Gun

Bisley 2000 Sporter

Tony Kennedy has returned to his favourite Italian hunting grounds and come up with another tempting package to challenge the established names. Richard Rawlingson investigates.

I guess we have all got things in our past that would cause intense embarrassment if they ever got out. There exists somewhere, for example, a picture of me circa 1975 wearing a particularly dodgy pair of flared trousers that I would not like to share with the world (the kipper tie that went with them was even better) and I bet David Bowie still finds very little to laugh about whenever 'The Laughing Gnome' comes on the radio.

Companies can have embarrassing pasts too. BMW may be today's ultra-cool motor industry market leaders, but forty years ago they were saved from extinction by a three-wheeled bubble car and Nissan once sold a car called the Cedric. Which is why it is probably cruel to rake over the past of the manufacturer of this month's test gun. Investarm is the company in question and I suspect that you have either never heard of them or you associate them with a folding .410 that could be shoved down your trousers out of sight if the village bobby caught you poaching the local squire's pheasants.

Cheap and cheerful has been Investarm's forte for a long time. They have kept much of the lower end of the Italian market supplied with no-frills shotguns for years, but now things are changing. A new generation of the family is in charge and substantial investment has been made to take the company forward into new market areas. In particular they have looked enviously at the relentless progress of the likes of Perazzi and have decided that they fancy some of that action. The result is a new series of guns that Tony Kennedy is calling the Bisley 2000 in recognition of his move to open new premises at Bisley later this autumn. In the rest of the world it will be known as the Sydney series - in honour of this year's Olympics of course - but as snappy a name as Cedric in my book and I can see why Tony changed it.

Technical Overview

One of the abiding themes of the last couple of years has been the move within the market to follow down the Perazzi path with competition guns based on the Boss action. The Spanish Kemen was the first and most successful to date of course, but then we have had Gamba, AYA's MD series, Perugini and Visini and Marocchi all looking to emulate the success of the Perazzi MX series of guns.

Looking at the basic specification of the Bisley 2000, the most obvious comparison is with the Perazzi MX5 that was launched last year. That gun swapped the famous Perazzi detachable trigger action for a simpler boxlock design and Investarm have gone for a very similar configuration. It also has many similarities with the AYA layout.

What we have is a fairly conventional assembly of tried and tested design. Unlike the Perazzi MX5, which features a much simplified locking system, the Bisley gets the full Boss treatment, with bifurcated lumps marrying up to substantial projections from the floor and walls of the receiver. Conventional lugs either side of the bottom barrel are locked by a bolt emerging from the breech face. The barrel monobloc also houses a simple two-piece ejector system, which is spring-loaded.

Simplicity is also the theme inside the action. Powered by two substantial coil springs, the lockwork is hung from the top strap in a layout that has more than a hint of Miroku about it. As combinations go, Perazzi at the front and Miroku at the back isn't bad I guess. What impresses immediately about the lockwork is the quality of the finish. Investarm make extensive use of the latest CNC technology - as any maker must these days to stay competitive in this sector of the market - but there is a substantial amount of hand finishing evident in the way the parts have been polished. It looks good and holds the promise of a long and trouble-free life.

Our test gun, one of the first production models, came as a 30-inch sporter. A choice of 28 and 32 inch barrels will also be available as will trap models. The production guns will have one or two minor differences in the details which I will cover as we come to them.

The barrels have a ventilated mid rib and raised top rib, the latter tapering from 10 to 7mm and plain cross-cut. I prefer a central channel on my ribs but like the taper. A rather large pink bead is fitted but this will be replaced on production guns by something less obtrusive, or indeed by whatever the buyer prefers. The barrel weight is exactly 1.5 kg, not ultra-light, but not too heavy either.

The gauge reveals bores that are slightly on the tight side - .726 in the bottom and .727 in the top. It also reveals very long forcing cones - five inches of gentle taper ahead of the 70mm (2¾") chambers. The gun is available as either fixed or multi-choke, the fixed choke version costing £100 less. The chokes themselves are the thin wall type, made by Investarm in house and weighing just 20 grams. The tubes are nicely finished and five are supplied with the gun, together with a good quality key and neat case.

The trigger on our gun is fixed, but I am told that an adjustable version will be available as an option. The barrel selector is a simple side-to-side rocker built in to the safety catch and it would be possible to change over accidentally, especially when wearing gloves. I much prefer the more positive action of the Browning/Miroku H-pattern.

The factory has computerised stock making facilities and can therefore produce each stock to order if required. I will therefore not go into too much detail about the stock dimensions on the test gun. Within reason most individual preferences can be accommodated when the gun is ordered. I assume the same applies to fore end design. As fitted the gun has a schnabel type, I would be tempted to opt for the plain semi-beavertail that Perazzi have been using on their sporters in recent times.

Cosmetics

The standard grade guns will be available with a choice of plain black action, as pictured, or plain silver. Higher grade engraved models will be following in due course. Although largely devoid of decoration, the action body has been highly polished and should be reasonably durable. The trigger lade is finished a rather tacky gold colour on the test gun but will be in plain polished steel on the main production run.

The finish on the barrels is very good, with no bulges or ripples. The thin wall chokes also mean that there is no obvious bulging at the muzzles to accommodate them.      

The test gun has upgraded wood, which Tony Kennedy tells me he is specifying as his 'default' grade unless the customer specifies otherwise. It would be possible to opt for plainer wood at a saving of around £150. Both the stock and fore end show plenty of figure, but the finish is rather pale for British tastes as will be evident in our photographs. This again is being remedied on the production guns, which will have a darker stain. The final finish is a satin lacquer rather than oil.

The chequering is neatly done and at about 28 lines per inch is not too aggressive. Wood to metal fit is good throughout, with the wood deliberately left proud of the metal.  A rather firm 15mm rubber butt pad is fitted which I would change for a sorbathane type for preference.

On Test

The gun weighs 7lb 13oz (3.55kg), a good average weight for a sporting model. I would describe the balance as very neutral, with the bias - if any - just a fraction towards the muzzles. Without any strong 'flavour' to colour opinion it tended to attract muted approval from all who picked it up. It feels very shootable, if perhaps lacking in character.

Out on the range the gun proved to have quick handling, very reminiscent in fact of the last Perazzi sporter I tested, but not so fast that it becomes difficult to control. It is possible to adopt a more deliberate approach, but it feels more at home if you swing instinctively and fire as the gun hits the shoulder. Both Kevin O'Brien and I found the recoil noticeable when using some quick competition loads and unpleasant when we slipped in a couple of 36 gram FITASC shells. I would attribute this mainly to fit, the test gun being on the short side for me. It was also rather thick in the comb area; often a contributory factor for me if a gun causes bruising to the cheekbones. Given the custom stock facility this should not be taken as a general criticism.

Also immediately apparent was the quality of the breaks from those thin chokes. I used just quarter and half on a selection of sporting targets and it would be difficult to imagine better kills.

General operation is fine, the top lever stiffness will quickly wear in and the fore end latch is large and easy to use. Ejection of spent cases was positive and strong. The trigger also impressed; there is just a small amount of slack before a very crisp pull, measuring just under 4lb on my gauge for the bottom barrel and 4½lb for the top.

Summary

For a maker not previously heavily involved in this sector of the market, this is a good effort. It is a very well made and sweet handling gun with no obvious faults or weaknesses. As tested it will sell for £2495 - head to head with the Perazzi MX5 and £500 cheaper than the basic Kemen - which makes it fair if not outstanding value in my book. It more than holds its own with the better-known brands for specification and finish, but it does lack the Perazzi's magic name or the Kemen's track record and that might be enough to sway many people. My feeling is that it might need a more aggressive price point to really sell in volume. All credit to Investarm though for producing a gun that feels so right first time out.

More information: Kennedy Gunmakers 01566 774465 or e-mail tk@kennedyguns.demon.co.uk