1963beretta
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Vaughan, Ontario
With cabin fever in full swing and having recently sold a few items from my collection, I started surfing the interweb for anything to spend money on. In my search for "anything" and "everything", I came across an Akkar Churchill. This is the 12g SxS that is made in Turkey. Ya, I know what you are thinking…..another piece of Turkish junk. But having had an amazing experience with an Armsan A612 purchased for my nephew, I thought I'd do a little research on these Akkar SxS's to see if it's something worth taking a gamble on. In going through many positive reviews on the Akkar lineup of doubles (mostly reviews from Australia), I figured what the heck…let's give it a try. In the past, I've handled and shot some CZ/Huglu SxS’s and found them to be quite nice for the price tag. Obviously not insinuating that these guns are comparable to high end guns worth multiple times more, but for a field gun to take out on an upland hunt or for the occasional round of skeet, I find them to be more than just serviceable. So fast forward to my purchase of the Akkar Churchill 512.
Upon first glance, I was very impressed with the fit and finish of this little guy. The steel receiver is a done in a tasteful clean coin finish. No cheesy laser engraving as seen on some other Turkish built SxS’s. The dimensions of the receiver is also very small with rounded off edges making it extremely comfortable to carry and hold in the hand. The single gold trigger is a nice accent. My trigger isnt selective, but the 512 is available with a SST. The tang safety button is crisp and easy to manipulate with zero play or sloppiness
While the walnut on mine isn’t AA grade, it is still quite nice with an elegant oil rubbed finish. An elegant recoil pad and tasteful sharp laser cut checkering on the pistol grip completes the stock. The forend also has well laid out checkering and is designed as a semi-beaver tail that is not so offensive on the eyes.
The barrels are chrome lined and blued to a very deep polished finish with no evidence of ripples, machine marks or blemishes. This 12g has 28” barrels with 3” chambers. The barrels are also threaded to accept the very popular Rem Choke system which is a bonus. My particular gun has extractors. A solid rib and bead sight complete the nice barrel assembly.
The gun only weighs 6lbs and is well balanced making it an easy gun to shoulder and swing. The gun has more DAC then typical Italian guns and fits me just like a Browning would. At around $1000, you can get a Churchill Gold which comes with upgraded AA walnut, a Beretta style safety with barrel selector, 5 chokes and a hard case. Hard deal to beat for a well made field gun. I’d recommend this gun to anyone looking to get into their first SxS to use for upland hunting or as a backup gun for anyone who doesn’t enjoy shooting their finer SxS’s in poor weather. I’ve only shot a few rounds of skeet with mine so I cant attest to its longevity with volume shooting. I can attest that the amount of positive comments received at the club was unanimous. I also don’t doubt that the build quality is there to last many of hunting seasons in the field. The Churchill is available in 12, 20, 28 and 410 gauges.
Upon first glance, I was very impressed with the fit and finish of this little guy. The steel receiver is a done in a tasteful clean coin finish. No cheesy laser engraving as seen on some other Turkish built SxS’s. The dimensions of the receiver is also very small with rounded off edges making it extremely comfortable to carry and hold in the hand. The single gold trigger is a nice accent. My trigger isnt selective, but the 512 is available with a SST. The tang safety button is crisp and easy to manipulate with zero play or sloppiness
While the walnut on mine isn’t AA grade, it is still quite nice with an elegant oil rubbed finish. An elegant recoil pad and tasteful sharp laser cut checkering on the pistol grip completes the stock. The forend also has well laid out checkering and is designed as a semi-beaver tail that is not so offensive on the eyes.
The barrels are chrome lined and blued to a very deep polished finish with no evidence of ripples, machine marks or blemishes. This 12g has 28” barrels with 3” chambers. The barrels are also threaded to accept the very popular Rem Choke system which is a bonus. My particular gun has extractors. A solid rib and bead sight complete the nice barrel assembly.
The gun only weighs 6lbs and is well balanced making it an easy gun to shoulder and swing. The gun has more DAC then typical Italian guns and fits me just like a Browning would. At around $1000, you can get a Churchill Gold which comes with upgraded AA walnut, a Beretta style safety with barrel selector, 5 chokes and a hard case. Hard deal to beat for a well made field gun. I’d recommend this gun to anyone looking to get into their first SxS to use for upland hunting or as a backup gun for anyone who doesn’t enjoy shooting their finer SxS’s in poor weather. I’ve only shot a few rounds of skeet with mine so I cant attest to its longevity with volume shooting. I can attest that the amount of positive comments received at the club was unanimous. I also don’t doubt that the build quality is there to last many of hunting seasons in the field. The Churchill is available in 12, 20, 28 and 410 gauges.
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