Shotguns

When it comes to upland hunting, aside from a great dog, you want a shotgun that’s predictable and reliable: it instinctively snaps to your shoulder, has a clear sight picture and always goes bang. And better yet, it possess a classic aesthetic that compliments the tradition and art of wingshooting to make you feel a bit prouder about that downed bird.

Here in the Red Hills Region of South Georgia and Northern Florida, where King Bob prospers, you’d be hard pressed to find a better side-by-side companion than the 28-gauge Fausti DEA SLX. It’s a natural fit for the plantation stands of longleaf pines that echo the bobwhite hunting tradition of nearly 200 years.

Refined over the years, the DEA SLX is a straightforward, honest piece of engineering that contributes to its dependability. The shotgun relies on the proven Anson & Deeley boxlock action. The receiver is machined from a single billet of steel. Lockup is simple, comprising of an underbolt that engages a lug on the lower monobloc. The barrels hinge on a sturdy cross pin with a second pair of lugs inside the monobloc providing more of a mating surface compared to trunnions. Our model had a single non-selective inertia trigger that pulled at about four pounds, but for the more traditional minded double triggers are available.

Webley & Scott was established in Birmingham, England in 1790. Today, like some other revered names from the Birmingham and London trades, the shotguns are  made in Turkey. Under the leadership of Matt Nelson based in Baird, Texas, Webley & Scotts have returned to the U.S. In this series, we discuss the Webley & Scotts currently available at affordable prices to American wing and clays shooters.

The formula for the Webley & Scott Sport X is simple: build an affordable over/under that’s a clays crusher.

For an MSRP of $2,399, you get a 12-gauge Sport X with black-chrome 30-barrels topped by a High-Viz bead and proofed for steel, plus five extended chokes. The barrels are chambered for three-inch shells. The shotgun’s handsome oil-finished Grade 3 Turkish walnut stock features an adjustable comb, a pistol grip and palm swell. The receiver is black chrome as well – a finish that’s been proven to resist corrosion in the elements. An automatic safety integrated into the stop strap.

On June 6, 2024, Tony Galazan’s Connecticut Shotgun Manufacturing Company announced it’s RSP round-body sideplate over/under, and after shooting the 20/28 combo version we can say that you would be hard pressed to find a better American-built bird gun.

Visit the company’s 120,000 square foot facility at 100 Burritt Street, New Britain, Connecticut, and you’ll see a marriage of old-school craftsmanship and high-tech production. Tony has held the torch high to fulfill his vision as America’s premier gunmaker of traditional sporting shotguns. To prove it, the CSMC family tree includes continuation models of American icons such as the Winchester Model 21, A.H. Fox and Parker Brothers. While some of those reproductions may have been financially out of reach for some enthusiasts, in 2006 Tony captured their American spirit with the more affordable and best-selling round-bodied RBL side-by-side boxlock.

With the European Union and Japan facing at least a 20-percent tariff, our favorite sporting gun makers in Italy, Germany and Japan could see price increases that cut deep into household budgets for hunters and clays shooters considering entry-level or mid-priced shotguns – raising the question: are Turkish shotguns suddenly a phenomenal deal?

Sporting guns made in Turkey have long suffered a reputation for inferior quality. Although their cheap prices were a lure, in the end it was often the case of getting what you pay for. A $400.00 Turkish over/under would have a tough trigger and manufacturing tolerances that could often be described as parts flying in close formation.

On December 10, 2024, after leaving the dentist in Tallahassee, Florida at 4:07 PM following a routine visit, I never anticipated that, several hours later, after years of resignation or perhaps even apathy, I’d draw the proverbial line in the sand at the Walmart in Thomasville, Georgia.

My intentions were mundane. After the dentist, visit either Bass Pro or Academy Sports in Tallahassee, both about six minutes away, to buy a large box of .22 long-rifle bullets. My wife wanted to start pistol lessons with her new Beretta Bobcat. And while shopping for the .22s, I’d check out prices on shotgun shells – in particular 12-gauge, 1⅛-ounce, #8s, which is the only load I shoot simply because anything smaller undermines my confidence as an average recreational clays shooter. Call me crazy, or insecure, perhaps superstitious, but what can I tell you?

Here’s the good news: the Ranges at Oakfield in Thomasville, Georgia is only seven minutes from the Shotgun Life office. And the bad news? The skeet, trap and five-stand face south, which means that, just about any time of the day, you’re shooting directly into the tropical South Georgia sun.

Development of the Ranges at Oakfield began in 2014, as a collaboration between Thomas County and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. The Georgia DNR played a critical role in determining the viability of the project through exhaustive environmental and community impact studies. When the Ranges at Oakfield finally opened in October 2020, clays shooters were taken aback that they would be shooting into the sun. The explanation was simple: had the fields been facing in most any other direction residential noise abatement or proximity to County Farm Road probably would have spiked the project.