The firm Paganini in Turin, the commercial ground for smooth barrels has been well prepared: as known, at least here in Italy, the market for shotguns in the classic 12 gauge languishes and not a little while something is moving in the small ones understood as 28/70 and .410 Mag. Especially in the first there is good interest, perhaps because the slightly larger size of the cartridge gives the buyer more confidence to hit the target; for both, however, there is a wide availability of charges in the armory. The fact is that the demand for a two-barrel in 28 gauge is fairly marked, despite the lack of money that we do not want to talk about. The current idea, even if vaguely omitted and not expressed in a handheld way, remains that for a rifle of this caliber you do not want to spend high figures, as if the manufacture worked to measure the cartridge chambers and the core section of the barrels. .
The remedy, or rather the technical monetary composition of the affair, is found precisely at Paganini who, for many years now, imports into Italy and distributes Yildiz rifles: "Mom them turks!" it used to be said with an air of fear and strong apprehension ... today we can say that Turkish companies like Yildiz of Burdur are welcome, offering products with a correct quality and price ratio, indeed we would say almost unbalanced in favor of the buyer who finds himself between his hands a shotgun worked according to the rules, with materials perfectly suited to the purpose, often with much more than decent woods, seen and considered as precisely Turkey is one of the areas of origin of the walnut to be used for stocks. We thus have a valid superimposed which, contrary to our usual way of proceeding, we present with images collected during a field test which will be followed shortly by the static presentation and another return to the clay pigeon.
A field test
The triggering element of what we are about to propose was revealed in the curiosity of dear friend Mark, a well-rounded hunter who does not mind passing by 7 Rem. Mag. Or from .375 HH (according to the zones and the wild) to the smoothbore threatening the mallards, on one of the torrents of the high Piedmont, or the stupendous grouses of its mountains. For him, too, the .28 caliber was a worm that had to be pulled out of his hole, focused and properly evaluated. We combine a quail outing at the Tenuta Bonicelli where Lorenzo Verra almost adopted us: Mark rightly extends the tour to Andrea, a hunter of the valleys between Susa, Sangone and Moncenisio who will have the task of fielding his talented setter Frick at which is joined by the very young Mia, a nine-month-old sissy known as “Papa's love”; always from Val Sangone also Paolo, Andrea's partner, descends on the Roero hills, and then our son Mario arrives with Pau, his brown Labrador. Johnny, a recent factotum of the wildlife company, prepares the dozen quails and chooses the land in which to exhibit, a medic with vegetation already of a moderate height and a lawn dotted with dandelion puffs in which the small flyers are at ease moving around. as swift and invisible as rats before the dog blocks them.
We would like to point out for the attentive observers that in this period the Tenuta Bonicelli does not carry out hunting activities, but training dogs with shooting, so the use of orange vests is not foreseen.
Pending the so-called sowing, carried out in installments to three subjects at a time to take a breath, or better to chat amiably between one session and another, theStar it passes from hand to hand while we touch the Nikon to document what will happen; to integrate the battery we also removed from the rack what was the quail rifle par excellence in the 50s and likewise the rifle for every occasion suitable for the graceful hunters of the time: a Beretta side-by-side with external dogs, from the aforementioned years, in the now a very rare 24 gauge. The Yildiz over / under has an all black finish that gives it a professional look and is very popular with everyone; equally appreciated is the handling which, thanks to the very low weight, is not in the least affected by the 76 cm long barrels: today this dimension seems excessive to many, because they compare it to what they use on the 12 gauge, while in the 28 gauge it adds some elements all favorable.
In the first place comes the aesthetics, a pre-eminent factor as soon as a shotgun is approached, followed by the reduced section and the conspicuous extension creating a favorable combination: we confess that we like this measure very much and therefore we talk about it with enthusiasm, but equally subjecting the question to the other five of the party we gather only favorable opinions. The ventilated upper rib and the two intermediate ribs, also with lightening and ventilation slots, make a beautiful sight for bystanders, especially when the sun light passes through the trabeations in the tappet, visually lightening the masses. Considering the hypothetical firing distances and the cartridges to be used, we inserted the 4-star and 2-star chokes: from 1 to 5 are all available together with the practical assembly key. The availability of cartridges is a little limited considering that the contingent wildlife situation has seen the gray partridge, redhead and pheasant disappear from the farms and we must focus only on quail: the beautiful cartridges of 5 and 6 of the Remington and Eley sent by Paganini remained in the drawer waiting for better times. The 7½ Fiocchi and the many left with 12 Pb loaded from an armory in Provaglio di Iseo (BS), which we had too far-sighted in stock decades ago when hunting in the hut was practicable.
From hand to hand
The over-and-under turns from hand to hand and the dogs work really well, thanks also to the slight humidity, residue of the night cool: you follow the work of the setter with a calm and sure eye while it is convenient to keep moving while staying alert with the search for the labrador. which also has a formidable nose. While with the setter you have all the time and the way to approach the stop and then insist that the quail leave the hiding place by flying away, with the labrador you have to keep under control the hair on the back, the movements and the posture of the ears that, once learn, they give the hunter the alert to get closer: the little dog doesn't give much time, just enough, however, to be ready for the departure of the threatened prey. We will say that most of the shots were first barrel and with a correct timing favored by the light weight of the rifle ready to the shoulder in a formidable way: the tiny pellets of the 12 prove to be lethal without ever ruining the prey and without unpleasant injuries; in the few second-hand recoveries the 7½s leave no way out even at marked distances. The recoveries are the prerogative of the labrador who still has the bad habit of chewing the small game a little: it is therefore necessary to give her the invitation to let go quickly to preserve the culinary usability of the fine meat.
At the end of the contest, his friend Mark exhibits fresh bread (purchased at 06.30 on April 25) a savory medium-aged toma and, great refinement, a hop omelette that arouses the enthusiasm of the onlookers, all planted with a bottle of Nebiolo Superiore dei Roeri. So the comments on the shotgun and on the performance of the 28 gauge unfold in ease and truth: all very satisfied with the little big superimposed on Yildiz and the experience with the small cartridges and their minuscule load of 19 g for the 12 shot and the more authoritative 24 g for the 7½ Fiocchi.
In short, everyone said they were willing to repeat the experiment shortly and we have already had calls from other friends to be part of the next round.
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