Shooting the New Perazzi High Tech Sporter
You’re bound to hear some clays shooter brag that their muzzle-heavy shotgun helps them swing through that speeding crosser in an Einstein-like miracle of momentum and forward allowance. If you’re one of those folks the new Perazzi High-Tech Sporter probably isn’t for you.
A lot of shooters believe they want a heavier shotgun to continue their swing. For Perazzi the shooter is in control. The shotgun does not control the shooter, especially for a true pair where you have to quickly change direction.
The Perazzi High Tech Sporter “Red” Edition.
That sentiment has been the engineering impetus behind Perazzi – and why the premium gun maker has racked up innumerable international clays championships since the late Daniele Perazzi started his Italian company in 1957.
Perazzi’s mission is the meticulous production of winning clay-target shotguns. On the global tournament circuit Perazzis are wielded by athletes who don’t need over-swing ballast to smash targets. Their shotguns are balanced, lively, and equipped with precision triggers and barrels that communicate an elevated shooting experience. The Perazzi is a lean and agile jungle cat. You can’t order balance weights from the factory. The unassuming plain blued receiver of the entry-level models symbolizes the function-first methodology behind Daniele Perazzi’s gold-medal ways while the optional side-plate classical engraving reveals his traditional muse.
The American Flag Edition of Perazzi’s High-Tech Sporter.
Under the stewardship of Daniele’s son Mauro, the new 12-gauge Perazzi High Tech Sporter stays faithful to the engineering bloodline, but its appearance seems more like a quantum leap into the selfie generation with its “Perazzi High Tech” logo in a prominent bold font. Although the two-tone High Tech receiver is available in different palates, the specs tell a story of more subtle refinements in Perazzi’s ongoing quest toward higher performance.
At the Orvis Sandanona Shooting Grounds in Millbrook, New York, where we shot the new High Tech Sporter, the changes to the receiver’s dimensions yielded a lower center of gravity without disturbing the pointability and great feel that Perazzi is known for.
Compared with a Perazzi MX8, the High Tech receiver was widened 3mm at the bolsters to enhance between-the-hands poise for the 8¼-pound over/under. This incremental bulk from the bolsters flows to the base of the receiver where it also improves recoil control, with the reaction diminishing back along the thicker bottom edge of the reshaped stock to effectively vanish at the pad − even with the 1⅛-ounce loads used during our evaluation.
The standard receiver on the Perazzi High Tech Sporter.
We found after shooting the gun that the High Tech is a more stable platform for better recoil control.
As we also discovered on the sporting clays course, the “reverse” top rib that tapers from 7mm at the breech to 10mm at the muzzle and can be offered in flat, 2mm or 4mm height. The variation simulates a parallel rib for rapid target acquisition on our 32-inch barrels – especially on the more challenging presentations.
The barrel bore in the High Tech that we shot was the popular 18.7mm and proceeds to a slight overbore with elongated forcing cones for a more uniform pattern, and again, reduced felt recoil. For those quick target pairs, larger side-rib vents accelerate heat dissipation.
The Italian Flag Edition of the Perazzi High Tech Sporter.
You’ll find other new touches on the High Tech Sporter that address ergonomics. A contour extends from the top of the pistol grip to the trigger shoe for a more comfortable fit, which is further augmented by a slightly more prominent palm swell. The top-tang barrel selector is bigger. Our example was fitted with a lovely slender beavertail forend, asserting a more comfortable fit for the hand that drives toward the targets.
Perazzi wisely kept its celebrated MX8 trigger group. It’s available as detachable or fixed with coil or leaf springs. Either way, expect the silky 3½ pounds of pull that we experienced at Sandanona.
The Perazzi High Tech Sporter Platinum Edition.
And the Boss-style locking system also remains intact with bifurcated lumps on the monoboc walls that draw against bosses machined into the side of the receiver. The greater surface area ensures rock-solid lock-ups in conjunction with the underlug for the high-volume clays sports that is Perazzi’s unremitting playground.
Of course you don’t have to be a competitive shooter to appreciate the High Tech Sporter. The shotgun proved extremely smooth and comfortable with a turbocharger effect if you needed to move fast on targets such as quick rabbits, fast droppers and a diverging true pair.
The Perazzi value proposition is a high-quality, bespoke shotgun that starts at around $10,000 with the High Tech Sporter starting at $11,500. We say go for it!
Irwin Greenstein is the publisher of Shotgun Life. You can reach him at contact@shotgunlife.com.
Useful resources:
The Perazzi web site in English
Video of Mauro Perazzi on Why the New High Tech Sporter Delivers Very Low Recoil
At the factory, Mauro Perazzi tells the story of the new Perazzi High Tech to Sheikh Juma bin Dalmouk Al Maktoum of the UAE Shooting Team. (You have to see the factory’s pattern board.) Be there at https://goo.gl/RuKcmT
Irwin Greenstein is Publisher of Shotgun Life. Please send your comments to letters@shotgunlife.com.
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