Nine years ago we were invited to the Cosmos in the factory of the Torrette of Ancona: the visit was extremely interesting to deepen first of all the acquaintance with the owners, then with the workers and then with the art of a magnificent arquebusery implemented by an extraordinary passion and uncommon construction skills. Today we are shooting by hand an example of the production of the first half of the 60s, a classic finish shotgun that has worked very little and is virtually like new. The prerogative of the swinging barrel has remained as an emblematic element of this shotgun designed by Rodolfo Cosmi (1873 - 1936) originally from Macerata Feltria (PS): the idea started in 1905, coincidentally the year that the FN Auto 5 was baptized, but only in 1925 the first model was placed to the attention of enthusiasts and is kept in the company, fully functional. The reason for the swinging barrel dates back to a need of the time when several cartridges ejected the primer from the seat, creating many problems to get it out of the way through the ejection window only to restore the functionality of the weapon. In this way everything was easier without forgetting how the safety factor was fully fulfilled with the simple actuation of the key, identical in form and function to that of a usual shotgun.
The considerations certainly do not stop here: let's start with how each part of the speargun is machined from solid, mostly from die-forged on which the lathe and milling machine work in concert with the manual work of specialists with files and emery cloths that are gradually finer, leading to mirror the surfaces of the details. Today, in addition to noble steels, rare metals such as titanium are also used to ensure that those who have problems with carrying certain weights, a previously unknown comfort: to this end and following an interesting trend in hunting ballistics, models have been created in caliber 28/70 and .410 Mag. miniatures of rare beauty and functionality to be discovered.
Form and function
The mechanics see three main components. In the first you can see the action in which the apex of the tubular magazine is housed, the assembly that takes the cartridge from it and places it in a suitable position for reloading, the opening key, the trigger group and the hammer, the rotation pin . In the second we place the barrel with its own linear motion recovery spring since the reset system is based on the long recoil: it is inserted in the upper sheath, the third component of the structure, complementary to the action, and processed to perform various functions. Let's go into the details a bit: opening and closing the speargun you will notice how the low and wide tenon protrudes from the lower front part of the sheath, which hooks to the rotation pin placing itself in the through mortise obtained in the apical thickness of the action. The sealing function against the forward thrust of the whole complex caused by the shot is thus fulfilled.
The longitudinal guides for the sliding of the prismatic shutter in which the floating firing pin with coaxial spring is placed are obtained inside the sheath: the passage hole and the extractor claw are visible in the face while the expulsion is entrusted to a block prism fixed inside. On the right there is the oval window for the exit of the shells. The first retraction movement of the bolt takes place manually by means of an articulated lever: this opens the access to the breech of the barrel in which the cartridge is placed directly. With a finger the shutter is closed by pushing on its rear face: a thick groove ensures a certain contact without slipperiness and a sonorous and characteristic clak on the operation. The cocking of the dog with an elaborate shape on which the snap tooth grips is manual: this is a small manufacturing jewel with a spring gusset for a firm grip on the sealing ridge ensuring a secure coupling even with a low release weight and a clear and very short stroke.
Let's move on from mechanics to woods: the stock is made up of two classic parts, then the tapered and rather thin fore-end because it does not have to contain the cartridge magazine, and stock with pistol grip, very high nose pad and ventilated rubber recoil pad. The essence used shows all the prerogatives of a choice aimed at function and aesthetics: the paste is dense, with longitudinal veins placed in line with the force of the recoil and the thicknesses guarantee a firm grip together with a comfortable cheek support. The result is a posture with the eye immediately aligned with the raised rib and the spherical brass front sight: it happens that the measures of this rifle are perfectly suited to our build.
We have tried to best describe the technique of Cosmi rifle: what is difficult to refer to with the writing can be deduced, in part, from the images: what is not yet fully conveyed is the sense of perfection that emanates from every detail of the weapon, made from solid and finished up to bring out the intrinsic gloss of steel, smoothing the tops, rounding the edges, creating a harmonious and precise whole. Then on everything are the sounds of the Cosmi starting from the opening of the key with the tilting of the barrel and the subsequent reclosing, interspersed with the restrained sound of the cartridges in the tank to the much more pronounced one of the retraction and then of the closing of the shutter: a rifle that speaks its own language made up of technique and specialist work of the highest level.