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Anyone know anything about Marocchi shotguns?

6.3K views 15 replies 12 participants last post by  vh2q00  
#1 ·
How good are Marocchi shotguns? How do they compare to Browning and beretta
 
#5 ·
"Marocchi company constitutes a dedicated unit for the production of Co2 rifles and, at the behest of Piero, a new production unit is built in Sarezzo, in the heart of the well-known “firearms district” of Val Trompia. We are in the 70s and since then the company has never changed its address. The company maintains the family business, with the takeover of Piero’s son, Mauro Marocchi. The company name is changed to C.D. EUROPE S.R.L.

In 2008 a very important event happened, that led the company to grow further: C.D. EUROPE buys Daystate, the English company world leader in the production of PCP air rifles, for which it makes available the know-how accumulated in high precision mechanical production. The strategic choices allow a firm growth of the company that will lead to the acquisition of two other British companies: Brocock, manufacturer of air rifles and MTC-Optics, company dedicated to the development and supply of optics.

In Italy C.D. EUROPE is linked to one of the most historic manufacturing companies in the country, Breda, with which operates in harmony and partnership for products intended for the civilian market."


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See https://weatherby.com/shotguns/18i/ . They are all marked C.D. EUROPE S.R.L., but look like Breda's to me. You can guess what <C.D. EUROPE is linked to Breda> is supposed to mean.
 
#8 ·
IMO, the Marocchi shotguns are NOT the equal of a typical Browning Citori or Beretta O/U.

I would rate Marocchi as about the equal of the budget O/U's and perhaps not even as high as them since I think that parts availability could be a real issue with the Marocchi guns.

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#12 ·
I've owned a model 99 since 1999 when I bought it new, It's my favorite gun. I shoot clays with it several times a week. I've replaced the firing pins 3 times and the trunnions once. Parts are a problem, The range that I worked at the time dropped the brand because of the abysmal customer service.
 
#14 ·
I might be the only person in the United States that owns two Marocchi Model 99 shotguns, 30" and 32" barrels. I was featured years ago in an article about these guns. I own a Perazzi MX8, two Browning XS's, a Beretta Silver Pigeon and a Remington Model 3200. I can tell you that the Model 99 is the equal to any of them. However, due to their terrible marketing in the U.S. back in 1999 when they were introduced, Marocchi absolutely flopped. When the importer in Birmingham, Alabama, stopped carrying them, I bought all the extra parts he had just in case. While I've never needed them, I'm glad to have them because it would by nye onto impossible to get something fixed. The Model 99 was a fabulous shotgun, but I'd caution anyone looking at Marocchis to be careful. They are still in business (Marocchiguns), but getting them to respond here in the U.S. might be a challenge. They don't make the Model 99 any longer either. Good luck.
 

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#16 ·
For about 20 years, Whitworth Arms LLC (my company) was the US importer for Marocchi, mainly of their "FinnClassic" 512 and 612 system guns (continuation of the Valmet 412). When these were discontinued, I lost interest as I never had much luck selling their other guns (semi auto and o/u shotguns). These seemed to go in and out of production every few years, the product line was very "dynamic". For example the model 92 (Conquista) was in production for many years; it was then replaced with the model 99 for about a decade, and then by the model 100 for about 3 years before that too was discontinued. These were all higher quality competition guns, on the heavy side for field use. They then introduced the model "First" which was a lighter entry level field gun and I see they still offer that. I think it's made in Turkey though, and possibly assembled in Italy. The model 612 only lasted a few years as well, and the parts were not common to the 512. That was a huge mistake, particularly barrel sets, as there is demand for barrel sets from 412 and 512 owners. I still have some O/U guns in inventory. Parts for discontinued models were somewhat hard to get as the company had a policy of producing guns in batches, from kitted parts, and did not order/make extras for service. Having said that, the guns were reliable and requests for parts were rather limited ... mostly people wanting to "stock up" on certain parts that they thought they might need in future. There was one weakness ... the 512 system guns had very strong ejector springs and the ejector blades would break after thousands of rounds if the springs were not cut down. If they did break, the plunger and spring were sometimes lost as well. Sadly, while I still have limited supplies of other parts, I do not have these blades and cannot get them. As for the company, the grandson of the founder was running it for a while and seems to have run aground; it appears that Breda bought the company with no improvement in service. I still cannot get parts and the Breda rep in the USA is comatose. The company website now shows the US distributor to be a Belgian company with an address in Belgium! The Breda website shows "Banshee Brands" as their US rep now, this company appears to be mainly smoke and mirrors. My request for parts placed with them about a year ago remains unanswered.