Zoli Z Vintage: “one of the prettiest guns I have ever seen”
Becky McKenzie tests a classy Vintage from Zoli and is seduced by more than its good looks
This is one of the prettiest guns I have ever seen. I was so glad to finally get my hands on the Zoli Z Vintage and drool over the case hardened action as well as give it a good testing.
Edgar Brothers, the importers of Zoli into the UK, kindly sent me the Zoli Z Vintage and the Zoli XL Evo, which I reviewed and really liked. So I was really keen to see what the Vintage was like in the flesh. It is a very different gun from the Evo. For a start it is colour case hardened, and I have never owned one of those before. And the Vintage is very pretty. But I have already mentioned that.
The Z Vintage is presented in a nice silver hard case, felt-lined with Zoli gun socks to keep the barrels, action and stock free from damage in transit. Taking the stock and action out of the slip, I was quite surprised to see the case hardened action. It was even better than expected. It had the most beautiful, delicate gold inlay around the action, and trigger-guard, which was stunning.
The action is made of forged alloy steel, which is very strong, and the gun has a Boss-style locking system within the action. The gold engraving is by the Master Engravers of Creative Art and the trigger is also gold, detachable, selective, and adjustable for length of pull.
The action is made from forged alloy steel
Roll out the barrel
Barrels are available in various lengths: 28in, 29.5in, 32in and 34in, with various ribs, such as flat rib – tapered 11mm to 7mm – mid rib and high rib. Like all Zolis, the barrels are silver soldered, which make these barrels strong. On the test gun provided to me, the bead was orange, but you can also select a white bead or even a brass bead, which is my personal favourite.
The stock on this Vintage was of high-quality Turkish walnut, with a fairly thin recoil pad. There are various stock sizes and dimensions to choose from, instead of the standard one that comes with it. You can also go out to the Zoli factory and have a custom stock made for your new pride and joy. I highly recommend this, as you can have a factory tour, which I found interesting. The fore-end was a normal round London-style, but you can also have a beavertail at extra cost, should you prefer this style of fore-end.
The Zoli Z Vintage also comes with a good selection of extended titanium coated chokes. There are two Skeet, cylinder, imp cylinder, light modified, modified and improved modified. Enough for any keen shooter. Total weight for the Vintage was 8lb 5oz, with a barrel weight of 3lb 6oz. The length of pull on the gun I tested was 147⁄8in.
That’s all the tech stuff out of the way, so let’s discuss how this gorgeous gun actually shot.
The stock is made from high-quality Turkish walnut
Testing the Z Vintage
The first stand was driven. Not one of my favourite targets, but the Vintage coped well enough. The gun felt good in the hands, as did the stock. Even though it was non-adjustable it didn’t fit me too badly. Moving swiftly on to stand two, there was a pair of ‘on report’ crossers. This gave me a good chance to feel how the gun felt with the 32in barrels. My old Zoli had a nice set of 30¾in barrels, which I really liked.
The Vintage felt very similar to a standard Z gun in the way it moved, the way I could pick up clays quickly because of the good, clean sight picture. It moved the way it should. But it looked lush.
The crossers on stand two were not a problem. Starting with the correct hold point, calling for the left to right first, the Zoli moved with ease, picking up speed when I wanted it to. I felt I didn’t have to think too much about what I was doing. Let me explain a bit more. (Read how to shoot crossers.)
On certain guns, I sometimes find that when I am pulling the barrels in front of the clay to give some lead, the way the gun moves catches me out because of the muscle memory produced by using my own guns. I can easily speed out in front using my own guns. But the Zoli felt easy to shoot and I was not fighting the barrels when I wanted to give the target some lead.
The next few stands had provided some tough targets and the Zoli Z Vintage didn’t let me down here either. I, on the other hand, may have misjudged the lead on the big looper. The Vintage also seemed to make very light work of rabbits, which I can, on occasion have a wobble on, but who doesn’t?
Becky finds the Vintage a pleasure to use and shoot
Verdict
All in all, I really liked the Zoli Z Vintage. It’s truly a handsome gun without being too ‘in your face’. It’s a pleasure to look at and a pleasure to shoot.
The fore-end is a round London-style but you can have a beavertail at extra cost
Tech specs
- Model Zoli Z Vintage
- Bore 12-bore
- Action Boss locking style
- Barrel length 32in
- Chamber 3in
- Chokes Zoli Extended titanium coated
- Rib 11mm to 7mm tapered
- Fore-end Round
- Weight 8lb 5oz Price £10,550
