Is there anything much sweeter than swinging a quality, over/under on a cool, clear, crisp day? Not really. Which is why I had so darn much fun busting a few clays this morning with Barrett’s Sovereign Rutherford shotgun in smooth shooting 20 gauge.
Barrett collaborates on these beauties with Italian shotgun maker Fausti. They offer them in 12, 16 (yes, 16), 20 and 28 gauges. And each receiver is scaled for the specific gauge.
The 28″ scattergun I shot (and wanted to walk off with) will set you back $2,200. Given the quality of the wood, the engraving and the quality of materials and construction, not an unreasonable price at all.
I also fondled their B-XPro clays gun. Sovereign offers it in 30″ and 32″ barrel models
It features and adjustable comb and trigger for dialing in your exact length of pull.
The B-XPro in either barrel length runs $3,075.
Wow. A 16 ga in a 16 ga frame. Color me envious.
Yup. And drop dead gorgeous to boot. $2,200 is not a bad price.
That puts it in the affordable range. I need to research the availability of steel loads for a 16. CA, don’t like lead for hunting.
I really like my $500 Stevens Savage 555.
I have a worn out Stevens 512. It lasted two years and broke three firing pins. The trigger is pretty flakey, too.
I don’t know why a good double barrel shotgun has to cost to much. But I do know that you get what you pay for.
I’ve run about 500 12ga target rounds through my 555 so far and it has been a very nice gun. No problems.
I was thinking of a snarky comment, but I saw the price of this shotgun. -Mic drop, can’t be bothered.
A receiver specifically for a 16? Color me impressed. Even in their heyday, the American gunmakers would usually make the 16’s on the same frame as the 12’s.
The 16 doesn’t get enough love any more. Everyone thinks a 12 is the be-all-end-all. For some upland game, a 20 is too light, a 12 gets ponderous to lug around all day. A 16 with an improved choke would be the bees’ knees for long-shot upland game like chukar and huns.
And $2200 for that gun is entirely reasonable.
Looks like an impressive piece. I’m not a 16 gauge fan, but I haven’t spent much time shooting one. $2200 sounds like a great price if it’s built well.
You owe it to yourself to spend some time with a 16. They are just about perfect for all around shooting. Except for geese at a distance. IMHO.
They look good, and Fausti has a good name when it comes to production. I looked on the webpage and couldn’t find the weight of the various models, however.
Only downside is the current usd/cad exchange rate. Oh well.
Nice to know the barrel lengths and prices, but the critical dimension (weight) for the B-XPro isn’t even listed on the Barrett website! If it’s just another hard kicking 7 pound Italian OU, you can beat yourself to death with a $300 Mossberg and save yourself a bunch of money in the process.
The 30″ Barrel weighs 8.2 lbs, the 32″ weighs 8.3 lbs
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