Akkar Churchill
About Graham: Graham is a member of Toowoomba clay target club and is widely known as one of the local ‘authorities’ on shotguns, be it trap or field. Now-a-days Graham primarily shoots trap however he has extensive experience shooting field/ sporting, and now shoots field mostly as an adjunct.
Graham reviewed the Akkur Churchill 12gauge Trap shotgun after shooting it in the Toogoolawah 50 target handicap & the 50 target double barrel competition events. Graham uses Diana #7.5 28gm 12ga shells.
The firearm presents very favourably. Wood to metal & metal to metal fit is very good – no movement or heavy contact. The timber is grade 1 Turkish walnut with oiled finish. The receiver and trigger guard are polished steel with a gold finished trigger. The butt is solid in structure and is fitted with a very good quality recoil pad. There is minimal sized hole for access to the action bolt. The barrel are ported to reduce recoil and muzzle shift after the shot. Barrel is finished in dull black chrome with orange optical foresight and brass centre bead. The Churchill has a semi stepped rib and a semi Monte Carlo stock which gives it a classic profile look.
The gun presents very well in outlook, is well balanced and mounts very readily to the shoulder. These guns are basically right hand guns with an appropriate although small right hand cast. The gun shot well straight out of the box and Graham believes with practice the gun will become a good performer.
The gun is very similar in construction to a Franchi or Italian manufactured gun and is fitted with selective ejectors and a selective barrel change. The gun comes with 5 extended chokes those being cylinder, improved cylinder, modified, improved modified and full. The Churchill has 30” barrels which are quite heavy in construction – adding to the stability of the firearm and 3” chambers making the gun quite soft to shoot. The operating mechanism is of investment casting structure and appears to be extremely robust as well as simple – enabling simpler repairs should they be required.
Graham believes this gun would be suitable and a good performer in both trap and sporting/skeet under the right circumstances.
An added attraction is the factory 5 year warranty on the gun and generally speaking, for the money it represents excellent value. Generally speaking the Turkish additions to the market seem to be of very good quality and manufacture.
Graham has been using the gun with Prolix lubricant as a test and found it performed extremely well. He found the Prolix to out-perform oils because of its cleanliness and lack of residue. He continues to use Prolix on all his shotguns and personal rifles.