Three secondhand lightweight 12-bores

ATA Arms Lightweight Field

ATA Arms Lightweight Field

• At first glance, this gun looks like a Beretta O/U – maybe a Beretta built under licence by a Turkish company.
  But despite the fact that the bolting mechanism is very Beretta-like, with sturdy pins emerging from the breech face and engaging with holes in the barrel shoulders, the internal mechanism is different.
• The ATA company has been building guns in Turkey since the 1950s, and was the first Turkish company to build O/U shotguns.
• One point I do like is that, unlike a Beretta, the transfer of the single trigger to the second barrel is mechanical rather than recoil-driven. This feature could be a benefit to Fred if 
he uses ultra-light cartridges for his clay 
shooting.
• One point I don’t like is that the 
safety is automatic – it reverts to “on” 
every time the gun is opened. But that’s 
a personal preference.
• The gun is quite a good looker, with walnut of a reasonable quality, something close to a Prince of Wales stock, and good wood-to-metal fit.
• The butt-plate is of wood.
• Chequering is laser-cut, and the stock length is 14¼ inches.
• The fore-end release is a push button at its tip.