Shot Show contact: Irwin Greenstein (443) 799-5974.

Shotgun Life Marks One-Year Anniversary With New Advertisers: Blaser, Fausti, Ithaca, KRIEGHOFF AND ZOLI

As Industry’s First Online Magazine, Shotgun Life Helps Advertisers Cut Through Internet Clutter With Effective Search Engine Optimization

 

Pikesville, MD – Jan. 18, 2010 – Shotgun Life (www.shotgunlife.com), the first online magazine dedicated to the best in wing and clays shooting, marks its one-year anniversary with five major shotgun manufacturers becoming new advertisers.

In the past 30 days alone, Shotgun Life signed on Blaser USA, Fausti USA, Ithaca Gun Company, Krieghoff International and Antonio Zoli North America.

These makers of fine shotguns join Shotgun Life’s original charter advertisers including Classic Upland Supply, Electronic Shooters Protection, Griffin & Howe, Ivory Beads, Kick-EEZ and Randolph Engineering.

“Makers of fine shotguns and their customers have for so many years enjoyed the rare luxury of being served by several upscale magazines,” said Irwin Greenstein, Publisher of Shotgun Life. “Even so, we have clearly proven that the marketplace has been starving for quality editorial and glossy aesthetics in a dynamic, online publication.”

The Shotgun Life technology platform is designed from the ground up for search engine optimization. With more clay and wingshooters relying on the Internet for product information, Shotgun Life’s stories often appear high in the search results, helping enthusiasts cut through the typical gun-for-sale clutter that proliferates on the Internet.

In addition to the online magazine, Shotgun Life publishes two free e-letters whose mission is to educate clays shooters. The Shotgun Life OSP 3-Minute Coach is distributed every weekday with shooting tips from Gil & Vicki Ash, owners of the renown OSP Shooting School. The e-letter is used for direct marketing to sell OSP’s full line of instructional products and services.

Every Wednesday, the Shotgun Life E-Letter features tutorials from world-class clays instructors such as Jack Bart, Phil Kiner, George Lehr, Anthony Matarese, Gary Phillips, Joe Rankin, Jim Sarkauskas, Bob Uknalis, John Woolley and others.

When it comes to quality editorial, Shotgun Life has attracted some of the best writers. Among them are Chris Batha, Al Hague, Jennifer L.S. Pearsall, Michael Sabbeth, Jerry Sinkovec and Nick Sisley.

“Shotgun Life’s total coverage of upscale, recreational sporting clays has exceeded all the print magazines combined,” Greenstein said. “We are the only publication, whether it’s print or digital, to provide extensive coverage of both wingshooting and sporting clays – providing an integrated advertising and marketing venue for the industry.”

Shotgun Life also operates a forum that hosts organizations such as the NSSA, NSCA and the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance.

 

Media Contact:
Ryan Holmes
Bernard + Associates
(775) 323-6828
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

For advertising opportunities, please contact Bernard + Associates, Jeff Thruston,

(775) 323-6828 or at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

For more information about Shotgun Life, please visit www.shotgunlife.com.

Once upon a time, the dream of a magnificent plantation called Wingfield bloomed full and flush in the enchanted quail kingdom of South Carolina’s Low Country.

Amid the live oaks and long pines, no more than 60 gentlemen hunters giddy on the stock market bubble would live in grand houses and partake in the sportsmen’s lifestyle entitled to the plantation aristocracy.

When I left theFBIAcademyafter sixteen weeks of training in 1986, I was covered in the most beautiful shades of purple, green, and yellow from my face to my collarbone, and down my bicep. The shotgun was too long, and my long neck and high cheekbones made it impossible to mount the gun properly to my shoulder while maintaining a proper sight picture (which is critical to defensive shotgun shooting). I lifted my face off the gun while shooting creating a horrible flinch, and all of the bad habits that ensue when shooting an ill-fitted gun followed suit. I was convinced that no one had ever hated a shotgun like I did in my bruised and frustrated condition.

There are no signs on the factory at 420 North Walpole Street in Upper Sandusky, Ohio, but open the old door and the pungent smell of machine oil is your first hint that the Ithaca shotgun is being re-born.

This rambling building that once housed a rolling rink, an automotive center and mold-making operation has been transformed into the backbone of the Ithaca Gun Company. Hard-working American men and women, like so many discarded in the upheaval of globalization, are now devoting their full measure of sweat and muscle to manufacture a new 100-percent American-built over/under shotgun code-named Phoenix.

“It’s nice to think that we could help our brothers and sisters in America by keeping and creating new jobs,” said Ithaca machinist, Tom Troiano.

Every screw, spring and steel billet is sourced from the U.S. as the company brings to life the stunning new 12-gauge Phoenix. From its inception, the Phoenix was designed to honor the proportions and sturdy sensibility of the classical over/under American shotgun.

Shotgun Life recently enjoyed the privilege of spending a full day at Ithaca talking with nearly everyone in the company. We spoke with the men who made the barrels, the receivers and the stocks. We spent time with management. And we were given the unique opportunity to be the first one outside of the company to shoot a prototype of the forthcoming Phoenix.

We can report unequivocally that design breakthroughs engineered into the Phoenix have made it the softest shooting 12-gauge over-under we have ever pulled a trigger on. The felt recoil on the Phoenix is virtually nonexistent – on par with the benchmark Beretta 391 Target Gold 12-gauge semi-auto – kicking only just enough to reset the inertia trigger.

Better yet, with a starting price of about $2,500 and moving to $10,000 depending on the type of engraving and grade of American walnut, the Phoenix could easily mark a renaissance of the big Ithaca shotguns.

That’s why Ithaca named the Phoenix after the dazzling mythical bird which rose from the ashes to fly once again. But leading Ithaca authority, Walt Snyder, author of the definitive books The Ithaca Company From the Beginning and Ithaca Featherlight Repeaters…The Best Gun Going observed that the new Phoenix also has an historical precedence.

In 1945, Ithaca had built a one-of-a-kind 12-gauge, over/under prototype. As the Model 51, it had serial number EX1, for experimental 1. It now appears that the new Phoenix is a direct descendant of that orphaned masterpiece.

Our first glimpse of the new 12-gauge over/under took place in January 2009 at the expansive Shot Show. There in booth 1736, I was drawn to the allure of an elegantly understated over/under that was all chrome-moly black steel and American walnut. The receiver, devoid of engraving, drew me in and I picked up the gun. I mounted it to my shoulder, my immediate impression one of a tight, well-balanced shotgun. Then I moved the top lever to the right and to my astonishment the barrels slowly fell open as though on hydraulics.

This was the shotgun that Walt would see several months later at a dealer event in Wilmington, North Carolina. Ithaca’s Mike Farrell arrived with it and Walt’s initial impression was that “It looked like a very well made gun. It seemed to mount and balance very well.”

At the time of the Shot Show, the gun remained months away from being in shooting condition and it hadn’t been christened the Phoenix. But after returning to the office, I would occasionally call Mike, the company’s number-two guy (no one at Ithaca has a job title), until he agreed to let me visit the company and actually try the shotgun.

For those of you familiar with Ithaca shotguns, it would be easy to dismiss the Phoenix as another heartfelt effort to salvage this fabled American manufacturer established in 1883.

Taking its namesake from the first factory in Ithaca, New York, the company’s fortunes in later years have been a tortured tale of missteps as one management team after another tried to reclaim the glory years that spanned the late 1800s until Pearl Harbor. That was a triumphant epoch when Ithaca manufactured shotguns such as the Flues side-by-side, the Knick trap gun, the 3½-inch Magnum 10 and the Model 37 pump based on a design by John Browning.

Beginning in the late 1960s, the company changed hands several times until it padlocked the doors in1986. The following year a new investor group took the helm until 1996, when entrepreneur Steven Lamboy acquired the assets and rights to make the Ithaca doubles. He turned out some beautiful shotguns in Italy bearing the Ithaca name but fell into bankruptcy in 2003. By 2004, the Federal government attached the company’s bank accounts for back taxes and a bitter lawsuit ensued in New York state between various stakeholders. In 2005, Ithaca’s assets were surrendered and the company liquidated.

That’s when Craig Marshall entered. Owner of MoldCraft in Upper Sandusky, he converted the family mold-making business into a new iteration of Ithaca. During the transition, the Marshalls assembled the flagship Model 37 pumps from existing inventory with every intention of restoring the marque’s luster. Unfortunately, the Marshalls eventually found themselves under-capitalized for the venture to the extent that they were forced to idle the factory for eight months between 2006 and 2007.

Finally, in June 2007 industrial glass magnate David Dlubak acquired the company's assets and Ithaca name from the Marshalls. He started making fresh plant investments in the nondescript Upper Sandusky facility and brought back the team working on the Model 37.

As Dave explained to us in Ithaca’s distinctly blue-collar conference room, “We want to make a high-quality shotgun, at an affordable price, that will fit in the working man’s hands. The gun is going to be that guy’s pride and joy. The old Ithacas lasted fifty or sixty years. Now we make them to tighter tolerances and with better steel. We don’t want cheaper, we want better.”

Like many luminaries in the industry, Dave did not get his start making shotguns. Just as Harris John Holland began as a tobacconist, and Charles Parker a maker of spoons, curtains and locks, Dave comes from a family that owns and operates one of the largest industrial glass recycling businesses in the U.S., Dlubak Glass.

Dave was in the process of finalizing a new product called “bubble glass” that combined concrete and glass in faux log building material. Replete with grains and knots, bubble glass is resistant to fire and insects but soft enough for an ordinary drill bit. He was looking for a mold maker who could package the bubble-glass logs for affordable and dependable shipment.

He went to MoldCraft and met the Marshalls. Dave was presented with an opportunity to invest in Ithaca. Instead, he bought it.

Although a long-time aficionado of Ithaca shotguns, he acquired the company because of “the quality of the people and their ability.” These tool-and-die makers were the “elite of the elite,” he said.

For example, barrel-maker Roger Larrabee has been a tool-and-die machinist for 47 years. He trained Tom Troiano, who turns out the receivers.

“Roger trained a lot of the guys here,” Tom said.

As a self-described “control freak” with a passion for quality, it was paramount for Dave to build a team with the capabilities to “make all the parts here,” he said. “I’m interested in making it all under one roof.”

He characterizes the Ithaca Gun Company as being in “stage two,” meaning that it has resolved the manufacturing issues with its current popular pump guns: the accurate Deerslayer series, the rugged Model 37 Defense, and the sweethearts of the pump-gun community, the 28-gauge Model 37 and the Model 37 Featherlight and Ultralight.

These shotguns showcased the production capabilities of the company. They demonstrated the team’s ability to craft receivers from a billet of steel or aluminum, to do away with soldering or any other heat-inducing joining, and to machine one-piece barrels with integrated rib stanchions that eliminate any potential warpage from the run-of-the-mill rib soldering.

“Ithaca certainly seems to have manufacturing savvy,” Walt said. “I’ve seen their Model 37 and it’s beautiful and I would assume they would be successful with the new over/under.”

These accomplishments came from “spending many midnights sorting these things through,” Dave said. “We’re not in love with wood, we’re in love with steel.”

The company’s passion for steel is clear when you tour the factory floor. As raw Pittsburgh steel goes from the mill-turn lathes to to grinders to finishing machines to polishers there is an almost monastic sense of duty among the people making parts for the shotguns. All the tooling and fixturing was developed in-house. Custom software was written by the youngest guy on the crew for the tightest possible tolerances. The individual components are funneled into an assembly room where one person hand fits everything together into a single shotgun.

After the factory floor I spent time with Aaron Welch, Ithaca’s designer and engineer. Looking over his shoulder in the cramped office, he rotated the solid-block 3D models of the Phoenix on his computer monitor.

There was the Anson-Deeley boxlock action ready to fire 2¾ inch shells.

I discovered that a secret to the low recoil of the Phoenix are the three capsule-shaped pockets machined into the bottom of the receiver. They are designed to distribute the load of shooting, improve longevity of the components and help absorb the spent gasses. Moreover, the slightly greater mass of the receiver and monobloc combine to give the Phoenix a lower felt recoil. The less-restrictive 1.5 degree forcing cone and somewhat heavier burled stock also helped tame excessive kick.

In examining the monobloc, Aaron talked about how the barrels are held to the breech section by a tubular connector, instead of being soldered, to improve reliability. At the business end of the 30-inch barrels, the muzzles are dovetailed together, rather than soldered, to prevent distortion from thermal expansion.

That sense of a hydraulic assist when opening the shotgun comes from cocking rods that push against the hammer springs when you move the top lever.

The top bolting mechanism was borrowed from the old Ithaca Knick. It sits high in the receiver for a stronger grip on the monobloc.

Next I looked at how the rib slides into the stanchions and is mounted with a single screw. Aaron said that interchangeable ribs would be available to provide different points of impact.

In the end, the Phoenix would weigh about eight pounds.

Now it was time to see how all the parts worked together.

Mike grabbed the prototype of the 12-gauge Phoenix. The shotgun was still in-the-white with a couple thousand test rounds through it.

We drove a few minutes to a piece of property on a lake that had once been a quarry. A house overlooking it was under construction. The house belonged to Dave and was being built from bubble glass in cinder-block form factors.

In addition to the house and lake, the property also had a trap machine set up by the previous owners.

Mike handed me the gun and in fact it did feel very well balanced. I practiced mounting it a few times. The straight stock fit quite well. Dan Aubill, the guy in charge of Ithaca’s custom stock program, had told me that it was measured to fit the “average guy” with a 14¼ inch length of pull, zero cast, drop at comb of 1½ inch and drop at heel of 2¼ inch.

Pushing the top lever, the barrels slowly fell open. I loaded in two 1? ounce shells. Mike took up the controller and when I called “pull” two things immediately took me by surprise. The first was the extremely low recoil, the second is how I completely pulverized the targets.

Mike and I went through a couple of boxes of shells, the two of us taking turns pulling targets. The trigger was light and crisp, the beads lined up perfectly and the tapered forend enabled a wide range of control.

I turned out to be the last one who shot the Phoenix that day and when the time came to return it to Mike I thought “I gotta get one of these.”

Irwin Greenstein is the Publisher of Shotgun Life. Please send your comments to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

 

Useful resources:

http://www.ithacagun.com

I’ll be the first to admit that I may have been suffering from a mid-life crisis, but ultimately I really wanted to prove that a mainstream semi-auto like the Browning Silver Lightning still had what it takes in our digital era of composite gladiators such as the Maxus and Vinci.

SKB is a shotgun company that flies under the radar of most wing and clays shooters, which is regrettable given the enthusiastic impression the GC7 Three-Barrel Set made on the Shotgun Life Peer Review Posse.

Wouldn’t it be great if four-time Olympic shooting champ Kim Rhode finally appeared on a box of Wheaties?

As legend has it, if it had been up to Wayne LaPierre, Executive Vice President of the National Rifle Association, Kim would’ve been beaming her warm smile on the Breakfast of Champions back in 1996, when at age 16, as the youngest member of the U.S. Summer Olympic Team, she won her first Gold Medal for double trap.

You probably already have some preconceived notions about your dream shotgun, and that is just fine. But sometimes it pays to seek advice from someone who has had literally hundreds of shotguns pass through their hands, had so many different stocks touch their cheek, fondled so many receivers. Lucky for me, I am one of those folks, so hopefully what I’m going to tell you might help with your future purchase.

What is the most important quality to seek in your next shotgun? A beautiful piece of walnut, out of this world engraving, strength to hold up to a million rounds, a stock that fits you perfectly? Or what? To me all these factors are important, as are others, but I think the best quality a shotgun can have is feel. That’s what to look for first.

It’s difficult to describe feel, just as it’s difficult to describe love at first sight. You just know both when you feel either. Once you love how a shotgun feels you are going to thoroughly enjoy it. You are going to have great confidence in it. After that you can always add such luxuries as a custom stock, custom engraving, custom checkering, whatever. But if you don’t start out loving the feel of a shotgun the cards are stacked against you ever shooting that gun all that well.

 

When it comes to semi-autos I think Beretta attained the feel I’m talking about with the models 303, the 390, and now the many versions of the 391. I don’t think it’s easy to incorporate a good-feeling quality into a semi, but I do believe Beretta has done it. It’s more than balance I’m talking about, but good balance is certainly a big part of having a shotgun feel right. A shotgun with great feel should move almost effortlessly to the target – pitch or feathered. Such a shotgun will probably let you think it actually weighs less than it really does. You should look forward to picking up and fondling such a shotgun every chance you get.

Have you ever picked up a Perazzi? If you have not done so I urge you to do that – do it even if you cannot afford one. There’s something about virtually every Perazzi I pick up that just sings feel. From the initial pick up to the shouldering to the mounting to the swinging, even to the sound of a Perazzi clicking shut – for many it is a love affair at first sight or first feel. This seems to be true no matter the barrel length for this company has a way of matching barrel weights to the receiver, stock and fore-end so that balance and feel are not compromised. To experience feel first hand just pick up and handle a Perazzi intended for field shooting – or one of their sporting clays models.

The English got feel right over 100 years ago – with their side by side shotguns, first with hammer guns, but later with sidelocks and then even boxlocks. Not many of us are going to have the opportunity to pick up, fondle and swing a Purdey or a Boss, but maybe one day you will have a chance to do this with one of the lesser known old English doubles – perhaps an Army & Navy, a Webley Scott (this company made many fine English double guns sold in other names), a Cogswell & Harrison, a Reilly or one from a number of other English makers that don’t bring the prices of a Purdey, a Holland or several others. If you ever get the chance to handle a gun like this you will see what I mean by feel.

Enough about feel – let’s move to fit. Whatever new gun you buy – it probably won’t fit you perfectly. However, this does not mean you have to change the beautiful stock the gun came with – at least hopefully not. Length of pull can be adjusted with a thicker or thinner recoil pad. If the comb is too high you or a stock person can sand away until that portion of the fit is correct, and then minimal refinishing could be all you need to fix the looks of the walnut.

You could also have the stock you buy made into an adjustable comb stock – or it may come with one. These are sort of ugly but not double ugly. You could add self-adhesive Moleskin (available at drugstores) to the comb if the stock is too low – sort of double ugly but serviceable.

The best way to determine gun fit is to have a pattern paper or steel plate to shoot at. The premise should be to shoot over and over – say at least five times – at the same pointing spot on the paper or the steel plate. Is your new gun shooting high, low, left, right or some combination of two of those? No aiming for this work. Just pull the gun up and shoot.

Don’t overlook the recoil pad. Sad to say some recoil pads put on factory shotguns these days are abominable. This is not to say such pads don’t have recoil-absorbing qualities. That’s not what I’m getting at here. A recoil pad should be a significant aid in helping with a perfect gun mount. Too many pads are a significant handicap in allowing the shooter to make a great gun mount. With some pads the consistency is simply too sticky. Those that are cause a lot of gun mounting problems. Another problem is caused by sharp pad edges, especially at the top of the pad. Consider the type of pad that has a plastic insert at the top – a feature that can be a big factor in reducing gun mounting hang ups. Further, rounded edges all around the pad help guard against sharp edges gouging into the shoulder area. The recoil pad is perhaps the most overlooked aspect of new or used shotgun buying. Of course, the buyer can always add the recoil pad of his or her choice after purchase.

For hunting, as opposed to competition shooting, I actually like most shotguns fitted with either a plastic butt plate or simply a checkered butt. These are hunting guns, most of which are shot minimally, as opposed to competition guns which are shot one heck of a lot. With a hunting gun the plastic butt pad or checkered butt stock tends to reduce back-end weight a tad – and certainly facilitates an easy, unobstructed gun mount.

In wrap up I will make one additional shotgun make suggestion for you to consider picking up, shouldering and swinging at the gun shop. This would be the Caesar Guerini, and the company makes many models, those for hunting, skeet, trap and sporting clays. This company goes to special pains to make the guns balance just ahead of the hinge pins or trunnions – and they do this regardless of barrel length. To me all the Guerini over and unders that I have handled have a great feel.

Nick Sisley has been a full-time freelance outdoor writer since 1969. He writes a regular shotgun column in Wildfowl magazine, Sporting Clays magazine, the Skeet Shooting Review and others. He's authored eight books and penned thousands and thousands of magazine articles. He can be contacted at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Sign-up at Shotgun Life to Receive Daily Shooting Tips From the Library of Gil & Vicki’s Optimum Shotgun Performance (OSP) Shooting School

PIKESVILLE, Md. – July 20, 2009 – Shotgun Life announced today the new Gil & Vicki Ash OSP store for their instructional books, DVDs and other products and services designed to help shotgun owners improve their game.

The new OSP store on Shotgun Life is the first online retail venture outside of Gil &
Vicki’s own domain. The venture underscores the common commitment by OSP and Shotgun Life to make the shotgun sports more enjoyable and rewarding for shooters of all experience levels.

In conjunction with its new OSP store, Shotgun Life launched its free “Shotgun Life’s OSP 3-Minute Coach.” Subscribers will receive shooting tips via email Monday through Friday that are excerpted from Gil & Vicki’s many books and DVDs. Shooters can sign up now at http://www.shotgunlife.com.

The Shotgun Life OSP store is located at

http://www.ospschool.com/products_programsshotgunlife.html.

“Shotgun Life helps shooters steer clear of the conflicting instructional advice that’s dished up in the all those online forums,” said Gil. “We saw Shotgun Life as an extension of our philosophy, and that’s to get new shooters started on the right foot and help experienced shooters figure out those little tics and quirks that drive them crazy.”

“As the first online magazine devoted to wing and clays shooting, Shotgun Life is in a great position to help Gil & Vicki reach as many shotgun owners as possible,” said Irwin Greenstein, Publisher of Shotgun Life. “Shotgun Life is free, timely and women-friendly – breaking down the barriers that have held back so many shooters and advertisers frustrated with the limitations of the six-times-per-year publishing cycle that still persists as the industry model.”

Through OSP, Gil & Vicki provide a complete instructional package. No other instructors in the world have the depth of products, knowledge and experience for successfully teaching clays and wing shooting. Each year, Gil & Vicki add new products and services so that OSP continues to meet the ever-growing needs of the shotgun sports community.

The Shotgun Life OSP store will feature Gil & Vicki’s best-selling books and DVDs.

The books include:

• If It Ain’t Broke, Fix It!
• Sporting Clays Consistency: You Gotta Be Out of Your Mind!
• The Coaching Hour Chronicles series

DVDs include:

• 14 Tips to Better Shotgunning
• How to Practice & Understanding the Move
• Strategy & How to Play the Game
• Perfecting Your Gun Mount
• The Three Routines in Sporting Clays
• Choke Selection Made Simple

Visit www.ospschool.com to learn more.

Shotgun Life

Shotgun Life is the first online magazine devoted to the best in wing and clays shooting. For more information about Shotgun Life visit http://www.shotgunlife.com.

Media Contacts:

I was a very unlikely prospect, but Gary Jackson knew better.

The past President of Blackwater Worldwide and ex-Navy SEAL took one look at me and saw my inner commando. It speaks highly of his perceptive powers, because at the time my legs were ready to completely give out from under me, which is how we met in the first place.

We’ve witnessed the revival of shotgun legends in recent years, but based on our field tests of the three new Veronas, none have combined the affordability, reliability and performance as these Italian workhorses.

The resurgence of cherished shotgun brands has been most active in the over $10,000 market.

In 1999 we saw a return of the glorious Holloway & Naughton marque, which brought the British legend that was started in the early 1890s back into circulation for some $90,000 in a bare-bones, in-the-white canvas of shotgun artisanship.

The stunning Victorian-era English Boswell was resurrected by writer, instructor and impresario, Chris Batha, with prices that begin in the neighborhood of $45,000.

And you could buy a reproduction of the legendary A.H. Fox shotgun with its entry-level price of $15,500. Or the same company, Connecticut Shotgun, will sell you a reproduction of another side-by-side great, the Winchester Model 21, also starting at $15,500.

When it comes to shotgun revivals you can’t escape the feeling that this is a club for trust-fund babies.

But Legacy Sports International has chosen a different path when it came to reintroducing the Verona pedigree to the American shotgun scene. The new Veronas now favor hunters and clays shooters who hanker after an Italian icon with a Main Street price tag.

Verona’s new over/under and side-by-sides embody the classical look-and-feel that have served generations of independent shotgun owners. The new Verona semi-automatics, meanwhile, pose a direct challenge to the inertia-driven shotguns from the other Italians, Benelli and Franchi

In short, the many qualities that made the first Veronas a go-to shotgun for thousands of American sportsmen have been inherited by the new Veronas.

The management team at Legacy Sports International jumped at the chance of resurrecting the beloved Italian brand that has quietly become a mainstay to thousands of American sportsmen.

“The original Veronas initially came into this country in the late 1990s and early in 2000,” explained Andy McCormick, the Vice President Marketing and Sales at Legacy Sports. “We discovered that the name was available again and when we trademarked it we decided to take the Verona back to its Italian roots. Everyone seemed to be happy that the Verona brand was coming back into the United States.”

Like their older siblings, the new Veronas are dependable shotguns for real people. They are fully capable of putting meat on the table year after year. This fine hunting tradition is in keeping with both the original Veronas and the folks at Legacy Sports who are serious hunters.

The new Verona over/unders come from the original factory in Italy operated by Fabbrica Armi Isidoro Rizzini, or F.A.I.R. as it’s known, in the Brescia region of Italy. Brescia is the cradle of the centuries-old, Italian gun industry.

Brescia is home to celebrated gunmakers such as Beretta, Perazzi, Fabbri, Fratelli Piottti, Rizzini and Abbiatico & Salvinelli.

It is here, in this exquisite valley, that F.A.I.R. got its start in 1971. F.A.I.R. now operates a 43,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art operation that houses everything from its own R&D group to CAD-CAM simulations to software-driven lathes that meet space-age tolerances.

The finishing can often end up in the skilled hands of a craftsman descended from the Medieval arms makers of the region.

Legacy Sports turned to another pillar of Brescia for the new semi-automatics. These guns are made by F. Lli Pietta. The company touts its expertise in making historical weapons such as Western-style revolvers, muzzleloaders and period rifles. It had an existing relationship with Legacy Sports, which clearly proved Pietta had the chops to make a modern semi-automatic with old-world TLC.

Legacy Sports turned to Fausti Stefano for its new side-by-side. The Brescia manufacturer has been in business since 1948 and sells shotguns all over the world. Its ultra-modern plant allows the company to produce quality shotguns at affordable prices with hand finishing by local artisans.

Although the Veronas are brand new shotguns, Legacy Sports has found a way to successfully mine a vein of expertise that stretches back hundreds of years.

In the spirit of continuity, Legacy Sports recruited Verona’s original gunsmith. As luck would have it, he had recently moved to Carson City, Nevada – a stone’s throw from Legacy Sports’ Reno operation.

“He was the Maytag repairman,” McCormick joked. “He did all the warranty work and maybe he’d get a cracked stock once in a while. That was about it.”

Having shot all three of the new Veronas, we can only surmise that not much will change for their gunsmith.

It was too early for bird season, but we did manage to get the guns out for skeet, 5 stand and sporting clays and they all felt rock-solid.

The Verona 401, 405 and 406 Semi-Autos

Verona’s inertia-operated semi-autos are available in 12 and 20 gauge, with either wood or synthetic stocks. The wood models come with 3-inch chambers while the synthetic models are also available with or 3½ inch chambers for 12-gauge only.

The wood versions will be available in three receiver finishes: blued, nickel and grey. We shot one in grey that had the traditional green Verona oval rendered in blue, and it was a handsome combination evocative of one of the most elegant and contemporary looking receivers in the shotgun universe, the Blaser F3.

Features:

¨      Chrome-lined barrel internally choked for steel shot

¨      12-gauge barrel length of 28 inches; 20-gauge barrel length of 26 inches

¨      Brass sight on standard model; fiber optic on deluxe model

¨      Pivoted head bolt with integral double-charging lever and sleeve

¨      Oil-finished walnut stock and forend with checkering

¨      Black nylon recoil pad

¨      Patented locking forend

¨      4 + 1 magazine capacity

¨      Length of pull 14¾ inches

The MSRP for the 12 gauge and 20-gauge Verona 401 varies between $1,199 and $1,250 depending on finish.

The Verona 405 is basically the Verona 401 with a black synthetic stock and forend and a blued receiver. The MSRP on the Verona will be forthcoming.

The Verona 406 is the model that handles 12-gauge, 3½ inch magnums. It’s finished with a black synthetic stock and forend and a blued receiver and has an MSRP of $1,199.

The Verona 501 and 702 Series Over/Unders

Named after the original over/under, the new Verona 501 Series field gun is distinguished by its nickel receiver. Standard features include:

¨      Enhanced walnut stocks with Scottish net-type checkering and oil finish

¨      Select fire single trigger

¨      Automatic ejectors

¨      Bottom locking bolt system on double trough

¨      Double sculptured receiver head

¨      Boxlock action

¨      Monobloc barrel construction

¨      5 flush-mounted chokes (F, IM, M, IC and SK) and a choke key

¨      28-inch chromed barrels with the X-CONE System (lengthened forcing cones) to reduce felt recoil

¨      Partially vented rib

¨      Fiber-optic front bead

¨      Solid lateral ribs

¨      Steel actions with automatic safety

¨      Ventilated rubber recoil pad

¨      Length of pull 14¾ inches

The Verona 501 Series is available with 28-inch barrels in 12, 20, 28 gauge and .410 models – all with an MSRP of $1,670.

A Verona 501 Series Combo set in 20/28 gauge has an MSRP of $2,599.

There is a higher grade Verona 702 Series, which is the one that we shot (more on that in a moment). It features more embellishment on the receiver, trigger guard and elsewhere on the gun. The Verona 702 Series has an MSRP of $1,780.

A great feature about both these guns is that they can handle 3-inch magnum loads, making them ideal for wingshooters with a flair for over/unders. The 12 gauge weighed in at seven pounds (with the smaller gauges getting progressively lighter), making it a nice compromise between basic heft for the recoil absorption of 3-inch magnums and easy lugability in the field.

The Verona 662 Side-by-Side

The 12-gauge version of Verona’s new 662 side-by-side upland shotgun packs the wallop of 3-inch magnums like its over/under brethren. That means, not only can you take this gun anywhere, but you’ll raise some eyebrows when you make shots that most would think impossible with a side-by-side that shooters assume is maxed out with 2¾ inch loads. In the vernacular of a muscle car, this baby is a sleeper.

Standard features of the Verona 662 side-by-side include:

¨      Boxlock compound-steel action

¨      Single trigger

¨      Color case-hardened receiver with fine laser engraving

¨      Reliable Anson-type forend mechanism

¨      5 flush-mounted chokes (F, IM, M, IC and SK) and a choke key

¨      28-inch barrels with concave rib (26-inch barrels on the 28 gauge)

¨      Oil-finished English-style walnut stocks and semi-beavertail forends, both checkered.

¨      Rubber recoil pad

¨      Weight of 6 pounds, 4 ounces

¨      Length of pull 14½ inches

The 12 gauge and 20 gauge models of the Verona 662 share an MSRP of $2,187. The 28-gauge model has an MSRP of $2,800.

Shooting the New Veronas

We had the unique opportunity to evaluate each of the new Veronas for some hard-core shooting. Since there’s not much bird shooting in the middle of June, we instead took the shotguns out for several rounds of sporting clays, 5 stand and skeet.

We’ll get to the individual shotguns in a moment, but uniformly they shared a very solid feel. Nothing wobbled when you closed the over/under and side-by-side. The barrels met the frame with an authoritative thud.

On the semi-automatic, the forend tightened down firmly. The joints between the receiver, spacer and stock were also tight.

Overall, the wood-to-metal finish on the shotguns was very good.

Shooting Impressions of the Verona 401 Semi-Auto

When Verona departed from the gas-operated actions of the previous 401s, Legacy Sports decided to take on the inertia champs, Benelli and Franchi.

We loaded 1? ounce Estate shells into the chamber and once we started shooting our first impression was that the Verona 401 seemed a little quieter than the Benellis. For an inertia-operated shotgun with a conventional wood stock we were also surprised at the low recoil.

The Verona 401 was deadly accurate, the slim receiver giving you a clear runway view along the rib and beyond the fiber-optic sight straight at the target. We found that this played well into intuitive shooting in terms of easily following the target to the desired point of impact.

With a smooth recoil pad and 14¾ inches length of pull, the Verona 401 came up without a hitch.

However, the Verona 401 felt a little nose-heavy to us, but so many shooters prefer that dynamic to maintain their swing we can only chalk it up to our own little subjective quirk.

The scalloped checkering and forend shape contributed to a sold and controlled grip. Likewise, the pistol grip of the stock was the perfect diameter so that our middle finger and thumb could meet as we held the shotgun. It also placed the front joint of our trigger finger comfortably on the trigger. The trigger pull was short and crisp, we figured coming in at around four pounds. Basically, the ergonomics of the Verona 401 were excellent.

Speaking of ergonomics, our favorite feature was the placement of the breech bolt release button. Most semi-autos have it on the right hand side, under the ejection port. The placement of the button on the Verona 401 is on the left side. Initially, this struck us as odd until we discovered that your right forefinger naturally finds it. We liked that a lot.

Shooting Impressions of the Verona 501-702

The gun we received from Legacy Sports was the more decorative 702. It featured 80% coverage of the floral engraving with gold inlaid birds on both sides and the bottom of the receiver. The rounded half-sideplates and floral hinge pins created a classical fascia that complemented the Schnabel forend.

While the walnut was in keeping with a shotgun for this price range, ours had a rich, dark hue with a stratification of tan and chocolate grains. The oil-finished stock and forend were perfectly matched.

The shotgun’s center of gravity felt exactly where your left hand held the forend – directly ahead of the receiver. This was ideal for shooting low gun, since the weight in your left hand facilitated you drawing the gun straight up and out until the gun was properly mounted on your shoulder and face.

At the same time, the angle and diameter of the pistol grip helped prevent you from see-sawing the gun – meaning that you lift it by the stock and consequently drop the muzzle.

Ultimately, the gun came up every time consistently for a smooth shot and follow-through.

We found the auto-safety to be intrusive for clays shooting, but remember as a field gun it would be essential. The shotgun had a single selective trigger and automatic ejectors, which should really be expected for shotgun in this price range.

The gun shot flat and true with unremarkable recoil for our 1? ounce loads.

All we can say is that we wished we could’ve gotten this shotgun out in the field with a bunch of birds. It would’ve been a heck of a lot of fun to shoot.

Shooting Impressions of the Verona 662

We much prefer interchangeable chokes to double triggers in our side-by-sides and so we approached the Verona 662 already endeared to it. The semi-beavertail forend that helped prevent you from burning your hands was icing on the cake (and we think that deep down inside those guys who shoot vintage side-by-sides with those splinter forends that barbecue your fingers would really like to step forward and give us a big huzzah).

We keep hearing about effete Europeans who make these impossible wingshooting shots with their 28 gauge and feel compelled to admonish us Americans for overkill (as in big ammo, big cars and big food). For those of the European school of shooting we politely say, Go away. The Verona 662 is clearly a side-by-side for American sportsmen who relish overkill.

Despite its straight English stock and case-colored receiver with fine floral engraving, the Verona 662 loaded up with 3-inch shells is a shotgun that you want to use on big, stubborn birds. Pheasants come to mind, and if you’re a pigeon shooter with a penchant for side-by-sides you should buy the Verona 662 now.

We savored shooting the Verona 662 for the sheer, raw power it exuded. At the same time, the gun never ran away from you; the straight stock and broad forend worked together for an empowering and accurate shooting experience.

Our only gripe with the Verona 662 was the lack of a selective trigger. Like the Verona 702, it also had an auto-safety that proved inconvenient during clays shooting. But part of that problem was our own enthusiasm in really wanting to shoot the heck out of the Verona 662.

Wrap Up

With the Verona 401 coming in at about $400 under the Benelli Legacy and a similar price as the Franchi I-12 Upland Hunter, it merits serious consideration for wood-finished, inertia-driven semi-autos.

The Benelli Legacy has more engraving while the Franchi I-12 Upland Hunter has a look that we think is bit more stodgy. The Benelli and Franchi are certainly celebrated for their reliability, but Verona’s own track record as a manufacturer of shotguns that go the distance certainly speaks to it own quality.

When it comes to the Verona 501-702, the price, quality and dependability pretty much put the guns in a class of their own. But does that mean you should buy the Verona a 501-702 on price alone? Chances are you are familiar with the most popular new over/unders in the $2,000 - $3,000 category. We believe the Verona 501-702 stands up for its workhorse virtues and classical looks – plus it will handle 3-inch magnum shells. From our perspective, that makes for a compelling package.

The Verona 662 has also carved out its own niche in the under $3,000 side-by-side market. Obviously, the Verona 662 is not for the breeks set. But with its 3-inch-shell capability, straight stock, interchangeable chokes and single trigger it would be hard to find a side-by-side that delivers more pure fun.

Irwin Greenstein is Publisher of Shotgun Life. You can reach him at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Useful resources:

Legacy Sports International/Verona Shotguns

Davidson’s Gallery of Guns

Shooting 100 rounds of sporting clays with the new Caesar Guerini Apex is best summed up by how the gun performed on the last station: I crushed a pair of teals with a single shot.

Even my shooting partners, made up of Blaser F3 and Beretta owners, were impressed with the incredible target-crushing power of the Guerini Apex. Like so many other shooters who appreciate fine shotguns, they heard the advanced buzz over the Guerini Apex but never had the privilege of actually seeing one in action.

These highly coveted shotguns have been in short supply since their introduction at the 2009 Shot Show, held January 15-18 in Orlando, Florida. Recently, shipments of the new Guerini Apex have started trickling into the U.S. from the factory in Brescia, Italy.

I managed to get one of the few Guerini Apex Sporting Models on the sporting clays course thanks to Bart’s Sports World in Glen Burnie, Maryland. The three Bart brothers – Jack, Wayne and Roy – live close to Caesar Guerini’s U.S. headquarters in Cambridge, Maryland. In fact, one morning I called over there Wayne was making his usual rounds on behalf of his customers.

The Guerini Apex is a premium shotgun. It ranks under Guerini’s most expensive Forum in the Caesar Guerini lineup. Although the Guerini Apex is not the top model, it exudes a transcendental vibe unlike any Caesar Guerini I’ve ever shot.

A round of sporting clays with the Guerini Apex delivers an epiphany by defining the benchmark for a $7,500 shotgun. The Guerini Apex makes you feel like every target moves in slow motion and is simply there to be pulverized.

I put the Guerini Apex through its paces at Schrader's Bridgetown Manor, in Henderson, on Maryland’s fabled Eastern Shore. Schrader’s is known locally for its challenging course. The stations are in wooded surroundings, with mottled sunlight and plenty of natural obstacles. Schrader’s rabbit targets seem to be powered by afterburners and bounce like they are cam-shaped. Schrader’s outgoing targets tend to be slower than at other courses, but far more acrobatic and elusive as they seek the trees.

I shot 100 rounds with Roy Bart, Bart’s store manager, Al Koch and three of their shooting buddies. Wednesday mornings at Schrader’s is a weekly ritual for them, followed by lunch at the Batter Up in nearby Ridgely, and then perhaps a second round of sporting clays at Schrader’s.

The Guerini Apex I shot possessed every attribute that sets the gun apart from the other Caesar Guerini shotguns, except that for some odd reason this one had arrived from Italy with standard quality wood uncharacteristic of the figured, hand-rubbed walnut you should expect. So rather than upgrade the wood, it was turned into a demo gun. That said, it displayed a flawless wood-to-metal finish and everything about this particular Guerini Apex was a testament to quality craftsmanship.

The 32-inch over/under barrels and Prince of Wales-style forend all fit into place with no trauma or struggle. The two IC chokes screwed in effortlessly even though the threads had never been touched by oil. I then grabbed four boxes of Estate #8, 1-ounce loads and was ready to shoot.

Since Shotgun Life was the first publication to cover the Guerini Apex prior to its unveiling at the January 2009 Shot Show, it was nice to also be the first to write about actually using the gun.

In my visit to Caesar Guerini prior to the Shot Show, I had spent about two hours with Wes Lang, president of the company. Wes had filled me in about what to expect on the Guerini Apex, but no gun was available for me to handle.

Now, all of that has changed…

Although the Guerini Apex shares the actions, barrels and accessories with other Caesar Guerini shotguns, it benefits from new high-tech applications that we’ll probably see in future enhancements to the Caesar Guerini family.

The Guerini Apex combines laser, EDM (electrical discharge machine) hand engraving and other techniques to yield deep, elaborate patterns on the full sideplates. In the case of the Guerini Apex, the results are a stunning marriage of floral and scroll patterns with gold details on a polished coin finish. The full coverage of the engraving continues beyond the frame to the trigger guard, extended tang and forend hardware.

By using trunnions instead of hinge pins, and a “blind” sideplate mounting, Caesar Guerini receivers are free of the visible screws and hinges that can detract from the engraver’s art. That’s why the Guerini Apex can present a museum-quality sideplate on a shotgun that starts for under $10,000.

The integrity of design also extends to a trigger guard that eliminates screws, as it joins seamlessly with the elongated tang devoid of screws, which dovetails into a skeletal grip cap fastened by two screws. In effect, it’s a minimalist industrial rendition of an old-world, best gun approach.

The continuous ribbon of engraved metal from the trigger guard to grip cap creates an elegant line through the swept-back pistol grip. The stunning cosmetics are more than skin deep. As I discovered, the motif also gives the shooter a smooth, ergonomic grip that enhances the shotgun’s handling.

Mind you, the feel of the Guerini Apex won’t be mistaken for a round-body FAMARS Excalibur, but I will say that in a blind test the Guerini Apex would probably emerge as the most comfortable shotgun among its peers.

Out on the sporting clays course, one of my immediate reactions to shooting the Guerini Apex was how sturdy it felt. The Caesar Guerini boxlock actions are machined from solid billets of steel and alloys. This process provides both stronger actions and better recoil absorption. That’s one of the reasons why shooting 100 rounds of 1-ounce loads never bothered me.

The inertia trigger group on the Guerini Apex felt crisp enough that it contributed to a more aggressive and confident shooting style. Caesar Guerini’s triggers are designed for reduced friction. Marry that with the inspiring ergonomics of the Guerini Apex and the gun seemed hard-wired to my brain for nailing that critical point of impact in the more difficult presentations at Schrader’s.

One particular station featured a simo-pair consisting of a fast quartering away bird flying straight for the trees, followed by a much slower looper suddenly popping out from a bush about 15 feet in front of me before plunging into tall weeds.

Instinct dictates that you go after the fast quartering away bird, thinking that the slower looper would be the natural second shot. That wasn’t the case. It took a lot of patience and gun control to wait for that looper to finally appear, smash it first, then track the quartering away bird as it transitioned into a low, fast, 20-yard shot.

The new Prince of Wales-style forend on the Guerini Apex gave me the superior control in a shot that demanded a combination of nerve-wracking patience followed by a burst of speed.

Making its debut at Caesar Guerini, the Prince of Wales-style forend replaces the Schnabel forend on other Caesar Guerini models. In comparison to a Schnabel forend, the Prince of Wales-style forend tapers toward the muzzle and eliminates the lip on the leading edge of the forend to create a more organic contour.

Like forends on other Caesar Guerinis, the Guerini Apex features an Anson pushrod forend latch. It appears as a small button on the nose of the forend. It’s recognized for three significant benefits: By eliminating the big external latch used by most other gunmakers, the checkering can wrap completely around the forend for a more secure grip. In addition, it’s self-adjusting over time. Finally, there are fewer working parts to deteriorate.

The payoff of this beautiful forend is a steady left hand in waiting for a slow looper plus the effortless handling in establishing and crushing the second, faster quartering away bird.

As we made our way through the sporting clays course, it became increasingly obvious that the Guerini Apex was an extraordinary shotgun. My squad-mates repeatedly praised some of the more difficult shots I had made with it. But for me, it was a shot made by Al that truly opened my eyes to the gun’s superiority.

We were at a station where rising outgoers were thrown from a hand trap: two reports followed by a simo pair. They were pretty much lay-ups, but for whatever reason Al missed one bird in the simo pair. After we had all shot, Al asked the trapper to throw him another simo. Al totally crushed the birds and I immediately thought, wow, I hadn’t seen Al hit targets that hard all morning. When Al turned around he raised the Guerini Apex in a triumphant thrust. Until that point, I had no idea he was using it for that shot.

What was it about the Guerini Apex that made it feel so special?

I will say that the Guerini Apex I used felt more balanced than the other 12-gauge Caesar Guerinis I’ve shot. It could have been the density of the wood or any combination of factors, but the gun performed as though all the incremental improvements made to the Caesar Guerini family of shotguns had been unified in the Guerini Apex. There’s a sense that the Guerini Apex is the culmination of the entire Caesar Guerini aesthetic and philosophy.

Its perfect center of gravity, clean elegance of the design and that touch of Italian magic gave the Guerini Apex the authority and poise rarely found in a production shotgun for under $10,000.

If you’re interested in a Guerini Apex, the manufacturer’s suggested retail price is $7,550. Standard options include $200 for a left-hand stock and $120 for an English Stock.

You can also consign your Guerini Apex to the company’s new Custom Shop for upgrades such as the D.T.S Kinetic Balancer, custom engraving, bespoke stocks, adjustable recoil pads or anything else a proud new owner could desire.

Irwin Greenstein is Publisher of Shotgun Life. You can contact him at
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Useful resources:

http://www.gueriniusa.com

http://www.bartssports.com

http://www.schradershunting.com

Media Contact:
Ryan Holmes
Bernard + Associates
775-323-6828

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

SHOTGUN LIFE IS FIRST PUBLISHER TO COUPLE PREMIUM ONLINE MAGAZINE WITH AUTHORITATIVE FORUMS FOR GREATEST ADVERTISER EXPOSURE

Shotgun Life Donates Forums to the National Skeet Shooting Association and

National Sporting Clays Association

PIKESVILLE, Md. – June 16, 2009 – Shotgun Life (www.shotgunlife.com) expanded its online franchise with new, authoritative forums – giving advertisers the most powerful integrated program for reaching customers and prospects on the Internet.

The Shotgun Life forums are intended to satisfy the unmet needs of both shotgun owners seeking accurate information and industry participants looking for a quality venue to establish productive relationships directly with shotgun owners.

The forums are fully integrated into the Shotgun Life format, giving forum members a seamless transition to the online magazine, which covers the best in wing and clays shooting.

“All too often people in our industry believe that the Internet is exclusively about banner-ad clicks,” said Irwin Greenstein, publisher of Shotgun Life. “While that’s certainly an important part of the equation, where the Internet really shines is in establishing a two-way conversation with the shooting community – to prove that you are a trustworthy authority whose brand name merits serious consideration.”

The Shotgun Life forums are located at http://www.shotgunlife.com/forum and are available immediately. The forums can also be located by going to http://www.shotgunlife.com and clicking the Forum tab.

In addition to launching its new forums, Shotgun Life has recognized the enormous strides that the National Skeet Shooting Association (NSSA) and National Sporting Clays Association (NSCA) have made to the shotgun community by donating the software, hardware and administration necessary for these organizations to start and maintain their own forums for members.

“We appreciate the generosity of the Shotgun Life organization,” said Don Snyder, Executive Director of the NSSA-NSCA. “By working closely with Shotgun Life, we can help establish an online community for reliable and unbiased information about skeet, sporting clays and good sportsmanship among our members.”

The Shotgun Life forums include:

• Shotguns – A general discussion
• Vintage Shotguns – American, British and European
• Clays Shooting
• Upland Shooting
• Ducking Shooting
• Goose Shooting
• Turkey Hunting
• Gun Dogs
• Conservation and Habitat
• Women in the Shotgun Sports
• Travel
• Sporting Art
• Politics

Advertisers interested in gaining a presence on the Shotgun Life forums should contact:

Jeff Thruston
Bernard + Associates
775-323-6828
jeff@This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Media Contact: Sherry Kerr
Outdoor Media Resources
Phone number: 256-831-7877
Email address: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

After More Than Two Years Offline, the NSSA/NSCA Continue Their Forums as Part of a Cooperative Agreement with Shotgun Life

SAN ANTONIO, Tex. – June 16, 2009 – The joint organization of the National Skeet Shooting Association-National Sporting Clays Association (NSSA/NSCA) announced today new online forums for members with the goal of sharing accurate and unbiased information about their sports while stimulating camaraderie worldwide.

The new NSSA/NSCA forums arose from an agreement between the NSSA/NSCA and Shotgun Life (www.shotgunlife.com), the first online magazine dedicated to the best in wing and clays shooting. Under the arrangement, Shotgun Life has donated all the software, hardware and technical support to resume the organizations’ forums, which have been dormant for over two years, as part of the 10 shotgun forums launched today by the online magazine.

The forums are available by visiting www.shotgunlife.com and clicking on the Forum tab at the top of the page. NSSA/NSCA members should see specific instructions distributed by the organizations for registering in the Forums.

“With the next generation of shooters becoming much more active in skeet and sporting clays tournaments, it was time to once again bring a meaningful exchange of information to our members around the world,” said Don Snyder, Executive Director of the NSSA/NSCA. “Shotgun Life came to us with a generous proposal that helped us accelerate our goals of using the Internet to help unite our members in an online global community.”

“It’s an honor to be underwriting the NSSA/NSCA forums,” said Irwin Greenstein, Publisher of Shotgun Life. “As a free, online magazine our intent is to break down the barriers of entry to participating in the shotgun sports. Our support of the NSSA/NSCA forums is in complete alignment with the goals of these two tremendous organizations that have enriched the lives of so many shotgun owners.”

Members of the NSSA/NSCA will be able to access the forums at URL after they receive login information for their respective organizations. They can start participating in the forums immediately.

The National Skeet Shooting Association

Founded in 1928 and headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, the National Skeet Shooting Association is a not-for-profit organization owned and operated by its members. With nearly 17,000 members, it is the largest organization in the world dedicated solely to the sport of skeet shooting and sporting clays shooting. Membership is represented by a Board of Directors and an Executive Committee which employs an Executive Director to manage NSSA/NSCA affairs.

The NSSA is dedicated to the development of the sport at all levels of participation and vows to create an atmosphere of healthy competition and meaningful fellowship within its membership. Shooters who want to compete can enter fun shoots and skeet shooting tournaments. The NSSA also offers the hunter a recreational target shooting sport that will strengthen hunting and gun safety skills and extend "hunting" seasons.

You can access the NSSA’s web site at www.mynssa.com.

The National Sporting Clays Association

Founded in March of 1989 by the National Skeet Shooting Association headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, the National Sporting Clays Association is a not-for-profit organization owned and operated by its members. With more than 20,000 members, NSCA is America's official premier sporting clays association. Membership is represented by an Executive Council which employs a Director to manage NSCA affairs. An Advisory Council and State Delegates provide members with an additional source of input.

The NSCA is dedicated to the development of the sport at all levels of participation and vows to create an atmosphere of healthy competition and meaningful fellowship within its membership. Shooters who wish to compete can enter sporting clays tournaments and be competitive immediately. The NSCA also offers the hunter a recreational target shooting sport that will strengthen hunting and gun safety skills and extend "hunting" seasons.

You can access the NSCA’s web site at www.mynsca.com.

Shotgun Life

Launched in January 2009, Shotgun Life is the first online magazine dedicated to the best in wing and clays shooting. In addition to covering all the major clays sports and waterfowl and upland shooting, Shotgun Life showcases the finest shotguns in the world, women shooters and features extensive background information about the equipment and sports to help encourage new shooters to participate. Shotgun Life is available free of charge. Shotgun Life also distributes a free weekly e-letter with clays shooting tips from some of the best instructors in the world.

You can access Shotgun Life at www.shotgunlife.com.

Anyone who shoots a 16-gauge shotgun should send Doug Oliver a big cigar.

As founder of the 16 Gauge Society, Doug has been keeper of the flame for a shotgun orphaned by the industry.

Over the years marketing decisions within the shotgun industry have relegated the 16 gauge from the second-most popular shotgun to an icon of perfection among a small band of bird shooters. They marketed the smaller 20-gauge rival, despite the superior ballistics of the 16 gauge. At the same time, the 12 gauge has been gentrified from its bruiser, meat-market heritage to a relatively comfortable, all-purpose shotgun.

The world of tournament shooting has also conspired against the 16 gauge. Simply put, there are no 16-gauge competitions in major clay-shooting events – depriving the 16 gauge of the credibility and high-profile marketing opportunities to sustain a thriving market.

Still, the perseverance of devoted 16-gauge shooters has kept the shotgun alive. And you could easily make the case that Doug has emerged as the voice of the 16-gauge shotgun community.

“If I were trapped on a desert island, I would want the 16 gauge, because it won’t beat you up and it kills birds without killing you,” Doug said.

Maybe it’s a confluence of happy circumstances that Doug, who owns a graphic-design firm in Bell Canyon, California, fell in love with 16-gauge shotguns to the extent that he started the 16 Gauge Society web site.

He fondly recalls shooting 16-gauge shotguns as a kid in Newton, Kansas with his father.

“From the age of 10, I started hitting birds, and I became joined at the hip during bird season with my father. We’d hunt quail, pheasant, doves…,” he said.

During that period, he started out with a .410, and passed through a 16 gauge on his way to a 12 gauge. He remembered liking the 16 gauge, although for the bigger part of his life he shot 12 and 20 gauge.

“The 16 gauge is absolutely the perfect shotgun,” he explains. “It has a perfect load for wingshooting. Plus a 16 gauge will typically be a pound lighter than a 12 gauge if you’re carrying it all day in the field. The 16 gauge shoots like a 12 gauge but carries like a 20 gauge. It’s a great gun.”

When Doug turned 50, for his midlife crisis instead of a Porsche he bought himself a shotgun. It was a 16-gauge F.A.I.R. Rizzini over/under. It was a better gun than he had known at that point.

On a flight from Los Angeles to New York, he had been reading an article in Double Gun Journal about dove hunting in Argentina. Until that point he had every intention of buying a 20 or 28 Beretta, but the article deflected him to the 16-gauge F.A.I.R. Razzing.

Doug found himself smitten by the lovely 16 gauge. In doing his “homework” for that 16-gauge F.A.I.R. Rizini he realized “that 16 gauge was a stepchild,” he explained. “Information at the time was so hard to dig out and that’s where the 16 Gauge Society web site came in. I though I’d just design and throw up 16 gauge web site and maybe sell a couple of hats. The project itself was fun and informative.”

After a few months of hard work, the 16 Gauge Society web site went up in 2002 at http://www.16ga.com.

It now has approximately 1,500 members of the 16 Gauge Society, plus another 2,400 people who frequent the site’s forum which serves as a clearing house of information for everything 16 gauge. Over 60,000 posts have been recorded on the site.

As Doug relates about the forum “You can throw a question out about a gun and 10 guys will answer you – civilly.”

There is a one-time, lifetime $25 membership to the 16 Gauge Society. But for Doug, the organization “is not a moneymaker. It’s a passion.”

Last autumn, one of the members of the 16 Gauge Society organized a pheasant shoot in North Dakota. A dozen or so members met for the first time there. “It was fun, everybody got pheasants,” he said. “A good time was had by all.”

In a way, that was a trip back to the good old days of 16-gauge hunting.

Doug is an active 16-gauge shooter. Of the 10 shotguns he currently owns, four of them are 16 gauge. He still has that F.A.I.R. Rizzini, in addition to a 1959 Beretta Silverhawk and two Browning Sweet 16 A-5s.

He recalled that when he began hunting there were a lot of 16-gauge shotguns on the market. Winchester Model 12s, Ithaca and Remington pumps, and the Browning Sweet 16 A-5s dominated the market, alongside a smattering of Fox, Parker and L.C. Smith doubles.

Although many a young hunter was started in the field with a 16 gauge, by the late 1950s and early 1960s, the 20 gauge, and later the 20-gauge 3-inch magnum, simply buried the 16 gauge shotgun in the U.S.

Doug now thinks that the 16 gauge is experiencing a renaissance. “After a 50-year decline in popularity, the sixteen is making a well-deserved comeback. And in a number of production lines, too.”

Today, although sometimes difficult to find, the industry still offers the standard and high-velocity lead and non-toxic loads from all major manufacturers. “Yet even though this situation has improved in the last few years, most serious 16-gauge shooters custom hand load their own shells. This is true of many shooters regardless of gauge,” Doug observed.

Affordable 16-gauge shotguns are available from a number of manufacturers including Griffin & Howe, Arietta, A. H. Fox, Browning, Connecticut Shotgun Manufacturing Company’s Model 21, Cortona, Arietta, Dean, Grulla, Stoeger and a handful of others.

And of course, there are also thousands of used 16-gauge shotguns in search of a new home.

Noe Roland is a frequent contributor to Shotgun Life. You can reach him at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

 

Useful resources:

http://www.16ga.com/

http://www.griffinhowe.com

http://www.arrietashotguns.com/

http://www.connecticutshotgun.com/ahfox1.html

http://www.connecticutshotgun.com/model21.html

http://www.browning.com/

http://www.cortonashotguns.com/

http://www.dhshotguns.com/

http://www.grullaarmas.com/es/

http://www.stoegerindustries.com/

www.douglasoliverdesign.com

Tony Galazan is an intense man. Tony Galazan is an obsessive man. I visited Tony at the Connecticut Shotgun Manufacturing Company facility in New Britain, Connecticut in mid-February, a few weeks after marveling at his vast exhibit at this year's Safari Club International Convention in Reno, Nevada.

I will never forget the first time I saw one of my best friends take a shooting lesson...

The Safari Club International Convention, held this year in Reno, Nevada, is like the metaphoric pirate's treasure trove of the finest shooting and hunting equipment, guns, art and jewelry that the human spirit can generate. The cornucopia of shotguns dazzles the mind and spirit, for here are the most elegant, most elaborate and most technically advanced on the planet.

Media Contact:
Bernard + Associates
Ryan Holmes
(775) 323-6828
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.





March 10, 2009 - Pikesville, Maryland - Shotgun Life, the first online magazine dedicated to the best in wing and clays shooting, has expanded its Internet presence into live firearms auctions.

The new Shotgun Life "In-the-Room Live Connexion"© is a service available to auction houses as a means of expanding their reach to bidders everywhere in the world who have a high-speed Internet connection.

The Shotgun Life "In-the-Room Live Connexion" lets bidders use the Internet to participate live in the auction-room action through the integration of streaming audio and video plus Instant Messaging. An encrypted, secure console allows the auction administrator to monitor the proceedings as they happen to ensure precise bidding.

Auctioneers need only a broadband connection and video cameras to get up and running quickly. The Shotgun Life "In-the-Room Live Connexion" does not require software downloads, long-term contracts or expensive computer devices. The service is available on an ad-hoc basis for individual auctions.

The system also collects and stores a record of all bids and transactions. This helps automatically compile an archive for historical pricing or dispute resolution.

In addition, The Shotgun Life "In-the-Room Live Connexion" collects contact information for all bidders, expediting all future marketing endeavors.

The Shotgun Life "In-the-Room Live Connexion" is a subscription-based service available on an ad-hoc basis - eliminating any software purchases. The only hardware requirements are consumer-quality video cameras, microphones and one or more PCs. A broadband Internet connection is necessary.

Benefits

The benefit to auction houses is a vast increase in the number of bidders at a negligible cost to all participants. Bidders can now log into a live auction and reap all the advantages of a front-row seat from their office, home or airport lounge - virtually anywhere they have an Internet connection.

That's because the Shotgun Life "In-the-Room Live Connexion" has been designed from the ground-up specifically for live auctions.

It is not an e-Bay style system where individual bids are submitted in time-delay mode to meet a pre-scheduled deadline. By comparison The Shotgun Life "In-the-Room Live Connexion" is live and in-the-moment - providing a level playing field for bidders who choose to take part remotely.

The system provides lively interaction. Instant Messaging can be exchanged between participants in a group and the administrator. Although the Instant Messaging is only viewable between members of a particular online conversation, the administrator can monitor all the Instant Messaging exchanges.

When the gavel comes down, the Shotgun Life "In-the-Room Live Connexion" includes secure links to all major credit cards, so that the winning bidder's account can be immediately charged.

The Shotgun Life "In-the-Room Live Connexion" is the most cost-effective and secure way for auction houses to increase the number of bidders and sell more fine guns at higher prices.

Features

The follow is a list of standard features in The Shotgun Life "In-the-Room Live Connexion":

To arrange a demonstration or to have your questions answered please contact:

Irwin Greenstein
SGL Media
PO Box 5790
Pikesville, Maryland 21208 USA
Office phone: 410-484-2038
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Shotgun Life is the first online magazine devoted to the best in wing and clays shooting. For more information about Shotgun Life visit www.shotgunlife.com.

Shotgun Life "In-the-Room Live Connexion" © 2009 SGL Media
"In-the-Room Live Connexion" © 2009 SGL Media

The shotgun stood upright in a museum-quality case, halogen lamps kindling the mystique of the Prodigal Son.

The Browning Superposed in front of us was a one-of-a-kind called Golden Days. Belgian master engraver Dany Matagne had spent 300 painstaking hours detailing the doves, bobwhite quail and Gamble quail with gold, green gold, copper and palladium - the entire landscape study framed in a floral scroll. If ever there was a rendition of upland heaven, it was here on the receiver of this $80,000 Superposed.