CZ USA/Huglu 500AC 28 bore bobtail

TimC

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
Location
England
This is the subject of a number of reviews such as; http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&sqi=2&ved=0CCcQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gunmart.net%2Fgun_review%2Fhu glu_200ac&ei=49iiVJnmJqPkyAPZ64GYDA&usg=AFQjCNHeoc8mHD-Jx8KAjJAuPZf3bnF8mw&sig2=cST8zyfWWZO-bKNhPbv6Vg
and http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&sqi=2&ved=0CCEQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.members.shaw.ca%2Fsharptail%2 FCZReview.pdf&ei=49iiVJnmJqPkyAPZ64GYDA&usg=AFQjCNEQF_gekswOXaRA8iKiVDLSlZFY5A&sig2=tpWgvYDO2AlkzoeVooy3Vw
I was looking for a 28 bore to replace the Beretta 686 I foolishly sold when short of money. It was originally bought for my two sons who rapidly grew out of it so I wasn't fussed until I saw one in an online auction.
Yes over here in the land of no guns you can still buy quite a few nice rifles, and if you are lucky pistols. I hold a dealers license so getting stuff shipped is very simple. I bagged the Unused in factory box Huglu for £560 which is better than half price. I was a little concerned as I hadn't ever used a multi choke single trigger non auto safety side by side before.
I took it to the farm clay shoot to have a go and despite a poor first stand going away where I only broke 4 out of 10 I managed 10 out of 10 on the next stand.
A swapping round of chokes followed at the local clay layout but I still struggled with anything other than snap shooting.
I was determined to see out the pheasant season and as a walking gun I was in the right position to snap off quick shots at screaming pheasants in thick cover. I was on par with clays hitting about 50% of what I fired at!
That said when offered a peg as a standing gun it exposed me as a poor shot, I missed about 5 pheasants one after another all directly over my head with clear sky all around them. I was gutted but persevered and managed the odd crosser which cheered me up.
I was actually quite impressed with the quality but the blacking on the barrels is starting to wear from carriage in a slip between drives, this indicates to me a weak finish applied or possibly even poor preparation of the surface. Lets face it for a gun that's going to be carried all day and a 28 is a treat to do so its going to get a fair bit of wear and the fences are showing signs of the blacking wearing too.
Well I will see out the season, another 4 shoot dates in the diary between now and Feb 1st and maybe some duck over on my mates pond although I should use the 20 or 12 as its no walk at all.
I have found that the review pdf is fairly accurate, its a nice lightweight gun and shoots really well especially at snap targets, the easy lots of time deliberate shots get missed altogether too easily!
I have some appalling misses on camera and when I work out how to upload I will share my pain.

oops there you go. I have worked it out. Anyway ignore the wobbly date time group in the corner of the screen if you can. Not only is it incorrect but I have sorted it now, I am using the I Kam extreme and just starting to get used to it!
Anyway enough of my ramblings, I'll stick up pics when the season ends
 
Can't really comment on the gun, other than to say I do pretty well with my CZ 'partridge' in 28 (SxS, DT, manual safety, 26" barrels) on grouse, quail, decoying ducks, etc.

But that pheasant drive looked like a LOT of fun! I felt your pain on some of those easy misses. When I'm shooting badly on 'easy' shots, I try keeping the gun down til the last second to make it more like a snap shot. Natural instinct seems to take over then & I connect somewhat better.

Post more videos! That was great!
 
Ok, I'll post a couple more this afternoon. Been experimenting with them on our local shoot.


here you go
This is the final drive, the beaters and walking guns push the birds from the house pen on the right flushing any from the cover crop in front and finally through the copse to the tree lined road on the left.
 
Last edited:
Nice - thanks for posting. The commentary makes it! So approximately how high are these birds? That one you dropped on the last video looked a long way out, but no doubt the camera makes things look farther away. I've never been part of a pheasant drive. It looks like a blast!
 
Nice - thanks for posting. The commentary makes it! So approximately how high are these birds? That one you dropped on the last video looked a long way out, but no doubt the camera makes things look farther away. I've never been part of a pheasant drive. It looks like a blast!
I did drop one a bit of a way out, I'm lazy and like them less than 30 yards up, Pheasants only flap for about 12 seconds before gliding so if the cover is high that they are flushed from they can be 35 to 40 yards up. Not really challenging with an ounce of N06 from a 12 bore side by side bored 3/4 and cylinder. With a 28 bore you are throwing a lot less lead up at them. For some reason I seem to have more luck snap shooting with the 28 whilst a walking gun than when stood on a peg.
I'll stick up a long vid when it uploads and this Saturday we are out again so I will film as much as I can!
Those I Kam extreme glasses can be quite good!
 
One big clip about 20 minutes long so apologies for ruining your new years day;
This is one of the best drives for a walking gun, lots of thick cover for the dogs and beaters and its a big wood so you can only just put enough guns in it and still keep the birds going forward over the standing guns.
 
interesting forest cover. Nothing like that around here. I'd have to imagine dozens holding tight in the thick stuff between the trails where even the dogs weren't going. Of course, maybe they act differently across the pond. Still looks like fun!
 
We do plant cover crop along field margins to hold them, usually not to far from the pens themselves and they act as a covered path for the birds when out looking for food. We put feed hoppers out in areas we would like the birds to stay and first thing on a shoot morning dog them back into the cover.
 
Back
Top Bottom