Lanber de lux Sporter shotgun review

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Lanber de lux Sporter shotgun review

By Jason Harris

Wednesday, 13 June 2007

Our sporting gunmaker gets to grips with a new and improved version of this award winning over-under shotgun from Lanber.

Some years back the Spanish-made Lanber was voted one of the most popular first-time buys among people coming into the sport.

It wouldn't surprise me to hear this is still the case.

If the gun has slipped from pole position in the meantime, then the latest version to hit the gun shelves should help it regain the title. With one or two exceptions the new de lux Sporter is pretty much the same mechanically as its predecessor. But it looks altogether different.

This is thanks to a bold move by the makers to colour harden the action, change the engraving pattern and run with gold inlaid game birds on both sides of the frame. Against the dark coloured hardening this gold work really does come to life.

The gun's guts haven't changed much, with the hammers, suspended from the top of the action frame, still being powered by coil springs. In this mechanism the hammers do not rebound on firing but the strikers retract to allow the gun to open easily when the top lever is activated, a cam simply pushes the hammers back as you open the gun.

The trigger mechanism works along the same lines as a Browning or Miroku, with a spring loaded connector coming up from the trigger to meet, and pick up, each sear in turn. Re-set for the second barrel is done by inertia from the first shot.

Re-cocking is achieved by independent rods running through the floor of the action frame which are pushed rearward by a cam in the fore-end iron when the gun starts to open. These cocking levers also pick up the ejector work after the gun has been fired.

As in previous guns the barrels are still made on the monoblock principle and the tubes have been built to standard diameters with no hint of back-boring.

To ensure this gun is as versatile as possible the makers have fitted the barrels with 3in (76mm) magnum proofed chambers and stayed true to their usual flush-fitting multichoke system. Five tubes and a key are supplied, along with an ABS travel case, as standard.

Until recently Lanber used to oil finish the woodwork on this gun but now it has been replaced with a light varnish or lacquered finish. Overall wood quality is as good as I would expect on a gun of this price, in fact I've seen worse on guns costing far more money!

The verdict

For a new shooter starting in the sport or someone in need of an all round second gun, this Lanber offers solid value for money. It handles and points well, comes to the shoulder smoothly and should prove every bit as reliable as the guns that went before it. What more could you ask for the money?

For more information from the importers contact GMK Ltd of Fareham, Hants. Telephone 01489 579999