Gun

SKB

SKB RETURNS

Kevin Gill's company Shooting and Leisure is behind the return to these shores of the forgotten Japanese gun - the SKB. Can it still compete or would it have been best left in the past? Richard Rawlingson gives his verdict.

Say the words shotgun and Japan and most people will immediately think Miroku. Indeed the Miroku range and the mechanically identical guns they make under the Browning name have for some years now been the only Japanese guns you could buy in Britain. It was a very different picture 15 years ago or so. Alongside Miroku you had the highly successful Winchester line-up and also the closely related Nikko and Shadow models - and SKB.

Back then, SKB was the wallflower of the Japanese industry. Nicely made and competitively priced, they somehow lacked the sparkle of the other brands. The distribution in the UK had been somewhat erratic too. Once sold by Parker Hale, they were last seen here around ten years ago being imported by Uttings of Norwich, before fading completely. Since then the company in Japan has merged with the Shinei group, makers of Shirstone optical equipment and Sharps rifles, and there has been talk from time to time of a return to the UK market. Now Kevin Gill has taken up the challenge and he will be marketing the range aggressively in 2001.

In many ways SKB returns at a time when the prospects of success are much greater. The range will cover the most popular price bands, starting at around £840 up to around £2100 excluding the custom grade guns, and the market is certainly less crowded now than it was in the 1980s. Conversely the 'big three' brands are stronger now than ever before, so it will probably take all Kevin's experience of the trade and top level competition to re-establish a strong sales base.

THE SKB RANGE

The company makes a full range of guns in addition to the large line-up of over-and-under models. Traditional side-by-sides are still made and there is also a handsome looking gas-operated semi-automatic available. At the top end, stunning custom grade guns, many with incredibly ornate decoration, are testament to the gunmaking skills to be found within the operation.

The volume sellers however are the standard models of over-and-unders and this is what we will concentrate on here. The nomenclature is confusing so I will try to guide you through the various guns and their designations. All are based around the same basic design, with levels of embellishment and wood quality rising as you go through the range in conventional fashion. Rather than give the guns different grade numbers however, each stage gets a different model number.

Thus the base model is the 585 (the '8' distinguishes 'big bore' models - with .735" bores - from normally bored guns in all cases). The next in line is the 605/685, with more engraving and better wood. The Model 785 has a totally different, flat-sided shape to the receiver, while the similar 705 remains unchanged (I told you it was confusing) and then the standard shape is retained on the 885 - a handsome sideplated gun, an example of which we used for the photographs. Finally there is the Model 5100, classed by SKB as a custom grade gun and featuring a detachable trigger unit. Add in the fact that engraving styles seem to vary in somewhat arbitrary fashion and you have a lot to take in. The catalogue carries the warning that 'specifications may vary and are subject to change' and with some justification it seems. I will not try to convince you that it is anything less than a bit of a muddle, but concentrate and you should get the overall picture. Some rationalisation would not go amiss however in the interests of clarity.

THE GUN

If the Japanese manufacturing industry as a whole had a motto it would probably be 'adapt, adopt and improve'. In everything from cars to cameras, the story of the last 50 years has been one of Japanese firms taking established designs and making them better and cheaper. It was what Miroku did with John M. Browning's famous 'Superposed' (so well that Browning adopted the gun themselves) and SKB also looked to an established product for their inspiration.

Rather than follow Miroku and Winchester down the Browning route, they looked instead to the famous German gunmaking centre of Suhl and in particular Merkel. Visually, all but the 785 have unmistakeable Merkel lines, the strong shoulder running from the fences along the top of action being particularly characteristic.

Nor is it just a styling exercise, that distinctive shape is dictated by the fundamental design of the gun and the way it locks the barrels and action together. When most of the current designs of over-and-under gun were being developed in the early part of the 20^th century, all the designers grappled with the problem of achieving a strong and secure lock-up. Browning accepted the deep action body as a trade-off for the strength of his full-width bite under the lower barrel, while in England Boss and Woodward pursued the slimmer, but expensive to make, 'bifurcated lumps' that we see today on modern guns such as Perazzi and Kemen. The German makers put strength at the top of their priorities and adopted the cross-bolt locking system made famous on side-by-side boxlocks by Greener in England. Two projections from the breech end of the barrels are locked by bolts running horizontally across the breech face. The system is commonly known today as the 'Kersten double bolt'. Variations on the theme are also common in Italian gunmaking, the Beretta SO and ASE models being the best-known examples. In addition to the bolts, the SKB has a small lump beneath the bottom barrel which engages a cut-out in the receiver floor, giving positive location top and bottom.

Most things in gun design have a trade-off and, in the case of this one, strength is achieved at the expense of the rather clumsy look around the breech and possible difficulties loading the top barrel in a hurry. On a competition gun this should not be a particularly significant problem, but game shooters in a 'hot spot' might find it a nuisance. Inside, the gun reveals a conventional boxlock design of proven reliability and simple construction. One unusual feature however is the barrel selector, which is contained within the trigger blade rather than the safety catch. I am not sure I wholly approve - there must be a temptation to change the setting when the gun is closed and loaded and that has to have safety implications.

For testing purposes, we have been using a Model 705 Skeet/Sporting version, which has the optional ventilated mid rib. SKB buck the recent trends towards narrower top ribs by offering a choice of everything from 7mm (nominally the 'field' rib) through to a distinctly unfashionable 16mm - as fitted to our gun. Those of you old enough to remember the Browning 'Broadway' or the ultra-wide rib on certain Shadow models are probably experiencing pangs of nostalgia as you read this.

Elsewhere the gun is conventional in design and layout. Chokes are fixed or multi (six came with the test gun) and the ejectors are of the spring-loaded type contained within the monobloc.

COSMETICS

The SKB has an indefinable 'old fashioned' look about it - and that should not be construed in any way as a criticism. It is more that they look much as all guns did 20 years ago and the company obviously see little reason to change, despite the influx of 'designer' styling in other quarters. There is something rather comforting about restrained styling, neat scroll or game scene engraving and traditional oil finished stocks. Little touches, such as the black plastic grip cap and black and white spacers on the recoil pad, are also pure 1970s.

The guns are also very Japanese in terms of standards of fit and finish. The machining of the receiver and furniture is all executed to a high standard and has a reassuring solidity about it. Everything functions with a sense of firm precision (accompanied with a ringing tone from the barrels that will be familiar to Browning and Miroku owners).

All of the guns I have handled have had pleasant quality wood for their price range and the oil finish is one of the best I have seen recently on a production gun. It will also be sure to improve with use and care (base models have a polyurethane lacquer finish). The chequering however is a relatively coarse 25 lines per inch and feels sharp and harsh straight out of the box although very secure. I would prefer something a little finer. All the guns have a simple semi-beavertail fore end with finger channel that I found very comfortable. I find myself much happier these days with simple fore end shapes rather than schnabel types.

The barrels are cold hammered and nicely presented inside and out, chromed bores and chambers are an extra cost option, adding £38 to the price. Traditional gloss blueing is used, again adding to that period feel. Both the test gun and the model in the photographs had elegant tight rose-and-scroll engraving, which adds to the understated look of the gun and would be my choice over the competent but uninspired game scenes.

ON TEST

Our test gun had 30 inch barrels (32 inch will be available from February onwards) and had the skeet stock dimensions of 35mm drop at comb, 55mm at heel. The sporters have 5mm less drop at heel. It sounds very little but for me the extra drop did affect the way the gun handled, making it very flat shooting for me - ideal for skeet in fact, but not my choice on a sporting gun. In fact I could see the fad for converting trap guns for sporting use returning if the SKB gains a foothold. The trap stocks have dimensions much like the old Miroku 3800, the gun that was (and remains) such a favourite among many top sporting shooters and which influenced the modern thinking on sporting stock design. As they stand at the moment I would choose the trap model as my sporter, especially as they can be ordered with multichokes.

The standard stock length is 360mm (14 3/8") and that is too short in my opinion, especially as the final 25mm on the test gun was made up of the recoil pad, so limiting the owner's scope for lengthening it further. Kevin Gill is aware of this and is planning to specify longer stocks when production for the UK comes fully on stream. He is also looking into the possibility of having Kick-Eez pads fitted as standard. I liked the gentle radius of the grip, but I am not so keen on the pronounced undercut to the nose of the comb. I would have my stocker reshape this for me if the gun were mine.

Another reason why the trap model may be the one to go for is weight. The sporter with 28 inch barrels weighs just under 7½ lbs (3.36kg), the 30 inch just over. The trap guns on the other hand are a quarter of a pound heavier and all the better for it in my book. I felt the combination of flat stock and light weight in terms of some bruising to the cheek and the gun can stand some extra weight without compromising handling. The barrels themselves are not particularly light at 1.6kg (3½ lbs), giving the gun a nose heavy bias. It balances about 30mm ahead of the hinge pin. Some extra weight in the stock would be beneficial on both counts.

The trigger pulls have the same initial free play that is also so typical of Miroku guns, but they are very crisp once this is taken up. At 4½ lbs they are quite nicely weighted also. The ejectors are not especially powerful, but are perfectly timed.

It may seem that I am being critical and I do not mean to be. The SKB is in fact a very easy gun to get to know, exhibiting that indefinable quality of 'shootability' that some guns have the moment you pick them up. My comments are more in the way of ideas for fine tuning to get the most out of the gun. It is a process that most serious shooters are happy to go through and enjoy.

SUMMARY

It has been a long time since I last handled an SKB and I enjoyed getting to know the gun again. Looking at the prices being quoted I think they offer excellent value for money for such a well made gun. Checking back through some early issues of Clay Shooting, I found that you would have had to pay £599 for the base model in 1989. That makes the starting price now of £870 for the competition models look very reasonable indeed. The best value though, in my estimation, comes from the higher grades, which look very competitively priced against the market leaders. Bearing in mind that SKB have been making guns since 1855, this is not some new kid on the block with no track record, but a solid, reputable company. I think the range will make a welcome addition to the choice available in the most popular sector of the market and, in time, I expect to see a fair number of them around the grounds.

Price Guide (trap and sporting models):

585: £870

605/685: £1048-1090

705/785: £1090-1235

885/B: £1690-1800

5100 (detachable trigger): £2120

More information: Shooting and Leisure UK Ltd, PO Box 8367, Knowle, Solihull, W. Midlands B93 8NH. Tel 01564 230095
www.shootingandleisure.com