Gun

Brierley's Bloxham Special

Brierley Guns have taken Miroku's ever-popular MK38, blended it with the input of Carl Bloxham and Nigel Teague and come up with a gun that is ready for top-level competition. Is it a recipe for success? Richard Rawlingson finds out.

The concept of the 'tricked up' competition gun has been slow to take off in this country. In America it is commonplace for companies such as Seminole Gunworks or Ballistic Specialities to take a standard gun and modify it  - a bit like tuning a standard saloon car for racing. Lots of things can be done to a standard gun, from choke and forcing cone alterations to porting, trigger tuning and stock work. We have plenty of specialists who can do one or more of these things but no one has pulled them together to put on sale a 'ready to race' package that saves the buyer the time and trouble of getting all the work carried out.

Now that has changed as James and Brett Hand of the West Midlands retail outlet Brierley Guns and importers of the Danuser recoil reduction system, have used the expertise of top sporting shot Carl Bloxham to design their version of the ideal sporting gun. Carl of course has enjoyed most of his success with the Miroku marque. The aim, according to James Hand, is to put a gun into the hands of the improving shot "in which he can have total confidence, sure that if he is doing the right things his gun will deliver the results." The result is a package full of interesting details and we put it through a strenuous test to find out if a harmonious blend results.

The Gun

The starting point for this gun is a standard Grade 1 Miroku MK38 trap model. This is of course the latest incarnation of a famous line that has been winning at the highest level for over 30 years. Miroku's interpretation of the classic Browning action has itself become a classic, with a reputation for reliability and for being one of the most 'user friendly' guns you can buy. It is natural that Carl chose the trap version because he himself favours the beavertail fore end found on this gun. You can of course get the MK38 in sporter form with a schnabel fore end and no doubt this could be specified if you have a strong preference for this particular style. (Personally I have always wished Miroku offered a less bulky, plain or semi-beavertail style as an option but that's another story.)

That the MK38 sporter exists at all as an official variant of what was always marketed as a specialist trap and skeet gun is already largely due to the trend started by the likes of Carl and Gary Phillips a decade and more ago. Rather than use the sporters on offer at the time, they took Miroku trap guns and 'sporterised' them. To cash in on the trend Browning Sports introduced the sporter model as a factory standard around six years ago, although there were very few changes from the standard trap gun beyond different chokes and that schnabel fore end.

An essential part of the 'sporterising' process was a set of Nigel Teague's thin wall interchangeable chokes and Nigel has modified hundreds of Mirokus since then, as a glance at the Miroku section in any used gun list will show. It is no surprise then that Brierley Guns have turned to Nigel for his latest long choke conversion on this model. There is really very little more that needs to be said about the quality of these chokes, proven as they are in the most demanding circumstances. Suffice to say that the fitting of them is so precise that I had to look twice to check that they actually were present on our test gun when it first arrived.

His input does not stop there however because he has done a substantial amount of other work on the barrels. The forcing cones have been lengthened from the very sharp angle of the original barrels to about 1.5 inches. This will not however be making as much difference on the MK38's overbored barrels as it might on a gun of standard bore.

The other main change is the addition of porting, using Nigel's unique banana shaped ports. These are designed to reduce the vertical flip of the barrels after the first shot, with obvious advantages, if successful, in terms of smooth and accurate acquisition of the second target. Nigel tells me that some tests he carried out on an otherwise standard pair of guns (in this case two older Miroku 3800s) showed a reduction in vertical travel of around 2.5 inches at the muzzles, a significant amount if you think what that this can translate to a deflection of several feet at a typical clay range.

The other modification, and a major part of the cost increase over the price of a bog standard gun, is the addition of a Danuser Counter Coil recoil reduction system as featured in our February issue. This adjustable unit has proved very popular and will also help reduce excess gun movement as well as smoothing out felt recoil.

Cosmetics

There is very little to say about the MK38 or its Miroku stablemates that has not already been said before. Along with Beretta, the Miroku factory continues to set the benchmark for presentation of guns in this sector of the market. While Beretta and the factory's Browning branded products seek an edge through sharp styling, Miroku badged guns retain their sober and conservative looks. This is eminently sensible, allowing what is essentially the same basic product to be positioned to appeal to a different audience.

Miroku's clean lines and elegant decoration have always been very much to my taste, although I notice that the Grade 1 now comes with a satin finish lacquer on the woodwork rather than the oil finish on my wife's gun from about five years ago. This is a shame because it does detract from the overall look of the gun and certainly does not mellow with age in the same way. If looks are important to you then the extra £500 or so for the Grade 3 version may be worth the investment.

On Test

Having a standard specification MK38 to hand proved useful, allowing me to make direct comparisons between the two guns. I headed out to the range armed with a selection of competition cartridges in 24, 28, 32 and 36 gram loads to cover the full spectrum of normal use.

The first point of note with the Brierley model is that the balance is rather different to the standard gun, being if anything just a touch back of the hinge pin rather than the more usual weight forward emphasis. This is undoubtedly the result of the weight of the Counter coil unit, bearing in mind that the Teague chokes are adding virtually nothing at the front end. (The overall weight of the gun incidentally is 8lb 5oz (3.8kg)  - about 5oz (200g) up on the normal weight when it left the factory.) The effect is to quicken the handling somewhat, but it also takes away some of the gun's typical character. I think if it were mine I would be looking to add some weight back at the front end - maybe within the fore end - to counter this.

 The back-to-back testing proved illuminating. There is no doubt that the modified gun is smoother to shoot than my standard, untouched, version. The effect started to become really noticeable on the 32 and especially 36 gram loads, where both the perception of recoil and the movement of the muzzles is significantly reduced. With normal 28 gram loads it was less marked on initial trial, but I am sure the cumulative toll would be reduced over a longer period such as a 100 bird course. Also to be fair the unit was not optimised for any one load before the test. It is adjustable through four settings and this is something best done to suit your chosen cartridge through a certain amount of trial and error. 

What is difficult to deduce of course is the extent to which each modification is actually contributing to the changes. Even the additional weight on its own will be having some effect. The answer is probably that all are playing some part and that the cumulative effect is certainly worthwhile.

There is one small downside, characteristic of all shock absorber type recoil units unless fitted to a gun with a completely parallel comb. As the unit contracts the position of the cheek on the comb changes slightly and this can lead to some contact with the cheekbone. It will be less obvious on a gun of fairly shallow stock drop such as the Mk38, but I was conscious of a knock to the face with the Counter-Coil gun. Nigel Teague tells me that he can alleviate this with a minor stock modification or Brierley Guns can offset the Danuser unit slightly to produce the same effect.

The gun has been refitted with the standard Miroku ventilated trap pad and this is one feature I would take issue with. I have never been a fan of these for sporting use - neither the shape nor the surface stickiness being particularly suited. You can of course easily have the pad of your choice fitted and I would recommend something on the firm side to let the hydraulics work as they are intended. 

In the areas not covered by the modifications the gun performed just as anticipated. Miroku's triggers really are remarkably consistent and on this gun they measured spot on 4lb for the bottom barrel and a touch more for the top, with the characteristic initial free play followed by a crisp break. Sadly there is no facility to adjust the trigger position on this model.

All this work results in a retail price of £1845 and lifts the gun from its original price point into direct competition with the likes of the Browning Ultra XS and the Beretta 682E. Both of these guns are packed with features and sharply styled and the Miroku looks a little plain perhaps alongside them. Beauty however is only skin deep and there have been worthwhile improvements under the surface. This is a very interesting and well thought out package, drawing on the expertise of one of our most consistent sporting champions, and it comes very close to its aim of giving the keen shot a competition tuned gun straight out of the box, without the hassle of getting all the modifications made later. I wonder if it is the start of a trend?

More information: Brierley Guns 01384 573410