Revo Premium Game Gun 12-bore

The Turkish small-arms industry seems to be taking over the gundealing world. I exaggerate, of course, but the shotgun market holds a high percentage of Turkish-made guns. However, the importing would be unsuccessful if they did not represent reasonable value for money. Generally these Turkish-made shotguns are modestly priced and based on well-thought-out designs. One gets the impression that the makers started with a blank piece of paper, looked at existing designs, and took the best aspects from each, while operating on the principle of keeping things as simple as possible.

When the opportunity to test a Revo came up I hoped that it might be the K200 Wildfowl — a 2014 Shooting Industry Awards winner. However, due to the high demand for this model, a test gun was not immediately available, so I settled on a more sophisticated version — the Revo Premium Game Gun. The most obvious differences between the two are the lack of camouflage and a modest price increase over the K200 of £65.

Sturdy and dependable
First impressions of the Revo Premium Game Gun were favourable: a gun neatly packed in a strong case with a convenient pocket-sized box for the spare chokes and key. The wood was darker than I expected, though much of the colouring is in the satin-finish varnish, which contrasts with the eye-catching action body with its simple but effective scroll-work. The chequering follows a modern, flowing style and overall, with its 30in barrels, the gun exudes a sturdy look enhanced by the fairly wide action body. The one part I felt was a little bit at odds with the rest of the gun was the rather small trigger-guard. I also prefer a longer trigger, having quite large hands.

Balance is one of the most important handling characteristics of any shotgun, and the Revo Premium Game Gun balanced at just over 1⁄2in in front of the fore-end knuckle, producing a slight forward bias. This, together with a loaded weight of nearly 8lb, produces a dependable rather than quick action. To start with, you have to “drive” it, but once moving, it swings smoothly and without conscious effort.

Technical details
In common with many imported guns, the Revo Premium Game Gun is chambered for 3in cartridges, steel-shot proofed and has five screw-in chokes, giving it versatility over the more traditional game gun. The chokes are notch-marked, which is now the industry standard. There is an instruction book (though most of us are inclined only to use written instructions as a last resort) with a nice, neat layout, covering choke identification, use and suitability. It even includes comparative pattern sizes between lead and steel, depending upon which choke is fitted, and suggests uses.

The barrels are built on the monobloc principle and incorporate a fairly narrow top rib fitted with a traditional small foresight bead. They pivot on hinge discs and at the rear, where the full-width locking bolt engages, the lumps project through the steel action bar to form a positive lock-up. With the heavy sidewalls this should ensure a fairly long life.

Lockwork
There are no surprises in the lockwork — it follows the standard pattern for this type of shotgun. Usually described as a modified trigger-plate action, the Revo Premium Game Gun has the trigger-plate as part of the action body, so in that sense it probably qualifies as a boxlock. Either way, we have the familiar sears hanging from the top strap, with the hammers pivoted at the bottom and powered by helical springs.

One neat detail I like is the screw-pin locating the safety button which semi- rotates as it rides over the safety springs. The spring is quite stiff, but this feature gives a smoother operation than might be found with a fixed pin. As for the rather small inertia block connecting the trigger to the sears, this does not matter, as the change-over is mechanical. The mainspring guides are fitted with adjustable stops which, from a gunsmith’s point of view, is always a good idea and, while not a great fan of the “piano-wire” type spring fitted as a trigger return, they do work. In the event of a malfunction or breakage, they are easy and economical to repair. All in all, it is well laid out and the provision of an auto-safety for a game
gun is always a welcome feature.

On test
With a length of pull of 143⁄4in, the Revo Premium Game Gun fitted me well and the long fore-end offers flexibility on where your forward hand is placed. With only a modest amount of cast and a wide comb I suspected that I might shoot wide of the aiming mark, but this did not turn out to be the case.

With the foresight bead just under the centre of the pattern sheet, the shot pattern was thrown about two-thirds above and a third below the horizontal centreline which, for most purposes, is about right.
The trigger-pull on this gun was a little long but surprisingly smooth, the bottom barrel lock being set at just over 41⁄2lb, the top barrel nearly 1lb heavier, but, like felt recoil, the difference is only really noticeable when testing from a static position. Operation of the safety button is governed by that stiff spring I mentioned earlier, which makes for very precise operation to engage correctly, while the return on auto-safety is positive and the sprung ejectors never failed to throw the fired cases out cleanly whatever the make or length of cartridge.

Cartridges used on test were Eley Impax, Lyalvale Pigeon Special, Eley Hi-Flyer, Hull Imperial Game and one of my stand-by favourites, Lyalvale Super Game. The results were surprising, to say the least. Let’s be honest about this, one does not necessarily expect an economy, sub-£500 gun to throw consistent patterns with a variety of cartridges — yet that is what this Revo Premium Game Gun did. And not just consistent, but pretty good too.

The action is simply decorated, forming a good contrast to the dark wood

Revo Premium Game Gun specification

Guage: 12-bore, 3in chambers, 20-bore an option
Barrel: 30in provided with five chokes, 28in barrels an option
Action: Break-open over-and-under ejector gun
Features: Decorated, action body, modern-style chequering panels
Maker: Revo – Turkey
Importer: Sportsman Gun Centre
Suggested price: £499.99

Verdict
Construction: Strongly built, based on well-proven design principles
Handling: A little deliberate, but smooth in the swing and paintable
Finish: A good tidy finish with attractive decoration
Fit: Stock dimensions that provide a reasonable fit
Value: A package which represents remarkable value for a shotgun of this type that performed well on test

Conclusion

The Revo Premium Game Gun is a strongly made gun with neat lockwork and the ability to throw consistently tidy shot patterns with the cartridges used on test. It has its quirks, like the rather small and unusually shaped trigger-guard, which is visually a bit at odds with an overall chunky design. Also, anyone suffering from “fumble-thumb” might find the operation of the safety button takes a little getting used to, but overall everything worked well and, like the auto-safety, the mechanical changeover between barrels is a good idea. While the walnut is not as fancy as we have come to expect on Turkish shotguns, the Revo Premium Game Gun is still a lot of gun for the money.