Best thing I did today: Fired the new Chiappa Triple Crown tri-barrel shotgun. This three-tubed delight is a ton of fun, and gives you the option of using any choke in any barrel - it accepts RemChoke tubes.
It's made in Turkey. These folks started working on it in 2011 and it's now a reality. The frame is not as tall as an over/under, and just a little taller than a side by side.
Three shotgun barrels isn't a new idea, but this is the first modern production one - which takes choke tubes - and which puts the single barrel on top. Another nice modern twist: chrome-lined bores. This fast-firing popper is chambered for 3" magnum shells.
It has a single central extractor rather than auto ejectors. It used a single non-selective trigger, which fires the barrels in the order of left-right-top. The trigger does not require recoil to reset, so in the event of an empty chamber or a dud shell, another pull of the trigger will drop a firing pin on the next barrel in order.
Regarding auto ejectors and single selective trigger, the Chiappa rep confidently said, "Working on it."
A front sling stud is affixed to the bottom of the barrel assembly, but a rear sling stud is not installed in the wood buttstock; instead, one is provided in the box but not installed. This allows the owner to decide whether to drill a hole in the shotgun stock.
Priced at $1629 MSRP, buying a Chiappa Triple Crown would be a financial stretch for many shooters, but as far as I could see, everyone who saw and handled this gun today left with a big smile on his or her face - and happiness is worth a good bit of dough.
I also shot Chiappa's Rino revolver, a Kel-Tec PMR-30, and Savage's new bolt-action rifle chambered for Winchester's screaming new BB-caliber rimfire round, the 17 Win Super Mag - along with some other stuff I'm too tired to talk about. More on that at a later date!
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