William Powell Perseus

This month we have a practical but pretty over and under game gun on test from a respected British house – the William Powell Perseus 12 bore. It is made for this well-known company by Rizzini, the no less well known Italian manufacturer based at Gardonne, the famous gun making region of Brescia in Northern Italy. William Powell now offer an extensive range of over & under and side by side guns (made in Italy and Spain respectively) with bore options from .410 to 12. There are a wide variety of grades and price points too.

The budget Marquis sidelock side by side (made by Arrieta in Spain) and the Perseus as tested particularly impress on a price to quality ratio (the test gun has an RRP of £1,795 in 12 or 20 and the side by side Marquis is £3,250). There are also other models in the range which interest, not least the Juevenis - a not too expensive full sidelock made for young shots, and, the Linhope, a very attractive side by side pigeon style sidelock gun with flat rib also intended for high bird work.

The Perseus

First impressions of the 28” stack-barreled Perseus, meantime, are well above the average. I liked the stock. I also liked the action styling. It is bright polished and partially (and tastefully) scroll engraved with the Powell name on the centre panels and more scroll and a woodcock on on the belly. Mechanically, meantime, the action is typical Rizzini – with bits of inspiration from both Beretta and Browning evident.

The aesthetic and ergonomic form of the gun is good – this is an evolved design which has benefited from the input from a famous English maker with an eye for detail too. As well as the excellent semi-pistol grip, the stock has a well tapered and proportioned butt, finished with a wooden plate to allow for access to the stock bolt (and which is available in an extended form for easy lengthening).

The gun is a good weight for a stack barrelled 12 bore all-rounder.  At about 7 1/2 pounds it is kept within reasonable limits thanks to the narrow, 7mm, game-ribbed, barrels (and feels quite lively thanks to good balance). The engraving on the bright polished action is nothing fancy but well executed and the way the Powell name has been added looks good and must add to the perceived value of the model.

Accentuating the classic looks, I liked the plain steel trigger, and the form of the schnabel forend suited me as well. The Perseus looked and felt right – proving to me once again, it is not all about money when it comes to choosing guns. And, most, importantly, bringing the gun to face and shoulder, one is struck by its good handling qualities without excessive forward heaviness. It feels not only lively but controllable and the weight in 12 bore form would suit game or clays.

Effective Control

I appreciated the purchase and control offered by the efficient grip – my favourite pattern. This was sensibly angled – not too acute – and even in depth too. This is what any gun needs if you are to direct its muzzles effectively and control it. A lot more recoil is taken through the hands than commonly realised. A good grip anchors the hand without putting it under excessive tension. The hand must not have any tendency to slide forward. The grip must also be large enough to be held easily, but not so big as to cramp fluent movement.

All things considered, the Perseus looks stylish, feels solid and appears well made. The quality of finish and wood to metal fit are well up to standard. The barrel making is good. The joints between monobloc and barrel tubes are without visible gaps and disguised with a little engraving.

Barrel Considerations

The well machined chambers are 3” (76mm) and the interchangeable chokes are steel shot friendly (though don’t select more than ½ choke for use with steel). Both tubes are marked up at 18.4mm for bore diameter. In a clay gun, I would, have advised a slightly wider bore. A significant number of manufacturers are now moving towards larger bores – 18.6 or 18.7 - which can improve patterns and reduce felt recoil (and are my preference for clay shooting). But, for live quarry work, where, increasingly, felt wadded cartridges may be used, I prefer the traditional tighter bore sizes to maintain pressures on a cold day after experiment on this issue. They really do make a difference with light payload cartridges – the tighter bored gun may have slightly more felt recoil but benefits from significantly improved penetration.

The barrels have solid joining ribs as is the norm on a game gun and a ventilated, flat, 7mm sighting rib. I like the design – it has always worked well for me – but, a ‘solid’ type might have merits too as it is less easily dented. Such solid ribs must be internally hollowed though if they are not to add too much extra weight. The parallel rib presents an excellent picture to the eye. It is well laid, true, and nicely machined on the top. Towards the muzzles, there is a plain brass bead of ideal form and size which matched the rib well.

What about barrel finish? Internally and externally, they were well presented. The tubes showed no signs of heat distortion and were straight without any signs of rivelling. They are plated inside too. The blacking was especially good, with a very good sheen – clearly the result of careful preparation. The ejector work was well assembled and the engine turning on the sides of the monobloc an extra touch which always catches the eye, though it has little practical import. Generally, these barrels are well put together. They are well jointed to the action too.

Rizzini Action

The action of the test gun has split hinge pins as have become so common. Helical springs power the hammers. The single trigger mechanism is of the recoil activated type, as noted, and a selector is placed on top of the conventional thumb operated top strap safety. Both safety and selector were quite large, but well proportioned and positive in action – just what one needs with gloved hands. The shape of the trigger blade was good too.

The locking system of the Perseus, like most Rizzini type over and unders, involves a full width bolt coming out of the bottom of the action face and engaging bites beneath the bottom chamber mouth. It is a well proven (inspired by Browning, of course, and seen in many other guns). The only potential disadvantage – greater in a 12 than a 20 - is that placing the bolt and bites beneath the bottom chamber mouth makes the action a little deeper than in those designs where there is a split hinge pin and no need to have the barrel lumps/lugs beneath the barrel.

Good Wood

The stock of the Perseus is made from what looks like Turkish walnut. The grain is fairly straight, but it looks strong and the wood has some character and is well finished in oil with nicely cut chequering. The length of pull is just over 14 1/2” from the middle of the trigger to the middle of the wooden butt plate (by the time you read this the standard LOP will be 15”). Measurements to heel and toe are plus 1/8” and 3/8” respectively.

Drop measurements were good too, a 1 7/16” at the front of the comb and nearly 2 1/8” at the rear. Chequering as discussed was very neatly executed and large enough to be practical. The diamonds were well formed (probably by laser)

Shooting Impressions

I began shooting the gun on Station 2 low house as I do with most gun tests, before moving round the clock, and on to the sporting stands and high tower at Fennes Shooting Grounds. It was a gun that did not disappoint.

Everything worked as it should. The gun pointed and shot well. Trigger pulls were as good as they get with this design, recoil control was good.

General ‘shootability’ was excellent. The Perseus is a gun with few vices and many merits. It has style too and comes in at a fair price with a famous name.

PRICE: £1,795