Fausti Boutique guns - Fausti Stefano Arms

FAUSTI
Boutique Guns
BRUCE BUCK
Beauty that is more than skin deep
The Boutique guns are custom, hand-finished versions of Fausti’s standard offerings.
Here are three options for the Class SL De Luxe—all hand engraved with gold and silver inlays.
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Sisters Barbara, Elena and Giovanna (from left) currently run Fausti, and in the past five years they have added to the
company’s production facilities, expanded the firm’s presence in the US, and introduced the Boutique line of custom guns.
shootingsportsman.com 57
I
t turns out that all boutiques are not the same. Many of
us have endured hours of agony imprisoned in something like Madam Fifi’s Tutus & Froo Froos Boutique
while our partner melted credit cards searching for that perfect decorative tchotchke or gorgeosity. Now we shotgunners
have our own boutique, and we can get even. It’s the Fausti
Boutique, a custom shop where you can fully personalize an
upgraded line of guns.
And who better to welcome us to a shotgun boutique than
the three charming Fausti sisters? Literally born to shotgun
manufacturing, they are the daughters of Stefano Fausti. Stefano started the Fausti gunmaking company in Brescia, Italy,
in 1948. In 1996 he retired and, Italian gunmaking being very
much a family business, his daughters, all of whom have degrees in accounting, took over running
sumed direct management of the division.
In the past five years Fausti brought in new machinery especially to produce small-gauge guns with sized frames. The
side-by-side frames are scaled from 12 to .410, while the O/Us
go from 12 to 28, with the .410 made on the 28-gauge frame.
Production in Fausti’s 43,000-square-foot plant is very much
a mixture of assembly-line manufacture, CNC parts interchangeability and hand labor. I spoke with a Boeing production engineer who had seen a video of the Fausti plant in action. He was impressed with the workflow that he saw. He felt
that it was efficient and modern yet amenable to individualized
production. Fausti is a medium-large producer, but it is not so
large that guns can’t be custom tailored. That’s the key to the
Boutique line.
As Giovanna told me, the Boutique line was set up to distinguish the custom gun from the company’s Caledon, Class
and Dea standard core products,
which are produced for stock
and ready for delivery.
The Brixian SL over/under with
English scroll engraving.
Two more over/unders: the Class Round (above) with floweringvine engraving and gold inlays, and the Magnificent
with deeply sculpted scroll and
the image of Nike, the
Greek goddess of
victory.
the company. Elena Fausti is the production manager and runs
the plant. Giovanna and Barbara are the worldwide sales and
marketing arm.
Fausti shotguns have had a presence in the US for a number
of years but usually under someone else’s name. Fausti made
the Real 16 Gold for Traditions and the L.C. Smith over/under
for Marlin, and the firm currently makes the D’Italia O/U and
side-by-side models for Weatherby. Some Fausti models are
also carried by Cabela’s. Larry Brown’s article “The Shotguns
of Fausti Stefano” (Sept/Oct ’06) gives an excellent history of
the company both here and abroad.
But Fausti’s line was far more diverse than what we were
seeing, and more was needed. Faustis for the European market ranged from modestly priced up to serious money for the
company’s best sidelock. Fausti wanted more US exposure,
so in 2009 the firm opened Fausti USA. A broad network
of dealers was established. About a year later Giovanna as58 September/October 2011
“The Boutique guns differ from the other guns
in our catalog for the hours of hand finishing we
dedicate to them,” she said. “Even though machines
are used to make the actions and the internal parts,
about one-quarter of the time described to build a gun
is needed to carry out the mechanical operations and the other
three-quarters for the manual work. With this ratio in mind, it
is clear that these [Boutique] guns are built mainly ‘by hand’
and that the machine tools only provide the support on which
to build and finish the guns with skilled manual labour. On the
other hand, it is only by using his hand that the gunmaker can
‘shape’ the gun according to his taste and styling dictates. In
fact, no fine gun can ever be built completely with machines.
The review gun: the Dea SL Woodcock
with sideplates, a bright receiver
and muted-silver woodcock.
“[As] an idea of
the hours of work in the
Boutique line guns: About 200
hours are needed to build our side-byside Anson & Deeley type, unless elaborate
engraving and some additional accessories are
requested. Obviously these times are approximate,
though they are good points of reference to understand
the differences around the various models. About twice the
number of hours are needed to complete our Senator sideby-side with sidelocks. It is obvious that if someone orders a
deluxe burin engraving with game scenes, the same number
of hours that were needed to build the gun will have to be
added to complete such extras.”
Giovanna said that there were 10 outside master engravers
working for Fausti plus another two in-house. As is also common in Brescia’s gun valley, heat treatment and bluing is handled by outside contractors working to Fausti’s specifications.
The Boutique guns share the mechanics of the various production guns, but the differences are in the details and the
handwork required to perfect them. These are truly custom
guns with all options of fit, wood, engraving and barrel dimensions at the customer’s request. The Boutique line has 20
models, including side-by-sides from $6,000 to $22,000, boxlock O/Us from $4,900 to $19,000, and the more expensive
Senator sidelock side-by-side, which costs $45,000 before
engraving (which starts at $10,000).
With the exception of the Senator, all the standard and Boutique Fausti side-by-sides are Anson & Deeley
boxlocks in various stages of adornment. The
Dea British SL grades and Dea Woodcock
are sideplated, while the Dea British has a cosmetically
rounded boxlock
action.
The rounded Dea British appears to be a similar configuration to the Dea Round Body carried by Cabela’s that I reviewed
in March/April 2009. Engraving options for the Dea British are
shown as a case-colored tight rose & scroll and a very attractive deeply cut open silver foliate.
The various Dea British SL boxlock grades, the Dea Luxury
SL and the Dea SL Woodcock have a widely varied engraving selection ranging from intricate silver and gold scroll to
realistic game scenes. The sideplates allow the Fausti engravers a broader canvas, and they certainly take advantage of it.
At the top of the Boutique side-by-side range is the truesidelock Senator. The locks are hand detachable and
configured in the traditional Holland & Holland
seven-pin style with intercepting sears, independent bridles and the mainspring forward in the action bar. It is a custom
gun and subject to the
client’s preferences in
configuration.
The Fausti Boutique
O/U models are the
Brixian SL, Class
Round, Class
SL De Luxe,
Magnificent and Sovrano—
names that certainly fit the upscale
boutique status. The O/Us are built
on Fausti’s “Four Lock” action, which
is shared with Fausti’s in-house E. Rizzini
line of guns. The Four Lock system uses four
passive monoblock underlugs instead of the usual
two. The active sliding lock engages low on the rear
two lugs, similar to the way things work on Brownings.
Hinging is by replaceable hinge stubs.
Continued on page 108
A pair of Dea British SL side-by-sides—one
with game scenes framed by ornamental scroll,
the other with fine English scroll and gold inlays.
shootingsportsman.com 59
FAUSTI BOUTIQUE GUNS
Continued from page 59
The Class Round is a scaled-frame
rounded-action boxlock O/U with an
engraving difference. One version has an
open acanthus silver scroll on a dark background. Another interpretation has the same
silver leaf scroll, but the entire background
throughout the receiver is inlaid gold.
Fausti aptly describes this as “gunmakers
jewelry,” which indeed it is. There is even
a Class SL Express O/U double rifle for
those who hunt game that bites back.
The engraving on the Magnificent
O/U is particularly interesting in that it
is exceptionally deep. Fausti says this
is achieved using “tridimensional” laser
technology followed by a great deal of
handwork. It is certainly a unique look.
Clearly, Fausti has used a wide variety
of innovative engraving techniques and
designs on the Boutique line. Since everything is custom, you can order what you
wish and change what you feel is appropriate for your tastes. You can select the
engraving shown in the catalog or work
with Fausti to design your own at extra
cost based on your selection and which
engraver does the work. Fausti maintains
a portfolio of engravings as suggestions.
Finished Boutique guns in dealers’ inventories have stocks measuring in the
14.38" x 1.4" x 2.25" range, but ordered
guns will be stocked to the customer’s dimensions. Stocks are generally set up as
English or Prince of Wales, while forends
are usually splinter or beavertail. Fausti
also has a master gunfitter who can take
appointments when he visits Fausti USA. I
was told that delivery time for a customized
gun will be in the four- to six-month range.
S
ince the Boutique line is so diverse, I
couldn’t possibly test everything, so I
got what I thought would be fun in a true
boutique sense: the Dea SL Woodcock in
28 gauge. The gun was fresh out of the
NRA show, so, by law, the firing pins had
been removed and it was inoperative. Not
to worry, Fausti also sent a fully functional, mechanically identical standard Dea
side-by-side boxlock 28-gauge for me to
shoot. This was perfect, as it allowed me
to contrast the workmanship on the standard Dea with that of the Boutique Dea.
To start, the standard Dea A&D boxlock is $3,890 and comes in .410 and 28
gauge with gauge-sized receivers; single
non-selective triggers; auto ejectors; 26",
28" or 30" barrels; English stocks and
splinter forends.
The Boutique Dea SL Woodcock comes
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September/October 2011
in all five gauges on sized receivers and
ranges in price from $7,100 to $9,600
depending on gauge and engraving. Two
treatments of the same woodcock theme
are offered on this gun. Both have the
same moderate-coverage scroll framing a
woodcock in flight on each sideplate and
on the bottom. Above the bottom woodcock is engraved “Dedicata alla Regina,”
literally, “Dedicated to the Queen,” and
meaning “the queen of the woods.” Our
test gun had a bright receiver and sideplates, while the woodcock were done in
a more muted silver. The pale-silver birds
stood out nicely.
The other treatment of the Dea SL
Woodcock is in the same pattern but with
case-colored metal and the woodcock
done in different hues of gold and silver.
It looks as though a light is being shone
on the woodcock as it rises from a dark
forest floor.
The engraving on our Dea SL Woodcock had been done by hand and was of
excellent quality. In comparison, the standard-grade Dea had decent laser scroll
engraving mostly obscured by case coloring. There was a gold Fausti shield on the
bottom of the receiver to give the otherwise modest treatment a bit of jump.
The wood on the standard Dea was
surprisingly nice for a $4,000 gun. It had
ample dark-mocha swirls against a lighter
background. As is often the case with European guns, the stock could have used a
few more coats of oil to seal the grain. The
wood on the boutique Dea SL Woodcock
was in another league. It was serious and
clearly several steps up. The oil finish was
correct and completely filled all the grain.
The checkering on the standard gun was
done by machine, while that on the Boutique gun was done by hand. Both were
well executed in fairly simple patterns
with moderate-lines-per-inch densities.
Wood-to-metal fit on the Boutique gun
was absolutely correct. Clearly there was
handwork involved to so closely mate
the surfaces at the rear of the action and
on the sideplates. The standard gun was
nicely done too, but it had a little more
room for error built into the slightly
prouder wood. The difference was subtle,
but it was definitely there.
On the standard gun the Anson pushbutton was set directly into the slightly bulbous wood at the front of the forend. On
the Boutique gun the same Anson button
was nestled into a well-fitted and engraved
metal inset for a much cleaner look.
The barrels on both guns appeared
identically finished. Both had the raised
ribs that the Italians like, though the stan110
September/October 2011
dard gun’s was matted on top and the
Boutique’s was smooth. The standard gun
had screw chokes, while the Boutique’s
were fixed, but I’m sure screw chokes are
optional if you wish them.
Both guns weighed almost exactly five
pounds each. The Boutique gun, with its
fixed-choke 27" barrels, balanced on the
hinge. The standard gun, with 28" screwchoked tubes, teetered an inch in front of
the hinge and felt clearly more muzzle
heavy. That’s probably a good thing. As a
general rule, the lighter the gun, the more
forward balance you want to keep it from
being too whippy.
Since the Boutique Dea SL Woodcock
was intentionally non-functional, I shot
the standard version a bit at clays. There
were no malfunctions of any kind. The
single non-selective mechanical trigger
was crisp, creep-free and consistent. That’s
the good news. The bad news is that the
right barrel let off at 5I pounds, while the
left was a whopping 7I pounds. You know
you are in trouble when the trigger pulls
are heavier than the gun, but for some reason they didn’t feel that heavy. On a Boutique gun you can request more appropriate pull weights. A double trigger like that
on the 20-gauge Cabela’s Fausti I reviewed
should be available as an option.
I must confess that I simply don’t have
the skill to consistently shoot well with a
gun this light. I had flashes of brilliance inevitably followed by wallows in the abyss.
The shorter, more centrally balanced
Boutique gun would have wrung even
more tears of frustration from me. But the
standard Dea is set up for woodcock and,
here in the States, that is close-range snap
shooting. In the right hands a very light
gun like this could be deadly. I watched
a film of Barbara and Giovanna Fausti
hunting pheasants with .410 side-by-sides
that were even lighter, and they shot well.
Again, with custom guns you can set them
up the way that’s best for you.
And that’s the point of the Fausti Boutique line. It’s not just the wide selection
of impressive engraving options. The
Boutique customer is basically pulling
his gun off of the assembly line and having it finished by hand to his specifications. The Fausti sisters will make sure
you get the gun you want.
Author’s Note: For more information on
Fausti Boutique guns, contact Fausti
USA, 540-371-3287; www.faustiusa.com.
Bruce Buck is Shooting Sportsman’s Gun
Review Editor. His book Guns on Review
will be available this fall.
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