Rifles and online movements. La Chapuis is famous for its range of smoothbore and rifled shotguns, among which the express ones stand out, a license of nobility for a signature that has been able to conquer a well-defined space in a competitive sector where historic companies were already widely established. In 2019, the French company is following a design trend that has infected several manufacturers in Europe: the rifled shotgun with in-line movement. The typology started over a century earlier with the Austrian military ordinances: the Steyr 1886 and the 1895 followed by the various Swiss proposals with the Schmidt Rubin in the Mod. 1889 followed by the 1911 and the 1931. All examples of mechanics well studied, but still closely linked to systems with rather traditional constraints based on the oscillating strut of the first Steyrs or the lugs of the rotating head of the seconds rather than with such appendages positioned here and there along the bolt body as in the three of the Swiss Confederation. The advent of the Mauser K 98 gives a violent jolt to fantasies and only the British with their Enfields will take a slightly different path, just to distinguish themselves from the crowd of all the others: not at all they are English. Let's go back to the in-line movement applied to centerfire rifles arriving at the idea of Horst Blaser who conceives a completely new mechanism where the bond is created with the expansion of twelve elastic steel plates, supported by the bolt head, and a circular recess inside the breech of the barrel. The rectilinear movement operated by the handlebar implements the expansion or retraction of the mechanical constraints. Thus the need for the castle historically intended as a point of maximum strength is overcome and a light frame built into the frame of the stock on which the aforementioned mechanism slides is sufficient.
Other important manufacturers combine their traditional products with a new mechanism with in-line movement and among these we like to recall the complex design refinement of Merkel's Helix or the solidity of the Austrian Strasser rather than the ingenuity of the Browning Maral with assisted rearming. Meanwhile, in 2019 Chapuis also enters the circle that we would call "of the comings and goings" proposing its ROLS® endowed, as expected, with solid and interesting peculiarities. Just in that year the Beretta Holding enters the shareholding structure of the company thus coming to have a mechanics that was lacking in its panorama. In the meantime, the BRX1 was already in an advanced stage of construction, lo straight pull to put it in English designed precisely in Gardone: rightly the setting between the two solutions is well differentiated, as we will see shortly, and the oscillating pieces of the transalpine idea are matched by a rotating head with three frontal wings of Gardone thought. To all this must be added and underlined the consideration on the sale price which drastically and very appropriately separates the two excellent technical and commercial proposals.
The ROLS carbine® Carbon by Chapuis. The proposal of this new rifle sees several differentiated preparations in particular from the stock on which we focus in the first instance: the adoption of a preformed material with a carbon fiber base, hence the name of the model, is a fundamental element for following one of the wishes placed at the top of hunters' thoughts , mountain species: lightness. The choice is highlighted with a very low mass equal to 2400 g for the standard chamberings and 2500 g for the magnums such as, for example, the .300 Win. Mag. presented here. Appropriately we have entrusted ourselves to a specialist in the sector, the Austrian company FDP which supplies a stock of excellent structure and comfortable design, equipped with a crucial detail, especially for long-range shooting: the adjustable cheek piece so as to position the face and pay attention to the convenient height to sight the optics. A spring-loaded button set into the right side of the stock allows you to lift the mobile backstrap, finding the right position in an instant. Furthermore, the structure and material offer the best guarantees of dimensional stability and non-deformability, insensitive to environmental variations which sometimes, on natural materials such as wood, can offer some undesired variations in the point of impact. The castle in aluminum alloy called Fortal 7075 is integrated into the stock and supports the mobile breech, the trigger group and the magazine. The fluted barrel with muzzle brake is fixed directly to the frame with a single screw: the length is 60 cm for standard calibers and 63 for magnums.
The closure system, covered by a patent, is called with the acronym CLS® (Chapuis Locking System) and is based on seven blocks inserted in the bolt head, each with its own central pin which allows it to swing forwards/backwards on the action of the handlebar inserted on the bolt carrier. The advancement of the whole assembly brings the muzzle into the breech of the barrel and the pendulum motion of the handlebar on its own axis, together with the action of an internal pin, places the plugs in their respective seats, actuating the closure. By inverting the operations you will have the opening and, thanks to the massive prismatic nail recessed in the head, the extraction of the fired cartridge or case. Of this system, the contact surface of 260 mm² is noteworthy, one of the best in the sector which has undergone stress tests up to 8500 bar. As a corollary, it should be underlined that the movement of the handlebar does not allow for intermediate positions, preventing any contact between the firing pin and the primer if the closure is not perfect.
The trigger group, as now in use on many rifles, is separate from the chambering of the cartridge: a slide button located on the back of the mobile breech activates the cocking of the striker spring with a sliding movement without jamming. If you want to postpone shooting, you press the small button protruding from the key, deactivating the mechanism: very well studied, in addition to the pressure to be exerted, also the position of the system that can be easily reached with the scope mounted. The release is aligned with US trends, therefore direct release and weight around 950 g.
The interchangeable rods of the ROLS® expand the possibilities of use on a vast panorama of game: for calibers .243 Win. – .270 wins. – .308 Win. – .30-06 Sprg. – 7×64 – 6,5×55 SE – 9,3×62 we find the 60 cm size while the 63 cm are reserved for 7 Rem. Mag. and .300 Win. Mag. The ROLS® Carbone is not currently available in the .375 HH. It should be noted that when changing the caliber it is also necessary to replace the head between standard and magnum cartridges. A very up-to-date welding and coaxiality control system ensures an optimal joint between barrel and breech block and a drilled and threaded square is obtained from the lower portion of the block which fits with centesimal precision into the recessed steel seat of the forearm: a single Torx screw which is operated with the special supplied key, ensures the assembly between barrel and stock. Four recesses made in the upper profile of the block ensure, with the provided base, the positioning of the scope.
Particular attention has been paid to the loader, thus obtaining smooth and never noisy movements: moreover, the presentation of the cartridge is almost in line with the chamber, avoiding jamming or dents in the ogive, while an internal device lowers the magazine by just what is needed to make the cocking action more fluid.
The magazine is positioned above the trigger guard so as to reduce the length of the rifle; the release then takes place in two stages, avoiding unwanted losses. The first pressure on the release button releases the guard and trigger guard assembly which swings back: continuing to press also releases the magazine which can be replenished with loose cartridges or replaced by another one that is already full. For convenience, the cartridges can be inserted directly into the magazine, leaving it in its seat. For safety, during all these operations the percussion and click system is automatically deactivated. As for the magazine capacity, there are 4+1 cartridges in standard calibers and 3+1 for magnums.
To finish
When Beretta Holding entered the beautiful French reality, considering how the signature was very well known beyond the Alps, but little known in other European areas: therefore decided to entrust the marketing of these high-end shotguns to Franchi, another notable brand of the company structure, very different from the current production of the firm which for several years has been based in Urbino, where Benelli historically resides. The direction of Dr. Bruno Beccaria and his group of excellent collaborators will certainly prove to be a special encouragement for the excellent Chapuis shotguns.
