This month, Mike reviews a very exciting prospect – a gun that looks like a Silver Pigeon for less than £600! But will the remarkable price tag have an impact on its performance?
This month our test concerns an ATA SP Bronze – a gun which, save for colour, looks much like a Beretta Silver Pigeon with regard to its external action form, but which is produced in Turkey. Most remarkably, it has an RRP which skims just under the £600 mark (£595). This is less than half the cost of the cheapest Silver Pigeon, so it will be interesting to see what, if any, corners are cut to offer the ATA at this sort of money. I took the gun off the well-stocked shelves of Atkin, Grant & Lang at their Broomhills shooting ground in Hertfordshire for testing. That firm frequently helps us with gun reviews – many thanks to Tom, Julian and Rachael there.
First impressions of the SP, ignoring the price point, are very positive. This is an attractive, modern, single-trigger, multi-choked over-and-under intended for game or clays. There is little radical about it save for the action colour, which is subdued. The general presentation and specification impresses. At the price point, the quality of finish is outstanding with lustrous blacking and excellent wood to metal fit, though the wood itself is a little dull. The gun weighs in at a near ideal 7½lb with 30" barrels – perfect for all-round use. Other models are available with 28" barrels, such as the ATA Black Laminated at £650.
Denne historien er fra December 2017-utgaven av Sporting Shooter.
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Denne historien er fra December 2017-utgaven av Sporting Shooter.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
RSPB gives mixed message on shooting
Having recently attended the RSPB’s virtual AGM, Conor O’Gorman discusses the outcome of the charity’s year-long review of game bird shooting
Causeway for concern
Alan Jarrett’s renewed interest in reading takes him down memory lane to an offshore island duck flight that very nearly ended in disaster
Through a purple patch
The Garrows Estate is taking a conservation-focused approach to restoring the wildlife populations and biodiversity on the Scottish heather moorland.
When the wheels fall off
Losing form on a day’s shooting can be infuriating, especially if you’ve been shooting like a god up to that point. Simon O’Leary looks at some common causes and how to remedy them
Beaches, books & bad behaviour!
The annual Kay family vacation to Northumberland offers a chance to give the cockers a blast on the beach – although they don’t always shower themselves in glory, as Ryan Kay recalls...
Using the Stop whistle
Now you’ve instilled the basics, it’s time to up the ante with some more tricky distance work. Howard Kirby explains how to take the core Stop whistle command to the next level
The humble teal
They may be tiny, but as far as Rupert Butler is concerned, the appeal of this little duck is huge. He recalls some of his most memorable nights in pursuit of these aerial acrobats
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
CALL OF THE WILD
Dom Holtam reconnects with one of the purest forms of shotgun shooting as he walks-up woodcock over pointing dogs in the Scottish Highlands
A yen for the Fens
Tony Jackson recounts a memorable duck flight over an area of Fenland in Norfolk with his friend and author, the late Alan Savory
