Breda Zenith Sporter tested
Clay coach Becky McKenzie rates this attractive 12-bore
Breda is well known for producing semi-auto shotguns and, as with many Italian brands, they are produced in the Val Trompia region in Brescia. Breda uses first-class materials, displays impeccable workmanship and has state-of-the-art assembly for its shotgun lines. Its over-and-under line-up contains the Zenith Black, and Zenith Nickel, as well as the Zenith L game series, which uses Grade 3-4 wood and has some stunning engraving on the action, signed by master engraver Dario Cortini.
The Zenith Black I tested here in 12bore with 30in barrels has extended ‘Maxi’ multichokes. It has a decent stock with straight grain, which may not look pretty but ensures strength of the wood. The walnut is a nice, dark colour, with the grain matching
the fore-end. The grade of wood is 3-4, and oiled by hand. The chequering had a good ‘feel’ – neither too sharp, nor too soft, which was pretty good as I hate sharp chequering.
Barrels
The barrels look good, too, with a shiny blacking. Near the breach end they are stamped up ‘12ga/70-2 and ¾in’, so 2¾in chamber. Both the sporter and game versions are proofed for superior steel and are available to order with 28in barrels, alongside 30in and 32in. I think this may be an early model or prototype, as following further research I discovered that the Sporter now comes with 3in chambers and the Trap model with 2¾in. The Breda Sporter also has 75mm-long forcing cones. The top rib is a pleasant 11mm-7mm tapered rib, with a vented mid rib.
Paint it black
A word about the marvellously ‘black’ barrels. Breda says its barrels have been through a ‘special’ blueing treatment called ‘double blueing’. A sophisticated operation to obtain an intense and durable black colour. They really are beautifully black.
The black and coin finished action have the same engraving. It’s difficult to describe. There are very fine lines and waves, finished with an embossed gold Breda logo. The underside of the action has been engraved with the Zenith logo, all most subtle and tasteful. The black itself, being matt on the action, makes it look rather distinctive. Contrasted with the shiny black barrels this gives an eye-catching appearance.
The master stroke
Master engraver Dario Cortini designed the engraving. Breda says the painstaking preparation of the piece is rigorously done by hand by carefully polishing the surfaces to obtain sought-after textures and effects. The action is then laser engraved before being finished by hand to highlight the detail.
The locking system on the Zenith involves two plugs located in the upper part of the action, which engage into channels on the monobloc, in the lower part of the receiver in line with the hinge pins, for optimal strength. Breda says the locking pins are replaceable over the life of the shotgun. The action itself is a solid forged steel-machined billet.
The 30in Zenith I tested weighed in at 8lb 2.3oz, and length of pull was nearly 15in. Breda claims that with flush chokes, on a 30in barrel, the weight is 8lb 1.1oz or 3.66kg. I liked the extended chokes, which were around 90mm long. The actual barrel, plus chokes, weighed 3lb 7.6oz. The trigger is adjustable, with seven positions with trigger pulls, on paper, between 2.86lb (1.3kg) to
3.08lb (1.4kg). The stock is also available as standard, or with an adjustable comb. This is important for me because I like ‘fine tuning’ to get an excellent stock fit.
On the range
Now, enough about the technical stuff, let’s get on to how this little lovely actually shot.
On opening the impressive hard plastic case, somewhat smaller than a normal 12-bore hard case, I wondered if I had been sent a 20-bore by mistake. Fear not – the Zenith was snugly packed away inside the plush, wine-red, felt-lined case. The gun went together smoothly and when shutting the barrels I waited for the inevitable clunk of barrel meeting action, but was pleasantly surprised with the solidness of its closure. I have a distinct dislike for guns that shut with a clank or clunk. And, yes, even the odd expensive gun shuts with a nasty clang. The Zenith did not. Good start.
Shouldering the Zenith for the first time, my instant reaction was that the stock felt too long for my stature. I was also aware of it feeling mildly heavy in my left (leading) hand. So for me the gun felt a little front-end heavy. This isn’t an issue for me at all, but an inexperienced shooter may get fatigued quickly, not having muscle memory yet. You build that up over time.
I left the Zenith on an outside table and while I stood nearby with my coffee I watched plenty of shooters slow down to look at the gun. The aesthetics of this gun really caught the eye and I could see that they were discussing it among themselves.
After the coffee I got to the first stand and mounted the gun. I wasn’t sure what to expect recoil wise as the gun is neither a lightweight or a heavy beast. I have been shooting RC cartridges for a few years now, often using 12-bore, 24g load, with a shot size of 7.5. They do not have a particularly gentle recoil, but by gosh they do pattern well. Using them for the first time in the Breda would be a solid test on felt recoil, which I am sensitive to. I have shot a few lighterweight guns and, later on in the evening, my neck stiffens up.
I called for the first target and had two shots at the first bird. Moving the Zenith was a smooth process. The front-end heavy barrels make the process of smooth movement easy and they move through the target at a sensible pace. I feel a lighter set of barrels on the Breda would have made the motion a little ‘whippy’ and uncontrollable.
The trigger felt crisp and sharp, with no heavy tugging required. Acquiring the sight of the clay early on was easy as my sight picture was good because of the gun’s lowprofile action.
Smashing performance
Smashing the first clay is always a good feeling, and the Zenith did this well. I was shooting ¼ and ½ chokes, and they were doing a fine job. Moving onto the report pair, I missed the first target largely because I didn’t see a pair first, so I had to guess my hold point. This gun continued to impress me. No, I may not have hit every clay, but this is a gun straight out of the box that didn’t fit me very well. That aside, shooting the Breda is a nice experience. Like I said, it’s not the lightest gun out there and for clay shooting that is a good thing because you want a bit of heft to soak up the recoil. It is certainly rewarding in terms of balance and handling qualities, even though my initial perception of the gun was that it was barrel heavy. I still liked it.
It gave me a bit of a slap in the face the first two shots, but this was because the stock was too long for me. After a few more shots, and rolling my shoulder a bit further into the stock, it felt much better.
Price-wise, the Breda Zenith can be bought new for £2,470 (standard stock) or for £2,995 with an adjustable one. I couldn’t find a used one online; shooters who buy this gun obviously like it and keep it.
“The aesthetics of the gun caught the eye”