A £5K shotgun and a £15K shotgun: what's the difference?

Spend any time looking at shotguns online and one of the many things that will jump out at you is the huge diversity of prices. At one end of the scale, you can pick up a brand new shotgun that will (presumably) be very effective at shooting pheasants, for under a thousand pounds. Meanwhile, at the other end of the scale… well, how much have you got? There’s not really an upper limit.

Once you have noticed this, you have to ask yourself, what does this price difference represent, when it comes to the guns themselves? They all go bang, and they’ll all kill pheasants. However, the difference between the two ends of the scale isn’t what interests me the most - it seems like comparing a Casio and a Patek Phillipe.

Somewhere in the middle

What I think interesting, and perhaps a question that many of us find ourselves asking, is more to do with the middle ground. What, for example, is the difference between a gun that costs £5,000 and one that costs £15,000?

Neither can be called ‘entry level’, while the latter hardly qualifies as ‘top end’ either. So when you get right down to it, what does that extra £10K get you? Which is the right gun for you?

To try to get to the bottom of it, I thought it would be fun to look at two guns at these price points and highlight where they differ. The guns in question are the Rizzini BR550 RB and the AYA Sfera. Both are HP steel-ready side-by-sides, the former made in Italy, the latter in Spain, and both are distributed in the UK by Anglo Spanish Imports.

“When you look at the cost of a shotgun,” explains Edward King, MD of ASI, “there are three main cost centres to consider. These are as follows: the manufacture of the action, the wood, and the engraving.”

Actions

The Rizzini BR550 RB is a round bodied boxlock shotgun. All of the parts of the action are manufactured using Rizzini’s high tech CNC machines. “Rizzini have been investing heavily in increasingly elaborate and space age machines,” says Edward, “which results in finer and finer tolerances.”

The various parts are designed using CAD (Computer Assisted Design), and the fancier the machines, the more accurately the design is translated into the finished product. Edward adds: “Effectively they mean that you get pieces made to tolerances of 1/1000th of an inch, all without spending hours on the bench with a smoking lamp and a file. That’s actually its strength: it is a very well engineered, machine-made shotgun that is replicable.”

The AYA Sfera is a round-bodied sidelock, not a round action, Edward is quick to point out, because it isn’t a boxlock. “It is actually pretty interesting,” he adds. “The design is unique to AYA amongst Spanish gunmakers, and employs thicker than usual lockplates. This allows the outside of the plate to be curved, while the inside remains flat to allow the hammers to throw, resulting in a more rounded look than other RB sidelocks.”

Being a sidelock, which is a more sophisticated and complex mechanism than a boxlock, it is in the manufacture of the action that we account for a great deal of the additional cost versus the Rizzini. “This is probably worth dwelling on for a moment,” Edward opines. “While some of the parts are made on CNC machines, nevertheless, even those are, are all finished on the bench using lamp-black, while many of them are made by hand. The action is assembled by hand, and each part is polished to a mirror finish, a testament to the care that the craftsmen take and the pride they have in their work.”

Naturally this painstaking approach is reflected in the time it takes to make the action, and therefore the cost of so-doing.

The woodwork

The wood is the next major cost centre to consider. Not only in terms of the quality of the wood used, but how the raw walnut is turned (little woodworking joke for you there) into a stock.

On the Rizzini BR550 RB, the wood starts at grade 2.5, a perfectly decent grade without being showstopping. Each blank is specially selected by the Rizzini craftsmen. The blanks are then shaped by machine, something that the precision machinery makes possible.

The shaped blanks are then given a ‘synthetic oil finish’. The oil mixture used incorporates hardneners, which speeds up the process without overly compromising the quality of the finish.

The AYA Sfera, by contrast, is stocked almost entirely by hand. “They start with a block of grade 3 walnut, “explains Edward, “about 17” long, 6” high and 3” thick, and then use a template to find the most attractive figuring pattern and cut out a square-edged rough stock shape. It is then machined to take of the hard edges and make it look like a stock.”

This is the last moment the stock will see a machine - from here on in it is all hand work. The process that takes the longest, and the greatest care, is the inletting on the head of the stock, where the lock plates and the action must be accommodated.

“Imagine pressing the lockplate and the action into plasticine,” says Edward, using a metaphor that my feeble mind can comprehend. “The stockers are looking to create a mirror image of the locks and action in the wood, leaving enough room for the hammers to throw, while leaving as much wood as possible in order to build in strength.”

Once this work has been done, the craftsmen move on to shaping the measurements at heel and toe, balancing the gun (usually by removing wood from the stock), smoothing, oiling and chequering. They also fit the stock oval, which comes as standard. The entire stocking process takes over 100 hours. Since time = money, this is another area where we account for much of the additional cost in the AYA.

Engraving

When it comes to engraving, Rizzini really push the boat out. The designs themselves are made by Giuseppe Rizzini, the son of Battista, the founder of the firm. The designs themselves are executed by Bottega Giovanelli, the leading engravers in that hotbed of Italian gunmaking, Val Trompia.

The BR550 RB’s acanthus design is laser engraved in semi-relief, before being hand-finished. “This is something that sets it apart from more entry-level shotguns,” says Edward, “it really brings the design to life. If you don’t know what you’re looking at, it doesn’t really matter, but if you do, you can really see the difference versus something that hasn’t had that hand-finishing.”

The AYA Sfera is actually available with two different styles of engraving. The one pictured is the laser-engraved ‘Art Nouveau’ style - it is something very different to traditional engraving patterns, giving the gun a unique look. However, the gun has ‘profuse’ engraving, on parts that other guns do not, simply as they cannot be engraved by machines, such as the top strap, top lever, and trigger guard.

“Laser engraving on round-bodied shotgun is particularly tricky,” says Edward, “as you need to find some way of ‘turning the corner’. Like the Rizzini, the Sfera’s engraving is hand finished. In this case, the coin finish, which leaves the colour hardening in the grooves of the engraving, really makes the bold pattern pop.

If the Art Nouveau-inspired pattern doesn’t appeal - and it is a ‘Marmite’ design, Edward allows - there is a hand-engraved rose and scroll version with 5 bouquets of roses that is reminiscent of Boss’s classic design.

Customisation

The last factor that we need to look at where these two guns are concerned are the customisation options. Despite being overall a less customisable gun, the Rizzini still comes with a fair few options.

When it comes to the stock, buyers can choose between the standard pistol grip, or a straight hand stock at no extra cost. As the stocks are machine-made, a ‘built-to-order’ stock, made to your measurements, will cost you a little extra.

Because the stock on the AYA is hand-made, you get your measurements for no extra charge (Unless, adds Edward, you’re talking about a very weird set of dimensions, or if you want a pistol grip instead of the standard straight hand stock.).

At the other end, the Rizzini is fitted with Rizzini multichokes, but you can opt for fixed chokes and save a couple of hundred quid at the same time. The gun has a single selective trigger as standard, but a double trigger is available at no extra cost.

By contrast, the AYA is fixed choke as standard. Should you want to go for multichokes, they’ll send it off to Teague for you. It comes with double triggers as standard, but you can opt for single if you prefer.

On both guns you can choose to upgrade the quality of the walnut.

Which should you choose?

When it comes to side-by-sides, lots of people are taking the plunge and looking for something to replace their inherited London gun to something that’s ready for steel. Edward says: “When people come to me in this situation, I ask them what they are really looking for. If they’re looking for something that will do the business, be reliable and looks pretty good, but won’t give the bank manager or other half heart palpitations, then I recommend the Rizzini. It is a little bit grander than an ‘entry level’ gun and is certainly something that you’ll be proud to own.”

“On the other hand, if people are looking for something that will as closely as possible replicate that inherited gun, the AYA Sfera is the way to go.”

He went on: “The Rizzini will give you a little bit of change from 5K, and for that sort of money, if you’re doing a lot of shooting, it probably won’t make that much of a dent in your shooting budget. £15K for the AYA, however, probably would.”

“A £15K gun, unless you’re very well off, is a big chunk and a far more considered purchase. It is also a potential heirloom, a piece of personal bling, and a luxury purchase, not just a ‘very nice’ tool. When you buy the AYA Sfera, you’re buying just a little bit of the craftsmanship and care that goes into making a London gun.”

“But, If you’ve been using an entry-level gun, the Rizzini represents a real step up in terms of finish and luxury as well… it all depends where you’ve started from,” finishes Edward

Discover the full range of AYA and Rizzini shotguns on Anglo Spanish Imports’ website