Heard of a new Shotgun - Raick Freres Liege

[joydeepm]

In my search for the impossible - a good NIB shotgun or partially "used" shotgun with some carving and stuff and which shall still fire for the next 10 odd years without much repairs _ I cam across this name - Raick Freres Liege . A friend saw one at a gun dealers and mentioned that it is a 12 gause sXs . He is sending pics soon and am expected to see the gun for myself the day after morning .

The website : http://www.littlegun.be/arme%20belge/ar ... k%20gb.htm
is quite nice .

I asked a few Indian friends here on IFB and they were of the opinion that it would be a good belgian working gun but nothing special .

Anyone having any additional info on this gun may kindly share the knowledge here . Looking forward to John's reply as he is an obvious authority .


best

[Sakobav]

Joydeepm

Honestly I would prefer the venerable work horse built like tank Baikal sxs over this..what happened with it? Agree John is the authority try pinging him
You probably had seen this on Shotgunworld

http://www.shotgunworld.com/bbs/viewtop ... e84908fa5f
Best of luck

[Vikram]

I echo Navi's sentiments.If you want a shooter that will serve you with minimum risk and can take a lot of abuse,Baikal is the way to go.

Best-
Vikram

[joydeepm]

Thanks Navi and Vikram .

Vikram , here is the scoop . After I drooled and drooled and almost wore a bib to office after reading your
WR post , a friend calls me and tells me that he has seen this Raick Freres and a WR SXS at a gun dealers and the dealer
Is asking for 50 grands for the WR . I almost died .
Then I realised that it must be a piece which has been possibly abused to its death . Shall have a look see tomorrow . Have not given
Up on the Baikal . Just looking around trying to get lucky !!

Best

[Vikram]

In that case, there still are quite a few nice English game guns in India and if you are lucky you may stumble upon a good example.The price may just be slightly higher but worth it and in the hands of a gun lover like you, it should serve you well.

Best-
Vikram

[Grumpy]

Raick Freres ( Raick Brothers ) were Liege, Belgium based gunmakers who ceased trading around WWII - probably just after but the war effectively `killed them off`.
They were manufacturers of - primarily - boxlock SxS shotguns and double rifles but also bolt action rifles. I`ve never seen a hammerless sidelock built by them or a NE calibre double.
Much of their double rifle output went to India as they specialised in less powerful calibres such as the .405 Winchester which indicates that they were using the shotgun action and it was not capable of handling greater powers.
Quality of the guns varied greatly - from very basic to nicely engraved.
Earlier guns used their own actions but post WWI they bought in proprietary actions.
A good enough gunmaker but not one of the best Belgian gunmakers by any means.
As Vikram can tell you, we`ve seen some astonishingly good Belgian sidelocks - quite superb quality - but Raick Frere`s definitely do not fall into that category.