Target Sports

SHOTGUN REVIEW: SPORTING SANGRIA

Created on 26th May 2009

Richard Atkins finds Zabala's new over/under as refreshing as its country of origin's famous tipple

SPAIN IS a country associated with good times, providing relaxing holidays with sun, sea, sand and sangria at minimal cost. Something else the country has a fine tradition in is shotgun manufacturing. Several firms in the gunmaking heartland area of Eibar, north-east Spain, have for many years been producing guns to tempt the British shooter on a budget. These have traditionally concentrated on simple but sturdy Anson and Deeley-style boxlock guns that follow the side-by-side format and straight-hand stock with splinter forend so typical of the huge numbers of fine British guns that were once made. As British guns became too expensive for the mass market and only the hand-built ‘best' guns continued, with small production high-cost models, Spanish gunmakers grasped the opportunity that this presented, having supplied a great proportion of that market successfully for several decades. They will doubtless continue for a long while yet.

They have made far less impact in the over/under format. This area remains dominated by Italian products, although there are some excellent Spanish examples of these too: for the competition shooter, Kemen's superb shotguns are for many the Spanish Perazzi. There are others, and the fine Lanber O/U tested here a few months ago and handled in the UK by hugely successful company GMK proved that Spanish gunmakers can make good-quality affordable O/U guns too.

The name Zabala is not one likely to roll off the tongue of many shooters asked to suggest the names of a few makers of O/U shotguns, but that may soon change, if only a little. Making a name in a tough market sector takes time, effort, money and a good product. Without the latter there is little point trying, as there are so many good products today that no one need bother with a poor one. The mix of the rest is difficult to apply because the market is rather conservative and no matter how good the product, a high proportion of shooters will still go for the name they have heard or seen their chums using. Therefore getting brand acceptance is a major and costly task and those costs are of course reflected in the retail price - which may take away some of the initial marketing edge, as the price gets closer to that of the established brands.

Tradition meets technology

We are all aware of how advances in technology have impacted on every aspect of our lives. New ways of doing things, materials, design and machining processes have all made such strides as to be barely recognisable from those of only 30 years ago. And it is those companies that have grasped the need to embrace the changes which have prospered. It means we can have highly complex equipment at moderate prices which is often both technically superior to products of yesteryear and relatively cheaper. You can see that in everything from washing machines to cars, and guns are no exception. Guns were traditionally hand-built. In particular, the jointing of the barrels to the action was a highly skilled job that could take many hours to get right - the quality ‘clunk' as a hand-fitted gun closes is as satisfying as that of a Rolls Royce door being shut compared to that of a Morris Minor, but it comes at a price. Today's CNC machinery means that almost no such labour intensive work is required. The presence of machines that make components time after time to within microns of accuracy mean that most modern gun barrels will assemble precisely in moments with little more attention required than the sharp edges being removed. And virtually any barrel from the production run will fit just as precisely to any action, so the action jointer's skills are seldom required. This vastly reduces production costs and means spare parts will also interchange without any major gunsmithing work so, if you want two or more barrel sets in different lengths and or choke arrangements, it's fairly easy to organise. Not so in the days when it had to be done by hand; these guns would now cost 10 or 20 times what you would wish to pay. Like many other overseas makers Zabala accepted the technology challenge. It makes its guns the modern way, and in so doing has kept prices extremely competitive.

The O/U sent for review is in fact more of a prototype model of its kind, sent for comment rather than as an appraisal of a finalised format. As such it's a bit of a hybrid, but is actually well worth a close look.

I must confess to some apprehension when initially asked if I'd review one, as my only previous experience of a Zabala was a side-by-side model some 35 years ago which failed to impress. Yes, it was extremely attractively priced and offered the basic features I was looking for at that time (being not exactly a callow youth, but still relatively inexperienced). My best pal bought one, but I went the route of a second-hand AYA (which I still have). So when I was told the retail price of this review model I thought back to those times, when low cost could also mean rather basic in form and function. What a pleasant surprise it was, therefore, to behold a really nicely-finished gun that even came in a hard carry case! The wood is tightly grained walnut with some modest figure and it is very smoothly oil-finished. The chequering is neat too: it follows a slightly unusual pattern but is well executed, with no over-runs. It's probably the work of modern laser cutting, but whatever - it's smart and functional.

The Zabala's barrels have been well-polished before being nicely blacked; their muzzles are slightly flared to accommodate internal choke tubes. The receiver body is presented in once-again fashionable ‘colour case hardened' finish. Modern day chrome-moly steels don't need the same treatment as the older low carbon steels once used in gunmaking. Hence we have become accustomed to the ‘nitride hardened' shiny, or sometimes matte but otherwise bright, steel finish that such modern steels require. Showing just how conservative the shotgun business in particular can be, when the opportunity to recreate the traditional finish with modern steels was fairly recently developed many gunmakers now offer the ‘case hardened' finish again. Whether the newer generation brought up on polished (or sometimes black) actions will appreciate it quite as much as ‘old timers' remains to be seen, but it is attractive to this reviewer's eye and will hopefully prove equally durable. The Zabala under review has light rose and scroll engraving under the case hardening and that is my preference: keep it simple.

Basic design

The Zabala's basic design is reminiscent of many guns, particularly Italian ones, as it's based around the format of monobloc barrels hinging on two side trunnion pins in the receiver walls and locked by a full width bolt that engages in a slot beneath the lower barrel. It's a well-tried design and has proved pleasant to use, economic to produce and to offer good service life. A conventional top lever unlocks the barrels for ejecting empty cases and reloading, with the combined safety catch and barrel selector mounted behind it in the top strap. This model automatically resets the safety upon opening the gun, which is desirable in a game model but not in a clay gun. Automatic selective ejectors are fitted. These proved both adequately powerful and well timed.

Barrels are bored true, are well-polished and are joined with ventilated side ribs. A 7mm-wide parallel top rib is fitted; again, this is a more typical ‘game' width than the wider variety usually found on guns primarily intended for clay shooting. The bright fibre optic LPA front bead is more clay gun-orientated.

The action is a single selective trigger type with the barrel selector built into the safety catch. The second barrel is mechanically engaged upon firing the first, so is not reliant upon inertia or the firing of a cartridge for it to reset. Trigger pulls are on the heavy side, with a slightly extended ‘break', so they are less crisp than some more refined actions. The top barrel's release weight was also noticeably less that the bottom barrel's, and this is one area where the basics of a simple but secure action mechanism, combined with minimal time for an artisan to wave his file and oil stone, can be revealed. The take-up before the break was reasonably short, though. The link from trigger to overhead sears which raises the sear out of engagement with the bents, which are machined into the top face of the substantial hammers, is well-fitted and so improves the feel. Shooters used to a lighter and crisper trigger action would find it more disconcerting than the less experienced, but achieving a closer release weight match would help. It's readily accessible with the stock removed (with only two screws in the butt pad and a single bolt retaining the stock to undo) and a gunsmith should be able to improve things for a modest amount. It is, however, wise not to reduce pull weights too drastically in a less sophisticated action, otherwise problems like double-discharging can arise.

The Zabala was quite easy to open from the start, which is nice in a new gun as so often they can be very stiff to operate until shot-in. The fit of all parts, including metal to wood, proved good. Balance was surprisingly good too, being right on the barrel hinge point with these 27½" barrels. Those seeking a slightly steadier forward weight might prefer a 29" or 30" barrel length option, also ideal for clays. This shows the barrels are not unduly heavy (they are stamped as weighing 1,385g), indicating that Zabala has controlled wall thickness in manufacture well to meet strength requirements without making them unduly thick and hence heavy (once a common drawback with modestly-priced guns). It is easier to make them heavy than light and this means handling can suffer: no such problem here as bores are standard diameter, not over-bored, so are well-suited for use with fibre wad cartridges.

Stock dimensions are pretty much ideal for the average shooter, suiting both game and sporting clays. The stock is just a bit higher than ‘flat', but not excessively so. A full competition model might have a fraction less drop at comb and heel, but as an all-rounder for taking around the fields, as well as some casual clays for recreation and practice, it's fine. The semi-pistol grip hand area is really attractive to look at, and is nice to hold too. It's fine for a game gun (and was once a favourite among some shooters with double-trigger guns, as it guides the hand as it slides back along the stock for the second trigger). This, however, is a single trigger gun so that aspect isn't served, making it more of an aesthetic choice. More serious clay shooters want a full pistol grip. They also generally like to see a little more of the target and still have the pattern centred upon its flight. Having said this, I soon settled in with the Zabala anyway and although nothing to write home about occurred, I scraped home a point in front at a local Sporting clay shoot. The gun certainly aroused some interest at this event, especially considering its likely retail price (yet to be finalised, as is final specification). The oil-finished walnut woodwork in particular was noted for its quality, which easily outshone several other guns present which had much higher price tags.

There is much to like about this shotgun and as a game-biased all-rounder it has a lot going for it. The chequering is well-executed, if a little unconventional in pattern, but that's a matter of taste. A sporter clay model will need longer barrel options, a full pistol grip to the stock, plus the trigger pulls balancing and lightening. If Zabala can achieve that without a major uplift in cost it could have a model to make its name in the future.

Technical Specification

Make: Zabala
Model: Game/Sporter
Type: Over/Under
Gauge: 12g x 3" (76mm)
chambers
Chokes: Zabala internal
choke tubes
(five supplied, three in plastic case)
Overall length: 45½"
Barrel length: 27½"
Weight: 7lb 5oz
Trigger: Single selective
(mechanical)
Trigger pulls: 5lb 9oz
(top brl) and 6lb 8oz
Safety: Auto
Top rib: 7mm wide RVR
Pull length: 14 ¾"
Cast: Slight R H cast
Drop at comb: 1½" (38mm)
Drop at heel: 2¼" (57mm)
Guide SRP: circa £600
(including hard carry case)