Beretta 687 EELL Classic £6,850 A modern icon, the EELL from Beretta is amongst the most sought after guns by sportsmen and women up and down the country, and with even a cursory glance it is easy to see why. With a design lineage stretching back to 1979, Beretta’s 680 line of guns have long…
Gun buying guide
Budget shotguns
Lincoln Premier A bestseller, the Premier satisfies the need for an elegant and practical shotgun at a reasonable price. It features fine chequering, internally chromed bore and chambers for improved lifespan and better distributed shot patterns, and is available in 12- or 20-bore. Key features: Three-year warranty as standard, fine-pitch laser chequering with double-grip pattern. Bisley Price: from £800 Huglu 103 DE…
Hunting rifles – Parker Hale M81
The M81 rifle was Parker Hale’s top-of-the-range hunting/stalking rifle and completed a portfolio of bolt-action rifles. These included classic, clip feed, deluxe, standard, African and varmint grades, to name a few. Pure English styling The M81 was a refined version of the hugely popular 1200 model rifle, with more classic styling, and was introduced in 1986.…
The Sauer 404 bolt-action rifle
The 202, the predecessor of the 404 was launched in 1993 and was seen as one of the best rifles around. However, the new 404 has many mechanical improvements over the 202, one being the safety catch. When you push the safety catch up to make the rifle “live”, you are physically cocking the rifle. Moving the safety catch…
The AYA No. 1: the best gun I never had
When I edited the very first issue of Sporting Gun, back in 1977, I asked Fred Buller of Chubbs of Edgeware, then one of the country’s leading gunsmiths, to nominate the best new gun for a newcomer on a limited budget. Without hesitation, he recommended the AYA Yeoman. In the era it was a tough but well-balanced, sweet-handling side-by-side boxlock –…
Three secondhand Sporters
Miroku MK60 Universal Grade 5 In the 1980s a type of gun for the Sporting disciplines was just evolving. All too many Continental manufacturers were trying to palm us off with slightly modified trap guns, while their game guns were too light and often too tightly choked, and skeet guns were too open-choked and not nearly steady…
On test: Schultz & Larsen Legacy .223
Schultz & Larsen (S&L) comes from Denmark and has a long history of making precision rifles and barrels. It has become a household name for its excellent cut rifled barrels and its new CNC machinery produces quality at an a ordable price. Schultz & Larsen offers a good range for stalking rifles and this Legacy model is designed for…
Mossberg 930 Duck Commander on test
The products of O. F. Mossberg & Sons, always known simply as Mossberg, have, since their founding in 1919, gained a reputation for practical designs where simplicity and reliability are outstanding features. While much of the product range concentrates on rifled firearms, in the UK the manufacturer is probably better known for its semi-automatic shotguns. My introduction to Mossberg was…
Second-hand 20-bore game guns
Browning B725 Hunter 20-bore, target price £1,500 A basic, Grade 1 version of the Browning B725 Hunter may weigh anything between 7lb and almost 7½lb, depending on barrel length (tubes of up to 32in are available) and wood density. And those figures suggest to me that the weight is right for a full day’s comfortable shooting.…
Remington 1100 – the best gun I never had
The year 1963 may not seem so long ago, but in truth the world then was rather different to the present day. There was no colour TV, the few computers that existed were laboratory toys, there was no internet or mobile phones, and Britain still had the remains of an empire. In ’63, however, there were some…
Second-hand shotguns for the season ahead
Beretta 486 Parellelo Purchasing a gun in July will enable you to shoot a few summer clays to get used to your acquisition, and get any handling tweaks sorted out, before the serious stuff begins. The choice will be between a traditional side-by-side and a more modern over-and-under, and if you take the first…
Six of the best shotguns
Lewis Potter rounds up the best shotguns he has tested in recent years from hammergun to semi-auto and ranging from the affordable £500 price mark up to the high end £18,800. Akkar Triple Crown The Akkar Triple Crown is not a shotgun you would ever be likely to forget. Anything…
How to find bargain British side-by-side shotguns
It is not surprising that even those shooters brought up on the modern imported over-and-under sometimes cast an appreciative eye at British side-by-side shotguns, because they are fine and distinctly attractive pieces of work. Usually lighter and handier than most over-and- unders they are for many shooters still the ideal game…
Three value-for-money second-hand Sporters
Medalist Sporter More than 30 years ago, the UK Browning importers could offer an impressive range of guns – everything from £1,000-plus competition and game guns to exotic and expensive hand-built examples of John Moses Browning’s immortal B25. But one thing they didn’t have was a “starter” gun retailing under…
A buyer’s guide to airguns
Taking the second-hand route when buying an airgun can save you a small fortune. But if you don’t know what to look out for, it can also end up leaving you out of pocket and stuck with a useless piece of scrap. Fortunately, there are a plenty of clues to steer…
Second-hand semi-autos selection
Mike George picks out three second hand semi autos that you should look out for on the second hand market. He has previously chosen his three favourite second hand Sporters, second hand value for money shotguns and second hand European shotguns. Remington CTI target price is hard to say Most…
Three value for money second-hand shotguns
Mike George has previously picked out the best second-hand European shotguns, high grade guns and Sporters, now he is back with his top three value for money second hand shotguns ranging from £1,000 to £1,800+ from Miroku, Browning and Zoli. Miroku MK70 target price £1,000 If I describe the MK70…
Three second-hand over-and-under Sporters
This selection of second-hand over-and-under Sporters can be found on the second-hard market from £600. Bettinsoli X-Trail Sporter Target Price £600 One of the questions we are frequently asked on the forum section of ShootingUK is whether it is best for a newcomer with a limited budget to buy a second-hand…