Perazzi will hold it's value SIGNIFICANTLY better. Orion seems to be the importer for Kemen and the sole dealer, so if/when they stop carrying them they'll go back to being orphans again like they have a couple times in the past.

 

BINGO!

 

Why get a knock off?

 

Because they are mechanically improved over a Perazzi by being made with chrome moly steel, having barrels made by induction braising so ribs never come loose and having an improved trigger that hardly will ever break a spring and the selector can be used at any time without doubling.
The same type of reasoning as why a Krieghoff K80 is a knock off of a Remington M32. Which is better ?

CT

 

Both are great. If you are buying off the rack, get the one that fits the best. Nothing feels like a Perazzi. Kemen builds theirs a little different. Lieske's are awesome to deal with..

 

Neither.. Kemen will be orphaned as others have stated. Perazzi maybe fueling other interests now that they have been purchased.. If you want that style of gun, I'd look at Kolar..

 

Many years ago Kemen sponsored Digweed. The guns never caught on.

 

I actually have both. My Kemen is one of the original ones. It's every bit as good as my Perazzi and the side ribs didn't pop loose. (I know Sera says that doesn't happen) I did have it restocked as the original stock did not fit me well. My Perazzi I ordered and specified EVERYTHING including custom stock dimensions. They are both great guns. If you go with Perazzi sit down with a knowledgeable dealer and order it the way YOU want it. If you like the Kemen I believe Orion offers service on the gun for as long as you own it. I'm not sure how much customization there us with Kemen. That's a question for Pat or Drew. I handled them as well, I didn't care for the clunky forearm. Otherwise, they felt nice. Both are great guns and I wouldn't be afraid of either one. Resale? Well, I really don't buy mine with plans to sell them. If that's important to you then the guys above are probably correct. Looking at current prices it seems the Kemen might be just a smidge cheaper. Good shopping, Steve PS. If you're around for the Carribean or Jack Links I could let you check them out.

 

Perazzi or Kemen? The correct answer is Kolar or Krieghoff

Cons
-Perazzi ribs fall off. Soft solder. Otherwise a great gun. If you are a lefty they do stupid stuff such as mount an adj comb incorrectly. My shooting mates have had a terrible time with drop out perazzi triggers and ribs. if you go p route, learn the name giacomo

-Kemen is a knock off. I have had one. I sent it down the road as it rang and vibrated when I shot it. Also the chokes loosened easily. Was it a good gun. Yes, but i had lost confidence in it. I did made money on it on the sale.
Now? No way in hell. Maybe look at used. Lieske at various times pushed K80, kolar and now Kemen so fwiiw

-Kolar or K gun. Mechanical trigger- YMMV but for me this is a must. Blasers as well, including the f16 @ 4k.
-Lefty. K and K and B have very good solutions for a lefty.

All my opinion

 

After decades of watching a lot of guys shoot high annual volumes (20K and more) through their Mirages, MX-8's etc., I finally met a guy a couple of months ago who had a side-rib come loose. He said it was an easy and inexpensive repair.

Perazzi never tried to make their guns inexpensive. They believed that soft-solder prevented the barrels from warping into imperfect regulation, and that any other method risked it. I see no reason to dispute that.

 

After decades of watching a lot of guys shoot high annual volumes (20K and more) through their Mirages, MX-8's etc., I finally met a guy a couple of months ago who had a side-rib come loose. He said it was an easy and inexpensive repair.

Perazzi never tried to make their guns inexpensive. They believed that soft-solder prevented the barrels from warping into imperfect registration, and that any other method risked it. I see no reason to dispute that.

The internet is rife with legends , short on facts

 

Not a doubt in my mind Krieghoff are the best made of the premium guns. Lovely mechanical trigger that is fully adjustable and has IMO a perfect barrel selector design. Not even a rumor of a rib issue. To top it off barrels and stocks are cheaper and easier to find second hand. Blueing is more durable and the stock finish doesn't go from matte to glossy after a few cases.

That said I've found myself replacing my 20 and 12ga K guns with P guns. It's the damndest thing but I just find more enjoyment in shooting the Perazzi sub gauges and in 12ga the MX hides its weight better thus giving softer recoil and a bit more steadiness than a parcours. I won't swear that I'll never go back to the parcours for 12ga but I definitely can not see any reason to go back to a K gun in the smaller bores.

 

Not a doubt in my mind Krieghoff are the best made of the premium guns. Lovely mechanical trigger that is fully adjustable and has IMO a perfect barrel selector design. Not even a rumor of a rib issue. To top it off barrels and stocks are cheaper and easier to find second hand. Blueing is more durable and the stock finish doesn't go from matte to glossy after a few cases.

That said I've found myself replacing my 20 and 12ga K guns with P guns. It's the damndest thing but I just find more enjoyment in shooting the Perazzi sub gauges and in 12ga the MX hides its weight better thus giving softer recoil and a bit more steadiness than a parcours. I won't swear that I'll never go back to the parcours for 12ga but I definitely can not see any reason to go back to a K gun in the smaller bores.

The MX-8 20-ga is the nicest shotgun ever designed.

 

No mech thing is perfect. All I have ever said is that all my guns and all the ones my pals use have never shed a rib.
at that price one should do personal hands on research.

 

My new to me mx8-20 28ga 30" fixed choke is 7lb 9oz.

 

😂

 

It’s funny but I never heard of a gun that’s had the steel fail. Please yourself.

 

It is not as much about failing but it is about which wears faster, and which corrodes more easily. I remember well shooting in a rain with a friend shooting his SC3. We both wiped our guns down and retired but the next morning ready to start the next 100, his gun had the chambers and bores rusted and somewhat on the outside, but my Kemen had no rust anywhere.
Also, another friend that we shot together all the time with his SC3 had to replace two locking blocks and I still had the original.
As far as strength, Kemen guns can use 18.8 bores but not so Perazzi guns because the barrels flex more and the ribs come off. Perazzi discontinued trying those bore sizes but gave up with too many failures, not so Kemen.

CT

 

Fact: 15 years ago I sold my MX-8 to my buddy...was about a 4-year old gun at the time. Over the next 6 years he had to send it out to have side ribs replaced 3 times. The last time he sent it to Perazzi in California and it took 8 months to get it back. Also, searun has it right. And, of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. To me, beauty also includes reliability and good, prompt service when needed...think Kolar, Krieghoff, Zoli, Blaser...

 

Not to mention that when you have the ribs relaid you aren't guaranteed to have the same POI you started with. That's part of the reason why Phil Kiner switched to Krieghoff years ago, on top of the fact that even as a sponsored shooter they wouldn't give him new barrels or cover the cost of the repair.

 

Ahh………the internet😊

 

And LP Giambrone went to Perazzi. Not sure why these legends get going

 

He never shoots 12ga, so less/no chance of rib issues.

 

It seems everyone complains about Perazzis except the people who actually own them.

 

Actually a lot of people who have owned them have complained. But the kool aid must have gotten in some of your ears.

 

I’ve owned exactly one Perazzi, a 34” MX2000 with fixed chokes made just for me. Loved how it handled and it always went bang. However, it would not eject steel headed ammo and twice I had empties get stuck so bad I had to take it home and pound them out with a dowel which got destroyed in the process. The inside of the barrels would rust in summer if I even thought about and had to clean and oil it at the range immediately after shooting it. Oh, and the side ribs came loose. I have several friends who have had the ribs on their P guns come loose. I liked shooting it a lot so tolerated it for 80k rounds. Switched to A400s which have been fabulous. I missed shooting a high end o/u but will never own another Perazzi. Tomorrow I pick up my new 34” Parcours.

 

Careful…….barrels blow up on Krieghoffs if you haven’t heard😉

More rumor on the internet blown out of proportion

 

I know a guy ……..

 

On K guns I have had-
-top lever wouldn't stay open on K20. sent to marlette and fixed for a few $$.
-gun opened on recoil. hood spring of some sort had aged- sent to Maest and fixed for a few $$.
-fan firing (12ga). This is a me issue (holding gun off shoulder at times) however Ottsville fixed it and refused my $$.
-fiocchi SD ammo on occasion would eject late as if sticking.

On P guns (admittedly less rounds thus far)
-top lever wouldn't stay open on 20ga. Giacomo did some filing - refused my $$. Worked for a while but issue is back.
-fan fire (12ga) once in a while. again this is a me issue same as K gun. will be chatting with Don Rackley on this and working on my mount. love that I can just send him my trigger and not the whole gun!
-fiocchi SD on three occasions stuck in barrel. similar to K gun however the ejector slid past the case rim and I had a heck of a time getting the hull out. to me this speaks to finer machining on the K gun as those ejectors never slipped past the rim.
-adjustable comb fell off while carrying gun. fortunately over dirt! the comb hardware on my MX simply doesn't hold as well as the K gun.
-Drop trigger was difficult to remove/replace. Finally figured out it was one or two of the pins standing proud on one side. quick tap with a punch and she's a happy camper. Virtually a non issue but something to note I guess.

 

Roughly 1000 Perazzis come here every year. Likely less. This has been happening since the 1970’s. Over 20 plus years of competing I have seen 100’s. In that time 3 Kemens.
please buy what you want.

 

A close friend who competed alongside me in Int Skeet shot one of the early Perazzi Mirage models with Tula chokes. What a wonderful handling gun, and I was always envious because I was sure it would help my scores. However, I never bought one.

His side ribs had to be relayed twice in a period of about 8 years, so at least in this case it did happen.

 

According to the internet; Perazzi can’t keep ribs on, Krieghoff barrels blow up, Beretta can’t get two barrels to pattern within the same zip code, and Browning can’t get through a flat of shells without a firing pin change.

Im glad I have my 870’s, and/or none of my guns seem to read the internet. I won’t let them.