The Perazzi High Tech Trap gun now comes with 32in barrels, and Vic Harker believes it is the best version yet
Tech specs
Maker: Perazzi
Model: High Tech Trap
Bore Size: 18.5mm (12 gauge)
Chambers: 70mm (2¾in)
Barrel Length: 81cm (31½in)
Chokes: Improved, Modified and Full
Rib: 7-10mm tapered breech to muzzle
Stock: Pistol grip
Total Weight: 3.792kg (8lb 5.4oz)
Suggested Retail: £9,286
UK Distributor: RUAG Ammotec UK
For the international forms of Trap shooting, barrels rather shorter and lighter may be the better option
The best barrel length for Trap shooting is open to debate, and opinion in the UK tends to fall into two camps. For those devotees of the domestic disciplines, DTL and Double Rise, something longer and heavier is generally preferred, providing steadiness over speed. For the international forms of Trap shooting, barrels rather shorter and lighter may be the better option. One aspect of barrel length that most shooters would agree with is that a longer barrel is more pointable, but the downside can be the extra weight. Italian guns, we must assume, are made for the faster disciplines, though an increasing demand from the American market has seen significant development to meet its differing needs. However, what about the Europeans who participate in the faster forms of Trap shooting, but would like to use longer but lighter barrels? Well they are here at last.
The action
The detachable trigger group is so familiar to me and thousands of other shooters, I tend to take it for granted, but it has few equals in terms of design and function
They have been incorporated into the Perazzi High Tech Trap gun with its 3mm wider action, which is 40 grams heavier than Perazzi’s standard specification. The 81cm barrels weigh only 1.55kg and are ribless for 23cm in front of the monobloc, which is concealed by the forend. The middle rib is then ventilated to 20cm from the barrel’s muzzle ends.
This Perazzi might have felt rather wand like with a barrel weight that would be on the light side for barrels shorter than 81cm, but instead I am tempted to say this High Tech is the best-handling long-barrelled Trap gun I have experienced. The reason is that a lot of the barrels’ weight is forward of the leading hand, but the heavier action counterbalances this, placing the weight perfectly between the hands to provide just the right amount of forward inertia to maintain a smooth swing on the fastest targets.
As for function, few other options rival the Perazzi trigger of its lack of take-up and crisp pull
The detachable trigger group is so familiar to me and thousands of other shooters, I tend to take it for granted, but it has few equals in terms of design and function. It is easy to install, remove for cleaning and lubrication, but requires little of either. Another benefit is the easy-to-access lock-work for repair. For the practical owner, a broken spring, which is usually the flat-leaf type, can be replaced in minutes.
As for function, few other options rival the Perazzi trigger of its lack of take-up and crisp pull. All of this is incorporated into what is still the best looking clay gun in the market place. Granted, other gunmakers have tried to copy it, but with the High Tech’s bigger dimensions it looks better than ever. Its bold double fencing and side panels with bolsters that overrun the bottom plate owe much to English guns made by James Woodward and Thomas Boss, but we can only congratulate the late Daniele Perazzi for his good taste. The jointing of the Perazzi’s barrels to the action is also similar to the aforementioned English guns, but inevitably, form follows function. In the case of the Perazzi system, draws and wedges that join the barrels to the action are dimensionally much larger as befits a clay gun.
The stock
The High Tech’s stock configuration was equally satisfactory, with a full pistol grip and a perfectly positioned palm swell that located my hand and trigger finger precisely
Part of Perazzi’s popularity with serious clay shooters is the custom stocking service and a choice of off-the-rack stock dimensions. A readymade stock that fitted me has never come my way until this sample High Tech came along. It’s not that I have any unusual requirements, and 30mm drop-at-comb and 40mm at heel with 3.8cm length-of-pull and a little righthand cast is all that’s required, but an example has never showed up before. The High Tech’s stock configuration was equally satisfactory, with a full pistol grip and a perfectly positioned palm swell that located my hand and trigger finger precisely.
The Italians, or at least Perazzi, have long abandoned the overly thick comb and instead a slim profile located comfortably from heel to the face. Below the face, for whatever reason, the stock has a curved relief that provides a rather svelte appearance, which I don’t find objectionable. The recoil pad is slim and slightly concave and it locates perfectly in the shoulder. The forend was something of a departure from the norm, taking the form of a slim beavertail shape that is tapered to the front, which I found more comfortable than the bigger, more hand-filling design.
Shooting impressions
Made for the Europeans who participate in the faster forms of Trap shooting, but would like to use longer but lighter barrels
Shooting this 31½in-barrelled Trap gun was a unique experience, because it combined the visual pointability of long barrels, but it provides the fast-handling characteristics of a shorter barrelled gun, but with the stability of longer tubes. For me at least, and I suspect for many others, so far as the Perazzi High Tech is concerned, we will now have to think rather differently about barrel length. Most interestingly, perhaps, will be how Italian Trap shooters, who have been firmly wedded to light and short barrels, will respond to the option of light and longer ones? As for the Brits, I can only suggest you give this long-barrelled Perazzi a trial run, because I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
This article originally appeared in the July 2017 issue of Clay Shooting magazine. For more great content like this, subscribe today at our secure online store www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk
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