Kofs Sceptre SXE

The Sceptre range is available in 12, 20, 28-gauge and .410, with a choice of 28 or 30” barrels or left-handed for that matter and all at the same price of £499. They are certainly on the better side of well made for a Turkish gun and represent good value for those on a budget, be it a beginner or as a spare. Combining good styling and handling, with a lightweight alloy action and nice walnut, this 12-gauge, multi-choke is chambered for 3” cartridges. It is a good all-rounder for those who want to shoot their guns and not look at them.

Action

To keep the weight down and give the Sceptre its characteristic fast handling capabilities, the action is made from aluminium alloy. Although strong, Kofs have sensibly added steel inserts at all the stress points in the action: around the pins, on the back face, barrel hinge pins and ejector bars. These areas take the brunt of the recoil, so gun life is increased. The usual monobloc construction even on these 12-gauges keeps the action size quite trim at 65mm deep and 40mm wide. The barrels steel/ blued lugs lock solidly into the recesses in the action floor where a wide lower bite tightens them down and keeps the chambers tight against the action face.

Finish to the action is a brushed polished silver that is left plain at the top tang, safety, and opening lever area but machine-cut engraved elsewhere. It’s nicely executed because it is reasonably deep with recessed areas darkened to accentuate the scroll and floral design. Both sides and the underside along with the model name are just the right level of adornment on this type of gun without looking too flashy. The top lever is blacked to complement the forend catch and has no chequering or serration for grip, but it is big enough. As with all new guns, a few rounds through it has it bedding in and the action is tight enough for safety yet opens freely enough for a speedy reload.

Auto safety

This model has an automatic safety catch that is set when the top lever is operated. It also functions for barrel selection: pushed to the left shows O (over) and to the right U (under). The control is again blacked and smooth in finish but is easy to work.

The guard is blackened aluminium and contrasts with the bright polished trigger and action faces well. It is nicely curved and has enough room for a gloved finger, which is a nice touch. The blade is smooth and slightly curved, plus being an inertia type it broke very cleanly.

Barrels and chokes

The barrels are available in 28 or 30” lengths, I had the latter, which people are asking for these days. They are well made, showing good fit and finish inside and out. Bores are hard-chrome lined and chambered for 3” shells so you can shoot anything from 2” up to the full power 3” without worry. The exterior was equally good, with a practical and elegant, satinlike, hard-wearing blued finish.

Up top, a 7mm ventilated rib. It showed a serrated surface that gives fast target acquisition and minimal coverage. The joining rib is also vented, both areas reducing mirage on hot days and over longer shot strings. Sighting wise you have a single large gold bead up near the muzzles, I prefer a single bead myself.

This model SXE denotes an ejector gun and empty shells were positively and reliably ejected every time and that included some dubious old shells I dug out. A plastic case with five, flush fit chokes and a key is supplied, so everything from cylinder to full is catered for. They showed good threads and smooth internal surfaces too and you can shoot steel shot through them so long as you use ½ or a lesser in restriction. I found that ¼ in the bottom and ½ in the top suited my needs well.

Stock

One of the nice bits of any Kofs shotgun is the stock. It not only feels and handles well but also shows some nice walnut that we have come to expect from Turkish guns. Close grained, and with a characteristic honey brown colour, the semi rubbed oil finish looks really nice. This example actually has fairly plain figured timbered, but wood to metal finish was good and fit equally so.

In use the gun handled nicely, coming up a treat for me every time. The comb is perfect allowing good barrel alignment and the 14.25” length of pull (LOP) helps. Best of all is the long-raked and rounded pistol grip that has slight palm swells to both sides and feels comfortable and natural to hold. Cut chequering is fine but well executed, although a little shallow but the solid, black rubber recoil pad keeps the gun firmly in the shoulder.

Field tests

As stated, the Sceptre does handle really well for a 12-gauge, its low weight aids with a good natural swing and fit for me was spot on. Despite the lighter alloy receiver and overall reduction in weight recoiled was not really noticeable until we shot 32-gram loads.

First up and with a ¼ choked barrel were the Eley Pigeon Select, 30-gram #6 shot with plastic wad. The pattern board showed a total of 231 hits split with 76 inner strikes and 155 outers. All were evenly spread with a few holes but overall, very good.

Next Lyalvale Supreme Game 28-gram #5 fibre wads. Here as expected, less total pellet hits at 168 but a sparse 31 inners and the remining 137 around the periphery. A good solid round but would benefit next time from a tighter choke I suspect.

With ½ choke in the upper barrel, the best of the bunch were the Clear Pigeon loads that achieved this time a total of 201 hits. Its #6 shot spread 58 inner and 143 outer strikes with good even and overall coverage, my choice in this Kofs!

Conclusions

Available in a wide choice of calibres, styles, and finishes at a price that will not break the bank the Kofs 12-gauge Sceptre SXE O/U represents a really good shotgun for beginners or for general use. Its light and fast to handle and throws some impressive patterns, feed the correct diet and being light, if you used sub-sonic, or light 24 gram loads would make a great starter gun for anyone.