16ga.com ~ View topic

I hate to admit this publicly on this board -- but I may have a .410 in my future.

Member Joined: 27 Jun 2012 Posts: 1113

I did some checking with Upland today and found out the Zeus does not have a scaled frame on their 16 ga, but it can be built on a 12 ga or a 20 ga frame, Sounds like you could get a gun reminiscent of the Merkle 1620 for less than the Merkle is going for used. I optioned out a 16 ga gun today with my (more expensive, dang it) configurations and options for hunting for a bit over 4 grand and am waiting to hear back. I guess the Merkle 1620 is never going to be now.

Joined: 18 Feb 2019 Posts: 1 Location: United States

How about that two simultaneous shots with the second trigger

Member Joined: 27 Jun 2012 Posts: 1113

Well, maybe that Fausti DEA was not the last gun I needed. The last couple of days I've been in contact with Dan LaFond of Upland Gun Company with a lot of questions and he was really helpful in getting answers directly from RFM in Italy. I speced out the gun on their website with an upgrade on the Zeus wood to a 2.5 and within hours had a selection of 12 rough blanks to choose from. As I wanted a hunting gun, rather than a safe queen, and considering the extra weight penalty for the POW stock and semi-beavertail forend, I requested the weight of the 12 stocks and again within hours had the information. The lightest stock was acceptable to me and that's the way I went. Also note that it will be built on a 20 ga frame. This morning I got a copy of the confirmation from RFM and a three month estimate on build time. I will likely have the gun in hand in about 4 months. I was probably the first special order on my Dickinson 16 ga and was blown away with a 4 month delivery on that gun. People have reported much bigger delays on subsequent Dickinson orders, so I consider myself lucky on that one. Now the waiting begins.

Congratulations on your purchase Riflemeister,
Always exciting getting a new gun , be sure to post some photos of it and write up a review when you get a chance to shoot it .
Many happy hunts with it , all the best WJ.

And it now looks like they are offering O/Us -- in 16 gauge. The million-dollar question, then, is whether the O/U will be built on a true scaled frame.

Joined: 07 Jun 2020 Posts: 224

What does “Alex Martin takes a hike” mean?

Member Joined: 27 Jun 2012 Posts: 1113

I posted a link to the RFM website over in Italy. On the home page there is a link to videos and one of the offerings is an interview (in Italian of course and no subtitles), and then a thorough shop tour I found quite interesting. I did not see a lot of machine tools, but rather a lot of well used hand tools at the half dozen or so work stations and obviously skilled craftsmen manning those stations. It appears to me that the gun trade there is a lot like the Basque gun trade used to be with the various components of the gun such as actions and barrels purchased from someone specializing in that manufacturing and then all the fitting and hand labor done on site. What I saw being worked on was a conventional Anson and Deeley boxlock with flat V springs and firing pins made as part of the hammer like the Win 21 and A H Fox. Worth watching and not much lost by not understanding Italian.

http://www.rfmarmi.it/index.php?idl=2