Benelli Super Black Eagle II.

Benelli Autoloader
Through the 1960s, the Browning Auto-5 and similar designs defined the semiautomatic shotgun, but whatever its other virtues, the Auto-5 was not graceful. It felt awkward, and the movement of its long-recoil action was disconcerting when you first shot it.

As with the Superposed, the inflation of the 1970s spelled the effective end of the Auto-5, but by that time, it was a 70-year-old design anyway, and everyone was ready for a change. Several other semiauto shotguns already existed, including a couple from Browning, but it was the arrival of the Benelli from Italy in 1977 that changed our whole perception of the semiauto.

The basic Benelli had two cardinal virtues. One, it was extremely simple, with fewer moving parts than any other semiauto. It could be disassembled and cleaned in minutes, and if you didn't have the necessary minutes to do that, well, you could just keep shooting because the Benelli, it seemed, would shoot forever. It established a reputation for reliability unmatched by any other semiauto.

The Benelli's second virtue was its handling. Somehow, its Italian designers managed to impart the liveliness of a nice over-under with a stock of European walnut carefully fashioned to feel quick and streamlined. Instead of a heavy, clanking machine, the Benelli was well-balanced and responsive.

Through the 1980s and into the '90s, when Americans began to head south of the border in droves to hunt doves in places like Mexico, Colombia, and Argentina, the outfitters would save them the trouble of transporting guns by offering to supply loaners. Almost invariably, in any well-run operation, the guns for loan would be 12-gauge Benelli autoloaders and 20-gauge Beretta over-unders. One Mexican operator told me in 1996 that the Benelli was the only autoloader that stood up to the pounding and kept working.

What's more, with its good balance and swing, clients hit a lot of birds with them. Many, it seemed, bought a Benelli when they got home, and it became the standard by which other semiautomatics were--and are--measured.

Parker Reproduction.

Parker Reproduction
The Parker Reproduction was a short-lived experiment that, while it did not produce a continuous-production gun, did inspire similar experiments and ushered in a whole new approach to making a certain type of gun.

The type in question was the high-quality side-by-side double.

By 1960 all the famous American double guns were out of production, victims of a shortage of skilled labor and a public infatuation with firepower. Shooters interested in double guns, either collecting or shooting, began to drive up the price of used specimens of the most admired names, particularly Parker and Fox.

The Parker was the most desirable of all, widely acknowledged as "Old Reliable," the aristocrat of American double guns. Several books were written about them, and by the early 1980s prices were climbing quickly. In the face of this obvious demand, rumors circulated that Remington, which owned the Parker name, might begin production again at some point. But it never happened.

Then a Parker collector named Tom Skeuse made a deal with Olin-Kodensha in Japan, maker of the Winchester 101 over-under, to produce a gun he called the Parker Reproduction. It was a faithful copy, right down to interchangeable parts, of the Parker DHE grade. It was available only in 20 gauge when it was unveiled in 1984, but 28-gauge guns came along later.

At $2,800, the Parker Reproduction was not cheap, but for a gun of that quality, and compared to collector prices for original Parkers, it was not out of line. The guns were well made and very attractive. Alas, they were in production only until 1988, when Olin-Kodensha pulled the plug, leaving the gun business to make car parts instead.