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Zoli kronos sporter


hchris
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They're reasonably popular in Italy where they're made. I think the distribution in the UK has been a bit hit and miss in the past. I think Edgar Bros have taken it on now, so there should be some after sales back up. Of course the gun for sale may just be overpriced in which case it isn't going to sell until the price is reduced to a realistic level.

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zoli had a bit of a re-vamp a few years back and introduced some high end CNC machinery before they brought out the kronos. before that they had litle market shre in the UK, they were also just typical of an italian O/U. the kronos is a different kettle of fish all together. its built on the boss style with a perazzi copy drop out trigger. whilst its not as well finished internally as a perazzi its about half the price, so in some respects what do you expect? iv had a go with one and it was a very nice gun, in reality your not going to drop the triggers out often so its not worth worrying about, although zoli do provide spare springs etc, so if they do go its not going to be a huge drama. The biggest criticism i had of the gun was the "chunkyness" of the wood work, this is however only a personal preference. overall i thought the barrels and wood-metal fit was as good as you would expect on a £2k+ gun. the things i would look out for would be hairline fractures in the stock around the side fences, where the action is quite wide, sometimes the wood in these areas can be a bit thin on these types of actions. the reviews have all been largely very good, general concencus is a lot of gun for your money, you save a bit of cash on the name compared to perazzi and the lack of engraving obviously reduces the hand finishing and as such its not going to cost the same as the competitive drop out trigger guns.

i would personally if going down the zoli route look at the Z gun range, its aimed more at the UK market, its got a better stock shape and the barrels are weighted a little lighter i believe. as for the one on here? in my opinion, which is worth less than the paper its written on, its a bit ovre priced for a S/H one, if you got it for sub £2k and you really like it with all the extras then its not too bad, it does look a nice example.

Trouble is they are always going to be harder to shift than "bigger names" you could get 682 gold e's for similiar money, i think you could even go a high grade MK38 and would have gun as much gun, the new 725 when its out might even be around that money, and these will all hold there value as they are far more popular.Actually saw something on a forum a guy complaining about his Zoli barrels bulging and bursting, a guy on the forum stuck up for zoli and contacted them in Italy, Mr. Zoli himelf wrote back, stating the case that hed offered 30% off any new gun for the guy, and also stated that infact the guy had had loads of work done by an outside engineering firm , ( widened bores, and ported i think) and then moaned his barrels went. i thought that was outstanding customer service.

Bit of an essay, but hope it helps.

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well wrote :good: in short from me -- the new Z gun is doubly over priced like all Zoli guns, after 18 months you'd be luck to get half of the original price, I've also know someone who's choke blew out the end of the barrel - they blamed it on the owner ! Avoid and spend your good money on a Beretta, Guerini, Brownin/Mirrok. even if it's a second hand one it's be better than a Zoli !

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They are very nice to shoot & look well put together. Looked at one when I sold the Miroku. I shot my brother in laws 32" Kronos. It felt nicer to shoot than the Gold E I ended up getting but didn't fit as well.

The problem could be resale if you don't get on with it but that kind of applies to anything that's not a Browning or Beretta in the uk. With Edgar Bros behind them their profile may be on the up so S/H prices may firm up.

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just a thought but if you wanted something plain but a bit different than a beretta browning etc? why not put a bit more dough to it and get a blaser F3? dont touch the mkI version look for a mkII every now and then

you see them pop up in private adverts in mags etc and there just a bit over what that fella on here wants for his kronos.

Edited by wj939
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Handled one in Tim McAvoys, the week before it was stolen. Seemed well balanced and very well made. Depends on the price.

 

They are normally about £2.5k new (although there is one in Yorkshire for less than £2k - new - trap model) and around the £2k mark secondhand. In my book that is too dear for a secondhand model. I would wager a penny they previous owner didn't get a lot on trade in. Resale value would worry me, unless I bought it cheap.

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Also the outgoing distributor is doing some good deals on the stock they have left when I have some free cash I am going to have a good look at the zoli range as well as guerini and blaser I think

 

Doing a good deal is fine when you buy new but it destroys the secondhand retail market and consequently your trade in value. Exactly the same happened with Gamba a few year back, and they're a gun that I rate highly. No different I'm sure to the motor trade when new cars are offered with massive discounts to induce you to buy.

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Having owned one of these guns I feel qualified to say that the build quailty is very good,easily comparable to a quality Beretta/Browning (wait for that to hit the fan)It is built on a boss type action and has a very crisp trigger.

Apparently Perazzi went to Zoli for their experience on barrels,true or not i can't say,but if it is true then they can't be that bad eh?

 

I never had a problem with loose chokes and those sort of wives tales seem to stick to any gun apart from the Beretta/Browning brands,on which it can happen just as easily if you don't check them.Although I have heard some Beretta guns can work their chokes loosefairly regularly.

 

The balance on the Kronus was excellent and more than a few more experienced shooters asked for a try and were impressed,including a coach who should know what he's talking about.

 

As for resale I owned mine for 10 months from new and sold it in a week, to a knowlogable shooter who isn't swayed by branding,he was one of 3 after it.It went for £1950,£250 less than i paid for it,I have taken a £250 loss on a grd1 525 and SP1,which in % terms is a bigger hit on these guns over the Zoli.All were new and all sold within a year.

 

From what I understand the difference between a Kronus and a Z gun is a coating on the trigger assembly and a better grade wood,so essentialy the same gun,Which is just like any brand,an SP1 has the same metal as a EELL,you just pay for the extras.

 

If you don't buy a Browning/Beretta/miruko or Parazzi it will always be harder to sell as the U.K market is very focused on those brands.doesn't mean they are better just more resellable.

 

I sold mine as I mainly shoot pigeons in a hide and decided to stick to one gun,so the Auto won, my A400 is my favourite gun everytime,even though the Zoli felt better and my scores were slightly better with it on clays.

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I have one sat in the cabinet waiting on a triple bypass surgery to get it just right for me :lol: . First things first, it is the cheapest drop out trigger mech gun on the market, does that matter? Who cares, it doesn't change the fact that it is. As a few people have mentioned it is essentially a Perazzi clone much the same way as the Kemen was and that is what makes it a nice gun to shoot. This is why I bought it in fact, because it has a slim action and superb trigger pulls.

 

I modify guns, partly to tame recoil, partly to do with shooting characteristics. I shot mine for several weeks in standard form and it always put in a respectable score, in fact no more than say around up to 4 birds shy of those I get with my regular 682E/PFS combo which just so you and every body else knows :lol: :lol: , has shot several 50 straights and a few 96+ so I know what I need out of one so to speak. The trouble with the Kronos is a Kronik level of weight in the barrels (mine are 32"), and as mentioned by others, wood work which is too beefy fore and aft.

 

In standard form recoil is very well tamed, the gun feels very solid under fire and doesn't rattle or move or make vibration noise, very DT10 like in a way. It is NOT as easily maintained as the 682 which I never clean unless wet. You will notice a reluctance to eject spent shells reliably unless you remove and clean the ejectors about every 4 outings (you'll find a deliciously over-engineered feature, the ejectors). The barrels appear well made and well chromed so rust shouldn't be a problem with irregular cleaning.

 

I was not prepared to pay £4.5k for a 2nd hand P gun and then rip into it, with the Zoli I can do so knowing the only real loss would be the cost of the changes I'm about to make should it not make the desired difference I'm after (highly unlikely). I bought mine at a very good price, such that even with a Danuser recoil reducer (fitted by Brierly Guns) and an adjustable comb conversion, it still owes me tolerable money. I intend to get the stock lifted to trap height, the pitch brought to my liking, the grip slimmed, the fore end slimmed (if costs allow) and the mid rib removed to lighten the barrels and make them similar to those on the 682e. It may go on to become a helluva clay gun, if it doesn't, I won't lose any sleep as I need a normal looking gun for field shooting.

 

Regarding chokes shooting out the ends, :rolleyes: , sorry but I have known this to happen on Beretta as well as Miroku's, hardly an inherent gun fault. Like others I agree they are not necessarily good value at £1800-£2000 for a 2nd hand one unless you happen to find you can shoot it really well from the off but for around £1500, they are hard to beat for a gun with competition type features.

 

ps. don't know where you are but you're welcome to shoot a round or two with mine to see what they're like.

Edited by Hamster
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I think my comments as a adv shot and Hamster's who is clearly a very good shot show that at my level the gun is very good and like most guns for top shots require work to bring them to a point where they can take advantage of modifications, Mine was already adjustable , I'd seek out another if I decided to but another O/U

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After a little research I found adverts for this gun going back to March 2010 and all that has happen in 2 years is he has put the price up :no:

I was going to put an offer in for it but I don't think I will bother.

 

I know what you mean but you have to remember all guns have gone up in price in the last couple of years. Perazzi and Berettas DT10 and 682 series have increased a fair bit which has had an impact on used prices I've noticed. The Zoli is basically a £2500 new sporter gun, the ones advertised for £2k are oldish stock trap models with fixed tight chokes which is no real use to most people.

 

Once the new importers settle in with this make and start marketing it effectively my bet is prices will rise further still, particularly if they get hold of a couple of good shooters to sponsor; Ross Straker has shot one for years and he almost never misses. :lol: I still say it's well worth around £1500 if you can get it for that. Even the 682 series are around that money and they don't have triggers that are in the same league.

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Hamster just as a point of interest I never found the gun to be cronicaly barrel heavey,me and poorpete weighed the barrels off hid 682 (he bought it from your friend Sean I think)and the Zoli barrels were a bit heavier,but the chokes were heavier than the 682 ones, but point of balance on my gun was bearly in front of the hinge pin.

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Hamster just as a point of interest I never found the gun to be cronicaly barrel heavey,me and poorpete weighed the barrels off hid 682 (he bought it from your friend Sean I think)and the Zoli barrels were a bit heavier,but the chokes were heavier than the 682 ones, but point of balance on my gun was bearly in front of the hinge pin.

 

 

I'll have to fetch them out and look again properly but they have the weights stamped on and the 682 is defo lighter, also the 682e is ribless where the fore-end meets the barrel which explains the greater fluidity.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I e-mailed Edgar Brothers to get a price for a new set of 32" barrels and to see if their newer spec weights may save me the hassle of getting the rib removed etc, got an e-mail back asking for the serial number of the gun so had a chance to look at the info stamped on the barrels:

 

Zoli 18.5 internal diameter and KG 1730 :blink: :o

682E 18.6 internal diameter and KG 1430 :blink: :blush:

 

 

No wonder one feels nose heavy :lol: :lol: .

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