Target Sports

SHOTGUN REVIEW: SKEET SUSHI

Created on 15th May 2009

RICHARD ATKINS on a dedicated Japanese Skeet gun that's stood the test of time

So successful has Miroku become that it now stands alongside Browning and numerous other top names. It is one of the best-selling brands in the UK, America and elsewhere. That's why this month we are looking at one that has been in use for 40 years. It is the Miroku 800S I bought back in the 1970s when, having reached a plateau in my Skeet shooting, I believed all I needed to reach my potential was a dedicated Skeet gun. I was to discover there's more to it than that; initially the change to a new gun actually caused my performance to deteriorate. However, things were to change when I persevered and eventually it was to serve me well as I took the High Gun trophy in the 1979 Inter-Counties Skeet championships.

Fortunately for today's new shooter, there are numerous makes available at very competitive prices that are both technically advanced and very well built: advancements in materials, design and manufacturing techniques have enabled makers to produce some exceptional guns at realistic prices. However, if you have a yearning for one of the bigger names - such as Browning, Beretta or Miroku - then buying second-hand may be your best option. The purpose of looking at my old Miroku 800S model here is to see how it has fared over the intervening years and what you should expect for your money if you're buying a typical secondhand gun like this one.

The first thing that strikes you when looking at a gun of this age is that the level of finish in terms of engraving and wood quality makes you think of a much higher grade of gun. Indeed, people have mistaken this Miroku for a high-grade Browning. This model's action is nitride-hardened, finished to a high polish, and carries extensive, fine rose and scroll-type hand-engraving which looks as good today as it did when it was first made. The action floor, trigger guard and even the forend latch are also hand engraved, as is the top lever. Modern guns employ modern techniques to apply a form of engraving which may enhance their finish, though some can appear a little clumsy in comparison with true hand engraving. There's no doubt that if you seek this standard of engraving but have limited funds then choosing the second-hand model is your only option. Such engraving on a new gun bought today would more than double its price tag.

Likewise, the woodwork is of a nice tight grain with some dark, pleasant figuring. This has not been retouched over the 40 years I've had it and, as the photos here show, has picked up a few knocks and bruises over that time. It would not be difficult to have this corrected but I'm quite happy with it as it is as I quite like the well-used look.

Something else about my 800S that's immediately striking is that its barrels appear very short. That's because it was introduced at a time when short barrels were considered the way to go for shooting fast-moving targets such as Skeet at close range. The modern trend is for Skeet guns to have longer barrels than this model's 26", with 28" barrels being more usual and some even going to 30". Barrel length is a personal choice: larger-framed, taller shooters may be more comfortable with longer barrels but as I'm, in modern parlance, vertically challenged the 26" barrel length suits me for this style of shooting. I also find it useful on Sporting targets at short-to-medium distance and especially with driven and low flush birds: on these the short barrels swing into action very nicely. It works less well on very long targets, where longer barrels seem better at tracking the distant clay.

One feature almost all modern guns have which this one lacks is interchangeable choke tubes fitted into the muzzles. These were fairly rare 40 years ago and were most often seen on semi-automatic shotguns, on which some fairly heavy and clumsy devices such as the Cutts Compensator were to be found. Internal choke tubes have seen a great deal of development in recent years, being light and reliable, and have made guns more versatile. This Miroku, being plain-bored to open Skeet dimensions, is therefore limited in the roles it can play: it was designed for Skeet shooting and that is what it should be used for.

It was clever of Miroku to work out precisely what makes a good Skeet gun to suit the average clay shooter. The formula arrived at proved excellent: this gun suits a great number of the people who have tried it over the years, many finding they shoot well with it. Several have commented how readily it comes up to the shoulder and allows them to pick up and deal with targets: indeed, I have had many offers to buy it from me on the basis of a first encounter. Obviously it's not a gun I intend to sell, but to pass on to my son one day.

Typically a Skeet gun needs to handle swiftly but steadily, to pick up and overtake a fast-moving target at relatively close range and to respond to any changes in its flight due to gusts of wind etc. Therefore a degree of steadiness is necessary in combination with the quick handling. The short barrels, combined with reasonable weight (somewhere around 8lb in this case), provide this. The weight also helps soak up recoil during a long competition, in which 100 cartridges may be fired in the preliminary round with a possible need for a further 25 or even 50 in any subsequent shoot-off.

The pull length (the distance from the trigger to the centre of the butt pad) needs to be just a little less than for a Trap gun so that it can be swiftly brought to shoulder. Although in English Skeet the gun can be mounted, in which case you may prefer a little more length, the majority choose to fire with the gun dismounted. If you also intend to use this gun for Sporting it's as well that it shoulders without snagging under the armpits, which can easily lead to a lost target!

Miroku fitted a hard Bakelite-type butt pad to the 800S stock, plus a nice hand-filling beavertail-style forend. The modern trend is for a slimmer style of forend but having got used to this hand-filling style it's something I have come to appreciate. Its top edges are relieved to form finger grooves on either side of the top edge, which provide a guide for the fingers to be lightly placed: note that a forend should never be gripped hard, more as though you're holding an egg firmly enough not to drop it without squeezing so hard it might break.

The barrels are nicely part-blued inside and out, and well blacked on the outside. Indeed, 99% of that finish remains on my model, with only a small amount having worn off where the forend has been removed and replaced many hundreds of times in dismantling the gun for cleaning, plus some polishing around the muzzles from frequent insertions in a shooting bag. Neither is of any great consequence - should one feel inclined, it could be readily touched up with a cold process. However, I've chosen to leave these areas bright rather than having something that won't match the original finish applied.

The 800S barrel has a nice 10mm-wide raised and ventilated top rib with a file-like pattern and anti-glare finish plus small white central and larger white front beads. This gives an excellent sighting platform and one can check one's mount prior to calling for a target by ensuring that the two beads form a figure of eight. Note that one does not actually concentrate on the beads when shooting Skeet as all concentration should be on the target.

The method of barrel assembly on these older guns was the demi-bloc system, where one barrel was made from a forging that included the lump that will form the breechblock and into which the second barrel is set. Modern Miroku guns, as with virtually all others, now use the monobloc system whereby a separate breechblock has both tubes set into it. This demi-bloc system is considered superior as one tube and the breech lump is all one item, but as we know the monobloc system has proved highly reliable and is much less expensive to produce. Barrel bores are of plain polished steel, whereas virtually all modern guns are chrome-plated after manufacture which ensures that the bores will retain their clean and rust-free finish even if the owner is less than fastidious in cleaning. This does, though, require the owner to ensure their guns are cleaned and oiled before putting away for any period of time. Remember, these guns are far less forgiving and require more maintenance than their modern counterparts.

The action body is quite deep, as on the original Browning B25. Two large underlumps in the breechblock fit into recesses machined into the receiver body floor and these require considerable skill and hand fitting to achieve the necessary close fit. The design of many modern guns has been modified so that the hand-fitting aspect and the costs attached to it can be substantially avoided. The care taken in manufacturing the traditional way is evident in the close fit that this gun retains after 40 years of hard use: whether the modern methods will achieve quite the same service life without attention remains to be seen.

Action internals are also very well-designed and precisely manufactured, proving totally reliable. Trigger pulls, at just over 4lb, are crisp and about the right weight for competition shooting.

This action operates on the inertia system, whereby a recoil block is sent back on firing the first shot, ensuring that the automatic involuntary pull produced in response to the recoil does not induce the second barrel to fire before we are ready, as the second sear is only engaged when this inertia block is reset by spring pressure. It's a system proven to work extremely reliably and is used by many other makers.

As mentioned, the wood is of pleasing figure and quality. It has an easy-to-maintain oil finish and 20 lpi chequering on pistol grip and forend. The pistol grip has a fairly open radius, which suits me as I find it more comfortable in the wrist than more upright types (which can induce wrist strain over an extended period). The drop at comb and heel gives flat shooting characteristics, meaning one looks straight down the rib when it's properly mounted with the beads forming a ‘figure of eight': this is about right for Skeet shooting, in which most targets are crossing or quartering from either left or right and will follow an arced trajectory. The shot pattern is pitched just above that line of sight. This means the target will be seen but still connect with it: essential to allow for when a target pushes up suddenly due to a head-on gust, or worse still, rapidly dives due to a gust from behind.

When choosing a secondhand gun you must be sure what you will use it for. If you are primarily interested in Skeet and are of relatively modest stature then the 26" barrels should be fine. Taller shooters or those intending to shoot a lot of Sporting targets as well as Skeet will probably find that longer barrels - either with more choke or with interchangeable choke tubes fitted - may be a better choice. If Skeet shooting will prevail then a plain-bored Skeet gun such as this may well be the answer. That mine has reached this landmark in its life relatively unscathed is a reasonable indication that it should continue to do so for a very long time yet.

Technical Specification

Make: Miroku
Model: 800S
Type: Over/under
Gauge: 12g x 2¾" (70mm) chambers
Chokes: Plain Skeet boring
Overall length: 43¼"
Barrel length: 26"
Weight: 7lb 13oz
Trigger: Single selective (inertia)
Trigger pulls: 4lb 8oz
Safety: Manual
Top rib: 10mm wide RVR (parallel)
Pull length: 14½"
Cast: Straight
Drop at comb: 13/8"
Drop at heel: 2¼"
Price range: £400 to £675 approx depending upon condition and accessories (like a fitted hard case etc)