Fabbri Shotguns
 

Gun Hobby
Pop stars and royalty alike are on the five-year wait list for a custom-fitted Fabbri shotgun. So what�s all the fuss about?

She sold millions of records with a sultry voice, sex-infused lyrics and an explosive stage persona where formfitting outfits highlighted her seductive dancing.

But at the private Pawling Mountain Club, a shooting estate in upstate New York, Thal�a, the one-named Mexican-born pop singer, is mellow, waiting as her husband unzips a nondescript gun case. What emerges is a smoothly rounded, perfectly machined shotgun built by an Italian master, Tullio Fabbri. The marbled walnut of the stock, polished to a high shine, catches the light, while the eye focuses immediately on the intricate etchings around the action.

This 20-gauge is formfitting in another way: Fabbri meets with each client and takes measurements of their arms, wingspan and reach. With a dummy gun, he watches the buyer shoulder the firearm multiple times from various angles. When the product is finished, each gun perfectly fits the unique build of the shooter. The designs are alive, Fabbri says, and meant to become an extension of the arms. This meticulous detail is why the 49-year old is regarded as an artist as much as a gunmaker. And also why his prices start at $125,000 per gun.

Pawling is a respite from celebrity, and shooting sporting clays is Thal�a�s modus operandi for relaxing. �Shooting is a great escape for us,� the singer says. Almost weekly she�ll dust a few clay pigeons with friends.

Thal�a grew up as an expert handgun markswoman in Mexico City, but when she met her husband, the music kingmaker Tommy Mottola, he introduced her to shotgun sports including skeet. �I love the whole experience,� Thal�a says. That includes the fashion as much as the weaponry. As an accoutrement, Thal�a dons traditional shooting clothes from European labels such as Beretta Thal�a�s custommade shotgun is significantly lighter and easier to handle due to Fabbri�s high-tech process.

Pawling is a respite from celebrity, and shooting sporting clays is Thal�a�s modus operandi for relaxing. �Shooting is a great escape for us,� the singer says. Almost weekly she�ll dust a few clay pigeons with friends.

Thal�a grew up as an expert handgun markswoman in Mexico City, but when she met her husband, the music kingmaker Tommy Mottola, he introduced her to shotgun sports including skeet. �I love the whole experience,� Thal�a says. That includes the fashion as much as the weaponry. As an accoutrement, Thal�a dons traditional shooting clothes from European labels such as Beretta Thal�a�s custommade shotgun is significantly lighter and easier to handle due to Fabbri�s high-tech process.

Shooting Stars: The Critics� Choice

1 Fabbri, $175,000.
Thal�a�s over-and under-style gun marries high-tech fabrication (the locking mechanism is coated in diamond dust to increase durability) with classic Brescian engraving on the metalwork that looks like embroidered lace.

2 Beretta Imperiale
Monte Carlo, $130,000. Beretta has been making guns for almost 500 years. In the Monte Carlo, the rebounding hammers and trigger pull are repeatedly adjusted by hand until they require only the lightest touch.

3 Purdey Over and Under
Game Gun, $110,000. Customers are measured for an exact fit, which can reduce recoil and improve accuracy because the motion of shouldering the gun is as easy as putting on a tailored jacket. It takes 800 man-hours to complete.

http://magazine.wsj.com/hunter/great-vintage/gun-hobby/
(pics at link of the top 3 critic's choices)

Re: Fabbri Shotguns
 

Would rather just spend the money on a regular shotgun and then some nice fully-auto firearms.

Re: Fabbri Shotguns
 

How nice....when you have money to burn.....I can appreciate fine things.....and custom work. BTW.....$175,000 / 800 hours = $218/hr

These are the kind of folks I love to run into on the skeet field.....with my 870 Rem 20ga pump I bought at Walmart for $300......then run a straight while powdering station 8. They might do the same with their shotgun that cost the same as my house....but they can't do it in redneck style.

I"ll still invite them to the worlds most rusty truck tail-gate for a cold PBR.

Re: Fabbri Shotguns
 

The Purdey gun is only $137.50 per hour for labor if you count the materials at zero cost. A well-fitted shotgun is worth the money although after that there is the law of diminishing returns. Now that my 870s fit me, my scores on skeet and trap have greatly improved. My $450 870TB trap gun gets me scores as high as most people in my club, and my 28-gauge 870 does well for me in skeet. I do shoot a Citoru O/U in .410 in .410 skeet as I do not have a 870 in that chambering.

I do find it telling that those people who shoot live pigeons for money (sometimes tens of thousands of euros per shot) do not use Fabbri guns. I see lots of Perazzi guns at the live pigeon shoots.