Rizzini ‘Grand Regal’ 20-bore
The Regals represent a significant step in the evolution of the Rizzini range, says Michael Yardley, offering good shooting qualities as well as value for money
THE test gun is the top model of a new range of rounded action over-and-under guns made by Rizzini and developed and imported into the UK by ASI of Snape, which also brings in AYA guns from Spain. Our spotlight falls on the Rizzini Grand Regal. The other guns in the stable are the Regal Extra (also available for comparison in this test), the Regal Deluxe and the Regal. All are single-trigger, side-plated guns on rounded action bars (decoration and grade of wood differs).
First impressions of the Grand Regal are of a handsome shotgun with outstanding wood and full coverage, deep-scroll engraving. It is, to use the vernacular, ‘fully loaded’. There is an extended fore-end iron (complementing a Boss-style fore-end), a steel fore-end tip surrounding an Anson rod fastener, barrel wings (as seen on best over-and-unders), an extended trigger guard tang and a steel end-cap to its full but not acutely angled pistol grip. The sighting rib is solid – always the preference on a game gun. The specification also includes an inertia-operated single, selective trigger, auto safe, 3in (76mm) chambers, multichokes and steel shot proof.
The gun, which weighs 6lb 14oz – near my own ideal for a 30in 20-bore (and similar to a best London 28in 12-bore sideby-side). It comes to the shoulder well with a distinctly forward balance (about 1½in in front of the hinge pin). There is plenty of purchase from the round and quite full Boss fore-end, a favoured pattern with many. The pistol grip, which fills the hand well, seems a little more swollen to its bottom than the norm with good ergonomic effect. I do not think this was intentional, however, just the way this hand-finished stock came out (the other Regal we had for comparison had a slimmer grip of more even width).
Getting grip shapes right is critical. This type of Gardonne 20-bore, combining trunnion hinging and bifurcated barrel lumps to the front with Browning-type bolting to the rear, provides a near ideal starting point for stocking. The design places top and bottom straps in an almost perfect relationship. It seems to work especially well in 20-bores, too. I prefer this arrangement from a stocking point of view to guns that use Boss-style bolting or conical bolt heads mid action (though they may result in a lower action profile, the consequence of such designs is that top and bottom straps are brought closer together and the resulting grip may lack depth at its top, failing to anchor the hand).
The Regals represent a significant evolution on the Rizzinis of old. Many in the gun trade will remember when Rizzinis (E Rizzinis rather than today’s B Rizzinis) were budget guns. Now they are vastly improved both by design refinement and modern CNC manufacture. But how did the test gun come about? I asked Edward King of ASI, who has played a significant role in the development:
“Rizzini and ASI have been working hard over the years to design a range of game guns that suits the requirements and tastes of the UK market, and with the Grand Regal we now feel that we have a gun that hits a level of elegance and sophistication that will be a challenge to exceed. The Boss-style long fore-end iron and the steel fore-end tip and grip cap are all details that lift the gun out of the ‘ordinary’ category and place it fairly and squarely in the category of premium gun, but at a price point that remains competitive and not beyond reach.”
There is an unusually wide range of bore options for the new guns, too – 12-, 16-, 20-, 28-bore and .410 – with a choice of barrel lengths between 26in and 32in (34in for the competition models). There is also on offer a full made-to-measure stock option, if required.
With the Grand Regal we now feel that we have a gun that hits a level of elegance and sophistication that will be a challenge to exceed