Why are Rizzini shotguns so popular?

Europe has a few centres of gunmaking: Birmingham and London in the UK, Ferlach in Austria, Eibar in Spain to name just a few. Barring London, these places have something in common. Back in the early years of gunmaking no-one wanted to transport the most important of the raw materials - iron and coal - very far, and these centres are close to good supplies of these. The biggest, and perhaps the oldest, of these gunmaking hubs is the Val Trompia region in Italy, home to many of the most popular gun makers - Beretta, Perazzi, Cesar Guerini, Fausti… and the Rizzini clan. 

The Rizzini I am talking about here is Battista Rizzini, the ‘original’ Rizzini and maker of B. Rizzini shotguns - not to be mistaken for E. Rizzini, whose guns were popular in the budget end of the market in the 80’s and 90’s, but which has long since ceased to exist as a brand.

Battista Rizzini still runs the company, with the help of his three children

State-of-the-art gunmaking meets old-school craftsmanship

Founded in 1966, the company is headed by the eponymous Battista, and the company’s ethos is one of making use of state-of-the-art machinery to refine the gunmaking process and make the most precisely constructed guns possible. Today Rizzini continue to use the latest techniques and tools to make their range of over-and-under and side-by-side shotguns. 

However, when you have a concentration of gunmakers in one place, it follows that you’ll also have a concentration of master craftsmen in that place. This means that standard Rizzini models can be customised according to your exact specifications by some of the finest stockmakers and engravers in the world. 

Bespoke guns at off-the-peg prices

Today, Rizzini are distributed in the UK by A.S.I (Anglo-Spanish Imports). Edward King, who owns the company. “What I love about Rizzini, and why we decided to import their guns into the UK, is that they have a sufficiently large factory and output to have all this amazing CNC technology, but are agile enough to make guns to the exact needs of a particular customer and market. We have worked hard with them to develop models with the sort of look and feel that the UK market demands, whether that’s game guns or sporting clay models.” They’re clearly doing something right, since according to the 2020 Game Shooting Census, carried out by GunsOnPegs and Lycetts, Rizzini are the sixth most popular brand of shotgun among game shots.

As we discussed in a previous article and podcast, Edward also imports AYAs into the UK, but the relationship with Rizzini is not as long-standing. ASI began importing Rizzinis in 2010, having recognised the need to add some over-and-unders to the portfolio, to complement the side-by-sides that AYA are so famous for. “Rizzini have a similar philosophy to us,” said Edward, “about producing guns customised for our clients and the UK market, and the scale of their production means that you can pick up a beautifully made shotgun that gives you the best of both worlds - machinery made precision and handmade craftsmanship - at great value.”

Great value Italian over-and-under and side-by-side shotguns

For the UK market Rizzini make a range of over-and-under shotguns - both game and clay - in five gauges – 12, 16, 20, 28 and .410, with all but the .410s built on truly scaled actions, meaning the guns are well balanced, and handling beautifully. They also produce a small number of side-by-side models. The range of customisable elements is too long to list, but among the more important are the choice of barrel lengths ( 26” to 34”), the choice of fixed chokes, internal or extended multi-chokes, and stock styles. 

The Rizzini 'Grand Regal'

When Edward refers to great value, he’s not only talking about value when compared to other custom-made guns, but great value in general. An entry-level Rizzini will set you back around £3,000, going up to around £20,000 for a fully custom-built gun. 

Visit the A.S.I website to see the full range of shotguns, or to discuss your requirements, drop them and email.