Perazzi 2000S

This month a Perazzi 2000S - kindly lent by Chris Potter Country Sports - goes under the Gunmart microscope. It’s a big gun weighing well over 8lbs with 31 ½ barrels and an RRP of £6,400. Perazzis are imported into the UK by RUAG Ammotech who are based in Liskeard, Cornwall. They also handle Rottweil shotguns and ammunition, not to mention the good value Bettinsoli shotgun brand. With regard to Perazzis, I doubt if any of their dealers in Britain sell more than Chris Potter, his well-stocked emporium in Tunbridge Wells specialises in the brand, and gunroom manager Dionne Rogers is especially expert in the marque (as one might expect from one of the greatest ever female shots).

I have a special fondness for Perazzi guns myself. I used one for the best part of a decade with some success - an MX8 DG2. This was the special gun that Diamond Guns once had built for them. They are worth a footnote in shooting history because the DGs - conceived by John Jeffries - were the first Perazzis that were really built as true sporters. These day, of course, sporters are a big part of the Perazzi market in the UK market.

Bench Test

Before you get confused - and I was - let me explain where the 2000S fits in the current Perazzi range. The 2000S - like an MX12 - is built on a fixed lock action with coil springs. There is also a 2000 ‘8’ which has a detachable trigger lock, like the best known of all Perazzis - the MX8 (which is now offered with both coil and v springs). The 2000 series is available in fixed and drop lock form - but, here’s the bottom line, they’re all dedicated to sporting clays. So, if it’s a 2000 then it’s a sporter.

Now that’s all clear, I might note that Perazzis have always been cleverly engineered guns and have had many imitators (Kemen, Perugini and Visini, and Purdey to name but three). If they had any fault it was that until comparatively recently, some might say that they were excessively influenced by the Italian trap shooting experience. This has led to some odd stock shapes (at least to our eyes) and allowed Kemen to take some of the older firm’s market share in the past decade with regard to sporting models. Much work, however, has gone into Perazzi guns to make them suitable for sporting competition at any level. George Digweed now uses one - a 2000SGD - need one say more?

Back to the main plot. First impressions of the test gun are positive. The action is black, scroll engraved, and has some neat gold lettering (nothing too flashy). The effect is tasteful. The impression is of understated quality. The fact that it is a serious competition gun is evident from the first moment you see it. It looks and feels solid. It weighs in at something over 8 1/2lbs and has quite hefty 31 ½” barrels (810mm) to boot.  Balance is bang on the hinge pin, however, and feels first class. The gun does not feel especially heavy, either (though it is a little over my own ideal).

Looking at the Perazzi in more detail, machining of the action was very good, and the monobloc barrels were especially well presented. They were equipped with an 11-7mm, ventilated rib and solid joining ribs for most their length (the ribs being dispensed with beneath the forend as is common today as a weight saving measure). Chokes were fixed at 1/2 & 3/4. The forcing cones are longer than average. The barrel bores, however, were relatively tight at 18.4mm. The barrels bear Italian proof marks for 2 ¾” (70mm) cartridges. There is no need for 3” chambers in a specialist sporter (unless it is going to double duty on high birds or on the marshes - even then, I am no fan of 3” shells - too much pain for too little gain. You just don’t need them for normal situations in Britain).

The Perazzi’s Boss inspired action has always drawn praise from gunmakers (and has inspired the new Purdey Sporter - built on a generic MX8 style action, the body of which is machined in the UK, though other parts are made in Italy by Perguni and Visini ). The Perazzi action it might also be noted dispenses - in all its variants - with a full width hinge pin and replaces it with stud pins at the knuckle in the manner of a Woodward or Beretta. Perazzis also have Boss style ‘draws and wedges’ on the inside of their action walls and monobloc. The primary locking system is Boss inspired too, with square section bolts emerging from the action face and mating with bites either side of the chamber mouths.

On the woodwork front, this Perazzi has a proper sporting butt with a tapered comb and a grip that is not too tightly radiused. Because the action of the 2000S is fixed (like an MX 12) it may be made narrower to the rear allowing for a thinner, yet stronger, grip. The comb is not too thick, but offers good facial support. Figure may be nothing to write home about, but you can upgrade the timber if that floats your boat.

As for the measurements, the length of pull was 14 7/8” finished with a leather faced, softish, pad. There was 1 3/8” at the front of the comb and 2 1/8” at heel. My only mildly critical comment concerns the forend which was a bit narrow, and more-or-less flat sided. There is no schnabel style lip - great - but I would have liked something a little thicker and more rounded. It was not a bad design, however.

Shooting Impressions

I shot the gun at the excellent West Kent Shooting Ground. I did not have as much time with it as I would have liked, but it did not disappoint in any way. It was a solid and forgiving gun to shoot. It was quite lively for a big gun too. Recoil control was good, and trigger pulls were above average. I liked the large button on the sliding safety cum barrel selector much better than some designs. The recoil activated trigger was reliable. I did note a slight vibration on firing, but this was not excessive. All things considered, the gun moved and shot extremely well. Value for money? Well, it’s not cheap - especially as the pound has plunged - but it’s a lot of gun in every sense.

My thanks to Lyalvale Express who supplied the 24 and 28 gram HV cartridges used in this test, to Chris Potter Country Sports (01892 522208) for the loan of the gun and to West Kent Shooting Ground (01892 834306) for the use of their excellent facilities.

PRICE (RRP): £6,400 including VAT