Gun Review

    Caesar Guerini certainly has come a long way in a short time. It was about eight years ago when brothers Giorgio and Antonio Guerini left Rizzini SRL, where they worked for their uncle, Battista Rizzini, and struck out on their own. They leased a building, set up with a dozen employees and began making guns. I remember seeing their little plant, located just under Ivano Tanfoglio’s Ferlib shop, when I visited the Val Trompia area of Italy. Like many small gun companies, the Guerinis outsourced most of their parts while they stuck to the design, assembly and finishing of the guns.
    Soon after starting and aiming at the US market, they partnered with Wes Lang to form Caesar Guerini USA. They had gotten to know Lang when they were selling Rizzinis to Sigarms for import as their Aurora line. Lang’s background included work at Seminole Gunworks, Beretta USA’s and Sigarms’ marketing departments, and Emap Petersen magazine publishing. In addition to his marketing skills, Lang is a Master-class sporting clays competitor and an avid hunter. He had an immediate positive influence on configuring the guns.
    Recently the Guerinis moved their Italian operation to a considerably larger modern factory, and now they make a high percentage of their parts in-house on the latest machinery. They have gone upscale and currently offer 10 models of over/under field guns ranging from the Woodlander, at $2,895, to the Forum, at $8,995. They also offer seven sporting clays and three trap models. Just this year the American side of Guerini, in Maryland, opened a custom shop with services that include custom wood, extra barrels, refinishing and special engraving.
    About six years ago (Jan/Feb ’04) I reviewed the Caesar Guerini Magnus Light alloy 12-gauge and also the 28-gauge Woodlander. This time, for those who want a more elaborate gun with a bit of a British feel, I’ll cover the new Apex. The field model costs $6,995 in 12, 20 and 28 gauge; $8,595 as a two-barrel 20/28 combo; and $10,395 as a 20, 28 and .410 three-barrel set. The Apex also comes as a $7,550 sporter and an $8,995 trap model. Our test gun was the 20-gauge field version.
    The basic Caesar Guerini action is a blend of the Belgian Browning Superposed’s full-width underbolt and the Woodward’s hinge stubs. The action might have been made a touch lower by using a Beretta/Perazzi mid-breech lockup, but all the Rizzini-related gunmakers (Caesar Guerini, B. Rizzini, Fausti and FAIR) seem to do it the same way. For extra strength, the receiver bottom is recessed at the rear to receive two monoblock lugs. The action bottom is clean, because the recesses do not protrude through the receiver the way they do on the Superposed. The bottom of the receiver is cut out to accept the triggerplate, which fit perfectly. In fact, all the metal seams were almost invisible, with one exception. There was a slight gap between the tops of both receiver sides and the barrels’ monoblock shoulder ridges. The breech fences are nicely sculpted and contributed to the gun’s upper-class look.
    The forged-steel action has coil-spring-driven hammers hinged on the bottom and sears suspended from the top strap. Firing pins and the opening lever are standard configurations. With only one unimportant exception that I could see, the action pins were satisfyingly solid, not roll pins. Internal parts appear substantial, with the possible exception of the thin, stamped spring-steel butterfly brackets that activate the wire ejector trip rods. However, this is by design, as the rods only trip and don’t cock the ejectors. Unlike the Guerinis I reviewed five years ago, the interior of this Apex action bore no machine marks.
    The manual safety is the Beretta-style, with the little side-to-side barrel selector built in. The inertia trigger was quite good, with little creep, slop or over-travel. Pulls were the right weight but a touch inconsistent on our gun. The bottom barrel varied from 41/8 pounds to 45/8 pounds, whereas the top went from 3-7/8 pounds to 4-1/2 pounds. Lang told me that since this gun was made, the trigger has been slightly redesigned for improved performance.
    Overall, the action is nicely made but a touch heavy for a 20, at 1 pound 15 ounces. The sideplates and long trigger tang account for about 4 oz of that. It’s the price of beauty.
    The hand-polished and specially coated coin-finished receiver and sideplates have 100-percent-coverage engraving in an ornate scroll with a little gold accenting. The work is done by Bottega Incisioni C. Giovanelli. Lang told me that Giovanelli was secretive about the exact process used, but it involves EDM, laser, hand engraving and a separate gold application. The background is darkened for a deeper look. The receiver’s total lack of screw heads makes for an unbroken canvas, and the decorative sideplates provide more area for artistry.
    The Apex has a clever screwless long tang extending from the trigger guard down the front of the pistol grip. It is held in place by the skeleton grip cap. The tang and cap really look classy. The grip cap and brass front bead were the only metal parts of the gun I could find that were not steel.
   The barrels on all of the Guerinis I’ve seen use a standard monoblock that houses the ejectors, ejector springs and plungers. Guerini recently acquired a new CNC machine capable of machining the monoblocks to tolerances of .0001". Like Perazzi, Guerini has included a simple method of removing the ejectors for cleaning. Just push them in, remove a small retaining button and out they come. The company outsources its tubes and ribs but does the final machining in-house.
    Apex barrels come standard at 28" long, with 26" and 30" optional. Our 28" 20-gauge had 3" chambers. It was not proofed for steel shot, as Guerini usually does that only for 12-gauge field guns, but steel proofing for the 20 is available if you request it. Bores are chrome lined, and the barrels are screw-choked. The bottom barrel was stamped with a 15.8mm inside diameter and measured .622" just behind the choke. The top was marked 15.9mm and did have a slightly larger ID than the bottom, but not enough to make any real difference. Nominal bores for a 20 are .615", so the Apex has a trendy slight overbore. Forcing cones appeared normal. Both barrels had bore-taper constrictions of a few thou for six inches before the screw chokes.
    The Apex came with five screw chokes. The chokes are just over 2" long, with about .015" relief at the skirt tapering forward to a 1/2" parallel at the front. Constrictions of the chokes were: Cylinder, .001"; Improved Cylinder, .007"; Modified, .015"; Improved Modified, .020"; and Full, .027". That’s about right for the 20 and really all you need. I would have preferred to see a little less relief at the skirt for a smoother shot transition. The 12-gauge Guerinis are much better in this area. The chokes are flush mounted, which is appropriate on a field gun, and rim-notched to designate the constrictions. The chokes were a pain to change, with 36 full turns required to extract and replace using the inconvenient wrench supplied. Get one of Briley’s fishing-reel-handle wrenches.
    Outside, the barrels showed a high-gloss blue and were free of ripples. Rib-solder seams were correct and without blemishes. Side ribs were solid all the way back to the monoblock. The top rib was a very attractive 8mm-down-to-6mm tapered solid rib with a crosshatched non-glare top surface. A solid rib is perfect for a hunting gun, because it’s durable and doesn’t collect brush. There was an appropriate simple brass bead at the muzzle. The front 6" of the barrels are slightly jugged out about .10" to accommodate the choke threads, but it was hard to notice unless you really looked.
    For seven large you ought to get pretty walnut. If our sample is any indication, you certainly do. Both the stock and forend were heavily figured with blessedly equal grain on both sides. The finish is listed as high-gloss oil—probably Tru-Oil or similar—and it has a much more subtle and smoother look than high-gloss synthetic. Wood pores were 98-percent filled. Just one more coat would have done it. It was nice to see that the inside of the forend and stock head also received some protective coats of oil. Checkering is borderless. Without going blind trying to measure it, I’ll trust the catalog statement that it’s 26 lpi. If it were any finer, it wouldn’t fulfill its purpose of providing a good grip. My guess is that the checkering is machine-cut, because it’s almost too perfect.
    The forend has a delicious shape. Long and slender, yet nicely rounded, it is just perfect in placing the hand as close to the barrel as practical. Guerini’s over/unders, like Rizzini’s and many of Boss’s and Woodward’s, have Anson push-button forend releases. I’ve never been a fan of these, because I feel they make the forends deeper than necessary, but I have to admit that this forend is nice. The Anson button has the advantage of being self-adjusting for wear, too. I’m not going to say anything about the lack of a passé Schnabel forend. I’ll just do a little dance of joy.
    After a gun’s balance, the stock is the most important contributor to ease of shooting. Our test Apex measured 14-3/4" x 1-3/8" x 2-1/8" with normal right-hand cast. That’s a touch longer and higher than the generic 14-1/4" x 1-1/2" x 2-1/2". Experienced shooters often use longer and higher stocks, because they have more-practiced mounts and a bit more cheek pressure. You exceptions know who you are.
    One-size stock can’t fit everyone any more than a 42 Regular suit can, but this Apex has an edge. It has a relaxed English-style Prince of Wales grip that allows more flexible placement of the hand. It offers a far more comfortable bend at the wrist, and it does not force a low elbow and high handhold the way a vertical grip does. The Italians have always seemed to struggle with the PoW grip, but this one is spot-on perfect.
    Pitch is given as the standard 4°. I measured 2-1/2" standoff. I would have liked just a touch more, because the buttplate, although made of a gorgeous piece of walnut, lacks the frictive grip of rubber to hold it in the shoulder pocket for the second shot. The wood butt is also easily dinged and may cause the gun to fall when stood in a rack or corner. On the plus side, it’s easier to mount, and it sure is pretty.
    The Apex comes in a Negrini ABS takedown case with odd decorative leather-like patches on the outside. Inside are the aforementioned five chokes and wrench in a plastic box, cloth sleeves for the barrels and stock, and the usual generic multi-lingual instruction manual. Nothing too special there. But the gun does come with two extras that matter. The owner is entitled to send his gun back three times for a free annual “pit stop” factory tune-up and cleaning. And now the best part: The original owner receives a lifetime guarantee from Caesar Guerini USA.
    Any guarantee, even a lifetime one, is no better than the factory service. From speaking to many Guerini owners over the past six years, I have heard nothing but praise for the quality and speed of the company’s service. It is also interesting to note that both Orvis and L.L. Bean have adopted Caesar Guerini as a house brand, so Wes and his team must be doing something right.
    I spent a little more time than usual shooting this gun, for the simple reason that I liked it and shot it well. Everyone I loaned it to felt the same way. One comment was, “If looks have anything to do with it, it will shoot for itself.” And it just about does.
    Our gun balanced about 1/2" in front of the hinge, and the weight seemed to be distributed throughout the gun, not just at the ends or in the middle. One of the reasons that the gun feels so good and shoots so well is that, at 6-3/4 pounds, it has some gravitas to it. Up to a point, heavier guns are easier to shoot. However, this is a heavy carry for a field 20, where I would hope for about 61/4 pounds. I’m sure the Apex avoirdupois is due to the sideplates, solid top rib, long tang and heavily figured wood. You are the best judge as to how much the extra weight matters to the way you hunt. Personally, I’d rather carry a slightly heavy gun that I shoot well than a light, whippy one that I don’t.
    To sum up, the Caesar Guerini Apex is fairly expensive, very attractive, a little heavy, and it shoots like a dream. The basic model Woodlander costs half as much and is mechanically identical, but you won’t get the fancy engraved sideplates, clever screwless long tang, skeleton grip cap, subtly curved pistol grip, sexy solid rib, smooth ergonomic forend, fancy wood buttplate or killer walnut. Your call.
    The Apex has two other downsides that I have to mention. Some hunters may consider it simply too pretty to risk afield. An even greater problem is that the gun shoots so well that you might limit out early and have to cut your hunt short.

    Author’s Note: For more information on Caesar Guerini shotguns, contact Caesar Guerini USA, 410-901-1131; www.gueriniusa.com.

    Check out Bruce Buck’s “Technoid Talk” blog at www.shootingsportsman.com.