Bersa Thunder 9 Pistol

Home , Bersa Thunder 9, Firing pin, Trigger (firearms)

Dope Bag is compiled by Staff and Contributing Editors: David Andrews, Hugh C. Birnbaum, Bruce N. Canfield, Russ Carpenter, O. Reid Coffield, William C. Davis, Jr., Pete Dickey, Charles Fagg, Robert W. Hunnicutt, Mark A. Keefe, IV, Ron Keysor, Angus Laidlaw, Scott E. Mayer, Charles E. Petty, Robert B. Pomeranz, O.D., Charles R. Suydam and A.W.F. Taylerson. CAUTION: Technical data and information contained herein are intended to provide information based on the limited experience of individuals under specific condi- tions and circumstances. They do not detail the comprehensive training procedures, techniques and safety pre- cautions absolutely necessary to properly carry on similar activity. Read the notice and disclaimer on the con- tents page. Always consult comprehensive reference manuals and bulletins for details of proper training requirements, procedures, techniques and safety pre- cautions before attempting any similar activity. BERSA THUNDER 9 PISTOL RGENTINA probably doesn’t come to Amind when one calls the roll of pistol- making nations, but Bersa, S.A., has been making pocket pistols there for many years. Now the firm has stepped up to the chal- lenge of a full-sized 9 mm with the new Thunder 9. There’s such a glut of 9 mm autoloaders these days that it takes something a bit out of the ordinary to make a splash, and the Thunder 9 provides it, with The Bersa Thunder 9 seems several interesting features. to have been inspired by the When first examining the Thunder 9, we elegant but very expensive Walther P88. The Argentine- immediately were reminded of the Walther made Bersa offers many of P88 (July 1991, p. 50), a superb pistol that the Walther’s features for less. suffered in the U.S. market because of a very high retail price. Like the P88, the Thunder 9 has very trim lines that follow the lead of the Browning Hi-Power, rather than the blocky shapes of many contemporary 9 mms. Like its costly German inspiration, it caters for the left-hander with bilateral controls, in the Bersa’s case, the thumb safety/decocker and slide stop. While the P88’s magazine release is ambidextrous, the Thunder 9’s is reversible for the for- gotten minority. Like a lot of modern SIG system, with a double-action autoloaders, the Thunder 9 block at the breech BERSA THUNDER 9 has no provision for “cocked and locked” end of the barrel MANUFACTURER: Bersa, S.A., Castillo carrying. Pressing up on the decocking lever engaging the ejection 312, (1704) Ramos Mejia, Argentina drops the rowel hammer, disengages the port. Cam surfaces on IMPORTER: Eagle Imports, Dept. AR, 70 trigger bar from the sear and locks the slide Brielle Ave., Unit B1, Wanamassa, NJ forward for an “uncocked and locked” con- 07712 dition. The lever then can be pressed down MECHANISM TYPE: recoil-operated semi- (with a loud click) to allow immediate dou- automatic pistol ble-action firing. CALIBER: 9 mm Parabellum 1 No magazine safety is fitted, but there is OVERALL LENGTH: 7 ⁄2" 1 a passive firing pin safety to help prevent BARREL LENGTH: 4 ⁄4" WEIGHT: 31 ozs. accidental discharges if the pistol is 7 WIDTH: 1 ⁄16" dropped. It is a plunger in the right rear of 1 HEIGHT: 5 ⁄2" the slide that is lifted by a lever as the trig- MAGAZINE CAPACITY: 15 ger is pulled, allowing the firing pin to move RIFLING: six-groove, 1:10" RH twist forward. TRIGGER: single-action pull, 8 lbs., double- Overtravel is regulated by a hex socket The Thunder 9 had action, 10 lbs. screw that passes from the magazine well the rarely seen com- SIGHTS: three-dot with rear click- through the matte-finished aluminum frame bination of a superb double-action trigger adjustable for windage and elevation to touch the back of the trigger blade when PRICE: $414.95 pull and a mediocre it is pulled. single-action trigger. The barrel and slide are locked on the

56 AMERICAN RIFLEMAN • January/February 1995 the bottom of the barrel slide against a steel All major controls (above) are bilateral for insert in the frame to raise or lower the barrel. the convenience of left- Sights are on the three-dot pattern, with handers and IPSC shoot- the rear sight click-adjustable for windage ers.Takedown begins by and elevation. The rear sight is very nicely rotating the lever above blended into the slide and rounded at the the trigger (r.). The slide assembly then is a full magazine is firmly inserted, then corners for a snag-free draw. The ejector free to move forward off the frame for recalled that the same feature is part of the pivots in a deep flare in the slide that copies removal of the barrel and the recoil spring. P88, and has been around at least since the the P88 pattern. Mauser Model 1910. Takedown also follows the convenient The instructions don’t mention it, and it method of the P88. Remove the magazine, should be noted that the slide won’t fall if ensure the chamber is empty and rotate the magazine is inserted gently. The downward the takedown lever above the importer has announced a 10-round maga- trigger. Slip the slide/barrel assembly for- zine version for 1995. ward off the frame. Then remove the barrel, Our sample’s single-action and double- plastic guide rod and spring in the usual action trigger pulls were almost the same, fashion. Reassembly is in reverse order. at 8 and 10 lbs., respectively. This gave the To reverse the magazine catch, use a combination of a rather poor single-action screwdriver to push in and turn the screw at pull and a very good double-action. the back of the butt. Then spread the grip The double-action pull was quite the cover slightly at the front and pull it off. equal of many guns costing twice as much. Press in a bit on the magazine catch and turn The single-action pull, while heavy, was its screw. It then can be pressed out and clean, though 8 lbs. is a bit much for best reversed. accuracy.The decocking lever was easy to The Thunder 9 was fired for accuracy, use with the pistol unloaded, but a full mag- with results shown in the accompanying azine load caused it to bind enough that it table, and function-fired with CCI, was almost impossible to disengage with the thumb of the shooting hand. Pushing it Hornady, PMC, Remington and Uzi ammu- The magazine catch can be reversed by slid- nition. There were no failures of any kind. ing the grip cover partway off and turning down from the “uncocked and locked” posi- We initially thought to call a failure the the catch screw. The catch can be pressed tion was no problem. fact that the slide would move forward when out and reinstalled from the other direction. We were tremendously impressed with the Walther P88, but pre- dicted correctly that its cost ACCURACY RESULTS would limit its success in Five Consecutive 5-Shot Groups at 25 Yds. the competitive U.S. pistol Fired From Sandbags market. The Bersa Thunder 9 provides many of the 9 mm Parabellum Vel. @15' Smallest Largest Average Cartridge (f.p.s.) (ins.) (ins.) (ins.) same features and much of the feel of the P88 at a price Hornady No. 9020 1385 Avg. 2.54 5.49 3.68 about a quarter of the 90-gr. JHP 14 Sd German original’s. If PMC No. 9B 1200 Avg. 2.06 5.40 3.70 you’re one of those not 115-gr. JHP 15 Sd glutted on big-capacity 9 Remington No. GS9MMC 998 Avg. 2.08 4.46 2.83 mms, it’s well worth a 147-gr. BJHP 15 Sd check. Average Extreme Spread 3.40 Pressing upward on the Abbreviations: Sd (standard deviation), BJHP (brass-jacketed thumb safety decocks the hollow-point), JHP (jacketed hollow-point) hammer, disengages the trigger and locks the slide.

AMERICAN RIFLEMAN • January/February 1995 57 COLT POLICE POSITIVE MK V

N 1908, Colt lengthened the frame and Iadded a quarter-inch to the cylinder of its three-year-old Police Positive revolver (chambered for .38 New Police/.38 S&W cartridges) and came up with the .38 Spl.-chambered Police Positive Special (PPS). The PPS remained in Colt’s line until 1973 and, along the way, was chambered for several cartridges, including the .32-20, .38 Short and Long Colt, .38 New Police The modernized incarnation of the (S&W). .38-44 and .38 smoothbore, with famed Colt Police Positive sports a the .38 Spl. remaining the most popular full barrel underlug and Pachmayr’s choice. rubber grips. It carries a 4" barrel.

COLT MK V al pistol shooters back in the days when heavy lugged barrel “three gun” competitors really used three and Pachmayr rubber MANUFACTURER: Colt’s Mfg. Co., Inc., Dept. AR, Box 1868, Hartford, CT 06144 guns. The double-action pull was a bit stiff, grips, but these made the MECHANISM TYPE: double-action revolver though not unduly heavy at 12 lbs. new Police Positive a soft CALIBER: .38 Spl. Those among us who are fans of the clas- shooter, whatever their aes- 1 OVERALL LENGTH: 9 ⁄8" sic prewar Colts could take or leave the thetic qualities. BARREL LENGTH: 4" Many who saw the new Police Positive WEIGHT: 30 ozs. at last year’s SHOT Show questioned the 3 WIDTH: 1 ⁄8" need for another .38 revolver when 3 HEIGHT: 4 ⁄4" autoloaders are getting all the attention. CYLINDER CAPACITY: 6 The answer, to us, seemed obvious. The TRIGGER: single-action pull, 4 lbs., double- self-protection market, especially among action, 12 lbs. SIGHTS: fixed with notch rear women, has become red-hot, and women PRICE: $384 have, until now, at least, shown a clear preference for revolvers. The new PP is smaller and lighter than S&W’s K-frames or the The 4" barrel was the most popular, but 1 1 1 1 /4", 2", 2 /2", 3", 4 /2" , 5" and 6"-barreled Colt Police Positive Police models have been reported. Positive Mk V In the 1977-79 period, at $175, it reap- peared briefly as the Police Positive (PP), dropping the word “Special” except for the The lockwork of the new D-framed Police .38 cartridge description. A revolver identi- Positive (at r.) is very similar to the mecha- cal except for an aluminum frame in place nism that made earlier versions (above) of steel was sold as the Viper. such favorites. Chambering is in .38 Spl. Now the D-framed Colt is back, not only in its 2"-barreled Detective Special guise ACCURACY RESULTS (August 1993, p. 66), but with a 4" barrel Five Consecutive 5-Shot Groups at 25 Yds. and the new name “Police Positive MK V.” Fired From Ransom Rest It differs from the walnut-stocked 1978 .38 Spl. Vel. @15' Smallest Largest Average Ruger GP100, but doesn’t carry version in its MK V name suffix, its Cartridge (f.p.s.) (ins.) (ins.) (ins.) Pachmayr rubber wraparound stock and its the psychological baggage of full-length ejector rod shroud accounting Federal No. 38B 726 Avg. 2.28 3.72 3.00 “snub-nosed” pieces like the 1 158-gr. LRN 10 Sd for an increase in weight of 3 /2 ozs. Detective Special. The Police Positive MK V was fired for Remington GS38SB 1005 Avg. 1.47 3.52 2.57 During its long tenure (the accuracy, with results shown in the accom- 125-gr. BJHP 21 Sd longest of any double-action panying table, and function-fired with Samson No. 38-35B 905 Avg. 1.72 2.89 2.38 Colt), the PP/PPS was a favorite of Federal, Remington and Samson ammuni- 125-gr. JHP 16 Sd police and a home defense staple. tion. There were no failures of any kind. Minimal weight and bulk coupled Average Extreme Spread 2.65 We found the PP every bit as easy and with the effective .38 Spl. cartridge pleasant to shoot as we had expected, with Abbreviations: Sd (standard deviation), LRN (lead round- (it is +P-approved) accounted for nose), BJHP (brass-jacketed hollow-point), JHP (jacketed its past popularity; its continued the single-action trigger pull reminding us hollow-point) why Colts were the favorite of convention- success is probable.

58 AMERICAN RIFLEMAN • January/February 1995 PARA–ORDNANCE P12-45 PISTOL

ARGE-capacity 9 mms and .40 cals. are Lall well and good, but many of us still prefer the good old .45, especially in a defensive pistol. There’s something reas- suring about that big, blunt bullet, regardless of how some interpret the ballistics tables. Canadian manufacturer Para-Ordnance started the trend to big-load .45s when it introduced its accessory frame in the late 1980s and then added complete pistols a The Para-Ordnance P12-45 couple of years later. The first frames were offers large ammunition aluminum, but the firm added blued and capacity in a small package for stainless steel later. the diehard .45 ACP aficionado. Para-Ordnance frames and pistols have become favorites among practical pistol shooters, who stuff 18 or more rounds of .38 Super into a magazine. Now the maker has gone in the other direction with the P12-45, a compact version with a 12-round magazine in place of the full-sized version’s 14-rounder.

P12-45 PISTOL exposed, as in most M1911 designs. Barrels slide locks the firing Manufacturer: Para-Ordnance Mfg., Inc., of this type are essential in IPSC competi- pin rearward unless 3411 McNicoll Ave., Scarborough, Ont. tion in which very heavy .38 Super loads are the plunger is pressed M1V 2V6 Importer: Para-Ordnance, Inc., 1919 N.E. de rigeur. up by a lever that moves 45th St., No. 215, Ft. Lauderdale, FL Para-Ordnance has performed consider- with the trigger. 33308 able slimming of its frame and grip panels The slide is of a very dark-finished steel Mechanism Type: recoil-operated semi- in response to competition from the likes of that contrasts with the charcoal color of the automatic pistol Caspian Arms and Strayer-Tripp. The frame. An M1911-type barrel bushing is Caliber: .45 ACP results make a big difference 1 Overall Length: 7 ⁄4" in the pistol’s feel in the hand. 3 Barrel Length: 3 ⁄4" Where holding an earlier Weight: 27 ozs. 3 Para was much like holding Width: 1 ⁄8" 1 a baseball bat, the new ones Height: 5 ⁄8" Magazine Capacity: 12 restore an M1911-like feel Trigger: 5 lbs. pull that inspires familiarity and Sights: three-dot with rear drift-adjustable confidence. The P12-45 for windage looks and carries small, but Accessories: plastic carrying case feels like a full-sized pistol in Price: $708.75 the shooter’s grasp. The mainspring housing is the original flat M1911 The flared muzzle requires a special bush- Magazines for pistols made after the Violent style, while the trigger is the short ing that is larger than that of standard M1911 Crime Act became law will be 10 rounds. M1911A1 type for easy reaching by even derivatives. Getting the bushing off was The P12-45 is almost exactly the same small-handed users. The grip safety has a tough, since standard wrenches didn’t fit. size as the Colt Officer’s ACP—it’s 1/16" modest beavertail that coordinates with the wider and 1/8" longer. And at 27 ozs., the Commander-style rowel hammer. used, but it is larger than most to accom- aluminum-framed version weighs the same The thumb safety and slide stop are con- modate the flared muzzle. It was very tight- as the 3"-barreled Ruger SP101 revolver. ventional in configuration; extended types ly fitted on our sample P12-45, and was dif- Like previous Para-Ordnance pistols, wouldn’t do for a carrying pistol. ficult to remove, since standard bushing the P12-45 uses a “fully supported” barrel Para-Ordnance has added the Colt Series wrenches wouldn’t fit. We resorted to dri- configuration. The feed ramp is part of the 80 type passive firing pin safety to its line. ving it with a wood block. barrel and fits into a mortise in the frame. This helps prevent accidental discharges in There is no recoil spring guide rod, but This supports the full circumference of the case the pistol is dropped on its muzzle. A the spring plug differs from the conven- cartridge base, rather than leaving some cylindrical plunger in the left rear of the tional M1911 style. It is retained by a stud

AMERICAN RIFLEMAN • January/February 1995 59 in its rear that engages a slot in the slide ence with other autoloaders. Those who M1911 weighs 39 ozs.), but this proved not apron rather than by the barrel bushing. intend to use it as defensive ammunition to be the case. This, combined with the very tight fit of the should test-fire thoroughly. The small beavertail grip safety, while bushing, made removing it a chore. We With the kinds of defensive ammunition not as comfortable as the wide ones found finally resorted to pulling out the slide stop one would expect to use in a compact pis- on competition pistols, effectively prevent- and removing the slide as a single assembly. tol of this sort, the P12-45 worked quite ed pinching of the web, and the grip frame The fixed sights are the three-dot type, well. One might expect that a 27-oz. .45 is still broad enough to spread the recoil with the rear drift-adjustable for windage. might recoil unpleasantly (the standard across the palm. The P12-45 was fired for accura- Given the preference of many cy, with results shown in the accom- ACCURACY RESULTS women for smaller pistols, we panying table, and function-fired thought the P12-45 might appeal, with Black Hills, Federal, Five Consecutive 5-Shot Groups at 25 Yds. so we asked one of our staffers Remington, Samson, USA and Uzi Fired From Sandbags who has a bit of experience with ammunition. standard .45s to give it a try. She .45 ACP Vel. @15' Smallest Largest Average It quickly became apparent that Cartridge (f.p.s.) (ins.) (ins.) (ins.) found it quite easy to handle and the P12-45 simply would not fire shoot, and wasn’t disturbed a bit wadcutters. This probably could be Black Hills 841 Avg 1.88 4.37 3.06 by recoil. corrected with some polishing of the 185-gr. JHP 17 Sd This reinforces the opinion of ramp and adjustment of the maga- Remington No. GS45APB 687 Avg. 1.74 2.86 2.28 some authorities that a .45 is a bet- zine, but the pistol clearly is intend- 230-gr. BJHP 19 Sd ter defensive arm for those with ed for FMJ and JHP ammunition, Uzi No. 45-46A 715 Avg. 1.92 4.39 3.38 small hands than powerful which it fed without complaint, 230-gr. FMJ 14 Sd revolvers like the .357 Mag. except for Remington’s new Golden Average Extreme Spread 2.90 Regardless of gender, anyone Saber ammunition. requiring a compact pistol with Abbreviations: Sd (standard deviation), JHP (jacketed hollow-point), This also gave rather sluggish BJHP (brass-jacketed hollow-point), FMJ (full metal-jacketed) plenty of firepower will want to operation, as has been our experi- examine the P12-45. RUGER MODEL 77 EXPRESS RIFLE

The Ruger Model 77 Express Rifle combines the styling of the big Magnum Rifle with popular calibers like the .270 Win. and .30-’06. Its quarter rib and express sights are picturesque, but they limit scoping options to relatively low-powered scopes with small objectives.

RUGER MODEL 77

MANUFACTURER: Sturm, Ruger & Co., HE Ruger Magnum Rifle (August Inc., Dept. AR, Lacey Pl., Southport, CT T1990, p. 46) was an interesting design three-position safety 06490 exercise that incorporated some unusual that functions much like the MECHANISM TYPE: bolt-action rifle features, but clearly was not, given its .416 Winchester Model 70’s. When the safety CALIBER: 7 mm Rem. Mag. (tested), .270 Rigby chambering, a gun for every hunter. lever is rotated to the rear, it presses in a Win., .30-’06, .300 Win. Mag. The addition of .375 H&H and .404 plunger that locks the bolt, preventing its 1 OVERALL LENGTH: 42 ⁄4" Jeffery caliber choices widens its appeal moving if snagged on a branch or other BARREL LENGTH: 22" only a bit. object. The safety button also engages a slot 1 WEIGHT: 7 ⁄2 lbs. For those who liked the Magnum in the cocking piece, preventing it from MAGAZINE CAPACITY: 3 (4 in standard Rifle’s styling but don’t need the foot- moving forward. calibers) 1 pounds of energy those cartridges deliver, Rotating the lever forward allows the TRIGGER: single-stage, 5 ⁄2 lbs. pull SIGHTS: bead front, express rear Ruger now offers the Express Rifle in pop- bolt to be cycled, but the trigger remains 1 STOCK: French walnut: length of pull, 13 ⁄2"; ular calibers like the .270 Win. and .30-’06. locked. This allows emptying the magazine 1 7 drop at heel, 2 ⁄8"; drop at comb, 1 ⁄8" The Express is built on a standard by cycling rounds through the action. ACCESSORIES: scope rings Model 77 Mark II action. Those who recall Moving the safety fully forward allows firing. PRICE: $1,550 the original Model 77 with its tang safety The Magnum Rifle’s magazine catch is will immediately notice the Mark II’s retained. It is on the front of the trigger guard

60 AMERICAN RIFLEMAN • January/February 1995 and is pressed in to release the rifle’s steel versely and drilled and tapped from the bot- panying table,and function-fired with hand- floorplate. tom to allow multiple swivel options. loads, PMC and Remington ammunition. The barrel and quarter-rib are machined The sample rifle’s stock was of French There were no failures of any kind. from a single bar of steel, and the rib is care- walnut whose impressive figure we admired The quarter-rib is clearly the most visi- fully blended with the forward scope mount but whose overall greenish cast left us cold. ble feature of the Express, but potential buy- atop the receiver ring. The rear sight unit is Checkering was in a point pattern at 18 lines ers should be aware that it severely limits dovetailed into the rib and secured by a slot- per inch, a practical measure but perhaps a scoping options. We eventually resorted to ted screw. This allows easy windage adjust- an old Weaver fixed 2.5X after several more ment. The sights are a fixed V-notch and a powerful scopes couldn’t be mounted, flip-up U-notch for more elevation. thanks to interference with the rib or rear The front sight rises from a beefy ramp sight. affixed by a barrel band. The 1/16" bead’s Given that limitation and its price, the base is dovetailed into the ramp and secured Express is clearly intended for a specialist there by a detent. Pressing in the detent with a punch allows the sight to be driven out for replacement. The front sling swivel also is mounted on a barrel band and is both drilled trans- ACCURACY RESULTS Five Consecutive 5-Shot Groups at 100 Yds. Fired From Sandbags Windage is easily regulated by turning the screw and 7 mm Rem. Mag. Vel. @15' Smallest Largest Average sliding the rear sight. The Cartridge (f.p.s.) (ins.) (ins.) (ins.) front sight can be removed PMC No. 7MB 2653 Avg. 0.85 1.51 1.16 by pressing in on a detent. 175-gr. PSP 21 Sd bit coarse for a rifle in this market. We suspect it may prove quite pop- Remington No. R7MM4 2829 Avg. 1.15 2.52 1.79 price range. A blued steel ular in France, where hunters like the odd, 140-gr. PSP 23 Sd grip cap, plain black rubber to us at least, combination of ribbed, iron- Remington No. ER7MMA 2752 Avg. 1.76 2.65 2.05 recoil pad and contrasting sighted rifles and calibers like the 7 mm 165-gr. ER 22 Sd fore-end tip complete the Rem. Mag. or .300 Win. Mag. for hunting Average Extreme Spread 1.67 ensemble. native species like wild boars. The ribbed The Model 77 Express sights, they think, aid fast target acquisition, Abbreviations: Sd (standard deviation), PSP (pointed soft-point), ER (Extended Range) was fired for accuracy, with and French hunters are forbidden military results shown in the accom- calibers like the .30-’06 or .308 Win. WEATHERBY ORION CLASSIC

The Japanese-made Weatherby Orion over-under now can be had in 28-ga., and with a more subdued stock design as the Classic.We questioned whether the combination of the Euro-look and Weatherby nameplate will prove a success, but found that we liked the gun’s handling qualities and workmanship.

HILE the name Weatherby will ever be mented in 1972 by the Patrician pump and Nikko-made Wlinked to very powerful bolt-action Centurion autoloader made in Japan, first Olympian in 1977. rifles, the firm has a quarter-century of by KTG and later by Nikko. These were The Olympian lasted until 1981. experience in the shotgun field, too. superseded in 1982 by the Models 92 and The following year, Weatherby intro- The original Weatherby shotgun was the 82, respectively. duced a pair of over-unders made by anoth- Regency over-under, made in Italy by Even while production of the Regency er Japanese firm now familiar to U.S. shoot- Angelo Zoli, 1967-82. This was supple- continued, Weatherby introduced the ers, SKB. The top of the line was the Athena

AMERICAN RIFLEMAN • January/February 1995 61 (February 1986, p. 52), with high-grade breech. A cube-shaped projection from the familiar from generations of Browning A- wood, false sideplates and plenty of scroll bottom of the monobloc mates with a square 5s, and is nicely complemented by a round- ornamentation. recess in the bottom of the action body for ed fore-end. When a prototype of this design The more economical model was the greater rigidity. was shown to a group of gun writers in 1992, Orion, with a relatively plain blued receiv- The action body is decorated with a mod- the unanimous reaction was that the piece er and somewhat more ordinary wood. It est amount of scroll and a pheasant on the “didn’t look like a Weatherby.” originally was offered only in 12- and 20- left side and a duck on the right. The unanimity was short-lived, howev- ga., but 28-ga. skeet and field guns were The mechanical trigger allows barrel er, breaking down over the question of added to the shotgun line in 1988. Now the selection by a button in the top of the trig- whether not “looking like a Weatherby” is 28-ga. Orion can be had with choke tubes ger blade. The bottom barrel is selected a good thing. and with a new round-knob stock that when the button is pressed left to right. The The Orion was pattern-tested, with Weatherby hopes will appeal to traditional- safety is manual, a configuration many results shown in the accompanying table, and function-fired with Remington WEATHERBY ORION and Winchester ammunition at MANUFACTURER: SKB Arms Co., Box American trap and 1401, Tokyo, Japan IMPORTER: Weatherby, Inc., Dept. AR, skeet and at hand- 3100 El Camino Real, Atacadero, CA thrown targets. 93422 There were no fail- MECHANISM TYPE: over-under shotgun ures of any kind. CALIBER OR GAUGE: 28 (tested), 12, 20 Though a 28-ga. The Orion uses the proven SKB OVERALL LENGTH: 43" field gun, the scores action with its large leaf BARREL LENGTH: 26" turned in with the springs and Kersten top lock. WEIGHT: 7 lbs. Orion reflected TRIGGER: single-stage, 5 lbs. pull 1 well on the gun’s STOCK: Claro walnut: length of pull, 14 ⁄4"; 1 1 quick mounting drop at heel, 2 ⁄2"; drop at comb, 1 ⁄2" ACCESSORIES: choke tubes, spanner and handling quali- WEATHERBY ORION CLASSIC PRICE: $1,235 AVERAGE OF 10 PATTERNS AT 25 YDS. experienced hunters pre- 20 18 21 17 fer, but which is less desirable for the new 34 31 56 48 shooter. The selective ejectors 31 30 55 49 are tripped by rods that pass along the bottom 17 18 15 12 sides of the action body. The Orion can easily be IC Tube Modified Tube converted to extractor operation by pressing the =Point of Hold ejector 3/16" into the 1 Winchester Super-X Max.-1-7 ⁄2 monobloc and tilting its Pellet count—320 bottom edge out. Be care- Total Hits 199 (62%) Total Hits 285 (89%) ful to maintain control of 21.2"Inner Circle 126 (39%) 21.2" Inner Circle 208 (65%) the ejector spring and 30" Outer Ring 73 (23%) 30" Outer Ring 77 (24%) plunger. The barrels have The Orion uses a Kersten-style top bolting solid side ribs and a medi- system that allows a lower profile than a um-height straight-sided Browning-style bolt below the monobloc. ists who might abhor the “California” ventilated top rib with brass bead. styling of existing models. The big news, of course, is the stock, ties. There was no tendency to whip past the Leaf hammers springs are the heart of which is certainly a long step away from target as with some other light field guns, any SKB-made over-under. While coils Weatherby tradition. Our sample gun’s was and the hits came consistently. Felt recoil springs are less prone to break, leaf springs of a well-figured Claro walnut with lots of was virtually nil because of the small gauge are thought by many shotgunners to provide bold black figure against a lighter brown and shotgun’s thick rubber recoil pad. a shorter lock time and more reliable igni- background, with an overall subdued satin The new Orion Grade II, then, offers the tion, since they provide maximum power at finish. The stock’s checkering was in a bor- shotgunner who’s has been put off by the the end of their stroke, rather than at the dered point pattern at 16 lines per inch, cer- exuberant California styling of previous beginning, as do coil springs. tainly a serviceable measure for a hunting Weatherby shotguns something a bit more The barrels are bolted to the action body gun, but a bit coarse, we thought, for a shot- traditional. Those who like a bit more spice by a Kersten-style top lock that passes gun of this one’s pretensions. may prefer the appearance of Weatherby through two extensions from the barrel The round-knob semi-pistol grip is guns that “look like a Weatherby.”

62 AMERICAN RIFLEMAN • January/February 1995