Suunto traverse alpha - full test

SUUNTO is a brand well known to anyone who has considered a high quality outdoor watch with full GPS capabilities. 

The SUUNTO TRAVERSE ALPHA is a new version of this premium product for trekkers and mountaineers with one important new aspect - the SUUNTO TRAVERSE ALPHA has been designed to be a hunting and fishing watch as well. Designed in Finland to military grade specifications, the watch has a highly appealling appearance, The version I tried at this years red deer rut stalk, is both subtil with an olive coloured strap and dial, and made of materials clearly designed and manufactured with high quality in mind. 

SUUNTO is also world famous for its diving watches, and the TRAVERSE ALPHA has taken the elongated trap concept that allows the watch to be word on the wrist or on top of a fleece for example. This is both practical and useful, as no movement or noise is required to check for example how many minutes there are to sunrise. The TRAVERSE ALPHA is bluetooth enabled, meaning that it connects to your mobile phone, and all messages and notificaciones are shown on screen. Again from a practical standpoint this is something I really like, you'll never miss a call again, unless that is you want to :-).

Getting back to the hunting features, they centre around the ability to start recording the start of a stalk. You then forget about everything and let the watch do the rest. It tracks your exact stalk vía GPS and even automatically records each shot fired with the exact position of the shot. At the end of the hunt you can stop the recording and something interesting is the trackback feature that lets you use the watch to guide you back to your start point or any other GPS coordinates. 

The TRAVERSE ALPHA is packed full of useful tools. It has GPS time synchronisation, allowing it to autoamtically tell you sunríse and sunset times, as well as the moon phase. All features you can control whether they appear or not and easy “scroll” through to get to what you want to see, including temperature, a barometer, altimeter, and a compass useful for double checking your bearings. The watch has a memory that allows you to store a logbook of recorded trips that you can connect to software to create eye-catching 3D routes. It charges vía a USB cable and the charge lasts for a week or so under normal usage. 

Some minor things that I hope SUUNTO will improve on in the future is the temperature reading that is fine when worn ontop of clothing, but seems to gets affected by skin temperature by a couple of degrees when worn on the wrist. Also, the elongated strap is great for wide wristed hunters, but an extra ring to hold in place would be useful. Finally, at the shooting range and on a clay day, the watch recorded every shot effectively, but also one or two extra ones for good measure. That said, with its extensive functionality, and looks (it really does look great I think), and rugged outdoor all weather waterproof capabilities, it has become my new outdoor hunting watch, and I hope to be able to tell you more about my experience with it throughout the season. Just looking at it as I write, reminds me that I have just under 5 days for a really exciting high class Spanish monteria.

9/10 - Highly Recommended. Part of my basic kit I take along on all hunts. 

The Spanish Monteria, tradition, adrenaline, passion....

Post written in collaboration with www.Spanishunters.com one of the best Spanish Outfitters who can offer you special packs and grupo travel opportunities.

We Spanish are a passionate lot to say the least and that passion most definitely extends to our love of nature and for hunting. Hunting traditions can be found entrenched in all levels of society and they are traditions that go back hundreds of years.  In fact, some say that the landlocked, mountainous position of our capital Madrid, is due to the Kings of old and their passion for hunting. Today, we can enjoy the same experiences as we hunt the big game species that can be found in Spains's spectacular and diverse wilderness: Wild Boar, Red Deer, Fallow Deer, Roe Deer, Spanish Ibex, Pyrenese Ibex (that we call Rebeco or Sarrio), Muflon, Fox, Wolf, as well as some other mountain goat species as is the case of the Arrui can all be hunted.

Big game hunting in Spain can be experienced in the following ways:

- Stalking: Probably hunting in its most pure form. Consists of locating an animal, observing it, stalking it, and waiting for the best possible moment to harvest it. Stalks are done animal by animal, and with only one gun at a time.

- Night Waits "Esperas": Only Wild Boar is hunted by this method which consists of waiting in the dead of night at the feeding ground, often timed for moonlit nights, where feeling the suspense and waiting for the right boar and the right moment to take the shot are something that all hunters should experience.

- The “Monteria”: The quintessential Spanish form of big game hunting. It is a driven mountain hunt, with fixed pegs strategically positioned by the hunt organisers prior to the hunt. Groups of “rehalas” (groups of 25 dogs specialized for this type of hunt to drive game) make the game move around and out of the “mancha” - the designated area to hunt, which is often of extreme dense cover making in unpassable for the hunter.

Shooting game in motion - the monteria esence

It is important to select with care which monterias you want to participate in. Being a foreigner, particular attention should be taken, as being a visitor in a country accustomed to tourism, usually results in unfairly overcharging the “tourista”..

Things to consider prior to a monteria hunt…

• In a monteria shots are taken on the move, meaning that we shoot at running animals and normally at medium ranges (a maximum of 150m for a sure and safe kill).  For this style of hunt, calibers with significant stopping power are far better suited than high velocity calibers. 

• You will have very little time to shoulder your weapon, take aim and fire very quickly. Knowing your weapon and equipment intimately is essential. 

• It is not normal to have to walk a significant amount, but sometime peg locations take time to access, and with everything you need for a four or five hour wait, you must be prepared. 

• In a typical monteria, you can expect to shoot 10 or 15 times if you have a lot of luck, but this, as in all forms of true hunting is in natures hands, and many a time a hunter has gone home disappointed but pleased to have been hunting without firing a single shot.

• The hunt grounds are usually not open ground, so even first sighting the animal is no easy task. A hunters experience and insticts are put to the test.

• The hunt season is from Autumn through winter, and although its Spain, you must come prepared for it can get cold, windy, rain and even snow. 

• You have to stay put at your peg for the entire duration of the monteria – 4 to 5 hours normally, with it being absolutely forbidden to abandon your post for safety reasons. 

• The dog packs “rehalas” are led by “rehaleros”, dog handlers, dressed in high visibility luminous colours as they advance with their dog packs through the cover driving the game and alerting hunters to the presence of game with typical shouts "alli va el guarro" a "there goes the boar"...

• The pegs are numbered and a “hilera” or line of pegs forms an "armada" so that all pegs can be identified by the name of the armada and peg number.  

• The “postor” is a hunter that is also working the hunt to ensure the safe conduct of the hunt. They place each hunter on their given peg, peg by peg, and may or may not advise you as to the angle of shot permitted – its good practice to always ask and double check you understand where you can and above all cannot shoot. In a similar way, at the end of the monteria, it is the postor that comes to collect you from your peg. 


The Day of the Monteria

Hunters are usually called to meet at around 9am for a typical hearty monteria breakfast of “migas y huevos” – fried bread with eggs, and the all important ritual ballot for peg positions. On arrival, you register with the required documentation with the hunt organisers (the “organica”) at the main table. You confirm your presence and verify that you are on the list of hunters places in the ballot for pegs.

Normally, breakfast is taken while you wait for fellow hunters to slowly arrive, and this is a really pleasurable wait as you greet and catch up with old friends and share the expectation of the coming days action. There are few breakfasts that are more in tune to the coming days events than that of “migas con huevos” with a glass of red wine (if desired..). 

After breakfast, the ballot for pegs begins. 
This is a moment of high expectations as you listen for your name to be called out, and you find out your peg not knowing whether you’ll get a peg to your liking (open for longer shots or closed for very close action) or whether it’s a peg where for this “mancha” – hunting area, is a peg that normally sees a lot of game.  The ballot normally has you approach the main table when your name is called, and you are asked to draw a ball from a bag (although there are many alternative ways to do this). You then select a closed unmarked envelop and find out which armada – line of pegs closing the hunting area, and which peg you have been allocated. It is important to ask to know who will be your “postor” – the hunt coordinator for your armada.    

Once the ballot is completed, the armadas gather together and the order of leaving for the hunting grounds is determined. In summary, there are generally two types of armadas, “los cierres” and “las travesias”.

"Los Cierres": Comes from the Spanish verb “cerrar”,  meaning to close, and these peg lines mark the external limits of the hunting grounds. These are the peg lines that are the first to be placed, so that with vehicle and other noise game doesn’t abandon the hunting grounds. 

Travesias: These are peg lines situated within the hunting grounds, normally in valleys so ensuring safety, and are the last to be placed.    


Its generally good to find out from the postor what type of peg you’ve obtained in the ballot. For example, there could be open pegs with longer clear shots where its recommended to have a scope, or you could have a closed firebreak peg where shots can be at extremely close distance and where you hunt more by sound and instinct than by sight.  Depending on your peg, you may wish to change the only one weapon that is permitted from say a rifle to a shotgun with slugs. In these pegs, where the actionnia close, you get the excitement of hearing game come nearer and nearer, breaking through and giving you very few seconds to take the shot. In these pegs, a scope or shooting sticks are more of a hindrance than an aide.   


At around 10:00 am (in the earliest cases) the armadas begin their way to each peg, almost always by car from the location of the breakfast and ballot. Peg by peg, the postor will position each hunter (and accompanying person if present) signaling where the dog packs will come from and where you can and cannot shoot.  This placement of each hunter is done with the minimal amount of noise possible, taking care with car doors and normally whispering to your fellow hunter a message of good luck as you leave him behind on his peg to get set and prepared. 

Once at your peg, the very first thing is to do is to know the location of your neighbouring pegs, and make a signal to acknowledge that you have seen them, and they know also where you are. In the best circumstances, the pegs cannot be seen by one another, so maximizing safety. Once this is done, we load our rifles first, and then start looking at possible animal paths, trails, gaps where game could potentially pass. This is where a hunters experience and instincts start to come to the surface. 

In these early minutes, before the dogs are released, the game usually moves a lot and we get the first opportunity to see game and perhaps take our first shot.  They are moment of high tension where adrenalin takes over and you think that you sense game and movement behind almost every shrub, bush, and tree in front of your peg. 

Rehalero with his dogs

Once all pegs are in place, the dog packs are released! It’s a magical moment in the Spanish monteria when you start to hear the dogs barking and making their way into the hunting grounds looking for and picking up the scent of game. These first barks are of pure excitement from the dogs as there are set free to run after game.  Its good to pay attention to the sound of the dogs; when they are high pitched they are passing through neighbouring pegs, but when they are together and become a growl, we know instantly that the dogs are onto game, not just the scent, but they have visual contact and are in pursuit. In many cases and where the dog packs are highly trained, the dogs catch up with and hold down game in an “agarre”. Varios dogs start to pin the game down until one summons up the bravery to try to launch a lethal attack. With both deer and wild boar they are tremendous encounters, with nothing surrendered, and where game normally escapes at full speed, offering incredible high excitement hunting for the lucky peg in question. These animals move at an incredible speed, breaking through the cover as fast as they can. With the adrenaline running high, you can be forgiven to feel that the whole ground is shaking. It’s the moment when the hunter is on foot and is in the animals territory. It’s the moment when the Spanish monteria confirms its unique place as one of the great hunting experiences.  

typical "cortadero" shot

Injured or older animals that can’t escape, end up facing their pursuers. An “agarre” with a big tusker can end the life of several dogs in a question of seconds. In these situations, the dog handlers, or the hunter if its near their peg, has to assess the situation, and enter the hunting ground to make the kill by hand with a knife. Never ever ever do you shoot at game that is held down. Firstly, due to the possibility of injuring ourselves or the dogs, secondly as a close range shot produces a terrible shock in the dogs, and many a time they develop a fear thereafter to hold down game ever again.

These are not situations that are common nor easy to handle, in fact although they are a few seconds, they are seconds of great risk. In cases where you don’t know exactly what to do, it’s always better to wait for someone who does although the priority after safety is to dispatch the animal with the minimal suffering by locating the heart and with a special purpose double-edged knife that you should carry.  


In these chases of dogs running after driven game, the game passes by or through the peg positions giving shooting opportunities to the hunters. The dogs usually conduct a well planned route going and returning, ensuring that all the game possible is driven around the hunting grounds. 

At the end of the day’s hunting, at around 3pm or 4pm, you begin to hear the sound of the conch shells, the noise that each dog handler has to summon and gather his dogs. You will then see Spain’s famous hunting dogs emerge, tired, weary, often bloodied and wounded … the heroes of the day.

You don’t leave your peg until the postor comes to collect you and lets you know its time to collect your things. You then start the route back to the place where lunch is awaiting and where all the harvested game is brought together in the “junta de carnes” for the posterior compulsory veterinary checks and then butchering for the meat to be sold and distributed.  The route back to lunch is typically the moment where first impressions between hunters are exchanged, about game seen, shots fired, game that has passed from one peg to another, or if the neighbouring pegs have seen a lot of action (or nothing at all!). 


Lunch typically comprises of a warm Spanish “ladel” dish that after a winters day hunt, is very welcomed. Lunch is where you sit down with friends and share experiences, observations, and is where the infamous “hunter’s tall tales” are born, where on the day a shot at 80m gets progressively longer as the weeks go by, and the animal harvested serms to grows in size!

On ocassions, you get the chance to hunt great trophies

The Spanish monteria is all about passion and emotion and all your 5 senses are put to the test in the most intense of ways. The Spanish monteria is most definitely the timeless form of hunting in Spain and one where excitement is guaranteed. If you are a true hunter, a well organised monteria is something that should definitely be on your wish list. More often than not t will have you coming back for more and more…  

Hunt safe, Happy Hunting!

Hunt Spain.

FieldSports tastes the Spanish Monteria with SpanisHunters.com

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Big Game Hunting in Spain - Basic Ballistic Concepts

Basic Ballistics for Big Game Hunting in Spain

Hello Hunters,

A really interesting topic today. A subject that without complicating too much, can require a lot of ink, with many varied opinions making it all the more difficult to come to any conclusions for the most of us. In general the "famous" calibres for European big game, (Deer, Boar, Ibex) range from .243, .270 Win Mag, the 8mm, the 30.06, the 7mm Remington Magnum, .308 winchester, .338 winchester magnum and the 300 win mag...I have left out many more for sure, but they all are good, and they all are lethal...so what are the real basics that I should know...?

From left to right: .243, .270 wsm, 30-06, .300 winmag, .375 H&H y 45-70.

Some basic "common sense" concepts

Bullets have a weight, and this weight is measured in grains. The heavier the bullet, the greater the fall or drop over distance, but greater weight also means more stopping power at short distances. Bigger bullets normally lose velocity quicker than smaller bullets. The more "aerodynamic" the bullet, the better the trajectory, but that could lead to a loss in effectiveness, or "stopping power" of the bullet.

A graph to illustrates this point...

What is the "stopping power" of a bullet?

It translates to the energy the bullet trasmits on impacting the target, and its measured in Joules. Here, there are many factors to take into account, but very simply put, a faster and heavier bullet trasmits more energy and stopping power than a slower lighter bullet.

For example, a slug fired from a shotgun at 15m is almost unbeatable when it comes to stopping power. The energy transmitted is immense. Remember we mentioned weight and velocity. The problem is what happens at 100 or 80 yards, slugs tend to behave "erratically" and lose a lot of velocity, that said, I have seen hunters hitting targets consistently at 200m with a shotgun...
 
A good analogy as a simple way to explain stopping power is to imagine a bed sheet hung from a clothes line. Imagine that we fire two projectiles at this sheet, one a needle, and the other a tennis ball. If we fire both at 600 metres per second into the sheet, at a range of just 10 metres, the needle will pass through the sheet without the sheet even moving, whereas the tennis ball will cause a much more "dramatic" impact, causing a much bigger hole and moving the entire sheet a lot.

At a much greater distance, the needle will continue to behave in the same way without losing trajectory, whereas the tennis ball will lose a lot of velocity and drop significantly.

More stopping power, the bullet transmits its energy to the target and it deforms or fragments.
Less stopping power, the bullet transmits less energy and continues its trajectory through the target and it deforms a lot less.

The dropping bullet

Normally, we zero a rifle at 100m or 150m for the typically Spanish "monteria". This means that at this distance, if we aim at the centre of the target, thats where the bullet hits.

A 







beyond this distance, for example at 200m or 300m, the bullets start to drop as can be seen in the diagram. Some bullets at 300, fall only 10 cm, but other calibres at the same range, can fall as much as 1 metre! Why such a difference? Its a simple concept to understand, all bullets fall under gravity, but with a higher velocity and lower weight, they take longer to fall.

Hard bullets/Soft Bullets

A hard bullet normally tends to not deform when it hits the target, and "tries" to carry on its trajectory through the target "avoiding" hard parts and then exiting the target. This means that if we hit a vital organ, the animal will drop dead on the spot.
A soft bullet, tends to deform on impact, expanding ("mushroom effect") causing a lot more damage normally disintegrating and hitting parts in the animal and causing nearly always the animal if hit in any central area.


Normally, this means that even in a "less" accurate shot, the animal will fall within few metres of where it's hit. If hit in a critical zone, your target will fall instantly in the same way as if stuck in a critical area with a hard bullet.


Do soft bullets then seem better? Well, yes, but it depends on the type of shot. A soft bullet that hits a branch wit deform and change its trajectory, whereas a hard bullet will continue (although lose velocity, but a lot less and will not deccelerate to much for not having changed its shape).

Each type of bullet for its purpose we can say. For close range shots, much better a soft bullet, for long range shots better hard bullets. Important to mention that there are not only two type, but grades, the best (or least worst), intermediate bullets...

Each one has its good and bad points, advantages and disadvantages. In the end, its about finding the optimum balance for the type of hunt in question.

In a stalk ("rececho"), or hide night hunt ("espera"), we are interested in a shot that really holds its trajectory, that doesn't fall too much... for these situations the .243, or the .270 or .270 win mag are perfectly suited. Normally , they are shots that are better placed, better prepared with the hunter having time to steady, take aim and fire.  But that doesn't mean that without this calibre we don't hunt. A 30.06 or a 300 win mag are perfectly adequate too.

In a stalk we are shooting normally at 200 meters or more (sometime less, but its not normal). As we have said we normally have time to prepare the shot, but its important that the bullet "arrives quickly" at its target, even more so that its not afected too much by drop or wind.

And what about the driven mountain hunt ("monterias") so typical and unique to Spain. It depends on the peg, but normally its a much closer shot, from a few tens of metres to 150 meters. In a firebreak peg "cortadero", and game passes close to us, and at speed. Here, a calibre with a lot of stopping power is best suited, the velocity is not so important. Here, shotgun slugs work well, as well as .308 winchester, .338 WinMag, 375H&H, 300 WinMag, 45-70, 444 Marlin, calibres for express rifles... Fast shooting, often more instinctive than well set..

In more open pegs with better views, shots are typically 100-150 metres with moving, running game, and calibres with stopping power but a little faster give better results, 30.06, 7mm, 300 in all variations, 270 win mag...
In all practicality, for monterias, nearly all calibres are possible, but some have an advantage more than others. The best are the middle of range calibres, 300 in all versions, 7 mm, 30.06, 270 win mag .. a several more ...


Happy hunting.. 

The "alleged" 2500 Spanish Ibex north of Madrid.

Impossible not to write about this issue that has the Spanish capital's hunting fraternity concerned to say the least. Although the call of the regional government in Madrid to hunters to kull 2500 animals seams "innocent", perhaps it isn't at all...

In reality, "reliable sources" in Madrid, confirm that no decision has been taken, and in fact it's still not clear as to how this issue should be managed. Still on the table is also the possibility that the whole matter is nothing more than "senstaional journalism" ...

Vídeo recorded by a friend two weeks ago en "la Pedriza", Sierra de Guadaramma.

About the Spanish Ibex...
It is true that 30 years ago, 70 animals were artificially introduced in the Sierra de Guadaramma range that is one hour north of the capital, Madrid. It doesn't sound at all like a lot but 30 years without any natural predators, and for a rugged animal that is wonderfully adapted for even the harshest conditions resulted in a population that "officially" exceeds 5000 animals. In my experience, "official" census usually come in under the mark and there is talk in some circles about "more than..."

The case is that, effectively, if things are allowed to continue, you can imagine that in 10 years, these "more than" 5000, will have multiplied "in more than", 15000, perhaps even more. It is therefore already an emergency situation that could have been easily avoided if the right control measures had been taken in past years.  

And here in lies the problem. The current situation, is the result of a lack of management in previous years. Without a natural predator (and there isn't one as its an introduced specie!) in the area in question, the ecosystem has begun to lose its balance and both fauna and flora, have begun to feel the over population of the Spanish Ibex and some species may disappear completely as a result...

Ok, so past aside, we are where we are, you would imagine that a plan would be formed to "sacrifice" 2500 animals in 5 years. Right from the start there has arisen a problem, the press could have reported a plan for managed hunting of 2500, but instead the terminology is to kill to sacrifice 2500 animals.

Hunting implies getting the right licenses, then the hunter has to follow a fair code of conduct, and finally the animal is harvested. Kill or Sacrifice (which is what is allegedy being organised) means that the hunter will not have to pay or be paid, and that the animal will not be harvested, instead left for carrion for the vultures, with the solution being simply put a "masacre by firing squad". Can this issue not be handled in a different way...?

Could a kull or "descaste" not be organised instead, and although they don't normally produce a memorable day's hunting, they are from time to time necessary. That said, however, even in kulls, saving for cause of disease, the kulled animals are harvested.

... and here is where the controversy has arisen in the hunting fraternity, if we take the headlines as being accurate... On the one hand, hunters always are willing to roll-up their sleeves if its necessary to control an out of control population or diseased population. Hunters have always in my experience been the first to want to help in any action that has as its aim the conservation of sustainable populations. However, for years, the voice of hunters has been ignored on this matter, and meanwhile the inevitable has occurred and the population has soared, it is curious that the regional adiministration has "put out a call" to hunters, that in these "green and ecological" times, it is the hunters that are being asked to front the the economic and social cost and be the appointed "assasins" of these animals. 

The debate is on ... was there any need to make such a big fuss in the press here in Madrid?.... could a catch and release program not have been organised to repopulate other areas?.... Could licences "precintos" not have been auctioned at a reasonable price, many of us would have taken part... but no,  instead what is allegedly being "offered" is a call to organise a masacre ...

I can understand hunters that do not want to take part in such an activity especially where the animal is not harvested. I also can understand hunters that do want to take the chance to enjoy a day's hunt, enjoy the "shot" and collaborate to control the species... however, depending on how such an event is organised it could be or not be a memorable shot as these spanish ibex are completely acustomed to human presence and often come near to be hand fed ... I don't know of anyone who calls themselves a hunter who would want to take part if its organised in such a way ...

If in fact, the regional Madrid goverment has still not taken a decision, I have many questions and doubts:

Why have these headlines been managed in such a way as to go viral?
Why are solutions being planned in this way and why now?
Is the regional Madrid government really asking hunters to form a "firing squad"?

Would be interesting to hear your views and how these matters are handled in other countries...

Return of the Side By Side?

Are they returning? Have they ever actually left...?

Returning to our countryside, where they have always belonged, are "parallel" shotguns.

Parallel or side-by-side shotguns are the "dame of all shotguns", simple elegance that harks back to the good old days if you will... the romantisism of the side-by-side is something that every true hunter understands...

The original designs were an evolution of muzzle loading firearms. They were actually conceived as the first repeating weapon of its kind, allowing two consecutive shots (or both simultaneously, known in Spain as "doing the guitar") without the need to reload the firearm.

The first parallel shotguns had external visible hammers, hence are known as hammer shotguns ("perillos" in Spain), where the hammer had to be primed before firing, and had two triggers, one for each barrel. The forward trigger fires the right barrel, normally with a wider choke and the rear trigger, fires the left side barrel, with a closed choke.  They were conceived for walk up hunting with or without gundogs, for situations where game would escape ahead of the hunter, giving the option of open choke for 20-25 meters for the first shot, and a second similar shot more closed but at 35-40 meters.

Although they are often called parallel, actually, they are not built exactly parallel as the barrels always are designed to converge at a certain point. This point varies from between 40 to 60 meters, although the shot spread begins to converge at 20m. In fact, when the convergence is too pronounced, we refer to them in Spain as being "cross-eyed", although in reality I have never actually seen this effect, and perhaps its an urban myth that has its origin in detractors of the side-by-side shotgun. 

Side-by-side shotguns have many and diverse variations, with the most common being the boxlock or sidelock action. As a simple explanation we can say that the boxlock mechanisms are more refined and costly due to their greater complexity in the firing mechanism. 

In my opinion, a shot fired with a parallel shotgun is far more instinctive than in other types of shotgun, in fact in situations of two rapid shots, the second shot, being very close after the first, is to all purposes a general shot that "hits where it hits". The "parallel" hunter often is more selective when chosing to take a shot and lets the game reach its optimum point "cumplir", in order to maximise more a successful shot. (I don't mean at all to say that the good hunter of other types of shotgun doesn't do exactly the same)

As the barrels are arranged parallel to the horizontal plane (the ground), this configuration allows greater lateral visibility and the rib, the piece that covers where the barrels join, is a key element for aiming and is where at the end of the barrels, the fore sight is located. Normally this is a metal ball, or a white ball, not so common are high visibility fibres, etc... 

One of my prized jewels, boxlock, english stock... 

If we comfortably shoulder the shotgun, the perfect shot is made with both eyes open. It's often said that these types of shotgun kick more than other types. Probably as the traditional shotgun does not have any mechanisms for taking advantage of the recoil force to reload or rearm the gun. Moreover, the recoil plain, due to the arrangement of the barrels is far more perpendicular to our body, meaning that we have to take the full force of the recoil...

In the USA, they are known as "coah guns" and have an active market, but these arms normally with a shorter barrel and often with hammers, are not effective for hunting.

It is the European market, in particular the UK, Spain, France and Germany (to a lesser extent) where these classic guns of the greatest tradition can be found. Today, they can be seen more and more on hunting grounds and estates, and many hunters have a place reserved in their armery for a side-by-side shotgun. 

As I have stated, they are classic, simple in appearence, elegant by design, and easy to handle by their owners, although it is good practise to take them to a good gunsmith every other season for a revision. Some may confuse the classic aspect of these guns as being "old-fashioned" or "outdated" and the double trigger (there are also one trigger versions, in Spain for released pigeon shooting "tiro pichón") also gives some the idea of being from yesteryear or complicated.

Marvellous Grulla

 A beautiful Garbi

Ugartechea sidelock wild boar edition (these shotguns often have rifled barrels and rearsights)

In terms of gunsmiths, the heritage comes from England, and even today, the Purdey's, the Holland&Holland's are still revered "Royalty" when it comes to these classic arms. En Spain, in particular in Eibar in the Basque Country, is where the "aristocracy" in gunsmiths can be found, with "fine" guns produced by: Sarasketa, Ugartechea, Grulla, Zabala, Aguirre Y Aranzabal (AYA), Zubillaga... its a real shame that there are as each year goes by fewer of these great Spanish names, many who have made a mark even in England. Those that remain, are focussed on custom manufacturing of guns of the very highest quality, real works of art and for sure collectors items for the future due to their hand made craftsmanship.  

I am fortuate to have two marvellous "paralelas", one boxlock with an english stock, and another sidelock with a pistol stock. Many a morning has passed where I have left their more modern "cousins" behind in the armery to spend unforgettable outings in search of red-legged partridge or the fenomenal quial. 

It must be said that I always return with a smile from ear to ear, deeply thankfull and proud to be the owner of these timeless companions...    

Beretta or Benelli? Are you a "Berettist" or a "Benellist"?

The choice between shotguns of a similar level of quality often comes down to a question of personal preferences and tastes. Perhaps one the most common decisions of this type that we hunters are faced with is when choosing between semiautomatic shotguns. Which is better: Beretta or Benelli? 

As a recap for us older practitioners and for our younger readers: A semi-automatic shotgun action is a shotgun that is able to fire a cartridge after every trigger pull, without needing to manually chamber another round. These shotguns have a magazine for 2 or more rounds (in Spain there is a two cartridge limitation) and a mechanism that takes advantage of the force of the shot to extract and eject the empty shell and also cycle the action and load another round from the magazine.

There are 2 systems to achieve this “automatic reload”: gas systems or recoil systems. 

Gas Systems

Nearly all semi-automatic shotguns use a gas reload system. 

Beretta, together with Browning, Fabarm, etc, have refined and perfected this system to an exceptional level, giving us today shotguns that are not only robust and light weight, but that are also highly effective and reliable in their automatic reload.

Gas systems work in the following manner: On taking a shot, the firing pin hits the cartridge piston, which ignites the primer producing the propellant combustion and resulting rapid expulsion of gases.  It is these gases that push and propel the wad and the shot through the gun barrel.  

The gas system takes advantage of the gas expulsion via one or more orifices in the lower part of the barrel (covered by the forend), opening a gas valve (or piston) in the reverse direction to the shot direction, that actions the bolt to extract and eject the shot cartridge and load a new round into the chamber also activating the firing pin ready for the next shot. 

Detail of gas expulsion workings and the "piston"

Cutaway and position of the gas exit port that actions the piston

The downside of these mechanisms is that to work perfectly the mechanism must be clean, the barrel, the gas port, the piston and the shaft along which it moves. They do also function when the mechanism is moderately dirty, but these expulsion gases carry a gunpowder residue that adheres to the parts mentioned, and gradually this forms a coating if not properly cleaned, causing problems and resulting in guns that jam from time to time. That said, these systems have evolved so much, that they work perfectly even on cartridges with a low charge (eg. 24gr en 12 bore caliber)

Recoil Systems

Benelli offers a recoil reload system.  This system takes advantage of the recoil force in order to extract, eject and reload via a series of springs (recoil springs). The enormous advantage of this type of system is that they don’t get nearly as dirty as gas systems.  

Without any gunpower residue build up, overall, these guns are renowned to be tremendously long lasting and effective. 

Detail of the Benelli recoil system

However, for some, rounds with lower loads (24gr or 28gr in older guns) have given problems…

Both Beretta and Benelli have long traditions and either of the two without any doubt is a great choice (I should say that there are many other brands also on the market).

In my own case, I own a Beretta that I have heavily used over the years and that has never given me any problems. It is true though, that I have developed a ritual of cleaning it after every outing leaving it ready for next time. I am however really keen on the Benelli system, and I am sure that its no coincidence that there are very few of these guns on the second hand market … 

I would not exchange my Beretta for any other gun, but if I was to buy a semiautomatic shotgun now, it most probably would be a Benelli…