Let's See Those Clay Target Guns

the spank

the spank

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In the spirit of other threads on posting our favorite shotguns how about those favorite clay target guns?!! I'll start the ball rolling. This is my current and likely my last dedicated singles gun. I picked up this older Perazzi TMS(1977mfg) in 2016. It has a 34' barrel, 1st generation factory screwchokes(look like the old winchokes), the stock is a factory extra lusso grade from a TMX model. Last year I had the gun completely gone over both internally and externally and could not be happier with the results. The forend wood was sourced and finished by CJ Dawe. He also did the metal and stock refinishing, checkering and final fitting and assembly of the gun. I absolutely love shooting this gun. If I do my part it just crushes targets. I will be sending it back to the gunsmith who did the restoration and upgrades on the gun to have a Gracoil installed on it for the upcoming season.
 
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This is the next one in line to be restored. I picked up this gun last spring from a fellow trapshooter and cgn member at a shoot in Castor,AB. This one is a 1971mfg Type 3 MX8. it has 32"bbls that have been pro-ported, forcing cones lengthened and Briley thin wall chokes installed. This will also be going to Chris for a complete refinishing and upgrading after having the internals gone through. I'm still in debate mode as to whether or not to refinish the receiver, top lever and forend iron in CCH or just reblue them? I have already sourced a nicely figured Fajen stock/forend set originally mounted on a DB-81(Type 4) to have fit to the gun. It will require a bit of forend iron modification to fit the forend wood to the gun but in for a penny in for a pound they say?! LOL Once completed this will be my dedicated doubles trap gun. This gun will also be getting a gracoil unit installed.
 
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Very nice guns Spank, awesome wood on the TM1, makes the one I had look pretty shabby. In my experience adding a Gracoil recoil reducer makes a major change in gun balance, by adding so much weight at the butt sole some guns become butt heavy. Most trap shooters prefer a weight forward bias.
 
Ashcroft said:
Very nice guns Spank, awesome wood on the TM1, makes the one I had look pretty shabby. In my experience adding a Gracoil recoil reducer makes a major change in gun balance, by adding so much weight at the butt sole some guns become butt heavy. Most trap shooters prefer a weight forward bias.
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Most of my newer era trap guns have had gracoils and I really do like them. Many of my older guns had mercury recoil reducers in the stocks. I dont mind a little weight in the butt. I like the way they feel solidly planted to the shoulder. If they feel a little too muzzle light for my liking I'll add a counter weight forward of the forend.
 
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Great looking pair of Perazzi's Spank, spectacular wood on the TMS!
I really like the striped receiver on the older guns. I purchased an MT6 a few years ago that was in such good condition that you'd have never known it was it 35 years old, the wood was plain but that's the way most of them came from the factory. I loved the gun but it shot a full pattern high and I could hit alright with it at trap but when I took to the sporting clays course with a flat shooting gun I was shooting under anything that was rising, damn muscle memory.... I had an adjustable comb put on it and an adjustable Graco but I still couldn't get the pattern down enough so I eventually sold it, probably should have had it restocked instead. There's a pretty good market for these old guns since it's practically impossible to wear them out.
 
This is ,my most used clays guns.

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the spank said:
WOW!! Very nice Stubblejumper! I assume thats an all three sub-gauge set?
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Yes three gauge set, 30" barrels, I usually use the 28 gauge or 410 barrels, and the 20gauge barrels get used for doubles. I bought this set out of the USA and Prophet River imported it for me. Clay told me it was one of this quickest imports ever, I bought it Wednesday, and picked it up at Prophet River the following Tuesday, six days, including a long weekend.
 
Falconflyer said:
Great looking pair of Perazzi's Spank, spectacular wood on the TMS!
I really like the striped receiver on the older guns. I purchased an MT6 a few years ago that was in such good condition that you'd have never known it was it 35 years old, the wood was plain but that's the way most of them came from the factory. I loved the gun but it shot a full pattern high and I could hit alright with it at trap but when I took to the sporting clays course with a flat shooting gun I was shooting under anything that was rising, damn muscle memory.... I had an adjustable comb put on it and an adjustable Graco but I still couldn't get the pattern down enough so I eventually sold it, probably should have had it restocked instead. There's a pretty good market for these old guns since it's practically impossible to wear them out.
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Thanks! I have a friend with an MT6 I have been trying to acquire for years but he just wont part with it and it hasn't been shot since at least the early 90's. It has 29.5" barrels and it has two stocks, both trap and skeet that were ordered with it new in 1980 or 81? It has the same striped receiver as my TM and I thought it would make a nice matching set but he just won't part with it, arggh. LOL Thats what prompted me to buy the older MX8, always wanted one with the CCH receivers as you just don't see them at shoots any more like we did 30-35 years ago.
This is the Fajen wood set I picked up off a fellow in California to have fitted to the MX8....I'll be sending the gun to Chris in the spring as per his instructions. Its not even out the door yet and I'm already excited to see the end result!! Lol
 
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That gun is going to look great with that wood on it! I understand that a fellow purchased the Fajen stock patterns a couple of years ago and is making that style of stock again.
I wonder what hardware for the adjustable comb that is, looks to be hell for stout as the bolts are completely through the stock! Maybe it's Fajen's own system? A lot of mounting systems have a tiny allan wrench hole for the adjustment screws and sometime they are too close to the edge of the wood and can chip out, no worries about that with this set up.
 


Some Perazzi wood curing, plain wood tends is stronger or at least I Keep telling myself that.

Very nice stocks spank.
 
JIMMY 808 said:


Some Perazzi wood curing, plain wood tends is stronger or at least I Keep telling myself that.

Very nice stocks spank.
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That there is funny!
Perazzi has sure sent lots of guns out the door with plain wood alright but the trend seems to be changing a bit in later years though as buyers don't want plain wood on expensive guns anymore.
 
JIMMY 808 said:


Some Perazzi wood curing, plain wood tends is stronger or at least I Keep telling myself that.

Very nice stocks spank.
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Hahaha! Back in the day I used to tease the guys that Perazzi used old vineyard posts for stocks and they sure looked it! LOL
They say plain straight grained wood is stronger but I have seen just as many plain stocks cracked as burled stocks? I don't think it matters much when it comes to gun stocks. Wood isn't by design intended for repeated hammer blows. Eventually something is going to give way over time with thousands of rounds of use be it wood or synthetic. It would be interesting to see how synthetic stocks stand up to 100,000 or more rounds like many target guns endure but I can't bring myself to to own the ugly things! :p
 
Falconflyer said:
That gun is going to look great with that wood on it! I understand that a fellow purchased the Fajen stock patterns a couple of years ago and is making that style of stock again.
I wonder what hardware for the adjustable comb that is, looks to be hell for stout as the bolts are completely through the stock! Maybe it's Fajen's own system? A lot of mounting systems have a tiny allan wrench hole for the adjustment screws and sometime they are too close to the edge of the wood and can chip out, no worries about that with this set up.
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Here are some pics of the adjustable comb assembly. I assume this is Fajens own design as I've never seen anything like this advertised aftermarket? This is the butt plate that was on the stock as well. It's heavier in weight than a Gracoil but as you can see its beefy and with steel LOP adjustment rods I am sure it's tough as nails. I will be replacing it with either a R.A.D system or Gracoil.
 
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Now for something exotic and very scarce. Cowtown Bill will recognize it. This is a Westley Richards Single Barrel Trap Gun made in 1914 for J A Flett, Vancouver. This may have been a retailer or an individual. These guns were made for the North American and Australian markets, singles trap was pretty well unknown in Britain at this time. When I researched this gun with Westley Richards I sent them some pictures of it and they were quite fascinated, they had never seen one other than in old catalogues. This is only the second one I have ever had in my hands, although a husband and wife from Williams Lake BC shot a pair of them years ago. One occasionally ( every 2-3 years) shows up at auction in the U S. note the breech thickness, this thing is built like a tank! It throws some of the most perfect patterns I have ever seen. And yes, like all my guns I excercise it regularly.
 
Spank, that is some kind of heavy duty hardware! Quite a contrast to the cheap plastic hardware that Beretta was using on their guns everyone complained about. I never had any problems with the ones I had but lots of people did. That hardware would actually be well matched to Ashcroft's heavy duty Westley Richards trap gun!

It's great to see your Westley Richards again Ashcroft!
 
Ashcroft said:
Now for something exotic and very scarce. Cowtown Bill will recognize it. This is a Westley Richards Single Barrel Trap Gun made in 1914 for J A Flett, Vancouver. This may have been a retailer or an individual. These guns were made for the North American and Australian markets, singles trap was pretty well unknown in Britain at this time. When I researched this gun with Westley Richards I sent them some pictures of it and they were quite fascinated, they had never seen one other than in old catalogues. This is only the second one I have ever had in my hands, although a husband and wife from Williams Lake BC shot a pair of them years ago. One occasionally ( every 2-3 years) shows up at auction in the U S. note the breech thickness, this thing is built like a tank! It throws some of the most perfect patterns I have ever seen. And yes, like all my guns I excercise it regularly.
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Oh man is that a nice single bbl trap gun! I though Perazzi had a thick breech? That's awesome. Amazing how much an Ithaca Knick 4E resembles that gun.....

What is the length of the bbl?
 
Westward1 said:
If you don’t order an upgrade, that is pretty much what you get. That is why dealers usually get SC2 on their retail guns. And then it is usually the equivalent of every other manufacturers base wood.
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But if you are buying a new Perazzi, what is a couple thousand more for a wood upgrade.
 
The barrel is 32 1/2" Spank, I believe this was the longest offered at the time. Choke is .034" with a long continuous taper, no parallel section, I believe Perazzi and some others used this configuration on some of their fixed choke guns. The ventilated rib and the ejector were factory options, this gun has both although I have disabled the ejector which I found to be a nuisance as it cocks on closing by squeezing the extractor against the breech face, making the gun harder to close than necessary.
 
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