RBL Reserve FAQ
1. What is the RBL Reserve?: The RBL Reserve is the last of the RBL's before the A-10 American begins full production. Connecticut Shotgun Mfg. Co. wanted to be sure that outdoor enthusiasts had at least one last chance to own a new RBL. Don't delay, no more RBL's are planned for production.
2. Where is the gun made?: The RBL, as with all Connecticut Shotgun Manufacturing Company guns, are manufactured in its entirety in New Britain , CT. On occasions some smaller parts or initial machining operations will be sub-contracted if we are over capacity, in an effort to deliver products on time. We do not assemble parts that we procure. We machine virtually everything ourselves. They are designed, machined, assembled and finished in our own facility in New Britain , CT , USA . We have nearly 3 acres of manufacturing space on one floor.
3. How are the parts made?: Every component that is subject to wear is machined from a forging. Either a square forging or a profile forging. Many guns use castings or powered metals for major components, of which we do not.
4. How was the mechanical design chosen for the RBL?: When we decided we were going to build a shotgun that would be a much larger production that we are used to, we acquired every shotgun that we know of from a design standpoint, took them apart and studied them (i.e. sidelocks, boxlocks, trigger plate action guns). We found for years of problem free shooting, the basic design of an Anson & Deeley action was the strongest foundation to build off of. We studied the development of this by other manufacturers. We used what advancements and improvements that we thought would help the gun and also made it a double bridged action, removable hinge pin, a special dog bone locking bolt for strength and many other special features that really make the RBL unique.
5. Why is it called a Round Body?: The action housing is designed in such a way that there are no sharp edges and corners. This is much more difficult than just filing them off as the trigger plate and floor plate need to specially designed, the sides of the receiver need to be made where when it is rounded, the edges do not become paper-thin. The internal parts need to be designed in a way that they do not interfere with the rounding of the frame.
6. Bluing - All RBL barrels are blued in the traditional method of rust and caustic bluing. On case colored guns, furniture (trigger guard, top lever, etc.) is blued with a special black oxide process.
7. Case color receiver: This is done by traditional bone and charcoal method.
8. French grayed: This is a hardening process will leave the receiver with a slightly gray color. The engraving background is dark and the contrast shows the engraving very well.
9. Wood: We use American walnut, Black walnut, Claro walnut, Turkish walnut and we are also using California English walnut. We buy a lot of wood for our other guns and sometimes we buy large lots of wood to be able to procure some of the best pieces. We have been storing wood for many years and have a very large wood supply available for the RBL. If you upgrade the wood to either Three, Four or Exhibition, you can specify the type of wood species. If you do not, you will receive one of the wood types that we use. Please keep in mind, if you were to order a 4X piece of Claro walnut, it would have much more figure than a 4X piece of Turkish walnut. If you are looking for a high figure, we suggest the Claro or the Black walnut, as opposed to the English or the Turkish walnut, where the pieces are just not as dramatic.
10. Checkering: The checkering is 22 lines per inch at a 3.5 ratio to one.
11. Draw bolt: All stocks are fastened to the gun with a draw bolt.
12. Stock dimensions: Length of pull can be 14 ¼” or ordered with 14 ¾” at no additional charge. The Length of pull is measured on a double trigger gun from the front trigger center and on a single trigger from the center of the trigger to the center of the butt plate. 1 ½” drop at comb, 2 3/8” drop at heel with 0 cast and approximately 4 degree pitch.
13. Forends: The standard splinter forend is approximately 8 5/8” long and fits underneath the barrels. The optional beavertail forend is approximately 10” long and wraps around to the center of the barrel. Both forends have two escutcheons through the wood to fasten the forend metal to the wood and both use a push button Anson type forend release button.
14. What is Cryo Pattern™?: This is a trademark process by Connecticut Shotgun Manufacturing Company. After the barrel blank is gun drilled and then turned, the barrels are put into a very deep freeze. This releases the stress that is put in the material due to the extreme operations of the forgings that are used for the barrel tubes. This prevents warping, twisting of the tubes, especially when you are shooting many shells repeatedly that reheat the barrels. This is the best method that we have found to make sure the tubes remain perfectly straight.
15. What is Hard Gold™?: This is a trademark process by Connecticut Shotgun Manufacturing Company. After the parts are machined they are hardened we apply Hard Gold™, which is a derivative of titanium nitrate. The gold will prevent rust from forming on the parts and when hunting moisture can get in the gun and even a minute amount can create problems with the mechanism, especially over time. The titanium adds a degree of hardness that is virtually unknown in standard machine parts. This is especially helpful where the hammer and sear engages. This will add many years of life to a gun. If you ever bought a drill or machine tool, you will notice a gold color that is put on them. This is a type of titanium nitrate that the manufacturers claim will add ten times the life to a cutting tool.
16. What is Tuff Bore™?: This is a trademark process by Connecticut Shotgun Manufacturing Company. It is a very hard plating that is done internally, allowing you to shoot any type of shot that we know of, without damaging the barrel. We decided to do this because many shooting ranges and hunting areas are restricting the use of lead shot and might eliminate lead completely.
17. Pistol grip: Pistol grip stocks have a metal grip cap that is blued and has one screw.
18. Single trigger: It is a single selective trigger with the selector in the trigger, very similar to a Model 21. We feel it is the most reliable trigger that we know of. Because the top and bottom tang are joined in the rear, and the use of a draw bolt for the stock, there is no movement between the top and bottom tang because they are joined almost as one piece and movement of the top and bottom tang creates most of the problems with single triggers. When top and bottom tang screws are eliminated on the RBL, because of the use of the draw bolt, this eliminates most of the problems.
19. SST setup - It operates on an inertia system and the gun needs the recoil of the first shot to set up the second barrel.
20. Weight and balance: The guns weigh slightly over 6 pounds and the balance point is front of the hinge pin for smooth follow through shooting.
21. Wood finish: It is an engineered finish that is very durable with a red alkanet root color tone. The wood has an oil satin appearance.
22. How long has Galazan / Connecticut Shotgun Manufacturing Company been in business?: It was started in 1975 by Antony Galazan who is the President and CEO.
23. Fit and Finish: Most guns sold at the price of the RBL have very liberal wood to metal fits and metal to metal fits. The RBL is a very highly engineered precision product. There are no gaps or spaces, and no inexpensive finishing techniques. The appearance of this gun should be compared with guns that cost much more. Most other guns at this price also have a low degree of finishing, especially on the inside, machine marks, not cleaned from casting. Our gun is finished as clean on the inside as it is on the outside. One of the major differences between a fine gun and a poorly made gun is the degree of the finishing work that takes place. The RBL is built to a very high standard.
24. Wood drying: Connecticut Shotgun Manufacturing Company has set up two wood kilns to dry all the blanks before the stocks are made.
25. Why 41 – 40 steel for the receiver?: It is very strong and very durable. The down side to that is that it is very hard to machine and the initial cost is more, and it consumes cutting tools very quickly because of the hardness. But we feel it is the best steel suited for the frame.
26. How can this product be made in the USA for this price?: The cost of labor in the USA compared to Italy or Germany is virtually the same. The cost of energy (electricity for the machines, fuel oil, cutting oils, etc.) and basic overhead, we feel we have an advantage. We also are dedicated to building shotguns and actually make many other shotgun products that sometimes cross over to the RBL. We have made very large quantity of parts and virtually do everything in house; engineering, design, fixturing, machining, wood work, hardening, bluing, finishing, assembly, marketing and direct sales, etc. Many other guns have many chains of costs; manufacturer, distributor, jobber, dealer and then consumer.
27. Experience: Connecticut Shotgun Manufacturing Company has many years of experience of building double guns. We are currently the only manufacturer in the USA of high quality double barrel shotguns. We also manufacture a full line of tools and accessories for shotguns, and we trade many high grade new and used shotguns, allowing us to study and compare many other types of guns.
28. Ejectors: It is the time proven Southgate selective ejecting system.
29. Steel: The forgings come from a steel mill in Kentucky , USA and the barrel steel forgings come from a steel mill in Indiana , USA .
30. Ribs: The top rib is a concaved, non-matted game rib with one small brass front bead. The bottom rib is two piece. The short rib is actually one piece with the barrel lug, which makes the chances of the barrel lug coming off or becoming loose almost impossible, which is a very common problem with all side by side shotguns.
31. Regulation: All barrels are regulated at 40 yards to shoot flat.
32. Ejector blades: There is a right and left and each is machined from a solid forging.
33. Trigger guard: Pistol grip or straight grip both have long tangs that fit into the trigger plate and is very unique as they are installed without any screws and have rolled edges on both the right and left side. There are no sharp corners to hit your finger on.
34. Did Connecticut Shotgun Manufacturing Company buy a gun line to produce the RBL? NO. Everything is designed and built by us in the USA . We did buy many new specialized machinery for barrel making and other machined parts as well as more trained personnel.
35. Butt plate: It is made from traditional hard rubber type material. It is not plastic. Most 12 and 16 gauge guns come with a removable Galazan Pad to allow the length of pull to change from 14 3/4" to 14 1/4".
36. Choke tubes: They are especially designed thin wall tubes. When they are installed in the gun, there is no appearance of a choke tube. This gives the shooter the ability to switch chokes without the unsightliness of choke tubes. There are no notches at the end of the tubes or barrels. There are five tubes with each gun; skeet, improved cylinder, modified, improved modified and full. A choke tube wrench along with a beautiful tooled leather choke tube pouch for your belt that is thick and will hold three tubes and the wrench.
37. Case and accessories: The RBL comes with a marine quality canvas case with genuine wool felt interior. With leather corners, the case corners and assembly is stitched through the hardwood frame. Included in the case is; two nickel plated snap caps, one oil bottle, cleaning rod, one mop, one brush, choke tube pouch with chokes and wrench, shooting glasses and hearing protection in aluminum container, a Connecticut Shotgun Manufacturing Company RBL leather label, warranty card and instruction manual.
38. Why shooting glasses and hearing protection as an accessory?: We do a lot of shooting at Connecticut Shotgun Manufacturing Company. We never go shooting without both of these items. Over time from constant shooting it will affect your ear drums and the glasses are poly-carbonate. If something were to happen while shooting like a ricochet, they will protect your eyes from stray pellets or debris.
39. Assisted opening system: This is found on some of the very best guns made in the world. If you are going to do a lot of fast shooting, all you need to do is open the top lever and it will assist in the opening, ejection of the fired shell and cocking of the gun. It makes shooting a lot of fun and the design of our system there is very little extra effort needed to close the action. If for any reason you do not want to use it, it is easily removed in 15 seconds and can be easily put back in when it is required again. If it is not purchased initially with the gun, the cost will be $900, and not $450.
40. Springs: The main spring is a flat V main spring. The majority of the springs are flat springs, and there are some coil springs.
41. Chamber length: All RBL’s are 2 ¾”.
42. Warrantee: The RBL Reserve carries a five year limited warantee on manufacturer defects.
We would like to thank you for your interest in the RBL Reserve. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to call us at 860-225-6581. All specifications and descriptions are subject to change without notice.
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