Review Roundup
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BEST BUYS
Highlights of reviews from consumer magazines
John Jeffries 12-bore Legend 2 Those tackling high driven birds on the peg may find the weight and heft of this striking game gun works to their advantage, says Matt Hunt Conclusion In the capable hands of John Jeffries, I headed down to the pattern plate to set up the Legend 2 for extreme-range pheasant shooting. We adjusted the drop, cast, length and pitch of the gun and the gun started to feel alive. Starting on a straight driven target, the gun performed well. Operationally it was a joy to use, ejection of cartridges was superb and opening and closing of the gun happened with ease.
As with all Perazzis, I was occasionally frustrated by the top-lever hold-over not engaging and barrels being closed on to the bolt, but apart from this, mechanically, the gun is sound. We moved on to a long crossing bird as I wanted to see how the better target vision would assist. Initially, I struggled to connect as I consistently shot low. Once I embraced the concept of the RSR and SR1 rib combination, I could feel the benefit of hav-
ing closer connection between bird and rib. Essentially, I didn’t have to go so far underneath. The gun shot very well, but for most of us it is going to take some getting used to its concepts and custom principles. It’s not going to make you shoot like Simon Ward on the first outing. I worry about the weight. Shooting a pair of these in Devon or the Welsh valleys is going to take it out of you. What you gain in accuracy, you could lose due to fatigue.
NEED TO KNOW ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
MANUFACTURER: John Jeffries/Perazzi MODEL: Legend 2 MX8 CALIBRE: 12-bore IMPORTER: John Jeffries Custom Guns RRP: £12,950
GUN TEST /20 /20
ACTION AND BARRELS Superb concepts that boost accuracy
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HANDLING Great balance, but on the heavy side
TRIGGER Perazzi, made even better by John
STOCK Very good profiles and superb walnut
VALUE John Jeffries’s service is second to none
OVERALL SCORE A striking gun for high driven birds
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Mossberg Maverick 88 This is quite a specifically purposed and versatile gun. If this is what you need for your work and reliability, durability and the ability to shoot cartridges from subsonics to 3in Magnum cartridges in steel is important to you, then this will do it all. The gun we tested came with one modified multichoke tube, and that’s possibly all you’ll need for the type of work this gun is designed for. There are no left-hand eject versions, so for the one in ten of us who are left-handed you’ll just have to decide whether that is a problem for you. I had a chat with Andy Norris of Viking Arms who imports Mossbergs and he summed the Maverick 88 up: “It’s a workhorse, something you can chuck around in the Land Rover. Like a dog, you can hose it down when you get back from the foreshore and then all you have to do is spray it with oil and put it in the gun safe. (No oil necessary for dogs.) That’s why the American military choose it. It’s kit to be used. It’s a functional tool.”
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Richard Faulks and Adam Cope are taken with the versatility and no-nonsense toughness of the Mossberg Maverick 88
GUN TEST
NEED TO KNOW MODEL: Mossberg Maverick 88 BORE: 12-bore only WARRANTY: Two years WEIGHT: 7lb BARREL LENGTH: 26in EJECTOR: Right hand only CHOKE: One modified supplied CHAMBER LENGTH: 3in Magnum proofed for steel. FAC options available COST: £450 RRP CONTACT: Viking Arms, vikingarms.com, Sporting section
Mike Yardley, Andrew Sydenham
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