I got myself one of these in 28 gauge.
Churchill 528 Gold SxS, 28" barrels, pistol grip.
I'm impressed with it, and here are my thoughts:
Akkar has found a way to make a quality product at a fair price, they've kept the price reasonable, and they haven't cut corners doing it. Sales seem to be good, everyone is profiting.
The gun handles well, slim true to scale receiver with rounded edges, the balance point is approx 1/2 inch in front of the hinge pin. Good balance, barrel length and barrel weight, the gun does not feel whippy at all.
The stocks are good quality Turkish walnut, solid. The pistol grip is comfortable with a slight palm swell for right handers. The checkering can be felt and is in the right place, useful. The forestock is a very slim semi beavertail, not bulky, just enough to grab without holding onto the hot barrels, comfortable and again the checkering is well thought out.
All wood is only slightly proud of the metal, it is not crude or blocky at all. Everything is snug, the fit of the forestock is nice and firm.
The slim recoil pad I really like, not thick, not bulky, does the job and is fitted to the stock perfectly. I like it.
The barrels are a nice rich blackened type of blue, somewhat similar to the old SKB Model 100's. I like it.
The rib is concave, the single brass bead is solid and effective. The barrels do not flare out at the chokes, it is well done.
It comes with 5 choke tubes, I believe they are Remington style tubes, could be wrong. Cylinder, I/C, M, I/M and Full. They are flush mount and the included choke wrench is adequate. The tubes screw in smooth, there is no binding at all.
The receiver is steel, which I prefer. I don't like the feel of the aluminum type receivers. There is no fancy engraving and no cheap cheesy laser etching either. I like it. It could be said that the look is that of a Ruger Gold Label, dare I say.
The gun opens and snaps shut the way you'd want it. Snug enough but not stiff, you don't have to Crack it over your knee.
The safety switch is well thought out. Enough meat to it to work well on an upland gun and the selector functions as it should, not stiff. It is a manual safety, no automatic nonsense. I like it.
The trigger is nothing to complain about I don't know the pull weight but it is good in my books. Much better than CZ/Huglu in my opinion. It is a mechanical trigger and works as it should.
The gun weighs approx 5.25lbs and it handles recoil very nicely for the weight. There is no twisting torque at the shot and muzzle jump is minimal.
The gun is equipped with extractors, which I prefer and they work as they should.
It's all steel and walnut. No plastic or pot metal or cheap nickel plating. I like it.
To me these are the SKB 100 type of value of today's market. I like the Akkar much more than what CZ, Huglu and Yildiz have had to offer.
Akkar has found a way to make a quality product at the proper price to sell in volume. The people making these guns are putting in the effort and the brains behind the operation seem to be very sharp.
This is a quality field gun that performs and has the right feel. At roughly $1100 retail, I don't think it can be beat.
Akkar provides a 5 year warranty. And the gun comes with a pretty nice case. Not sure what else to say.
I own SxS's made by Fausti, FAIR, SKB, Franchi, Bernardelli, Fabarm etc.
To summarize, in my opinion it's better than the CZ/Huglu SxS's.
