F.A.I.R. Anniversario: field testing the 20 ga over-and-under shotgun

The Anniversario over-and-under, added to celebrate the 50th anniversary of F.A.I.R. company, is a shotgun that we talked about when it was introduced to the public, waiting for the right moment to try it in action, showing you its technical features in the field. Luca Rizzini invited us to the F.A.I.R. shooting line on a beautiful summer afternoon and for the occasion he surprised us by bringing the Anniversario in the 20-ga version.

Video: testing the F.A.I.R. Anniversario over-and-under

F.A.I.R. Anniversario over-and-under details

The receiver of the F.A.I.R. Anniversario over-and-under is machined from solid steel and embellished by floral motif engravings using the 4D deep laser technique. The name of the model is gold inlaid on the receiver bottom.

We had met it in 12 gauge in its first appearance and had already gained positive impressions for the attention to aesthetic details and the elegant sobriety of its lines and engravings that are even more enhanced in the 20 gauge's size. This over-and-under shotgun is available in the main hunting gauges, i.e. 12, 16, 20, 28 and .410 bore. Each receiver is scaled to gauge, with the exception of the .410 bore which uses the same receiver as the 28 gauge. This attention to proportions is obviously not limited to the aesthetic aspect but to the optimization of the ballistic performance of these guns.

The receiver of the Anniversario over-and-under, with its rounded shapes, is machined from solid steel using numerically controlled machines. The external surfaces, which show a classic old silver color, are embellished on the sides and on the receiver bottom by deep 4D laser engravings reproducing floral motifs. The opening lever is also machined and pierced, dark blued like the trigger guard, while the trigger itself features a golden finish instead. The trigger can be either single or double and the cartridge case ejection system is automatic. The overall elegance of the Anniversario over-and-under is rounded off by a select European walnut stock with a super-luxury oil finish and fine-pitch laser-made checkering. The wide pistol grip and the slim fore-end allow an easy swinging of the gun, as we noticed during our test.

F.A.I.R. Anniversario: the field test

Luca Rizzini, owner of FAIR, describes the details of the Anniversario shotgun and tests the 20 gauge version with us at the shooting range.

With its well-distributed 2.8 kilograms, the 20 gauge Anniversario over-and-under is an agile and pleasant gun to swing. Aiming is quick on the clay pigeons of the sporting course, while the stability of the gun stands out when shooting the Olympic trap. We take turns on the stand with Luca Rizzini who describes in detail the design of this over-and-under and in the meantime breaks with ease the most distant clay pigeons that simulate the ducks upward flight. Firing common 24-gram cartridges with #7.5 lead shot we neatly broke clay pigeons at different ranges, from 15 to 40 meters, a clear sign of the compactness and accuracy of the shot patterns.

The 71 cm barrels with 3 and 1-star chokes allowed us to change often the type of clay pigeons and stands, adapting quickly to different types of shooting. The Anniversario over-and-under is available with 3 different barrel lengths: 68, 71 and 76 cm, to offer a choice to hunters who love hunting with dogs or stalking. Always available for the gun are the internal and interchangeable F.A.I.R. Tecnichoke chokes. After some shots, we noticed that the gun's recoil is not very perceptible even with the solid wood recoil pad instead of the rubber one. Speaking of the recoil pad, as for the other wood surfaces, we appreciated the checkering that allow some stability on the shoulder and an effective grip along the surfaces of the gun and the fore-end. Ejection of the cartridge cases after each shot was positive and consistent thanks to the long-stroke ejectors.

Our clay pigeon session with Luca Rizzini ended in a positive way, in an atmosphere of serene friendship and fun made possible by this gun that fully satisfied us. A hare was looking at us curiously while we put the gun away – we took it as a prelude to the hunting days to come and to a season that will allow us to end our journey of discovery of the Anniversario over-and-under in the environments it was designed for. A shotgun with great symbolic meaning for the F.A.I.R. company, an elegant, functional and reliable gun for the hunter.