USA from Italy. Further, I think there may be some very big news coming from this company, but right now “mum” is the figurative word on that subject. So stay posted.
In his long and remarkable career, writer Michael McIntosh eloquently captured the body and soul of the world’s finest shotguns. Yet when it came to his personal choice, he didn’t turn to an English best shotgun but rather to a bespoke Spanish beauty made by Aguirre y Aranzabal. Expressed in his own words…
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