William Powell Perdix

The Perdix  is a collaboration between William Powell and Rizzini. It is a sideplated over-under machined from a solid steel forging, the sideplates are fully engraved, and the body of the action and bar are engraved with a deep cut leaf and scroll, which is aesthetically very pleasant, together with some very nice oiled walnut for the stock, which comes with a semi-pistol grip.

It’s available in 12 and 20 bore with 3” magnum chambers, the choice of 28”, 30” or 32″ barrels and five multi-chokes, and is supplied in a Negrini case.

Made to measure

One of the critical selling points is the option to have the gun made to measure. Shooting with a shotgun is a hand-eye co-ordination sport and having a gun that fits you is a critical part of being successful. Therefore if you invest your money in one of these guns be virtuous and wait the nine months it may take from time of order. It will be well worth the wait.

The barrels have a solid mid and top rib, which is nicely tapered

William Powell Perdix on test

• The gun on test out of the box weighed in at 7lb 12oz – the barrels separately were 3lb 6oz (1,538 grams). This is a good weight for a game gun and the barrel weight is what I would expect for the 30” barrels, which had a solid mid and top rib, which was nicely tapered. 
This placed the balance point 
of the gun just in front of the hinge pin.
• The gun had an auto safety catch, but there is a manual option if required.
• The gun also had excellent wood-to-metal fit, the diamonds on the chequering were a little sharp, but this would ease with continued use.
• Rizzini has a good reputation for reliability and features a five-year warranty, which illustrates confidence in the product.
• The Perdix is in competition with the new Beretta 695, Browning 525 Prestige, Caesar Guerini Maxum, second hand offerings in the form of a 
Beretta EELL or Grade 5 Browning 725.

The sideplates feature a new English partridge engraving sketched by Ben Hoskyns.

In the field

Given that this gun is targeted at the game shooter I thought I had better hand it to Alan Rose, who has been an instructor at the school for 50 years. I screwed in the quarter and half chokes and we made a start at one of the 40ft towers, throwing clays at a variety of angles, which were despatched into clouds of soot followed by Alan peering down at the gun and giving it nods of approval.

I tried to catch him out with a few awkward angles by moving the trap and not telling him – he might be reaching three quarters of a century soon but there’s nothing wrong with his killing instincts. He was impressed with the handling and the trigger pulls, and the ejectors also worked well.

Later in the day, when time allowed, Paul Gendall and myself put it through its paces over the same format. We confirmed that it had some very good handling and the trigger pulls were indeed very good. To push it towards the extreme end of shooting we pushed the targets wide left and right, and with the north wind behind them 
they had speed and distance. 
The kills were also very convincing with some tight patterns evident.

We put some heavy 
game loads through it to test the felt recoil, and it was very comfortable to shoot. 
I’m glad to see that a 32” barrel version has recently been produced – I’m sure it will be a very capable gun for the high birds.

Scores

• Engineering: 8/10 A tried-and-tested product that performs well.
• Looks and finishing: 8/10 The engraved sideplates are very well done. The chequering could do with being not quite so sharp, though this will ease with use.
• Handling: 9/10 A great handling game gun, very pleasant to shoot on a wide range of driven targets.
• Reliability and customer service: 9/10 The Perdix is available with the fitting service and is backed with the five-year warranty.
• Value: 9/10 With the level 
of finish and the custom build option, it’s great value.
• Overall: 43/50