Now that this gun has been out there for a short time, what's the verdict?

There's no reason to believe it isn't as good as the Ithaca SKB 200 series it's based on. Lots of them are out there going strong after several decades.

Reviews are kind of sketchy on-line but here is what I found. I’ve handled them and liked them a lot. In fact my 16 gauge RBL will be arriving in a few days. I’ll report back when I’ve shot a few rounds of skeet. It will be going to a continental shoot with me at the end of March. I thought Shooting Sportsman did a more comprehensive review but I have not run across it.

http://www.shootingsportsman.com/techno ... r-surprise

http://www.gundogmag.com/2010/09/23/too ... icut_0909/

http://www.fieldandstream.com/forums/-f ... -plus-rbls

I've had my RBL 20 for about two years. It looks great, it's a great hunting gun, and it's lots of fun on clays too. Very good value and on top of that it's American made! Eric

I have a 20 and a 16, both handle and shoot nicely.

I've shot both the 20 and the 16 in SD. Excellent guns. The upgraded wood and finish is fabulous for the money spent. The 20 with exhibiton feather black walnut is a show stopper. For around $3200 initial price....untouchable.

I am very pleased with my 12 ga RBL.

Here's my 16. They picked a nice piece of stick for it.

T-Slim,

Boy - I guess - nice gun!!!! The stock is so pretty I could over look the single trigger and pistol grip! Just kidding! That has got to be a wood upgrade. Is that their standard case?

Thanks for sharing.

By the way:
I handled one of their new 410 RBLs at the Kansas City Pheasant Fest and what a sweet shooting stick! It’s a scaled frame like all their RBLs but with a full size stock and beautiful balance. If only I had a spare $7K!

I've only shot mine (28ga) a couple of hundred times, but I like it. Seems to swing pretty good for being less than 6 pounds, and I've gotten lots of compliments on its looks.

Thanks for all the feedback. That 28ga, but with a splinter FE, is what I had in mind, but a 20 might work too. Decisions, decisions.

I like the look of a splinter, but I'm glad I went with the BT. It gives a little more to hold onto, adds just a tad more weight up front, and keeps my fingers off the hot barrels for when shooting a lot.

I've owned Arrieta, Aya, Ugartechea, Sauer and all the American classics. I now own a 20 Gauge RBL and it more finely finished than any of the other sxs I've owned. I never really like RBLs until I held one...people complain about a fatter wrist (English stock), and it is by continental gun standards, but I like it....then again I'm 6'2" and have large hands. My RBL plus, is light, handles well and is impeccably fit and finished. Plus, the customer service at CSMC is superb.

I highly recommend the RBL for someone looking for a.modern sxs that comes with a nice case and accessories. Its every bit the gun my Arrieta and Aya's were and then some.

There seem to be a lot of used ones on the market considering the modest production. Considering the price tag and the soft market, personally I see many other guns (and some that are used) that I would rather buy. I'm a 16 gauge fan and i would take a Merkel 1620 in a heartbeat over an RBL.

Now let's get this straight...you're comparing a machine made boxlock gun with laser cut engraving, laser cut checkering, machine made stock with a sprayed on poly finish to a totally custom built hand made sidelock that has rust blued chopper lump barrels, a hand made stock, that's hand engraved, hand checkered and an oil finish applied by hand. Is that correct? And you're saying the RBL is a better gun?........WOW !

I'm not necessarily agreeing or disagreeing with gsp, but his post didn't say anything about the other guns being custom built, and I believe most of the RBLs are oil finished, other than some of the early 20 gauges. Being hand-done doesn't in itself make something better. More expensive? Probably. I would trust a part made on state of the art CNC machines to be better than I could turn out with a hammer and an anvil.

Never said it was a better gun, that's too subjective. What I did say, after having owned all of the above and more than one example of each, is that the fit and finish of my RBL is as good or better than the fit and finish on my Spanish SxS's (including my Aya's and Arrieta). '

Spanish gun company's use barrels and rough action forgings produced by factories, often these factories sell to the multiple company's (IE...Arrieta, Ugartechea, Aya, Grulla...etc get their rough components from the same source). CSMC produces all there components in house. While CSMC does use a lot of CNC all their guns (RBL, A-10..etc) are hand fit. Many Spnish companies also use a cyanide case coloring (Aya, Arrieta, Ugartechea) while CSMC uses real bone and charcoal.

THe finish on my RBL is hand rubbed oil, not sprayed on poly, and it's perfect. THe wood to metal fit is superb. I've yet to own a Spanish gun that had perfect fit and finish (even my Arrieta had over runs and flat parts in it's checkering, and little gaps between the locks and the wood here and there---although this is nit picking, it was a beautiful gun.)

It's an over-simplification to say one gun is "better" than another, but in terms of quality of manufacture, which is what I was referrign to, my RBL matches or surpasses the Spanish guns that I've owned.

And, just to add, I am a BIG fan of Spanish guns, great guns for the money.

I like the looks of a splinter forend also. I think on a 410 or 28 gauge a tastefull beavertail looks just as good.

Question: does the RBL have chopper-lump barrels?

There's no visible monobloc-barrel seam, but I am not sure whether that's a sure-fire indicator these days, with the right attention to finish.

Connecticut Shotgun uses what is called a saddle or shoe lump design for the barrel lumps. They are brazed on then machined. The original Parkers used this method as well as Merkel and JP Sauer.