The F.A.I.R. Fossari is a Mid-Priced Clays Gun with Luxury Ambitions
In 2017, Shotgun Life traveled to Gardone Val Trompia, home of the best Italian gunmakers, where Luca Rizzini, who manages Fabbrica Armi Isidoro Rizzini (F.A.I.R.), gave us a tour of the company’s manufacturing facility and modern showroom upstairs. Luca is unpretentious, hard-working and dedicated to his craft – a direct reflection of the F.A.I.R. shotguns, including its latest Fossari.
He described F.A.I.R. as “medium class in the market.” F.A.I.R. strives to satisfy the large swathe of American shotgun owners who work hard at their jobs, support families and put meat on the table through their hunts. There’s no highfalutin marketing speak from him, even though F.A.I.R. is among Italy’s most prolific shotgun makers behind Beretta.
The F.A.I.R. Fossari all-purpose clays gun.
In part, that’s due to the integration of components from different models to make shotguns that range in price from $1,475 to $6,000. Luca told us about the high degree of interchangeability in the components that originate from the company’s design department using state-of-the-art manufacturing and modeling.
The F.A.I.R. Fossari CXR9 12-gauge clays gun is the newest over/under that captured the spirit of what Luca aimed to achieve in gunmaking with the shotgun’s formal introduction in January 2022.
F.A.I.R.’s driving principal behind the Fossari CXR9 was the creation of an all-purpose, tournament-grade clays crusher that won’t break the bank relative to upmarket alternatives. For $6,995 you’ll get a Fossari CXR9 with an adjustable rib, drop-out trigger group with coil springs, Boss lock-up, D-grade Turkish walnut (a step below E for exhibition grade) with an adjustable comb and palm swell plus the usual selection of extended, color-coded screw-in chokes that are steel-compatible. F.A.I.R. calls its chokes Tecnichoke HPS. As an alternative, a Fossari with a non-adjustable rib is priced at $6,119.
The color-coded extended chokes standard with the F.A.I.R. Fossari.
The adjustable comb, rib and inertia trigger help find a proper fit without the extreme and expensive solution of visiting a gun fitter, which is often the case for tournament clays shooters.
“The price of the Fossari is about half of what everyone charges for a gun with a drop-out trigger group and Boss lock-up,” said Kevin Kozel, Director of Business Development at the Italian Firearms Group in Amarillo, Texas – importers of Italian firearms from F.A.I.R., David Pedersoli and Tanfoglio. “The Fossari was designed for all the clays shooting sports. I think it’s a good introduction to the mid-level luxury gun market that includes the Perazzi MX8 and Krieghoff K-80.”
The drop-out trigger group of the F.A.I.R. Fossari.
While Perazzi and Krieghoff are celebrated for the Olympic-grade reliability, with the Fossari F.A.I.R. has focused on its core competency of affordable durability in an multi-purpose clays gun. The Fossari’s receiver is machined from a forged billet of steel. The shotgun’s Boss-type locking system has an extra-large through-bolt in the chopper-lump. A steel plate inside the breech face is replaceable to extend the life of the Fossari. Interchangeable hinge pins are easy to swap for tournament-level volume shooting. The forend iron has a replaceable insert. As F.A.I.R. says, the Fossari’s receiver and its components are machined from solid, forged billets of steel. You won’t find any plastic on a Fossari.
That said, the Fossari’s rib is made of aluminum. It measured 11x11mm. You can adjust it for a point of impact between 50/50 and 70/30 using the supplied wrench.
The F.A.I.R. Fossari receiver.
A matte black top tang featured the safety and barrel selector.
The Fossari I shot on sporting clays had well-finished 32-inch, gloss-black barrels made with tri-alloy steel. F.A.I.R. explains that the Fossari barrels are drilled from steel stock. The barrels are manufactured using the so-called XBORES drilling and lengthened forcing cones call X-CONES. Vented side ribs cooled the barrels for high-volume shooting.
The shotgun weighed 8.7 pounds, which I personally found a bit hefty for any low-gun clays sports. A 6¼-pound trigger pull was also heavy considering shotguns like the Krieghoff K-80 and Blaser F3 will break at approximately 3½ pounds. Again, it’s important to remember those shotguns cost about twice the price of a Fossari. The Fossari’s receiver was matte black with CRX9 in gold and some other gold adornments on the bottom and trigger guard. The fit and finish on the gun were excellent. In the spirit of entry-level luxury, the Fossari arrived in a beautiful emerald green Negrini takedown case lined with green velvet.
The luxurious green Negrini case is lined with green velvet for a nice touch of luxury.
To see how the Fossari performed I took it to the 5-Stand at The Ranges at Oakfield in Shotgun Life’s hometown of Thomasville, Georgia. In retrospect, I think trap or skeet, where you premount the shotgun, might have been a better choice in realizing the Fossari’s full potential. For example, the shotgun felt slow to swing from the low-gun, ready position on doubles, especially when transitioning to the second target.
Shooting Winchester Western Target & Field Load of 1⅛-ounce #8 shot, it’s easy to blame the Fossari’s kick to the face – mea culpa – even though the gun felt comfortable and controllable when shouldered. Of course one problem could have been unknowingly lifting the head when triggering the shot. On the second round of 5-stand, however, five shells from the same box misfired on the bottom barrel, although the firing pin dented the primer. Whether the gun or the shells were to blame remained unresolved.
Regardless, the Fossari delivered a good sight picture, and once I got accustomed to the weight and swing dynamics performed well overall because of its good balance. I think it’s important to understand that shotgun reviews are highly subjective. Some clays shooters prefer heavier guns for control and felt recoil management. A 6¼-pound trigger is maybe a not a big deal for folks who shoot in a deliberate manner. Ultimately, the Fossari should be on a your shopping list if you’re a clays shooter with a mid-range budget simply because you may fall in love with it.
Irwin Greenstein is the Publisher of Shotgun Life. You can reach him at contact@shotgunlife.com.
Useful resources:
The Italian Firearms Group F.A.I.R. web-site page
Irwin Greenstein is Publisher of Shotgun Life. Please send your comments to letters@shotgunlife.com.
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