In late March and early April of 2017, Shotgun Life visited the legendary Gardone Val Trompia in the province of Brescia, which is the heart of Italy’s shotgun manufacturing. We spent time with shotgun makers Perazzi, Beretta, FAIR and F. illi Poli as well as master engravers Stephano Pedretti, Creative Art, Francesca Fracassi and Cesare Giovanelli. Here is Part 8 of our eight-part series called Shotgun Life in Gardone Val Trompia.

When it comes to sporting guns, balance and performance have a price. The new 12-gauge Beretta SL3 over/under shoulders and swings with the grace of the more expensive Premium Beretta SO series yet at $19,999 delivers a fusion of mechanics and aesthetics in the upland realm so that you might consider it a “baby Beretta SO10,” which starts at nearly $90,000.

America’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (fondly known as DARPA to most of us) has developed products for the military that have found their way into our daily lives such as computers, the Internet, GPS, duct tape and microwave ovens.

For American lovers of James Purdey & Sons shotguns recent developments deliver some good news and some bad.

Starting with the good, London best-gun maker James Purdey & Sons has declared Griffin & Howe’s sporting-gun nirvana the Hudson Farm Club its new American Northeast base of operations. That means all you need to do is make your way to Andover, New Jersey, shoot one of the Purdey demonstration guns of your choice at Hudson Farms’ rifle range or sporting clays course and swipe your credit card to consummate the venture.

In late March and early April of 2017, Shotgun Life visited the legendary Gardone Val Trompia in the province of Brescia, which is the heart of Italy’s shotgun manufacturing. We spent time with shotgun makers Perazzi, Beretta, FAIR and F. illi Poli as well as master engravers Stephano Pedretti, Creative Art, Francesca Fracassi and Cesare Giovanelli. Here is Part 6 of our eight-part series called Shotgun Life in Gardone Val Trompia.

We drove slowly up the private gravel road of Durham County Wildlife Club in Morrisville, North Carolina looking at the 3D archery target course and hearing the rhythmic pop-pop of a registered skeet competition in the background. Wes parked his Chevy Silverado and continued with his description of the club’s amenities. I was listening, but remained far more focused on the unblemished Browning box in the bed of his truck.

In late March 2017, Shotgun Life visited Fabbrica Armi Isidoro Rizzini, or F.A.I.R. as we have come to know it, in Brescia Italy. Owner Luca Rizzini impressed us as a straightforward, unpretentious guy committed to manufacturing affordable wing and clays guns that would last for generations.

In late March and early April of 2017, Shotgun Life visited the legendary Gardone Val Trompia in the province of Brescia, which is the heart of Italy’s shotgun manufacturing. We spent time with shotgun makers Perazzi, Beretta, FAIR and F. illi Poli as well as master engravers Stephano Pedretti, Creative Art, Francesca Fracassi and Cesare Giovanelli. Here is Part 6 of our eight-part series called Shotgun Life in Gardone Val Trompia.

In late March and early April of 2017, Shotgun Life visited the legendary Gardone Val Trompia in the province of Brescia, which is the heart of Italy’s shotgun manufacturing. We spent time with shotgun makers Perazzi, Beretta, FAIR and F. illi Poli as well as master engravers Stephano Pedretti, Creative Art, Francesca Fracassi and Cesare Giovanelli. Here is Part 4 of our eight-part series called Shotgun Life in Gardone Val Trompia.

In late March and early April of 2017, Shotgun Life visited the legendary Gardone Val Trompia in the province of Brescia, which is the heart of Italy’s shotgun manufacturing. We spent time with shotgun makers Perazzi, Beretta, FAIR and F. illi Poli as well as master engravers Stephano Pedretti, Creative Art, Francesca Fracassi and Cesare Giovanelli. Here is Part 4 of our eight-part series called Shotgun Life in Gardone Val Trompia.

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