Krieghoff K20 shotgun review
The K20, a true, scaled-down 20-bore version of its bigger brothers, was introduced in the year 2000.
By Lewis Potter
Thursday, 28 June 2007
German engineering is world famous for reliability and precision finish. And living testament to this are shotguns built by the Kreighoff company.
Price: £3000 & upwards
Krieghoff, a company with a long history of making fine hunting rifles and shotguns, first started to look at competition guns in the late 1950s, and from that early research the famous K80 was born. The Krieghoff engineers must have got it right, because the model is still with us and still winning competitions after well over 50 years.
An early influence on the designers must have been the successful pre-war Remington Model 32, and the 3200 which succeeded it in post-war years, because all modern Krieghoff competition guns use a similar, unusual but very effective, bolting system. Miroku also used a similar system on their now long discontinued model 3000.
The K20, a true, scaled-down 20-bore version of its bigger brothers, was introduced in the year 2000.
Who makes it?
The modern company of H. Krieghoff GmbH has its origins in a gunmaking firm founded in the German city of Suhl in 1886. After the chaos of World War II the good citizens of Suhl had the misfortune to find themselves in Communist-led East Germany, so the Krieghoff company was re established on the free side of the wire fence, in the South German city of Ulm, where two lesser rivers meet to form the Danube. There they continue to make extremely fine shotguns, rifles and pistols - still under the directorship of the Krieghoff family.
How adaptable is it?
One Sporting Gun reviewer wrote: "You don't buy a Krieghoff to keep a few bunnies off the carrots", and we can see his point. Most people will treat the K20 as a pure competition gun for sporting and skeet, but it could be used for field shooting by those who want something heavy enough to soak up recoil.
How does it work?
The first thing you notice about a Krieghoff competition shotgun is that bolt. Rather than being hidden within the works, it is there, plain for all to see, right on top of the action block. There it forms a sort of hood, sliding forwards over the tapered breech ends of the barrels to lock them tight for firing, and moving backwards, off the taper, when the top lever is pushed over to open the gun.
Within an action which is longer than most, the hammers are hinged at the bottom and are powered by coil springs mounted well forward and at either side - so well forward they cannot be seen when the stock is removed. The hammers rebound to allow the firing pins to retract after firing. Cocking is achieved as the gun opens by the fore end iron pressing down levers mounted on either side of the knuckles. The levers also serve to trigger the ejection mechanism.
The single, selective trigger transfers to the second barrel by a mechanical means, so that in the rare event of a first-barrel misfire you can just pull the trigger again and still fire a shot. There is a recoil-driven inertia mechanism, but it is only there to prevent double discharges. The sear lifter mechanism on the trigger has a very fine clearance with the sears - one factor which leads to exceptionally crisp trigger pulls, with little movement of the trigger blade.
The gun has a non-automatic safety, and the button in the centre of the thumbpiece serves just to lock it. The barrel selector is a small lever with a side-to-side movement, mounted just in front of the trigger blade. The blade itself is adjustable fore and aft.
Ejector springs are retained on rods within the fore-end iron. Each ejector has two springs, so ejection continues to function even if one breaks. The barrels hinge on stub pins. The outer action walls of the model illustrated are richly engraved with some fine hunting scenes. Various other versions are available, and not all are as expensive.
Barrels
Most over-under shotguns fire far more cartridges through the bottom barrel than the top. In fact, if you shoot trap at a high level, you may not use the top barrel much at all. At all disciplines, long strings of shots through the bottom barrel cause it to heat more than the top tube, and it therefore expands more. This causes the barrel set to warp by a tiny amount, and changes the point of impact of the shots.
It isn't a thing that most of us notice much, if at all, but the Krieghoff engineers, who seem to think of everything, have an answer to it.
- The gun has no side ribs, and the barrels are joined at the muzzles by a hanger which is firmly attached to the top barrel only, allowing the lower barrel to slide through a close-fitting ring as it expands. Therefore, there is no barrel warping as either tube expands or contracts during shooting. It is even possible to fit alternative hangers of slightly different dimensions, so the impact points of shots from both barrels can be tuned to suit the shooter and the discipline.
- The barrel set is constructed on the familiar monobloc principle.
- The 3in chambers are internally chromed, but the main bores are not - making it easier for gunsmiths to remove accidental dents.
- A full set of multichoke tubes is supplied, and although the rims protrude from the muzzles they are neatly blacked and therefore unobtrusive.
- The top rib tapers from 11mm to 7.5mm.
Woodwork
- The woodwork, in finely-figured walnut, is oil-finished.
- The standard stock is a semi Monte Carlo style, with a drop at comb of 1.1/2 inches, and 2.1/8 at heel. It is 14.3/8 inches long, including a Pachmayr sporting clays recoil pad with a slightly rounded heel.
- The pistol grip has a slight palm swell on both sides, to suit right and left-handers.
- The fore-end is in a well-shaped Schnabel style, and the chequering is very finely executed.
How heavy?
The gun weighs 7.3/4lb - heavy for a 20-bore, but very well balanced. Remember it is primarily a competition gun, so the weight should make it comfortable to shoot all day.
What the tester thought
Sporting Gun tested the K20 in May 2003. It scored nine out of 10 for both build quality and handling, and eight in each category for styling and value for money. The superb engineering and the good handling were picked out for special praise.
Price
Prices begin at £6,600, and go right up to nearly £20,000. There are many variations on the theme, including the different engraving patterns and 28-bore and .410 barrel sets to fit the 20-bore frame. There are also custom stock options. All can be discussed with the UK importer.
Alternatives
With this kind of cash to spend, you may consider a good-grade Browning B25, one of the Beretta sidelock SO series, or a top-of-the range Perazzi.
More information
UK importer is Alan Rhone, on 01978-66001.
Useful websites
Importer Alan Rhone has a superb and really informative Krieghoff-dedicated website at www.krieghoff.co.uk.
You can read an alternative opinion on the Krieghoff K20 shotgun here.
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