franchi shotguns - any good ?

thehorse

Hey Lads,

a friend of mine told me that the franchi shotguns are really good the other day. They are italian made, arent they ?.
i'm looking to trade my current shotgun for a gun i can mainly use for clays but for some game shooting too.

i'd like some opinions on them please...

Thanks!

German pointer

thehorse wrote: »

Hey Lads,

a friend of mine told me that the franchi shotguns are really good the other day. They are italian made, arent they ?.
i'm looking to trade my current shotgun for a gun i can mainly use for clays but for some game shooting too.

i'd like some opinions on them please...

Thanks!

My father had one (a simi auto) for over 30 years and never had a ounce of trouble with it.

Grizzly 45

Depends on which one and model you want..Franchi are lovely designs and very lightweight for semi autos.BUT they can be tempermental and have inherent design faults.I have an old Franchi 48 El Dorado.Which is basically a Browning Auto 5 copy,but about 3 pounds lighter and more graceful.However it breaks up wooden stocks like nobodys busisness.And its not the only one,my uncle has one and the same and it does the exact same.Simply put the wood is too weak around the pistol grip to handle the slam of multiple semi auto shots.Franchi corrected this on later models with a steel plate between wood and reciver,I was lucky to get one and have to try it out one day on a good clay session,but it is on a very tatty short stock that I was lucky to find in a german gunsmith on a shooting trip last year.

Only other two Franchis I have experiance of are the SPAS 12 and 15,and while they are military /police shotguns they are tacticool lookers,but mechanical disasters!The SPAS12 has a potentially leathl design fault in its safty catch which is a flappy rotateable thing.It can fire even with the safty on occasionally.Franchi denied this was a problem in the US.Yet recalled all the SPAS12s in the USA and reissued them with a button safty that more or less,fixed the problem.
They have two many parts for military issue that can go missing in a hurry and are fiddly.Not to mind weigh a ton.

I dunno about the O/U or modern S A versions,maybe they have corrected the faults or not...Who knows??
I guess you have to be Italian to live with Franchis idocryncies.Beautiful to look at ,tempermental most of the time and can break down when you need them the most Like their cars and women!:p

packas

Grizzly 45 wrote: »

Depends on which one and model you want..Franchi are lovely designs and very lightweight for semi autos.BUT they can be tempermental and have inherent design faults.I have an old Franchi 48 El Dorado.Which is basically a Browning Auto 5 copy,but about 3 pounds lighter and more graceful.However it breaks up wooden stocks like nobodys busisness.And its not the only one,my uncle has one and the same and it does the exact same.Simply put the wood is too weak around the pistol grip to handle the slam of multiple semi auto shots.Franchi corrected this on later models with a steel plate between wood and reciver,I was lucky to get one and have to try it out one day on a good clay session,but it is on a very tatty short stock that I was lucky to find in a german gunsmith on a shooting trip last year.

Only other two Franchis I have experiance of are the SPAS 12 and 15,and while they are military /police shotguns they are tacticool lookers,but mechanical disasters!The SPAS12 has a potentially leathl design fault in its safty catch which is a flappy rotateable thing.It can fire even with the safty on occasionally.Franchi denied this was a problem in the US.Yet recalled all the SPAS12s in the USA and reissued them with a button safty that more or less,fixed the problem.
They have two many parts for military issue that can go missing in a hurry and are fiddly.Not to mind weigh a ton.

I dunno about the O/U or modern S A versions,maybe they have corrected the faults or not...Who knows??
I guess you have to be Italian to live with Franchis idocryncies.Beautiful to look at ,tempermental most of the time and can break down when you need them the most Like their cars and women!:p

The good old SPAS 12. I had one of those about 12-13 years ago. A complete piece of crap but sure looked cool in films lol

FISMA

thehorse,
Which model are you looking at and at what price?

In general, I give the edge to the Italians when it comes to making fine automatic shotguns.

We have a Franchi I-30 in the family. I have mixed feelings about it. It's a nice gun, shoots well, and gets the job done.

I have had a problem with the I-30 throwing bolt handles. One minute it's there and the next minute it's somewhere in the bog. It's a common problem and Franchi has addressed it at no cost.

My major problem with this model is that she appears to be the creation of many parts from other Italians. It kind of strikes me that she was put together, rather than Engineered. I do not, however, have anything specific to back that up.

Before I buy any firearm, I always google the make + model + sucks. If you get a lot of hits, proceed with caution.

I would buy another, but the price would have to be right.

Slan

Mr.Flibble

Grizzly 45 wrote: »

I guess you have to be Italian to live with Franchis idocryncies.Beautiful to look at ,tempermental most of the time and can break down when you need them the most Like their cars and women!:p

• Slightly off-mainstream brand with a certain cachet of its own.
• Stylish in many models
• Good performance in many models
• Build quality issues
• Taken over by its big local competitor because the competitor is better organised and the competitor's product is actually more efficient

The Alfa Romeo of shotguns.

Grizzly 45

So whats their Fiat,Ferrari,andLamborghini of shotguns then??:p:D

tac foley

Baikal, Perazzi, Krieghoff.

tac

deerhunter1

thehorse wrote: »

Hey Lads,

a friend of mine told me that the franchi shotguns are really good the other day. They are italian made, arent they ?.
i'm looking to trade my current shotgun for a gun i can mainly use for clays but for some game shooting too.

i'd like some opinions on them please...

Thanks!

VERY GOOD QUALITY AND BUILD AND RELIABLE

Invincible

tac foley wrote: »

Baikal, Perazzi, Krieghoff.

tac

Baikal are Russian

Grizzly 45

Kreighoff is German!:D

thehorse

I'm looking for an under and over.

I have a budget of about €500 plus my trade in.

I want a good gun for shooting clays and the franchi was recommended.

I want somethin reliable and good for clays as ill have it for a good few years.

deerhunter1

Invincible wrote: »

Baikal are Russian

Made in America believe

Invincible

deerhunter1 wrote: »

Made in America believe

http://www.yorkguns.com/baikal.php

Grizzly 45

deerhunter1 wrote: »

Made in America believe

More like Remington made in Russia.:)

deerhunter1

Grizzly 45 wrote: »

More like Remington made in Russia.:)

ya

brianfrancis45

deerhunter1 wrote: »

VERY GOOD QUALITY AND BUILD AND RELIABLE

+1 on that. I have a Franchi o/u fixed choke game gun for some time now. Nice lightweight gun and never had any problem with it..

cavan shooter

Franchi are under the Beretta umbrella now and have always been a god gun. I know lads with Franchi repeaters (standard hunting type) and a couple with under and overs/ Milbro bring them in to Ireland drop them a line and get some info off them.

There are other budget clay guns out there from new I shoot a Bettinsoli Super sport and have done 7 years now 3000 shells a year, there is a cuple of new models out look at Guns unlimited in Toomebridge. Also depending on what your after good second hand Brownings and berettas available

thehorse

I'm now looking at either a beretta 686 sporter or a miroki mk70.
Opinions on both plz and which is best ?
Thanks

cavan shooter

Now that will cause some good debate.... the one thats best is the one that suits you best. Gun Mart has good reviews as does this site

http://www.shootinguk.co.uk/guns/532881/Clay_amp_Game_gun_reviews.html

Both are good guns, I like the feel of Mirokus and Brownings over Berettas.

Happy shooting

Double Barrel

I shoot a borrowed Franchi in Hungary a 3-4 times a year at game birds, the gun has a long after-market stock and it fits me well enough, you would be hard pressed to find a better gun for the price. I think it is what we know as a model Alicone.
Beretta's will hold their resale value better IMO.

http://www.sportinggun.co.uk/guns/124119/Franchi_Harrier_Sport.html

http://www.shootinguk.co.uk/guns/142426/Franchi_Alcione_shotgun_review.html

Double Barrel

cavan shooter wrote: »

Both are good guns, I like the feel of Mirokus and Brownings over Berettas.

Plus One

Padd2

BERETTA cant go wrong