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Reader Survey >Fabarm Infinite RS Review: A Modern Take on the Side-by-Side Shotgun
- Last updated: 27/08/2025
To most of us, a side-by-side shotgun is the iconic, traditional game gun, passed down through generations of shooters. Like many others, I have an old side-by-side in the cabinet that puts a smile on my face every time I take it out for a day in the field. But I fear my days of using it may be coming to an end.
Numerous manufacturers have created modern-style side-by-sides that are proofed for steel shot cartridges here in the UK. This is fantastic news for keeping side-by-sides alive. However, until I discovered the Fabarm Infinite RS, I hadn’t seen a side-by-side shotgun designed to such practical and futuristic specifications.
The Infinite RS is designed as a sporting side-by-side shotgun, but it is not aimed at a single type of shooting. Fabarm believes that its use as a clay gun or for bird shooting is down to the shooter.
The receiver has a black satin finish with a flare of blue and white, which is simple and attractive. The wood is of a basic grade but hand-oiled, so it looks good. However, the gun is not designed to be a showpiece; it is designed to be a side-by-side like no other.
The most unique element of this gun has to be the Quick Release Rib. This model is provided with two ribs that can be quickly and easily fitted to the barrel. One of them provides a 50/50 point of impact (POI), which is designed for shooters who prefer a flatter-shooting shotgun, while the other rib has a 65/35 POI, which is designed for those who desire a higher-shooting shotgun.
The gun is fitted with an adjustable cheekpiece, allowing each shooter to alter the height and cast for a perfect fit, ensuring it shoots exactly where they want.
I cannot explain in words how satisfying it is to look down the rib of this Infinite RS. The 10–8mm top rib guides my eye perfectly to the end of the gun, ready to acquire the target clearly with my head held in a comfortable, upright position. This might sound silly, but it felt as if I was mounting an over-and-under.
The stock is incredibly comfortable, with a pistol grip that features a generous palm swell and a steep angle, allowing the wrist to sit straight, a trait uncommon in side-by-sides. The chunky stock dimensions allow the gun to sit comfortably in the shoulder when mounted, and the relatively parallel Monte Carlo adjustable stock gave me a solid cheek weld, which I have never had before with a side-by-side.
Similar to most sporting shotguns, you get an adjustable trigger, meaning the blade can be moved to sit in the exact position required. The gun also includes a relatively large safety, making it easy to establish whether it is on or off, and it incorporates a barrel selector as well, enabling you to choose which barrel engages first.
A key feature of the gun is its Tribore HP barrels, designed to deliver impressive, consistent shot patterns. They are high-performance steel-proofed and chambered for 3” cartridges. The gun comes with five extended Exis HP chokes, supplied in a Fabarm case.
An impressive 10-year mechanical warranty is provided by the manufacturer, which is even transferable to a second owner. Fabarm certainly believes in this product, which also makes me want to believe in its longevity.
When I first heard the Infinite RS was to be released, I was sceptical. A raised-rib, sporting side-by-side? Who would buy that? But when I received the gun, put it together, and mounted it for the first time, my opinion began to change.
I understood the design concept behind this gun. Typically, side-by-sides are very flat-shooting, with the shooter’s eyeline just above the rib. This makes shooting a side-by-side particularly hard, as with two big metal tubes in sight, keeping a solid focus on the target is not easy.
In theory, a raised rib will considerably improve this, as it will allow the shooter to have an upright head position and a clear view of the target over the barrels. I am very fond of a raised-rib shotgun, and I was very curious to see how it would perform. I therefore decided to take the Infinite RS out on some clays to confirm that the point of impact was where I wanted it and to get a feel for the handling before using it in the field on corvids.
Some of you may know that before the appearance of our modern trap disciplines of clay pigeon shooting, the sport actually involved shooting live pigeons released from cages. As crazy as this may sound, there was a type of shotgun that was popular among many of the shooters at that time.
A side-by-side that was chunkier, heavier, and fitted with a top rib that gave a single sight plane was called a ‘live pigeon gun’. Although the birds I shoot over decoys are very much wild and not caged, I do believe that there are some similarities in the types of targets. So, could the Fabarm Infinite RS be the modern version of a live pigeon gun? Let’s find out.
With the pattern of crow decoys set, I settled in the hide and didn’t have to wait long for the first contender. As the bird entered the pattern, it actually landed within the decoys. Because I had not used the No.6, 30g fibre loads through this gun, I slipped the barrels over the netting and shot the bird on the floor. It was a perfect dispatch, and it gave me the utmost confidence that the cartridges worked well through the half choke I had chosen to use, and that the gun was shooting exactly where I wanted it to.
As the next few birds entered the pattern in front of me, I had a great variety of angles, directions, and distances, and was incredibly impressed with how the gun performed. The perfect balance on the hinge pin, combined with the 8lb 4oz weight, meant I could assertively push the gun in front of each target with great control.
Having shot a Blaser Vantage with a raised rib for a long time, the sight picture I was seeing felt extremely familiar, and I was amazed to be shooting a side-by-side as well as I was. One shot in particular left me in absolute amazement. I caught this moment on film, so be sure to check out the video of this outing on my ‘Fieldsports with Speed’ YouTube channel and see for yourselves how the gun performed in the field.
The few misses I had were purely down to me misjudging the target and had nothing to do with the gun. I want to be fair and explain what I didn’t like about the Infinite RS, but I can’t. The only negative I found was that the barrels got hot very quickly while clay shooting. Even while holding the chunky semi-beavertail fore-end, I continued to burn my fingertips. However, this is the same with every side-by-side shotgun, so I would recommend wearing a glove.
“This Fabarm Infinite RS was genuinely a pleasure to shoot and I thoroughly enjoyed my experience with it”
I can see any clay shooter who enjoys something a little different having a thoroughly enjoyable experience with the Infinite RS in sporting or trap disciplines. Personally, I thoroughly enjoyed using it for decoying corvids.
It handled slowly and smoothly as I confidently took incoming and crossing birds over the decoys. I firmly believe this gun to be a modern creation of the live pigeon gun that many shooters would have used in times past.
For any shooter who wants to use a side-by-side with extra weight for improved handling and reduced recoil, the Infinite RS is that gun. It handles very much like a sporting over-and-under shotgun.
I found the 50/50 POI rib to be an excellent choice, providing the perfect fit for me. I can see the 65/35 POI rib being a well-suited option for trap shooters who prefer a higher point of impact and improved peripheral vision over the end of the barrel.
This Fabarm was genuinely a pleasure to shoot, and I thoroughly enjoyed my experience with it. It is a relatively big investment for a very unusual style of shotgun, but I strongly believe that whoever buys one will make some fantastic memories with it. I strongly recommend that anyone who is interested handle one at a Fabarm demo event or a local stockist, as I am sure you will be amazed at how different it is.
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