The Fabarm Asper 9,3x74R caliber represents a real revolution in the express sector. Tradition and new technologies are its business card.
Innovative treatments have also been reserved for this shotgun, which give many of its components resistance and hardness to oxidation.
Fabarm's decision to enter the rifled barrel market led to a real revolution in the express sector, which has always been considered one of the most conservative and traditionalist. Fabarm wanted to create a product manufactured with traditional criteria, capable of simultaneously offering innovative solutions, from a technical and aesthetic point of view.
However, Fabarm wanted to take care of another important aspect: the ballistic one. To do this, he started a collaboration with a well-known company from Suhl (Germany), which produces rifled barrels, with their installation on the monoblock supplied by Fabarm and with the adjustment of the convergence. This is how the Fabarm Asper over-under was born in caliber 9,3x74R.
The steel action frame is a legacy of the 20-gauge Axis over-and-under, with which it shares the two side reinforcements which, together with the front part of the stock, create two semicircular profiles with a modern flavor. The closure is entrusted to the already tested low gusset on crampons: the high tech spirit resides, however, in the finish, the latter consisting of a layer of titanium applied with a plasma technology called Pvd (Plasma vacuum deposition).
This treatment was also reserved for the action with the relative underguard, the opening key, the safety lever and the cross of the fore-end. The trigger and the support were, on the other hand, coated with zirconium, which gives the golden effect, again with the PVD system. These processes increase the surface hardness and a resistance to oxidation superior to any other treatment, even to chrome plating.
Just to get an idea of the effectiveness of these treatments, we can mention the test at an exposure of 1.500 hours in saline mist of all the components treated with PVD. The titanium cover is both resistant to abrasion and impact, and gives an anti-reflective satin appearance. The battery is of the traditional type, with internal rebound dogs and double sear: the latter are held in the cocking position by a sear which is inserted in a special notch on the hammer. In the event that the weapon should fall from the hunter's hands, it is possible that the sear will lift and lose its "grip".
In this case, the second, deeper snapping tooth intercepts the dog at the start of its fall movement. This system has been tested and acts independently from the position of the safety. As for the latter, it is a slider and is inserted by sliding it backwards, moving the transmission bar connected to the trigger away from the trigger teeth: the trigger is not locked, but firing is still impossible.
The barrels of the Asper are 553 mm long and are tied in the breech by the monobloc, while in the front there is a full joint rib, welded from the muzzle to the beginning of the forend. The other calibers available are .30-06, .30R Blaser and 8 × 57 Jrs.
For each of them, the length of the barrels is the same (553 mm). The toe is factory calibrated on 100 meters using Rws cartridges with a 293 gram Brenneke Tug bullet. This does not mean that other cartridges cannot be used, but the convergence distance is not more than 100 meters, but can become greater or less.
The sighting elements are classic: the front sight, on a ramp, is provided with a red fiber reference and is installed on a spring balance wheel that allows its elevation adjustment by acting on a front screw. The rear sight, also positioned on a ramp placed in the middle of the barrel, has a “U” window equipped with three green fiber references, two on the sides of the window and one below.
In addition to the metal references, there is the possibility of adding an optic. For this need, Fabarm used a special Recknagel quick release slide, which is fixed on special seats obtained directly in the upper part of the monobloc. There are five types of slide: with one inch (25,4 mm) rings, with 30 mm rings, with Zeiss attachment, with Swarovski attachment or with Weaver attachment.
The test to which the Asper was subjected proved the maintenance of the calibration even after repeated disassembly. The two pawls for release are, in fact, equipped with elastic safety teeth that do not allow loosening due to recoil or during transport on the hunting ground. The trigger is of the non-selective inertial single trigger and means that it is not possible to select the barrel to be fired first.
The trigger can be adjusted to six positions by loosening a small grain. The shot is characterized by a short and slightly scratchy first half, with a clear second half, rather clean and weighing around 2.000 grams. The recoil of the Asper is vigorous, but discharges horizontally in order to keep the weapon in the tappet for a quick repetition of the shot.
The handling is excellent, thanks to the not too long rods the overall dimensions are less than one meter. The standard automatic extractors project the brass about three meters behind the shooter. The stock is an elongated pistol grip, with characteristic knurled grip panels. The knurling is performed by laser and instead of the usual lozenge cusps, it was made up of a series of hemispheres, which give the innovative optical effect.
The butt pad is made of soft rubber, while the fore-end has a beaver-tail profile, but shrinks in the front half for a firm grip. The release button is strongly recessed, in order to avoid any hypothesis of accidental activation.
As is found for the entire range of Fabarm guns, the Asper stock has also undergone the Triwood treatment: the wood (walnut) undergoes a waterproofing treatment, then ink veins are applied.
The Fabarm Asper 9,3x74R caliber is considered by many experts as a very instinctive and reliable express, thanks to all the technological devices and the tradition that Fabarm reserves for all its rifles.