Grulla 215 12-bore gun review

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Grulla 215 12-bore gun review: technical data and shooting impressions

Grulla 215 12-bore shotgun 2

By Mike Yardley of The Field

Monday, 22 February 2010

The Spanish Grulla 215 12-bore is a true sidelock, offering more individuality and better value than some of the opposition.

Technical data

Modern Spanish guns can fall down in two areas: their barrel-making and the hardening of their internal components. The Grulla certainly makes the grade in the first area - the barrels are first class. It would take a longer acquaintance to confirm the quality of the hardening but the general quality of the gun suggests that this will be a very hardy, long-lived, sporting piece. Members of the Grulla team - and I had the pleasure of meeting them recently - make a point of telling you that they put extra care into barrel-making and, in particular, regulation. They note, quite correctly, that many double guns made today are not properly regulated for pattern or point of impact before leaving the factory.

This is obviously to cut costs, but handmade side-by-sides need to be carefully regulated or the chances are that they won't shoot to the same point. (The barrels of a side-by-side have a tendency to shoot apart, thus, in a 12-bore one usually notes subtle flats at the point of contact at the muzzles between the two tubes to compensate for this. Different bores and barrels require different regulation.

Shooting Impressions

I shot the Grulla on a rather grim day at Andy Castle's gun club (a far from grim place) down the track from the West London Shooting Ground at Northolt. It performed well. Spanish guns do not always impress. Some can look very good but not shoot especially well. They can suffer from subtle problems with stock design, poor regulation and, perhaps most commonly, from excessive vibration. The Grulla had none of these vices.

Indeed, it was an excellent, refined gun to shoot. The weight and balance were good. Even though the stock was low at heel, I had no difficulty in connecting with just about everything thrown at me. Trigger pulls were crisp and felt recoil was low. I liked the gun and thought it offered more character and better value than some of the opposition.

Grulla 215 12-bore gun review