SHOTGUN REVIEW: A STOKE OF GENIUS

Created on 29th May 2009

RICHARD ATKINS is a smart operator; he's got his hands on the new Marocchi Zero 3 Genius

IT'S LESS than a year since we had the pleasure of trying the new Marocchi Zero 3 but development continues apace. Consumers are becoming more sophisticated in what they seek and manufacturers have woken up to this. Time was when a new model might have had a slightly different top rib, or butt-pad; even a different finish constituted a ‘new model' in marketing terms. This was once sufficient to keep a basic model that was fundamentally unchanged at the forefront of people's minds for many years. There is no real problem in that; thousands of guns sold under such regimes were generally good and no one suffered as a result. But as clay shooting continues to offer more variety, particularly in sporting clays, the market has become more sophisticated; models have been developed to help shooters tackle ever more varied and testing targets. Doing this properly requires innovation. Some features, like special barrel borings, we cannot readily see; others, like adjustable stocks, we can - and that's just what we have here in Marocchi's new model, the 03 Genius.

OK, adjustable stocks are nothing new, especially among the big-brand names, but they're seldom seen on the lesser-known makes. It is refreshing to see a company like Marocchi having the courage and foresight to produce an upgraded model so soon after launching the basic 03. There have been some other technical updates too, making an already very interesting over/under shotgun even more so.

Format

This shotgun follows a basic format that can be seen in several other makers from the same Italian gunmaking-heartland as Marocchi. The receiver body is steel investment casting with its working surfaces CNC-machined and uses the well-tried and trusted combination of the barrels pivoting on replaceable side trunnions hinges. There are under barrel lumps that engage the action floor when closed and a full-width Browning-style locking wedge that ensures a strong and trouble-free lock up.

Barrels are made on the almost universal monobloc system of tubes fixed into a CNC-machined steel breechblock, the same process used on the 03 and several other Italian O/Us we have reviewed.

The Zero 3's trigger action is recoil-operated, single-selective, with sturdy overhead sears engaging in bents (mating slots) in the tumblers (hammers), powered by coil springs. These springs are cocked as the barrels drop on opening, activated by a substantial cocking rod in the receiver floor. The latest model has a revised trigger that is smooth, wider, nicely curved and rounded both sides so that it's equally comfortable for left or right-handed shooters. The sporting version has a barrel selector mechanism that moves the inertia block (which embodies the sear lifters) operated via the top tang mounted safety catch, enabling either top or bottom barrel to be selected to fire first, depending upon the type of targets to be tackled or chokes in place. The action's design and construction allows trigger-pull to be adjusted to a sensible low weight, being crisp and reliable in operation. Marocchi has avoided the pitfall of some lesser-known makes by achieving precise trigger-pulls ‘out of the box'.

Barrels are nicely struck-off and well polished before blacking, giving a good depth and lustre. A wide, nicely circular-milled top surface and fluorescent red front bead make for a competent top sighting rib; centre barrel ribs are ventilated for reduced weight and increased cooling. The uprated ejectors are strong, reliable and efficient, operated by rocking cams in the forend iron rather than slides set into the breech block; this gives a neater, more sophisticated look to the design. Barrel bores are straight, nicely polished and chrome-plated. Although the trend is toward over-boring barrels today (also known as ‘back boring'), and indeed Marocchi does so in the 03 Trap competition gun, it has kept to standard boring for the 03 Sporting. Over-boring is something I have reservations about, particularly in a sporting clay gun as I often have to use fibre wad cartridges and the two don't always mix well, so full marks to Marocchi for not going down that route.

The clever bit

So, what is it that makes this the 03 Genius? As mentioned earlier, it's largely in the stock. Marocchi has incorporated a set of stub pins and bushes into the stock, both in the cheekpiece and butt-pad areas that allow for a considerable range of adjustment. These are offered in various combinations - the cheek piece can be raised and swivelled; the butt can be lengthened, swivelled and the pitch of the butt can be adjusted. We had the model Genius PC, which is adjustable in all these ways. It takes a while to get the set-up you want, but there is sufficient adjustment to obtain a near-perfect fit. It also makes it easy to compensate for bulky winter clothing that can make the standard stock feel a little long. With the Marocchi Genius it's a simple matter of removing a couple of spacers from the butt adjustment section, then the gun should mount without snagging.

Both cheekpiece and butt are mounted on two alloy pillars. These pillars can be moved a few millimetres within a slot in their mounting base, which is graduated so you can keep a note of the settings. Mating alloy bushes in the cheekpiece and butt section have set screws in them to lock them firmly in position. It's a matter of moments to carry out adjustments with the Allen keys and spacers provided. Being hyper-critical, setting the cheekpiece a couple of millimetres might increase its useful range slightly, and a couple more millimetres lower of adjustment in the butt might be handy for some larger-framed shooters, especially given the fairly short starting length. Those needing additional length could doubtless arrange some longer pillars to swap for those installed and it's something Marocchi might think about offering as options in the future. That said, it's a fairly simple and practical arrangement that should encourage shooters to obtain a better fit from their guns. People often struggle on with a poorly fitting gun to save money and preserve re-sale value and in doing so fail to reach their full potential. Stocks like the 03 Genius' provide a custom fit at a reasonable outlay without the risk of devaluing the gun.

Overall

We took the 03 Genius out on a sporting layout and, while falling short of the score posted with the original 03 (we set a club record of 49ex-50), the Genius was still good to shoot with. It's a clay gun from start to finish and this shows in numerous ways; it's clearly designed to do the job and does it well. It is heavy enough to soak up the recoil of the large number of shots that can be fired in competition; it balances almost on the hinge pins, so it feels lighter than it is and it's easy to swing steadily onto targets, especially useful when tackling long crossers. It's sufficiently nimble on quicker, closer targets too. The butt pad is sensibly rounded at its top edge to avoid snagging and the gun mounts smoothly. With the butt-pad swivelled and canted to obtain a perfect fit in the shoulder pocket, it mounts consistently and securely too.

Of course, having the facility to make the stock suit you requires some time and patience to get the best fit. Our initial settings provided a satisfactory 43ex-50 on a varied sporting layout; we would have loved more time with the Marocchi 03 Genius to better fine-tune it for a tailor-made fit, but it was in too much demand and we were privileged to test it first. Marocchi clearly means business; it has listened to shooters and knows what they want. The gun performed superbly with fibre wad shells, which is a bonus, and the new, longer Maxi 70 chokes supplied gave great kills indicating excellent patterns. Those who seek a quite sophisticated over/under for serious competition use will probably also choose to have the optional even longer Maxi 90 choke tubes, which have a 20mm extension that remains beyond the muzzles, making it easy to spin the choke tubes in and out with the fingers. This makes changing choke tubes between stands more convenient and that could put an extra target or two on your score.

We liked the first 03 we tried: it's stylish, functional and attractively presented. This latest version is a serious upgrade and we like it even more. It exemplifies what lesser-known makes can provide and should definitely raise Marocchi's profile, as the build quality and features on offer become recognised. See if you can book a test drive with a 03 Genius; we feel sure you will be impressed.

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