Gun

KENNEDY
COMPETITION
TRAP

It is over two years now since we first saw the Kennedy Competition made by Perugini & Visini in Italy. The sporting model has enjoyed success, not least in the hands of Sean Bramley, but we had not until now had a chance to put a trap gun through its paces, an omission remedied by the arrival of this month’s test gun with 32-inch barrels. On paper it should provide direct competition for the likes of Perazzi, Kemen and Gamba, both in specification and in price.

Italian guns are very much Tony Kennedy’s forte. From his impressive new premises, just across the way from the new National Shooting Centre at Bisley, he deals in some of the world’s finest and most exotic guns. Breathtaking guns from makers such as Piotti, Bosis and Desenzani line the racks along with more affordable gems. This comprehensive knowledge of the trade in and around Brescia, where many small firms operate alongside the giants, as once would have been the case in Birmingham, allows him to work directly with these artisan makers to produce guns to his exact specifications.
This is the background to the Kennedy Competition. Perugini & Visini is a small firm that has, in just 30 years or so, established a reputation for hand made quality. Much of this was built on the back of their superb Express double rifles such as the Selous, which did much to build the name on the international stage. The firm employs just 10 people and produces no ‘stock’ guns, everything being bespoke in the true sense of the word - that is produced to an individual order. A selection of both game and competition models is kept in stock at Bisley, but the majority of guns are made to order, with current lead times around 12-14 weeks from fitting to delivery for the standard model.
Although the guns are unique in that every one has its own individual specification, the pricing is very much in line with the obvious rivals. The plain black action model starts at £3950 and prices rise as wood upgrades and individual engraving options are added in. The test gun shown in our main photographs has a price tag of £7500.

Technical Overview

With obvious exceptions such as Beretta’s ASE/SO models, the Brescia trade is in general agreement on the favoured style for over-and-under shotguns in the middle price bracket and above. The majority favour the Boss-inspired action with its shallow frame and bifurcated lumps that we associate most closely in the competition field with Perazzi. You will find guns built on this basic template at prices from £3-50,000 and above. It has become as much Brescia’s signature as the hammerless sidelock was to London or the Anson and Deeley Boxlock to Birmingham in the heyday of the English gun trade.
Almost all the guns of this design are what is known as trigger plate actions, the trigger mechanisms being built up on a platform from which the trigger itself is hung. The majority, certainly in this price range, go further by making the trigger unit itself detachable, often claimed as a practical benefit for easy spring replacement, but I, suspect, much more to do with status and to demonstrate the maker’s technical skills.
The Kennedy Competition has this obligatory feature, the unit dropping out easily by pulling back on the safety catch. It is an impressive piece of workmanship, the highly polished steel surfaces contrasting with matt gilding used on the tumblers, sears and trigger blade itself. It is powered by V-springs and a spare set (together with spare firing pins) is supplied with the gun. Replacing broken springs does seem to be relatively straightforward, so there appears to be some practical benefit. Remember that V-springs break, usually without notice, whereas coil springs just get tired, so the ability to replace one in the field is worthwhile.
Each maker has his own little variations on the theme, so the P&G trigger looks quite different to a Gamba, which in turn is different to the Perazzi design. On this gun the cocking levers at the front run on a special bearing for greater strength and the trigger blade itself can be set to one of four positions simply by releasing sprung catch. Being a trap gun, this unit is a non-selector type; sporting guns have a barrel selector set into the rear of the trigger.
The monobloc barrels, chambered for 70mm cartridges, weigh exactly 1600g, fairly typical of the weight we are seeing these days for 32-inch tubes on guns of this type. Richard Warwick at Kennedy’s tells me that they can get down to around 1530g if required. Both mid and top rib are ventilated, the plain cross-cut top rib tapering from 10 to 6mm. The ejectors are of the expected simple sprung type.
The barrel boring moves away from the Italian tradition of slightly tighter than nominal bores and in fact is rather similar to Beretta’s latest ‘Optima’ dimensions. Both barrels measure .732” against the nominal 12-bore .729” and feature extended forcing cones. The gun is choked three-quarter and full, the actual constrictions being 27 and 36 thou respectively.
The overriding impression of the action itself is the neatness of the execution. The cocking slide runs through the action floor, concealed except for its leading end. This gives the receiver very clean lines.

COSMETICS
One of the great joys of a bespoke gun is the ability to personalise it. I have handled and photographed a number of Perugini & Visini Kennedy guns and, standard black actions aside, no two have been exactly alike. For those however who see no point in ornamentation on a competition gun, the standard model will be perfectly adequate, with its clean lines and gold maker’s name.
I am a sucker however for a bit of decoration and the test gun certainly drew plenty of admiring comments around the office when it came out of the case. The firm uses a number of rising stars on the Brescia engraving scene and this gun was engraved by Tomasoni. I have seen several examples of his work and he excels at this style of bold acanthus leaf scrollwork. With its dark ground — the product of hundreds of individual dots with the chisel — and dramatic swirling foliage, it is absolutely stunning.
At this price level you also get a striking piece of walnut, although I would have preferred a traditional oil finish to the gloss lacquer and this could of course be specified. The chequering is very fine — 27 lines per inch — and generally well executed with only a few minor blemishes.
Overall the gun has an air of quality, with all the parts highly polished and the operation smooth. Telltale signs, such as the impeccable fit around the quite complex shapes of the fore end furniture, show real attention to detail and the scrollwork has been extended to all the minor ironwork. You would hope when spending this kind of money to get a thing of beauty and I doubt any buyer would be disappointed if this is the standard the factory maintains.

ON TEST
The gun, as tested, weighs a fairly meaty 3.85 kg (81/2 lbs). With only 1600g of that in the barrels however the balance is virtually neutral and the first impression is of a gun with fairly fast handling, despite the 32-inch tubes. With this set up I would rate it more a gun for the faster international disciplines than, say DTL. As ever when discussing the performance of a bespoke gun, I make the comment that general conclusions cannot be drawn in the same way that you can with a standard production gun. Handling characteristics will vary considerably from gun to gun according to the specifications made by the buyer.
The English influence is very apparent on this demonstrator. There is none of the excess bulk through the comb area that is so common on Italian guns – particularly trap guns – nor is the radius of the grip as severe as it might be. The fore end is a plain beavertail, nicely slim and very comfortable. This gun is fitted with a fairly thin and firm rubber recoil pad that is doing very little except finishing the stock off.
At first I thought the stock was rather high, but in fact drop at the comb is a modest 35mm. However the stock is almost parallel and so the gun feels — and indeed shoots — higher with almost no slope at the point where face and comb meet. Again this is a feature of this gun only. Buyers are encouraged to visit the factory for fitting and selection of stock blanks if they wish.
The trigger loses out in comparison with the very best by virtue of a small amount of initial free play. Once taken up the action is very crisp and well weighted, the first measuring at 3 lbs, the second about a pound heavier.
The Kennedy Competition proved very sweet to shoot, especially with typical 24 gram competition loads. That weight soaks up recoil superbly. Patterns, as you would expect, were very tight and produced confidence boosting kills at all normal ranges.

SUMMARY
This gun moves in fairly rich circles. In this stage of trim and at this price level, you can get some serious kit from direct Italian rivals Perazzi or Gamba or a very well specified Kemen, not to mention the likes of Krieghoff or the venerable Browning B25. You might be tempted to say that it will suffer because it lacks a ‘name’, but perversely I wonder if that might work in its favour, with a kind of ‘boutique chic’ appeal for buyers wanting to stand out from the crowd, in much the same way people choose a TVR over the more obvious charms of say a Porsche.
Make no mistake Perugini & Visini know how to build guns, for all their small size and limited output. This is a very stylish and well screwed together gun that really starts to come into its own when you move away from the black action look-alikes to the more distinctive higher grade models. Trendsetters should form a short (and very select) queue.