Fab all-rounder

Mike is impressed with the Fabarm Elos B2 Field Notte, which offers great value for money, is suited to fieldwork or clays and is future-proofed for use with steel in all choke constrictions

- MIKE YARDLEY

This month’s test gun is a new model from Fabarm. It’s called the Elos B2 Field Notte and has a very competitive RRP of £1,050.

First impressions are of an attractive black-actioned gun with plainish, but well-presented and pleasingly coloured wood. The gun looks better than its sensible price. The styling is quite conservative, which is always to my taste and much to be preferred to an array of decorative bells and whistles. There is no unnecessary bling here. The look is modern, but not too modernistic. The semi-rounded black action looks smart with partial scroll engraving coverage (around the hinge pin caps and to the rear). The Fabarm name appears in a small contrasting yellow box to the front high on the action wall near the barrel shoulder. The only decoration to the underside is the name ‘Elos’ in contrasting yellow and a small shied with ‘NOTTE and B’ in it. There is a plain, well-shaped trigger blade with a little chequering to its front surface.

The general standard of finish of the Elos impressed me. No cut corners are evident at all. Barrels are satin-blacked with a 6mm ventilated rib. I have always liked satin finish on barrels for practicality – it is especially useful in a pigeon hide where I have had shiny best black scare birds (I also always advise satin or matt barrels on hunting rifles). The Elos is equipped with multi-chokes (five supplied of ‘INNER HP’ pattern), has 3 chambers and is proofed to the unusually high figure of 1630 bar.

A useful feature of recent Fabarms is that one may use Full choke for steel in all constrictions. The firm’s introduction of 1630 bar proof spurred other makers in Gardonne to improve their actions in this respect.