Chapuis Armes C35 Super Orion Classic

Chapuis Armes has a reputation for great handling and good looking guns; Mark Heath is suitably impressed with the firm’s all-rounder

and the radius not too tight. Likewise, the rounded fore-end sits nicely in the hand and is equally well finished.

The safety catch is an auto safe. There is no barrel selector, which is not really an issue. How many of us use the barrel selector during a shoot day?

The safety catch is similar to one you might find on an old English side-byside — quite small but easy to operate.

The gun weighs in at 7lb 5oz, so it’s no grand, 40g cartridge, recoilabsorbing

I do like the handling of Chapuis Armes guns and this was no different. On test on the towers at the shooting school, the handling was a delight using a variety of cartridges. Starting on the 40ft tower and working up to the 130ft tower, the handling and balance of the gun were exceptional. The trigger pulls were well regulated and the timing on the ejectors perfect.

I shot different cartridge brands, from 28g to 32g, and found the recoil very soft due to the balance of the gun. If you are someone who uses cartridges in excess of 32g, this is probably not the gun for you. I would suggest something in excess of 8lb to keep the recoil manageable.

The gun comes in a hard, plastic case with security-coded locks and is supplied with five chokes in the usual restrictions between cylinder and full.

Overall, the Super Orion is pitching into the entry level volume game gun market in the UK and it is making an excellent argument to be noticed and be successful. There is a higher-grade version, if the budget allows, that is in the EELL territory. This gun is capable of competing in the game gun marketplace, we just need to take more notice of it. leviathan. It is directed at the market for standard-weight game guns and is in the mix with the Beretta Silver Pigeon and 690 — a medium, all-round game gun for ‘normal’ game shooting, partridges and pheasants.

It also fits the bill for walked-up shooting in terms of weight and handling. The barrels on the 30in version give the gun a nice balance and feel, and there are 26in to 32in options. They come with a traditional solid side rib and a solid tapered narrow top rib. There’s a choice of 12-, 16-, 20- and 28-bore.

There are 11 laser engravings to choose from, all well executed. The gun on test came with pheasants on one side, partridges on the other and woodcock on the underside.

The Super Orion C35 Classic has some great figuring and the standard measurements for an off-the-shelf gun are almost perfect

There are 11 fine laser English scroll engraving options to choose from, as well as new game scenes on the action