The Real Man's Toy - Rizzini Artemis

A gun I would recommend for people looking for this challenge would be the Rizzini Artemis, which is manufactured with a designated smaller frame, this gun is of Italian manufacture and has their usual slimmer feature than most over and unders and this gun is able to use all the modern 28 bore cartridges that are available now anywhere from the usual light 16 gram load to 1 3/4 oz 24 gram load.

The gun can be made specifically bespoke to oneself with up to 32" barrels being able to be produced and a standard gun comes in 28" or 30". The particular one we have here is 30". The barrels come with multi choke switch. Personally I would prefer it with non multi choke which can be ordered that way - I feel that multi choke on small bore guns like this are a little bit wasted and add slightly to the forward weight of the barrels. The chokes fit very flush and operate in and out. The woodwork is always of high quality, good figuring and I am pleased to say nice and straight in the hand which some of the Italian wood on these guns can be a little bit cross grain and can cause problems in the future. It has a nicely rounded pistol grip stock which some people tend to say Prince of Wales, but is actually more of a semi pistol grip, a tulip forend with push rod which again is a nice feature, and more "Englishized" than the Deeley edge seen on 90% of over and unders.

The action and side plate are very bold and deeply acanthus scroll throughout, again very well executed and cleverly done for the work to be contrasting with dark and light, giving plenty of rich depth in the engraving, automatic safety which on most guns people now prefer (this can be removed to non auto if required), selector on the safety catch again like most Italian over and unders which is very easily operated, and a plus point with selected trigger the top barrel can be selected to fire first so the loading, if on a busy stand, is a little bit quicker.

The single trigger mechanism is very quick and responsive, working on recoil so again the inertia springs and everything are weighted to the right pressure so light and heavy loads will operate successfully. The ejector is with the springs behind the extractors - this again very positive with the primer extraction and the full ejection.

I must say that we have had problems with a lot of the smaller bore over and unders with ejection problems with them being brass cases and longer cartridges for these models - however I have to say the Rizzinis are very positive at ejecting and the cartridge being thrown clear of the gun consistently whether the gun is cold or hot.

The gun comes complete in an ABS case with chokes, accessories, etc and I have got to say at £4,475.00 represents a very tidy package for anyone wanting a gun for use and who enjoy a challenge.

I would score this gun as follows:

Handling quality: 22/25
(Multi choke 21/25)
(Fixed choke 23/25)
Build quality 22/25
Style 24/25
Value for money 23/25

Total 91/100 

By Ben Elderkin

Find out how you can buy a Rizzini Artemis.

We have also covered the Rizzini RBEM De Luxe.