The Fabarm STL VS shotgun, according to the company's designers, should compete with such models as the Beretta 682E and Browning XS. How justified are these calculations?
Not only hunting has national characteristics. Sporting also has them. More precisely, among athletes shooting sporting. The overwhelming majority of them are armed with rifles belonging to the premium segment - Perazzi, Krieghoff, Kemen. Browning / Miroku and Beretta dominate the arsenals of European shooters. However, in recent years, the situation has begun to change. And this is primarily due to the changes taking place in the Italian arms industry. The second-tier companies, once in the shadow of the Beretta, began to move forward and, for good reason, claim market share for higher-end shotguns.
The changes taking place have quite logical explanations. Firstly, in recent years, Turkey has begun to actively enter the world arms market with its products, and the demand for inexpensive Italian-made weapons began to decline sharply. After all, the Italian arms companies of the second echelon specialized in its production. And secondly, the introduction of the latest technologies allowed Italian companies to ensure a significant increase in the quality of their products, which can compete with the guns of the world's leading manufacturers not only in terms of price.
The Fabarm STL VS shotgun, according to the company's designers, should compete with such models as the Beretta 682E and Browning XS. How justified are these calculations? Despite the fact that, allegedly, the barrels are firing, and the bed is hit, let's start all the same with the barrels. The barrels are 76 cm long, but guns are also available with 71 cm barrels. Bore drilling - Tribore, Fabarm's proprietary drilling. It first appeared on the company's semi-automatic machines. In fact, experiments with changing the profile of the bore were carried out earlier: remember the famous "Tula choke" on the MTs guns for a round stand, which was not actually a choke, but represented an extension of the bore in the pre-choke zone. Whether it was an ingenious find of Tula designers or the athletes experienced the placebo effect on themselves, but the main thing is that the results were!
Tribore drilling means there are three distinct zones in the bore. The first is an elongated slug entry, which ensures the smoothest possible transition from the chamber to the bore. The second is directly the trunk bore with a diameter of 18.8 mm with a conical transition in the prechock zone to a diameter of 18.4 mm. Making a barrel with such a profile, even with the help of modern CNC machines, is not only difficult, but also expensive. Representatives of the company insist that such drilling significantly improves the parameters of the shot scree, increases the initial flight speed of the shot and reduces the effect of recoil on the shooter's shoulder. Maybe, but subjective feelings are one thing, and I personally have not seen the results of comparative tests by independent researchers with Tribore-drilled and classic-drilled barrels. Finishing the conversation about the barrels, it should be noted that the complete set of the gun includes eight replaceable titanium-coated chokes and eight replaceable Hi-Viz front sight. Ventilated side and aiming strips. The aiming bar is promising: 10 mm at the breech and 8 mm at the muzzle.
The stock with an adjustable comb is included as standard. The adjustment range is wide enough (12 mm horizontally and 10 mm vertically) and allows maximum consideration of the shooter's anthropometric features.
Fabarm's patented Tri-Wood technology is used to refine the surface of the stock and give it a sophisticated look (Fabarm is not the only one to simulate the pattern on the stock, in particular, Beretta uses a similar technology called X-tra Wood). This technology makes it possible, with the help of a dye, to imitate the pattern of a high-grade nut on, in general, the most ordinary nut. The applied design is covered on top with several layers of matt varnish. And sometimes even experts are not able to distinguish the applied drawing from the natural one. It is quite possible that the purists will exclaim, they say, make a fool of our brother. I agree, they are making a fool, but just keep in mind that a nut with SUCH natural pattern will raise the price of a not bad in general, but a serial gun to sky-high heights. In addition, each pattern applied to the stock is unique. In addition to the purely aesthetic side, the processing of the stock using the Tri-Wood technology also has a functional significance: the multi-layer lacquer coating protects the stock from adverse weather conditions.
A highly professional designer clearly worked on the external appearance of the gun. The already mentioned company Beretta does not hide its close ties with the Guigiaro design studio. And if, when launching the Axis model, Fabarm did not advertise its contacts with a design company that was clearly working on the project, the appearance of Axis proved that this model was not the result of a sudden insight that suddenly descended on the Fabarm designers, but an independent development of high-class professionals.
On the picture:
1. Shotgun Fabarm STL VS;
2. The complete set of the gun includes eight replaceable titanium-coated chokes and eight replaceable Hi-Viz front sight;
3. The Tri-Wood technology patented by Fabarm allows using a dye to imitate the pattern of a high-grade on the most ordinary nut;
4. For the creation of the STL VS model, Fabarm employed specialists from the renowned design studio Cesare Giovaneli. The hand of the master is especially clearly visible in the engraving style.
"By their fruits you will know them" (Matt. 7, 20). And the world recognized its heroes. It was officially announced that Fabarm had hired specialists from the renowned design studio Cesare Giovaneli to create the STL VS model. The hand of the master is especially clearly visible in the engraving style. The eye immediately draws attention to the blue ceramic inserts with the model designation made in gold letters on the last. By the way, the last is made of chrome-molybdenum steel. And its appearance clearly shows that Fabarm did not skimp on the purchase of CNC machines and modern machining centers. Modern technologies are also used in the manufacture of the stock: a notch on the butt and forend is applied using a laser.
Taking the STL gun in hand, you immediately realize that you cannot walk around the meadows with a gun dog with it. The mass of the gun is 3, 65 kg, of which the barrels account for 1, 65 kg. The gun is distinguished not only by the high quality of workmanship and assembly, but also by its excellent positioning. What else to say? The shotgun is easy to control and has excellent balance. Replaceable chokes provide high scree performance. Recoil when fired does not cause discomfort: whether this is really the merit of drilling the bore, or the butt pad-shock absorber.
What is the future of this model? Making any predictions is an extremely ungrateful business, especially when it comes to changing preferences by hunters and shooters, who have always been extremely conservative. Will Fabarm manage to structure its marketing policy in such a way as to convincingly and advantageously present the advantages that this model has? Only time can answer this question. In 1593, Henry of Navarre uttered the words: "Paris is worth the Mass." With good reason, they can be applied to the Fabarm STL VS as well: it deserves the effort put into promoting it.
