Is an old 12Ga perazzi that has been there and done that worth buying?

W

winchester12

CGN Regular
Rating - 100%
166   0   0
Location
Chatham ontario
I have a chance to purchase a 1985 Perazzi MX3C O/U shotgun from an old shooter buddy. He shot the crap out of this gun for over 30 years.It is now what I call a   "10 footer", meaning it looks good from 10 feet away.The gun has 27.5" barrel's chambered for 2.75" and has 5 original Perazzi chokes. It has a snable forend and a pistol grip stock. The receiver has no engraving and has the removable trigger group( fires top barrel first- non selectable) It does have the original factory case.<br><br>Now the condition ... The barrels have some marks and bluing lose in spots.The forend has a tight crack. The stock has a small crack at the trigger group. The trigger group has movement when installed.The gun locks up tight and the opening lever is to the right. The barrel's open very easily and when fully open have a lot of movement - like the trunions are wore out. The case is in only fair condition.<br><br>Now how it shoots ... The gun shoulders very nice and is lively to swing. The trigger is great. The gun handles well an does not feel like is is wore out.<br><br>This guy Wants $4000.    What do you guys think? Could you shoot it for years still or does the gun potentionally need a pile of expensive work.<br><br>   Pics to come
20220806_110221.md.jpg
20220806_105553.md.jpg
20220806_110507.md.jpg
20220806_110708.md.jpg
 
Last edited:
winchester12 said:
I have a chance to purchase a 1985 Perazzi MX3C O/U shotgun from an old shooter buddy. He shot the crap out of this gun for over 30 years.It is now what I call a   "10 footer", meaning it looks good from 10 feet away.The gun has 27.5" barrel's chambered for 2.75" and has 5 original Perazzi chokes. It has a snable forend and a pistol grip stock. The receiver has no engraving and has the removable trigger group( fires top barrel first- non selectable) It does have the original factory case.<br><br>Now the condition ... The barrels have some marks and bluing lose in spots.The forend has a tight crack. The stock has a small crack at the trigger group. The trigger group has movement when installed.The gun locks up tight and the opening lever is to the right. The barrel's open very easily and when fully open have a lot of movement - like the trunions are wore out. The case is in only fair condition.<br><br>Now how it shoots ... The gun shoulders very nice and is lively to swing. The trigger is great. The gun handles well an does not feel like is is wore out.<br><br>This guy Wants $4000.    What do you guys think? Could you shoot it for years still or does the gun potentionally need a pile of expensive work.<br><br>   Pics to come
Click to expand...

I wouldn't give him $4000 if the barrels are loose on the hinge pins. The lever being right of centre is a good thing. On a Perazzi once the lever reaches the 6 o'clock a new locking block is needed and likely a new top lever spring as well.
 
4000.00 is too much in today's market. Maybe 2000.00-2500.00 on a good day although the factory chokes add to the price a bit. Its hard to say without pictures. The trigger group movement could be a worn latch or just out of adjustment. There is nothing about that gun that can't be rebuilt although parts are gawdawful expensive and rebuilding the trunnions (if necessary) really run the price up. You could probably shoot the gun as is for a while but things will start to breakdown. I shoot an MX3 oversingle and an old Ithaca import MX8 O/U. I've replaced a broken hammer on the MX8 and a couple of springs and nothing on the MX3. They last for a long time even after they are worn out.
 
Some guys are delusional when pricing their old shotty's. For 4k you can get a brand new browning citori, only weakness is the trigger pull.

As the guy said above me, don't buy beat to #### guns. You will inherit all the problems and lose money.

I bought a beat up perazzi tm1 for $2600. Shoots great but will never recoup my money if I resell. Plus to take it back to a great state will cost more money out of pocket. Lesson learned.
 
saskbooknut said:
Advice that I have received -
Spend more, buy better.
Don't buy fixer uppers.
Click to expand...

Let me be clear.....what I'm about to say does not apply to collector guns that need to retain original finishes to retain value. However.....

If you know the market well enough, and you know the cost of getting things done to a gun, there are often situations where a project gun is worth the expense of bringing back to life. Typically for the numbers to work out, the gun needs to be a potentially higher value gun. And by that I mean at least closing in on $10,000 for an example in very good condition. It may work on a Perazzi....it will not work on a Baikal. I have a number of guns that I took from unshootable, spent mid to high 4 figures on the resto and have a gun now that whose value exceeds the money I have into it. For this to also work, you must have a clear eyed view of what you can sell it for. Not what you'd like to sell it for.

The advantage of this approach is when the gun is complete, you know exactly what you have got. And, if you've used a good smith, the entire gun.....wood, metal, internals and finishes, should be as a new gun. No future surprises. The one thing that can't be fixed are barrels.
 
Sounds like a don't buy. For 4k you can get a brand new high quality gun instead of one with a broken stock and 1000s of shells down the barrel.
 
It's overpriced in my opinion, you would expect to pay that much for a gun in good condition.
The Mx3 was meant to be Perazzi's lower priced Mx8 and has a rounded bottom on the monoblock instead of a square bottomed mono block as does the Mx8 and all of it's various incarnations. Some people think this makes it inferior to the Mx8 but in reality the difference is more in price and desireability than performance.
The gun you describe sounds as if it could use an overhaul, new trunions, locking block, springs, etc and if this was done then you'd have a gun that is good for another few hundred thousand rounds. Parts are not hard to find or install and a gunsmith will be able to purchase them from the Perazzi rep in Manitoba. Without seeing the cracks in the stock it's impossible to say if they can be fixed or not.
All Perazzi models are very rebuildable and with the proper care and attention they can run for millions of rounds so if you want a project then I'd be offering something closer to $2k than $4k.
 
Falconflyer nailed it
By the way a 3000$ citori on its best day would not even come close to this gun
It’s a 2 k gun and worth spending 2 k on it the chokes is a huge plus
Yes it was the plain Jane mx8
 
bdft said:
Personally, I would rather shoot a Perazzi over a Browning any day. To me, Brownings handle like a 2x4. I realize a lot of people disagree.
Click to expand...

I own both and shoot both. In hand the swing characteristics are night and day. The Perazzi feels like a thoroughbred, the Browning a packhorse. Though I have to say the 725 Trap Max I've been shooting handles much nicer than any of the XT's I had. It swings nice and is fast moving on doubles even with the 32" tubes.It is as close in swing characteristic as I've experienced to the 32" MX8 I had. It's squarely middle of the road between the two. My 32" XT's felt like you were swinging a length of gas pipe! Browning guns are extremely good value though and for what you'd have into an old fixer upper Perazzi you can buy a new Browning. I've been down that road and won't go there again. I'll go with a new gun instead.
 
Last edited:
Perazzi make an extremely good shotgun. My "go to" gun is a Perazzi MT6 that is over 40 years old and going strong. A number of years ago I had a new block installed and that is the only repair I have done in about 25 years of shooting.
The stock can be repaired by a good stocker. You can also have the gun fixed mechanically. Then you will have many years of shooting a high quality gun with next to no repairs.
Canvasback has had a number of high quality guns lovingly restored. But, his guns are high end collector pieces. The Perazzi MX3 in question doesn't fit into that category---The MX3 is a target gun and made to bust targets, lots and lots of targets---aesthetics are secondary when looking at a target gun.
I agree that $4000 is asking too much, but $2000 is too little. I'm sure you can negotiate with your friend and enjoy this MX3.
Bill
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom