NSSA-NSCA



A Different Twist to a Four-Barrel SetBy Nick SisleyA few issues back I wrote about how Ben DiIorio started the four-barrel skeet set going in 1948 with special barrels made on a Remington 32 over-and-under by a special gunsmith in New York. It was from DiIorio’s start that skeet shooters throughout the country saw the value of a four-barrel set?—each .410, 28, 20 and 12 gauge barrel set fit to the same receiver. Relatively speaking no matter which gauge the skeeter was shooting, the feel was very similar if not identical. For a number of years, such four-barrel sets dominated skeet shooting, but then sub-gauge tubes came along and we all know those results.For this month I have a new four-barrel set to talk about, but it’s not one of those sets that Ben DiIorio set a trend with back in 1948. I put this one together myself—one barrel set at a time, and each barrel set was made not only with skeet shooting in mind but also sporting clays, 5-Stand gunning, pest pigeons and upland bird stuff.In December of 2000 I was invited to shoot a number of Caesar Guerini over-and-unders. That company was just getting started so Wes Lang of Caesar Guerini USA conducted a small media event to introduce shotgun writers to his Italian-made over-and-unders. The event was held in southwest Georgia, not far from Albany, that area well known as a hotbed for bobwhite quail shooting. In addition to the quail gunning, our smallish group also pounded plenty of clay targets with those Guerini shotguns.After returning home I contacted Wes Lang about one of the guns I had shot in Georgia. Guerini must have had at least 10 different models that we could shoot—sporting guns, skeet guns, trap guns and hunting guns. The one I was interested in was the Guerini Summit Sporting 28 gauge model with 32-inch barrels. Longer barrels were gaining in popularity at that time. That’s the gun I bought.Over the next several years that 28 gauge was my shotgun of choice for many, many clay targets, plus I started banking on that O/U heavily for my pest pigeon shooting. Also I took that 28 gauge on three trips to South America to put it to work on high-volume doves. In South America they have two 28 gauge options; one a 15 gram load (that’s just 1 gram more than our 2 ?-inch ? ounce .410 skeet loads) and a 21 gram load. The latter was great; the former didn’t have plastic wadding so it looked like confetti was going skyward every time I pulled the trigger.I found that the 21 gram 28 gauge loads were not always available, plus in South America the cost of 28s was/is much higher than 12s or 20s. You probably know where I’m going with this. Yes, I had a set of 20 gauge barrels fit to this Summit Sporting receiver. I ordered 32-inch 20 gauge barrels to match the 28 gauge barrel set. That 20 gauge barrel set encountered its first South American dove adventure in the summer of 2011 and again in January of 2012. Those 20 gauge barrels are going with me into Bolivia for more doves in October of 2012. By the time you read this column I will already be back.Prior to having that set of 20 gauge barrels fit to this Summit Sporting, I was thinking about upland shooting—ruffed grouse, woodcock and quail—and that those 32-inch barrels would hardly be ideal in tight cover, so I had Caesar Guerini in Cambridge, Md., fit a set of 26-inch 28 gauge barrels to the receiver. Then I was ready to take on any tight cover situation. While I have already shot this barrel set extensively in the uplands, those shorter barrels on the Summit Sporting will be going with me to Nova Scotia in November 2012, specifically for ruffed grouse and woodcock. Again, by the time you read this I will have returned from that trip, and I’m confident that those 28 gauge 26-inch barrels will have performed admirably in Nova Scotia.Now you know about the first three barrel sets I’ve had fitted to this over-and-under, and you are probably confident that you can guess what my next barrel set would be. You are right if you guessed a .410 barrel set. While the typical skeet gun four-barrel set is made on a 12 gauge receiver, my Caesar Guerini Summit Sporting is built on a 20 gauge receiver. These guns are not light weights, but they are not overly heavy either.My original 28 gauge with 32-inch barrels tips the postal scale at 7 pounds 1 ounce. The 26-inch 28 gauge barrels drop that overall weight to 6 pounds 13 ounces. The 20 gauge barrel set is 7 pounds 4 ounces, the .410 with 32-inch barrels 7 pounds 5 ounces.Now I’m doing a lot of skeet practice with those .410 barrels. Most of you know that you get 800 half ounce .410 loads out of a 25 pound bag of #9 Magnum shot. Consequently, if you are interested in saving money while still shooting plenty of clay targets—the .410 and the 28 gauge are the way to go. Of course it’s now easy to load three-fourth ounces of shot in the 20 gauge as wads and recipes for that loading are available.Pest pigeons have been my thing the last five or six years, and my main gun for that shooting has been the Summit Sporting, first in 28 gauge, now either in 28 or 20 gauge. The barrels have screw chokes so it’s easy to spin a choke out in exchange for another when conditions for such a change surface. For the most part, however, I stick with open chokes in both gauges. If I really have only long-distance shooting being offered I’ve found it’s surprising how far even the three-fourth ounce 28 gauge load will reach out.The Summit Sporting model is a boxlock, the barrels pivoting on trunnions, the lock up via a receiver-wide bolt that moves forward from the bottom of the action to engage lugs milled into the bottom of the monobloc. This is a locking system that’s tried and true, as well as common with a number of other over-and-under manufacturers.Interestingly, the stock length of pull on Caesar Guerini over-and-unders is pretty long at 14-3/4 inches. I’m 6 feet 2 inches so the longer stocks suit me well. Checkering is extremely well done and very fine line at 32-lines-to-the inch. The recoil pad is well rounded which helps eliminate gun hang-ups on clothing when quickly mounting. That pad is relatively thin as well. The Summit trigger is gold plated and can be moved forward and rearward so anyone can attain their perfect grip to trigger-finger distance.Even the 20 gauge receiver has wide sidewalls for extra strength. These guns are built to take the pounding of thousands upon thousands of shells. The locking lug and/or the trunnions are replaceable, but that will take more wear and tear than most of us are going to give such a gun.It’s not always easy to get longer 32-inch barrels on sub-gauge guns, but with Caesar Guerini you have that option. The Boss-style ejector system incorporates oversize cams to insure positive ejection of fired shells. All guns are carefully balanced one centimeter in front of the hinge pins. A stock wrench is included for stock removal. While a hard case is supplied with the Summit Sporting (and other Guerini O/Us), I now have a hard case that holds all three 32-inch barrels (.410, 28 and 20).The receiver is protected by a double nickel finish that the company calls Tinaloy, so the receiver is not in blue but has a classic gray look. There is engraving on the receiver sides and bottom plus the trigger guard, top tang, opening lever and more. The barrel side ribs are vented for more rapid cooling on my 20 and 28 gauge sets with non-vented side ribs on my 28 gauge with 26-inch barrels and my .410 barrels. Six CCP (Crowned Conical Parallel) extended chokes are included along with their own plastic case. Due to special threads, these screw chokes do not tend to loosen.Obviously, I have more than one shotgun, but if I ever got down to the nitty-gritty of what shotgun I wouldn’t want to be without it would definitely be this unique four-barrel set. Don’t forget that this four-barrel set can be put together one barrel set at a time. Check out .Nick Sisley welcomes your emails at nicksisley@. He has been penning these columns in the Skeet Shooting Review for 30 years. An NSSA, NSCA and NRA shotgun instructor, Nick has authored eight books and written thousands of magazine articles. ................
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