Fabarm RS12 Axis Sporter?

Is anyone familiar with the Fabarm RS12 Axis Sporter with adjustable comb? I shot one the other day and seemed to get on well with it and have the opportunity to buy it. Its 14months old, had about 1500 cartridges through it and comes with a hard case and 3 extra Briley chokes aswell as the manufactures chokes and is is pretty much "as new" condition. 

There isn't too much information about them online but I've been told by a gunsmith that even though they dont have the hype that such as Beretta and Browning have they are still excellent guns and made just as well.

Would be nice to hear what other people think of them if anyone knows anything about them at all.

Cheers, Chris

I don't know the gun, but if it reckoned to be well made, fits you and you like it, then it's fine. Lesser names than Beretta etc don't hold their value that well, so make sure you buy well under list price so that you don't lose when you sell it, which is usually what happens with a first gun after a year or so..

Well i was looking at a Browning 525 or Beretta Silver Pigeon and was advised that out of the two the 525 would suit my build better but ideally need an adjustable comb to make it fit me better. For one of those i would be looking between £1200 - £1500. This Fabarm has the adjustable comb, seems to fit well and the guy paid about £1500 for it new and will do it me at £850 (friend of the family) 

Ive only shot clays about 5 times in total since mid August when i first started and used that gun for the first time the other week and shot 31/50 at sporting and was told thats not a bad effort and that the gun must suit me? I dont know if thats a good score or not for the time ive been shooting?

That was my worry about losing too much on re sale.

Don't worry about what you scored at this stage. So much learning to do, but that sounds promising as a start! 

Does the person who feels you need an adj comb have experience? (Not saying they haven't). It's a job with a newbie to get them to stand and mount correctly so that you can really see the gun fit. If in doubt get another to look at you. No gun fits somebody holding it wrongly.

A good used gun is definitely the right move for a first gun. £1500 for the fabarm new sounds a lot! Can't believe they sell for as much or more than Brownings and beretta. So, £850 isn't on the cheap side, but I'm not sure. Look on gun trader for similar examples.

Chris-88 said:

That was my worry about losing too much on re sale.

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Buy from the big three, Browning, Beretta, Miroku to learn your craft, Will minimise your exposure as you learn and grow, a year or so on and an informed personal selection will be easier to make.

Fabarm are pretty much the same stable as Caesar Guerini and I understand that the barrel sets for CG's are manufactured by Fabarm.

They do suffer from a bigger hit of depreciation if buying new, but at £850 you would be getting a huge amount of gun for the money.  Unfortunately with only shooting for such a small period of time you are not going to really know what works best for you yet and as you progress your wants/needs may change, but you have to start somewhere.

I would say that if the gun feels good for you just now and if it makes you smile and feel confident when picking it up then you will not be making a bad purchasing decision by any stretch.  Even if you lost another 30% of the gun's value, that is only £250 and you would lose that on any new gun if you went down that route.  For what it's worth I don't think you would lose anything like that much.

If it was my money I would happily spend it on the Fabarm.  Whatever choose you make enjoy your shooting

Will Hewland said:

Don't worry about what you scored at this stage. So much learning to do, but that sounds promising as a start! 

Does the person who feels you need an adj comb have experience? (Not saying they haven't). It's a job with a newbie to get them to stand and mount correctly so that you can really see the gun fit. If in doubt get another to look at you. No gun fits somebody holding it wrongly.

A good used gun is definitely the right move for a first gun. £1500 for the fabarm new sounds a lot! Can't believe they sell for as much or more than Brownings and beretta. So, £850 isn't on the cheap side, but I'm not sure. Look on gun trader for similar examples.

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the guy who said I needed the adj comb worked in premier guns. I'm 6"5 and have a long neck apparently! Haha

i had a look and this particular model with the adj comb does go for around the £1400/1500 mark if I remember right. 

My thibking was get the cheaper gun and use the extra cash to stock up on more cartridges so I can do more shooting to help me improve rather than blow the budget on a gun and not be able to afford the cartridges if that makes sense!

GrrClark said:

Fabarm are pretty much the same stable as Caesar Guerini and I understand that the barrel sets for CG's are manufactured by Fabarm.

They do suffer from a bigger hit of depreciation if buying new, but at £850 you would be getting a huge amount of gun for the money.  Unfortunately with only shooting for such a small period of time you are not going to really know what works best for you yet and as you progress your wants/needs may change, but you have to start somewhere.

I would say that if the gun feels good for you just now and if it makes you smile and feel confident when picking it up then you will not be making a bad purchasing decision by any stretch.  Even if you lost another 30% of the gun's value, that is only £250 and you would lose that on any new gun if you went down that route.  For what it's worth I don't think you would lose anything like that much.

If it was my money I would happily spend it on the Fabarm.  Whatever choose you make enjoy your shooting

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thank a for you advice. It's all pretty confusing because I seem to get a lot of mixed messages about the gun and there isn't an awful lot about them online either and they don't appear to be very common either.

i know what you mean about losing similar on a new gun!

i really don't know what to do; it's difficult with it being my first gun thinking do I get something cheap and cheerful that I seem to shoot ok with and just keep trying to better my scores and then when I'm shooting in the 40s (out of 50) consistently then look to upgrade or do I go all out now and buy something that I can keep for a good few years and then when I do come to upgrade I have more cash tied up in that to put towards something even better! ?

This is an online review I found on the gun. If anyone gets chance to have a read and give your expert opinions it would be much appreciated. ?

http://www.shootinguk.co.uk/reviews/shotgun/fabarm-axis-shotgun-review

Not read it but I bet it says, well finished,well balanced and well engineered.

When we have all offered up our sage advice it will come down to how you feel about the purchase.At some point you will buy a gun that you cant get on with and lose a  few quid trading for the emperors new clothes.We have all done it, or at least a massive proportion. I would rather knock in a big score with a Baikal than bomb out with a Perazzi.

Pretty much! Im guessing those of the kind of reviews they all get then?

Part of me thinks just buy it, its my first gun, do i need to spend big money when i can buy this to get the practise in over the next year or so and then look to upgrade as i improve but on the flip side i keep thinking if i can stretch to the Browning 525 now then am i set for a longer period of time before i would even want to upgrade. 

After after a quick read, the big NO for me about this gun is that it weighs 6.5lbs. If the goal is to progress in sporting clays, then forget this gun. That is too light to be stable during movement and the felt recoil will be high. I also wonder which barrel length the gun you have been offered? 28" is too short. All this is more true if you are a big guy.

You have a decent enough budget. A decent used big name gun is the answer. Almost 8lbs is the minimum weight, with 30" or 32" barrels.

The barrel length on offer to me is 30"

Ye im 6"5. So in your opinion there isn't enough weight there and the recoil will be too harsh? I didn't notice the recoil to be too aggressive or the gun to be too light but that could be due to my lack of shooting experience to know whats what. 

Im going to shoot it again in a couple of weeks and see how i get on and a friend of mine might be popping along who has plenty of shooting experience to give me his thoughts on it aswell and check the fit etc.

So for you Will, would you advise going for the Browning 525 over this one if i can afford the extra?

I have been guiding a friend along during the last year and when he decided to change his 28" beretta for a new gun, I went with him and looked around. The new 525 is a great gun I think and good value new, so very good if a used one comes along. He is very happy and progressing with his.

All beginners think a light gun feels good, because they aren't used to holding anything else and it seems easy, but trust me you would regret it and I really think you will get offered very little on trade in. The style of design is not liked by anybody except beginners (as per browning Cynergy). 

To my mind you need to trial them side by side to establish that the heavier gun has lower recoil.  Recoil might not seem to bad but after 100 sporting clays plus a few extras and perhaps a pool shoot or even 150 sporting comp recoil will probably become tiring compared to a heavier gun which will absorb the recoil better.  Also side by side should give other benefits as to which is the better fitting gun and if its the Fabarm I would look to try something else around the 8lbs weight mark.

If you read any of the threads about advising ladies on the gun to choose the advise is always to avoid lighter game guns and other lightweight guns like 20 bores suggesting that they would be better with a full size 12 bore with a shortened stock.  Accordingly a big guy should be considering something at the heavier end of 12 bores.

I may do a bit of research into a 2nd hand 525 then before committing to buying anything.

With regards to the adjustable comb - if I've been advised that i need one in order for the gun to fit me properly is this something that i should really try for or should i be fine without one do you think?

Chris-88 said:

I may do a bit of research into a 2nd hand 525 then before committing to buying anything.

With regards to the adjustable comb - if I've been advised that i need one in order for the gun to fit me properly is this something that i should really try for or should i be fine without one do you think?

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Need to see you mate! As I said before, get somebody experienced to make you mount it correctly and see if you are OK (looking centrally down the rib and indeed seeing enough rib). No idea where you are but I would meet you at EJ Churchill and see how guns in the rack look with you.. You may have looked odd with the other gun because it was too short for you. That will screw up the comb position, so there are a number of things to adjust before knowing.

Fair enough. If i was closer to you Will i would take you up on that offer but your about 2hr 40mins away from me.

The guy worked in Premier Guns at Doveridge who recommended the adjustable comb. I may try and get a bit extra guidance and another opinion to see if i definitely need one. If i do then it seems to bump the price up a bit. Are they expensive to have added to a standard gun do you know?

I imagine that premier guns staff would be sensible. You can get them added, but not that cheaply. If you do need one, best to find one on a gun. Look on gun trader. 

The other option, assuming it is more comb height that you need, is buy a standard gun and add a comb raiser. Recoil Systems do one that sticks on and works well.