This & That: Nifty little Miroku 20-bore

This & That

Nifty little Miroku 20-bore

The bulk of modern shotgun shooting is conducted with 12-bore over/unders, and a typical 12-bore over/under is my own Japanese-made Miroku MK70.

For people of a certain generation, the phrase 'Japanese-made' has not always been a recommendation; however, Miroku have been making firearms since 1893 and currently manufacture Browning shotguns and Winchester rifles as well as highly-regarded shotguns under their own name.

Miroku MK70 O/U

It is an accepted fact in the gun trade that the name engraved on the barrel may not identify the actual maker (this includes 'best' English gunmakers who happily had their 3rd and 4th grade shotguns manufactured for them by makers with good but less illustrious names, leaving their own workers to concentrate on the expensive stuff).

In the 1970s and thereabouts, Miroku made side-by-side shotguns for a number of American distributors (e.g. Charles Daly and Montgomery Ward) in both 12- and 20-bore, as well as selling the same models under their own name.

I have a strong attraction to small-bore side-by-sides, and my eye was caught recently by an advert for a Miroku-badged, 20-bore side-by-side at an affordable price (no-one in the UK associates Miroku with side-by-sides, only over/unders). After negotiations which saw shipping and some barrel work wrapped into the asking price, all I had to do was fulfil the legal requirements and wait.

Miroku M500

Double-barrelled shotguns need some means of joining the barrels at the breech; traditionally, on high quality guns, this been by means of integral extensions at the bottom rear of each barrel ('chopper lumps') which are brazed together. Around a hundred years ago an alternative system ('monobloc') was devised where a single breech block with two chambers is press-fitted and soldered to barrels manufactured separately from the breech block.

Both systems work well, neither has serious failings, but chopper lumps are generally seen as superior. Amazingly, on what appears to be a very straightforward, relatively inexpensive shotgun, this little beauty has chopper lump barrels!

The Miroku M500 is a boxlock, non-ejector ("BLNE") weighing in at 6lb 6¼oz (2.915kg). Not particularly light but, for that reason, it is very comfortable to shoot with typical 20-bore 28gm loads.

The gun has seen only moderate use; there is some wear to the bluing and some light marks on the lefthand side of the woodwork (the side on which it was habitually laid down on a rough surface?).

The bores, however, are mint and I had the original half & full chokes opened up to quarter & half (good enough for me to straight a couple of stands at the monthly 100-bird).