Semi-automatic Bettinsoli Zephyr: In Casa Bettinsoli they have set themselves the goal of creating weapons that are not beautiful and elegant, but also functional and reliable. From this idea was born the Zephyr, an essential hunting rifle, but at the same time elegant and refined.
Bettinsoli, a company from Zanano di Sarezzo in the province of Brescia, is very popular and esteemed all over the world, especially in Central and Northern Europe, thanks to its quality products. The weapons produced by bettinsoli are considered reliable, practical and very refined from an aesthetic point of view.
Cisio, Roberto and Stefania, the owners of Bettinsoli, decided to embark on a path that led them to the creation of a 12-gauge semi-automatic shotgun, obviously “Made in Italy”.
In fact, the three brothers had the desire to build a semi-automatic shotgun that combines the taste of the classic with the modern, from the technical point of view valid, light and at a highly competitive price.
Starting from a visual examination, the weapon has a particularly ergonomic shape of the Ergal 55 casing, with selected laser-worked woods, barrels made of special SAE4140 steel and equipped with a series of interchangeable internal chokes. The installation of a double cocking rod integral with the sleeve with spring forward, ensures an axial and central thrust, while the reversible piston with the position of the gas-intake holes placed right in the precise point where there is the "Delta P", ensures the difference in pressure with the strongest and weakest cartridges.
In particular, Bettinsoli has decided to use a small part of tapped gases for the recovery system, a procedure common to many other weapons that have been using this construction technique for decades, since it is considered the most suitable for guaranteeing reliable operation and a excellent durability of the weapon. The first specimens of the Zephyr semi-automatic were subjected to "stress tests" in Hungary to hunt pheasants, hares and above all aquatic, firing hundreds and hundreds of different types of shots per day: the result was that no type was found. of malfunction.
The use of the reversible piston causes a sort of slowing down of the speed of the moving parts, without the need to use compensation valves or other various devices that disperse many unburnt powders and fragments of wads and containers. By adjusting the piston to the LIGHT position, the shotgun fires cartridges from 24 to 52 grams of lead, while in the MAGNUM position it shoots from 38 to 56 grams.
Semiautomatic Shotguns: The Zephyr is available in five different models, two with synthetic stocks, Black and Camo, and three with wooden stock: I Inciso, L Lusso, LX Extra Lusso.
The substantial differences between the models concern the finishes, but the heart of the weapon is the same among all, without exception. Let's analyze the heart of the Zephyr, which is the mechanics. To make the Zephyr casing, Bettinsoli started from a solid Ergal 55 aerospace (60 kg / mm2) worked and finished by chip removal, in order to obtain advantages both in terms of ballistic performance and in terms of weight. and costs. The finishing at height is carried out with ultramodern computerized numerical control machinery. Body and bolt head are instead machined from solid by turning and milling from carbon steel bars. Having decided to use a recovery spring placed at the front, determines a concrete and greater stability of the weapon, since it cancels the unbalance characteristic of similar models, but which have the spring in the stock and which work with a negative angle of 15 °.
The barrels of the Zephyr are made of high-strength steel, worked with the most modern techniques and treated by galvanization, the same procedure as the tubes used for the Overland over-and-under, the flagship of the production of the bettinsoli. Following the internal thick chromium plating treatment, a lapping is carried out with abrasive stones mixed with rubber, a process which determines an above-average level of finish. The Zephyrs feature a package trigger group in a synthetic-Ergal mixed material. The latter, positioned in the lower part of the breech box through two convenient pins, easily removable to facilitate internal cleaning, has a trigger and safety device which can be silvered or gilded according to the model, while all versions have the cartridge lifter. chromed. The minimum trigger weight is not exactly light, but it is clean, clear and free from pre-runs.
The firearm is equipped with an automatic safety which blocks the shot until the bolt is fully closed. The traditional safety is push-button and is reversible for use by both right-handed and left-handed shooters.
The stocks used for the Zephyr are all pistol and have a very elegant profile that blends harmoniously with the receiver. The fore-end and the handle guarantee functionality and ease of use thanks to their design, while the recoil pad, in synthetic-plastic material, is rather soft and of different thickness according to the requests. The walnut used is originally from Turkey and is subjected to evaporation and final drying in an electronically controlled oven, before being processed with CNC machines. The Company Logo embedded in the cap completes the whole. A laser knurling of an innovative shape is made on all versions, but finished by hand.
The weapon is available both with the usual bright red fiber optic front sight of different diameters, and with a white cylindrical bead. The milled mount and designed for the assembly of both traditional and electronic optics, allows the weapon to be completed according to the type of hunting.
All Bettinsoli semiautomatic shotguns are subjected to the superior test required by the CIP for steel shot. Even if we have to borrow a famous slogan from the past: “try to believe”.