New FABARM Over & Under Shotgun With a PARADOX Barrel
If you visit the New Products section of Italian FABARM‘s website, you’ll find half a dozen of new over and under shotguns. But if you take a closer look, you’ll see that one of them, the Elos B2 Classic Paradox Gold, is a little bit different than others: its lower barrel comes with a built-in Paradox choke.
In Paradox guns (a.k.a. shot and ball guns) the last few inches of the bore are rifled allowing to impart a spin to a slug, however, the rifled section is short enough to still let the gun pattern decently with birdshot. So these guns have rifled smooth bores – a paradox!
The Paradox barrels were invented in 1885 by Lieutenant Colonel George Vincent Fosbery who is mostly known for designing the Webley-Fosbery revolver. Fosbery’s patent was bought by Holland & Holland which became the company that is normally associated with the name Paradox.
Nowadays, you can rarely see a newly manufactured shotgun with Paradox barrels like the FABARM Elos B2 Classic Paradox Gold shotgun. Although you can have a shotgun and rifle in a single gun by using removable rifled chokes or by getting a combination gun, it is still interesting to see the companies experimenting with bringing back the well-forgotten old.
Below you can find the tech specs of this shotgun quoted from the manufacturer’s website.
| SPECIFICATIONS | TECNICAL DATA | |
| ELOS B2 AL CLASSIC PARADOX GOLD | ||
| GAUGE | 12/76 MM ( 12-3”) | |
| BARREL | TRIBORE HP | |
| BARREL LENGTH | 61/24” | |
| TOP RIB DIMENSIONS | 6 MM | |
| BARREL FINISH | SATIN BLUED | |
| CHOKE | PARADOX/INNER HP (4) | |
| RECEIVER | ERGAL 55 | |
| RECEIVER FINISH | NICKEL-PLATED + GOLD PLATING | |
| EJECTORS | YES | |
| STOCK | PISTOL | |
| LENGTH OF PULL IN MM | 370 | |
| DROP AT COMB IN MM | 38 | |
| DROP AT HEEL IN MM | 58 | |
| FOREND | TULIP | |
| WOOD FINISH | OILED | |
| WEIGHT IN KG | 2,75 | |
| CASE | CARTON BOX | |
| PROOF TEST | 1630 BAR |
Let us know in the comments section what do you think about the rifled choke or Paradox technology in general? Have you used such a gun on a hunting trip?
Images from www.fabarm.com
Managing Editor Being a lifelong firearms enthusiast, Hrachya always enjoys studying the history and design of guns and ammunition. Should you need to contact him, feel free to shoot him a message at Hrachya@TheFirearmBlog.com
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So it has a built-in diffusion choke?
His most used invention is the one that he gets the least credit for, the multi-lugged, rotating bolt head. That's right boys and girls, the "Stoner" locking system was invented by neither Eugene Stoner nor Mel Johnson. It was patented in 1893 by Mr. Fosbery and used in a slide action shotgun with an integral box magazine.