PART 1 {Virginia and Roger sitting behind table}{Read quotes}
VIRGINIA: My name is Virginia Hall and I’m here today to introduce you to Roger Rule, author of The Rifleman’s Rifle, and host of this series of episodes, Special Guns with Roger Rule.
ROGER: Thank you, Virginia, and welcome, …and welcome viewers to my 18th Episode of Special Guns with Roger Rule.
VIRGINIA: What do we have today?
ROGER: In the last few episodes, we have been featuring mostly shotguns. Today, I have a real treat for rifle aficionados. This is a Browning rifle, High Power model in Olympian Grade.
VIRGINIA: Is this a new rifle?
{Photos 18-Oly270-01 and 18-Oly270-02}
ROGER: No, this rifle was made in 1971, and considered by many to be one of the finest of all bolt action rifles built on the Mauser design. It fits into our series in the evolutionary category representing the next step after the military designed Mauser Model of 1898. This rifle is the epitome of the commercial FN Mauser with its six improvements over the original Mauser 98 and it would parallel or fall slightly behind the improved Winchester pre-64 Model 70 in design improvements.
VIRGINIA: Do they still make this rifle?
ROGER: No, it was available through 1974, discontinued in 1975.
VIRGINIA: But Browning is still in business?
ROGER: Yes, however the Company history is confusing. Browning’s involvement in this gun is minimal. Let’s take a look at that. Since I have said it is a Mauser 98, before we credit Mauser, we should start with the inventor that built the first bolt action rifle: Johann Nikolaus von Dreyse (Drice) of Prussia. Dreyse lived eighty years from 1787 to 1867. Nearly by accident, he discovered he could ignite a fulminate compound by thrusting a needle into it, which inspired him to develop a primer containing bullet. This was in the early days of breech loading development and he designed the first breech loading bolt action rifle to be fired with a needle (the predecessor of the firing pin). Even though it was a single shot rifle, the rapidity of fire afforded with it using pre-made cartridges and breech loading, allowed the Prussian Army to adopt it as their military rifle in 1848.
VIRGINIA: A military rifle that was still a single shot?
ROGER: Yes, we were still using single shots on this side of the ocean, but worse, ours were muzzle loaders. Theirs were more advanced in that they were breech loaders and much faster to load. Then after Dreyse’s bolt action design, a German, famous to most gun enthusiasts, named Peter Paul Mauser with his brother, Wilhelm, together picked up the design from Dreyse and continued to improve the bolt action rifle for the Prussian military. Peter Paul Mauser was born in 1838 in the village of Oberndorf, the youngest of thirteen children. Wilhelm was next oldest and four years his senior. The two became partners opening a gun business: Peter was the inventor and Wilhelm was the business man. Their single shot Model 1871, an improved Dreyse bolt action, was submitted to the Ordinance department with a few changes. It became the official German infantry rifle that replaced the Dreyse rifle. Wilhelm died in 1882. Seven years later, Peter Paul re-designed the Model of 1889. That model was adopted by the Belgium Army and manufactured by Fabrique Nationale d’Armes de Guerre (we know as FN) in Liege Belgium, a huge weapons manufacturer.
Refined still further, Peter Paul Mauser’s model of 1895 was adopted by the German Army in 1898 and became known worldwide as the Model 1898, one of the most famous rifles in the world today. In Bolt Action Rifles by Frank de Haas and Dr. Wayne van Zwoli, I quote:
“It (referring to the model 1898 Mauser) immediately became the most popular military arm… France, Great Britain, Russia and the U.S. designed and produced their own battle rifles, but none surpassed the 98 in function and durability. Many other countries either imported it or obtained license to build it.” (close quote)
Our own U.S. Krag-Jorgensen rifle was canned for a re-worked clone of the 1898 Mauser which became our 1903 Springfield rifle and we paid a hefty patent infringement to Germany for the use of the design.
While Mauser is remembered mostly today for his infallible control-feed extractor improvement, among his many improvements for the bolt action rifle, it was his revolutionary magazine feeding system that is acclaimed as Mauser’s most outstanding feature. It changed the bolt action rifle from a single shot to the first reliable bolt action repeating rifle, which revolutionized military repeating rifles. These were the rifles used primarily by everyone in WWI. They were so prominent, that war is sometimes called “The Bolt Action War.”
VIRGINIA: All countries in that war used bolt action rifles?
ROGER: All the world powers did. In fact Germany continued using it in World War II as their basic infantry rifle. But after WWI, the manufacturer of the Mauser 1898, named Mauser Werke (works), continued building sporting Model 98 rifles and offered actions made in four different sizes: magnum, standard, intermediate and short. Gunmakers world-over purchased these actions and built sporting firearms. Some of the most expensive and popular ones still today came out of that period, those built by Griffin & Howe of New York and many by the English makers in London and Birmingham. After World War II, Mauser Werke became Waffenfabrik (arms factory) and the manufacturing shift was totally to the sporting trade building Mauser actions and rifles.
VIRGINIA: Besides the custom rifles, were those made by Mauser available in the U.S. then?
ROGER: Some Mauser sporting arms were sold in the U.S. under the Stoeger Arms name for a brief period. When Stoeger could no longer supply them because Mauser was fulfilling military arms for the Nazi Army, the giant gun manufacturer in Belgium, FN, met the market demand in 1940 and built and sold 1898 Mausers. But, their first version had one change — the bolt handle was bent down at the root and curved back. {Stop}
PART 2 {Audio only – Save as Ep.18 Part 2} Photo numbers in red below in script
Then because the Model 1898 became so popular, FN continued making improvements and by 1948, they had a total of six changes from the original Mauser Model 98. These were:
1) the bolt handle was bent in a rearward curve, {Photo 18-Oly270-03}
2) the military cutout (thumb slot) was removed from the receiver sidewall making the action stiffer, {-04}
3) the receiver bridge was modified by eliminating both the raised portion and the clip-charger slot, {-05}
4) the trigger was changed to a single pull, with no-slack cutoff, {-06}
5) a user-friendly safety was added for telescopic sights and {-07}
6) the bolt stop release was refined for sporting use. {-08}
This final improved version has today become known as the commercial FN Mauser as opposed to the Mauser Model 98. At the time, manufacturers everywhere were quick to use this action to compete with the Winchester Model 70. In a short window of time after WWII, users who bought Belgian made FN actions included among U.S. manufacturers: Weatherby of South Gate California, Colt, Marlin, High Standard, Winslow, and Harrington & Richardson. Abroad, Sako of Finland and Parker Hale of the U.K. also built rifles with the FN Mauser action.
PART 3 {Roger & Virginia sitting at table}
VIRGINIA: Those were all rifles made with that FN Mauser action?
ROGER: Yes, all of these. And the versions produced under the Belgian company’s own name, FN or Fabrique Nationale, were some of the best rifles but few reached the U.S..
VIRGINIA: But our gun of the day is a Browning, right?
ROGER: Yes, to see where Browning Arms comes into the picture, we need to step back and review a bit on John Moses Browning. My Episode 14, covering a Browning Superposed in Diana grade, was the first Browning gun shown in Special Guns with Roger Rule. In that episode, I covered the sporting arms history of John Moses Browning and his relationship with Winchester, Colt and FN. Before 1899, all of Browning’s designs were sold to Winchester. From 1899 to 1907, Browning’s gun designs were sold free-lance, some to Colt and several to FN. In 1907, Browning agreed to a deal to allow the Belgian maker to manufacture arms under the Browning name in consideration for royalties, which he had not been able to do with Winchester. Among those arms designed by Browning and sold under his name were his 9mm military semi-automatic pistol in 1903, a pocket-sized .25 caliber semi-automatic in 1905, a semi-automatic .22 caliber rifle in 1914, and during the war years, Browning developed the .30 and .50 caliber machine guns and the famed BAR or world’s light machine gun.
In 1927, the year following Browning’s death, the family founded its own company, the Browning Arms Company, in Morgan, Utah. That company focused on the sales of hunting and sporting rifles and shotguns and later parlayed the famed Browning name into a variety of sporting good items. But all of their firearms were actually manufactured under contract with other arms manufacturers, primarily FN in Belgium. That Browning Arms Company lasted until 1977, when it was fully acquired by FN, then FN Herstal.
So the gun we are going to look at today, built from 1960 to 1974 was actually a product of Browning Arms Company; however, under contract it was completely manufactured in the FN plant in Belgium, as were most of the other Browning guns at that time. These Browning commercial Mausers were made by FN some thirty-four years after the death of John Moses Browning (who died in the lobby of the FN factory in 1926).
VIRGINA: I remember that, he was waiting to make a deal with his new shotgun design.
ROGER: Very good, you are right, that was covered in Episode 14. But, for Browning’s rifles under the Browning name, FN used their regular commercial Mauser action with one change. The Browning version had one mechanical improvement over the other FN commercial Mausers. It was designed with a flush bolt stop, eliminating the protruding bolt stop housing. {Stop}
PART 4 {Audio Only – show 6 photos right and left of Safari, Medallion & Olympian}
{Photos 18-Oly270-09, -10, -11, -12, -13, -14}
I do not know who gets the credit for the Browning bolt stop improvement but I would suspect it was Val Browning, attempting to keep the Browning name on a higher plain than all the other makers using FN commercial Mauser actions. To add to that concept, of being a better class of rifle, it was introduced in three grades, two of which included much of the metal engraver’s art and stock carving.
The model was known as the High Power. The three grades were: Safari (the basic version), Medallion (an upgrade with light engraving and carving), and Olympian (the top of the line version with serious engraving and stock carving). The latter two were built in the Custom Shop in Herstal, Belgium. For the action, FN used their standard large ring FN Mauser action for most calibers and their small ring FN Mauser action for intermediate calibers (albeit both with the bolt stop improvement). Shortly after the rifle’s introduction, the small ring FN Mauser actions were phased out and replaced with Sako intermediate actions per Browning Arms Company’s specifications.
When Browning Arms sold the company to FN Herstal in 1977, the giant manufacturer continued to use the Browning name and went on to purchase Winchester Repeating Arms Co. in 1987. This parent company today has changed ownership again and is now Groupe Herstal S.A., but still owns Browning Arms Company and Winchester Repeating Arms.
PART 5 {Roger & Virginia sitting}
VIRGINIA: They own Winchester?
ROGER: Yes, the branch of Winchester that had remained in Connecticut when the ammunition division along with the Japanese-made firearms moved to Japan. But we are not dealing with them today. The rifle I have here today is a beautiful example of the highest grade of the Browning Model Hi-Power, the Olympian grade.
VIRGINIA: You said this one is in .270 Winchester? {Photo 18-Oly270-15}
ROGER: It is. I think I have mentioned in other episodes that this caliber is my favorite for most medium to big game in North America.
I use to work up handloads to find the best load that matched my Winchester Model 70 rifle when I was younger and with young eyes and the right equipment I was well known in my circle of friends for being a good shot.
My best .270 hunt, my most prolific .270 hunt, occurred when I was about thirty-five years old. I had, still have, a good friend, Bill, that I had taught school with for three years in Kansas City. We were both fans of the Winchester Model 70. Sometime after I enlisted in the Army, he moved back to his home state of Wyoming and became a high school principal about the same time I remained in California and started my building company, but we stayed in touch. He and his wife visited my wife and I several times over the next few years. And we would show them key places in California. Knowing I was a hunter, he would tell me he always put my name in for an out-of-state tag to hunt their prolific population of pronghorn in Wyoming.
Then, finally one day, he called and said my name was drawn for a non-resident tag. When I arrived in Casper, he explained we had a group of nine hunters with nine permits. The other eight, like him, held resident tags. Since I had never done this before, he revealed that we would be hunting by “Wyoming rules.” He explained that we would go out in groups with walkie-talkies (this was before cell phones) and report to the group for every antelope shot. When all the tags were filled, the hunt was over. In this way, one hunter could shoot more than one animal. Although I didn’t think that sounded very fair as some hunter then might not get a pronghorn, Bill assured me that since they were all residents, each one of them had all shot their fair share of antelopes over the years. I was the only one who hadn’t. He said those rules primarily allowed everyone to keep hunting through the entire hunt until nine animals were taken…”Wyoming Rules.”
The hunt began on a Fall Saturday morning and there were four of us in my group, three riding in a truck and a teenager in the bed. Another truck had three men and the third one had two. Since I was the new kid in the game, my group wanted me to have the first shot and when we chanced on a respectable buck, I bailed out of the pickup and standing with my sling taunt around my left arm, shot at an pronghorn about 70 yards away and missed. I couldn’t believe it. My gun was sighted for 300 yards and I suddenly realized I had probably shot high; the animal started trotting off, I aimed lower, fired again and hit it.
When we next sighted three or four off in the distance, we could see there was another pretty good buck in the group and there was a ravine between us and pronghorns.. So we drove on down the trail to get near the mouth of the ravine, and then stalked on foot keeping a low profile as we worked our way up the ravine to where we thought the animals were. When we raised up to see, they had moved another hundred yards farther from the ravine. It was now another guy’s turn, but Bill explained ahead of time if he missed, he would not be given a second chance to shoot as I had, that any of the other three in the group could then shoot (apparently they had given me a special second chance). The guy whose turn it was, aimed, fired and missed. The buck turned, but didn’t run, Bill told me to fire and I did, this time dropping it to the ground. I didn’t think about it at the time, but today I presume it was because I was a guest that Bill told me to take the shot. He and the others could have as well by his rules; and at the time, I thought they were going to shoot also. We radioed the others that we had two kills and one of the other groups by then also had two.
In the afternoon after lunch, I left my gun in the truck gun rack while the four of us continued hunting. Bill told me to take it down but I said I had already got two so I was leaving it in the rack. When we came to a high plateau, we glassed the plain and could see several antelopes off in the distance. With a spotting scope Bill could see one was a good buck. The two men that hadn’t shot flipped a coin to see who would shoot first. The one that won, took steady aim at what was about 600 yards, shot and missed.
Immediately, the fourth guy shot and missed. Then the second guy shot and missed. The buck was milling around but had not broke into a run. Bill said, “Roger, grab your rifle and take some shots, this is the fun of goat hunting.” They each shot one more time and no one had hit it. I took my gun off the rack and joined them, wrapped my arm in my sling and took careful aim at the one they had been trying to hit and pulled the trigger and watched, as the animal fell to the ground. I said, “Okay, that’s it, I have shot three now, I’m putting my rifle away for good, this is embarrassing.”
That ended our Saturday hunt. We then went to dinner at a hunter-friendly restaurant and tavern in Casper and the dinner was on me for the group.
The next morning, I went back out with my gun in the rack. Two tags remained unfilled. We still had three trucks going in different directions but now with only seven hunters. In my truck, there were only three of us this Sunday morning. About noon, we came up on a big buck with two does off on the driver’s side about 400 yards. I was sitting shotgun. Bill was driving, stopped the truck and he and the guy in the middle seat jumped out with their guns and moved toward the animals about 20 yards from the truck. They both started shooting at the buck that, un-hit, began running in a big semi-circle curving around the truck but at a great distance. After it was straight in front of the truck, it curved back toward the truck still a long ways off, and then continuing its curved path coming back around toward me. I was by then standing outside by the passenger door. The animal was running in a big semi-circle with the truck at its center point. We were all watching and as Bill could see the truck would soon be blocking their line of fire, he yelled for me to shoot it because they couldn’t aim in my direction. I pulled down my rifle, and just as the pronghorn was about 90 degrees from the passenger’s side roughly 80 yards away running full speed, I aimed in front of it about a full animals’ length and squeezed off a round that sent the animal tumbling to the ground.
They both congratulated me for making a good shot, but at the time, I was really embarrassed for getting a fourth of the nine tags. When we radioed the others, they had got one also, so the nine tags were filled and the hunt was over. I had the best head mounted, but I doubt Bill ever put my name in for another tag, and I wouldn’t blame him.
VIRGINIA: You got four of the nine and there were nine of you?
ROGER: I’m not proud of it, You can see if they hadn’t been so hospitable to me on the first two, that wouldn’t have happened. But that was my introduction to Wyoming Rules.
PART 6 {Roger sitting but will stand up, Virginia sitting at table} {Quote to read}
Now, let’s turn to the rifle of the day. As I said, this one is Browning’s High Power model in the third or top grade, which they marketed as the Olympian. It is chambered in .270 Winchester, with a 22” barrel. The action is the true FN commercial version of the Mauser 98 made by FN, as sold by FN to other makers, but with the exception here, of using Browning’s flush mounted bolt stop unique to the Browning Arms Company, which I will point out in a moment.
Besides the action, the entire rifle was built by FN for Browning Arms Co. of Utah. As I’ve said, this specific one was built in 1971, four years before the model was discontinued.
The standard grade or basic version of this rifle, called the Safari grade, was built in the general small arms plant of Fabrique Nationale in Liege, Belgium. The two upgrade versions, the Medallion and Olympian, like this example here, were built in FN’s Custom Shop in Herstal.
About the Custom Shop: Ben Roberts recently wrote in his column for Gun Mart, an excellent review of his visit to the Browning Custom Shop in Herstal Belgium. Here are some excerpts from that review, I’ll read: (quote)
“Handmade sporting guns present the pinnacle of our industry the world over, whether it’s an English Purdey, French Demas, Italian Famars or a Belgian Browning. Each is special and unique, as much if not more a work of art than a tool. No wonder then that shooters around the globe yearn to possess one! Entering the Custom Shop is like stepping back in time. Instead of banks of CNC machines and crates of pre-manufactured parts awaiting assembly there are a few rows of benches at which the artisans of Herstal ply their craft. It is fitting then that [John Moses Browning’s] spirit lives on amongst the corridors of Herstal setting the standards all over again but this time for delivering a blend of human efforts and true manufacturing perfection into a brand that looks set to thrive well into the future.”(close quote)
The Olympian grade rifles are of the highest quality of workmanship and take many hours to complete by master gunsmiths, master checkerers and carvers, and master engravers.
{Stand up, pick up the gun, check to see if safe} {Pull the bolt out}
Being a true Mauser 98 design, it has the long Mauser extractor so it is a controlled-round-feed action like the Winchester Pre-64 Model 70. {Point out extractor}
Being FN’s commercial version however, for those of you who know the true Mauser Model 1898 as designed for the military; this one has the six commercial changes I mentioned already,
no thumb slot,
no clip-charger,
better trigger,
curved bolt handle,
scope-friendly safety, and
improved bolt stop, except that this Browning has the flush mounted bolt stop which is yet another improvement.
{Show bolt release, remove bolt, replace bolt}{Continue holding rifle}
Other than the proprietary bolt stop, this action looks identical to the FN commercial actions used by the long list of makers as was mentioned earlier. In addition to FN, another manufacturer, Zastava of the now defunct Yugoslavia, copied the FN commercial action and marketed it under the name, Mark X. That action was used by many users in both the custom rifle trade and those companies wanting to get into the rifle market with a controlled-round feed system at a cost less than those built by FN. However, guns with the Browning name stand taller than all these except possibly some custom makers and some English makers. But, the Olympian grade is hard to beat.
VIRGINIA: It is a beautiful rifle!
ROGER: Definitely eye candy and here’s why. The action is Satin-chrome finished and the bolt is polished stainless steel. The trigger is serrated and gold plated. A cross bolt finished to match the action and engraved runs through the stock centered on the first receiver ring, needed to absorb recoil and prevent stock splitting. The under metal is one-piece with a hinged floorplate released by a small lever in the front of the trigger guard.
{Open magazine, close floorplate}
This works just like the Winchester Modle 70 and other commercial Mausers.
Back to the finish, the receiver, floorplate, trigger guard and guard screws are satin silver and fully engraved with game scenes and the likenesses of game animals. {Stop}
PART 7 {Audio Only to show all Olympian photos}
{Photos 18-Oly270-16 thru -24}
The barrel is contoured with a step down, exclusive to Brownings’ model, and is highly polished and blued with Browning’s deep blue. The safety is the standard FN commercial two-step safety operated with the right-handed shooter’s thumb on the right rear of the receiver. Its long extractor is finished with a jeweled treatment.
But the real eye appeal comes from the engraving, just incredible on the Olympian grade. The receiver, floorplate, trigger guard and guard screws are tastefully hand-engraved in beautiful scroll details, embellished with inlaid big game scenes which are appropriate for the caliber. On the receiver, there is an elk and pronghorn engraving signed by Gina Cargnel. On the satin-chrome floorplate is an engraving of an eight-point stag (Western count) and on the trigger guard is a grizzly bear engraving, initialed by G.V. (for Vandermisen).
For inscriptions, the barrel is marked “Browning Arms Company, Morgan Utah & Montreal P.Q.” P.Q. stands for Providence Quebec (Canada). This inscription is on the left side as is “Made in Belgium” followed by its proof mark. On the right side, it’s marked with the serial number, and the caliber designation, “270 W.C.F.” for Winchester Center Fire.
{Photos 18-Oly270-25 thru -29}
The eye appeal continues with the stock. This is not a classic comb; it has a Monte Carlo comb intended to be used with telescopic sights which had become commonplace by 1971. The comb is nicely fluted. Wood to metal fit is superb showing the rifle is Best Quality. It features a high-grade of figured French walnut with contrasting colors, and is meticulously hand-checkered with intricate 32 lines per inch patterns surrounded by hand carved scrolled borders. The forearm has a full wrap-around pattern and the pistol grip is generously covered with two panels that nearly come together over the wrist. The wood checkering and carving were masterfully done in Herstal’s Custom Shop.
The high-gloss finished stock has a contoured right-hand cheekpiece that is curved gracefully and flows out of the Monte Carlo (a best design). The pistol grip curve is tight, not open, and the pistol grip cap is actually flared out, almost likened to a knob.
The left sidewall of the stock is stepped down for access to the flush mounted bolt stop. On the right side of the stock, there are three carved notches corresponding to the functions of the action: one for the slide safety, one for the bolt handle, and a third one for access to the magazine well.
PART 8 {Roger standing, holding rifle}
The stock is adorned with a rosewood grip cap and a rosewood forearm tip, both separated from the walnut with fine white spacers made of holly wood. It is fitted with two blued sling eyes for standard sling swivels. The rear one is located four and a quarter inches from the toe and the forward one is located four inches from the nose of the tip, and has a black escutcheon to protect the stock from being marred by the movement of the swivel. The butt plate is Browning’s standard bakelite plate curved to fit the stock and embossed with the Browning name. The face of the grip cap is fitted with an 10 kt gold diamond shaped medallion.
The length of pull is 13 3/4”, which is ¼” longer than a Winchester pre-64 Model 70 stock. Weight is 8 lbs 10 oz … and there are no sights, but it is factory drilled and tapped for scope mounts.
{Photo 18-Oly270-30}
The rifle is wearing a brand new American-assembled Zeiss Conquest scope 3-9×42 with duplex reticle mounted in engraved steel rings on Leupold two-piece bases and fitted with Butler Creek scope covers.
{Set the rifle on racks, remain standing}
This gun is in mint condition with perfect bore, and comes with original hard trunk case.
{Show case}
The original silver plug screws for the receiver scope bases are included in the manufacturer’s gun case.
But the rifle is not just all eye candy, we have a clip here showing me taking it to the range and sighting it in at 200 yards. Let me show you the target.
{Pick up Target}
Here’s the target I shot that day and you can see I stopped after two rounds because those two shots were enough verification.
{Set target down and sit down} {Stop}
PART 9 {Camera for sitting, Roger & Virginia sitting at table}
For those of you who know about the salt problem experienced by Browning Arms Company from 1971 to 1974, one would want to be concerned about this rifle based on its date of manufacture. If you don’t know about the scandal, my Episode 14 covered it in detail. I don’t wish to bore subscribers with a repeat of the explanation here, as most in the industry interested in Brownings of this period are familiar with it. Suffice it to say, this rifle is now forty-seven years old and removing the stock shows no signs of salt exposure. After all that time, if there is none now, it is a pretty safe bet this one missed the problem. Another clue would be the fact that this stock wood barely grade XXXX, while the salt-treated stocks, on the whole, were a bit fancier which is why the company insisted on the early curing process for them.
VIRGINIA: Do I dare ask, how expensive is this rifle?
ROGER: It now relies on its value as a collector piece since it has been discontinued. But not too long ago, I did ask Mark Murphy of Michael Murphy & Sons, the USA Browning Custom Shop Dealer, that if the Custom Shop were to build an Olympian today, what would be the replacement cost? And he answered, it would be in excess of $35,000!
These guns have been getting harder and harder to find in mint condition; and in the more desirable calibers like .270 Win., they are truly hard to find this pristine, which makes it most ideal as a future investment besides being a beautiful example of the gunmaker’s art.
VIRGINIA: I think this is the prettiest rifle you have shown me.
ROGER: I’m sure many of us agree with you about that, Virginia.
So that’s it for today, thank you Virginia, and thank you viewers for watching, and if you enjoyed this episode, I invite you to subscribe to my YouTube channel and share with others. And, I hope you join me next episode of Special Guns with Roger Rule. We will be returning with a best-made Italian shotgun.