The clocks went back on Saturday night, heralding the start of autumn. Maybe that is why it was raining so hard on Sunday morning or maybe it because simply because it was a Sunday. Still the rain was pouring down but reader Tricky & your humble correspondent had decided to head off to the clay range regardless – well it was either go & get wet or face the bedlam that is Free Market Towers on a Sunday, so no choice really.

Now instead of taking my Beretta, for some reason that I can’t quite fathom, I decided to break out the Franchi 20-guage. The reason that I try to kid myself that I bought in the first place was I thought that it would be an ideal little gun for Mrs FM to learn to shoot with – light & next to no recoil. However I must have been kidding myself because the moment she clapped eyes on it, out came a loud yuck & since that day about 5 years ago, I think that she has only shot it once.

It could be because it is a semi-automatic or maybe it is because of the Realtree paint job but Mrs FM, bless her little traditionalist little heart simply refuses to use it which is why I bought a Beretta Silver Pigeon & even that, an over & under, she secretly regards as a tad too modern.

So, in 5 years of ownership, I doubt that it has shot more than a thousand rounds. I have used it on quite a few bunny bashing expeditions where its synthetic finish comes into its own – bouncing around in a Landie at night - but the few times that I have tried to shoot clays, for whatever reason I have never been able to consistently connect with anything. But what the heck, there’s a first time for everything & its raining like billy-o

Of course, all of this missing is completely down to operator error. If I do have any criticisms of the gun, firstly the cocking handle, its way way too small. Maybe it has been designed for dainty designer Italian hands or maybe, after years of using military weapons I am used to something a little larger & more robust but to my way of thinking, that handle is far too small.

Secondly, when it comes to ammunition, its more sensitive than a Welshman with a grievance. I have shot it dry, wet, dirty, clean & every combination thereof, but try as I might, I just can’t get it to cycle on 24 gram shells. Now I know that the answer is to shoot 28’s (doh!) but a lot a clay grounds will only let you shoot their own ammo & invariably those will be low fat loads. However yesterday the range we were at allows to to use your own shells so I shot a combination of both. Predictably, the 24’s wouldn't cycle but the Franchi was flawless on the 28’s.