Fabarm Shotguns

pdt1793db · August 21, 2005, 07:44 PM

One of my friends found a Fabarm shotgun that he likes and since Ive never really heard of the company before and what kind of reputation they have I was just wondering what you guys thought of them and if there guns were any good or what problems you guys have had with them.

Hotbarrel · August 21, 2005, 09:46 PM

Fabarm is an Italian company in Brescia, in the vicinity of Beretta and most other Italian gunmakers. They only make shotguns: SxS, O/U, pump and auto. They used to be distributed by H&K, but I hear they've gone over to SIG now.
I don't know what type of gun your friend has, but last April I bought a left-handed H-368 autoloader new for $550. I shot a few boxes of 3.5 dram loads to break it in, and it's functioned flawlessly over 1,000 times since. Synthetic stock with swivel studs, action's a copy of the Rem 1100, piston's an improvement on Beretta's. Excellent fit and finish all around. The cylinder wall's a bit thin, so be careful not to bang it hard when disassembled. That's my only caveat. Best money I ever spent on a gun.

FamDfndr · August 21, 2005, 09:50 PM

Hey, I posted about a Fabarm O/U on the forum and it closed awhile back with zero responses. I have also been going through the older threads and so far I have come across only one post with the mention of that name shotgun and if I remeber correctly it was a senior member that said that he had one and it fit him well and he shot it well. Research on the net reveals that this is a brand that is owned by Heckler &Koch try the address below.
http://www.arizonagunrunners.net/Pro...rshotguns.html

They have semis, Over /unders, and Side by sides. I have not come across any of these guns at the range or my local dealers. But HK pistols are pretty good. I posted because I stumbled upon the web site above in my search for O/Us.

FamDfndr · August 21, 2005, 09:52 PM

Sorry did not know about the switch in ownership. Maybe there is a more current website.

expeditionx · August 21, 2005, 10:10 PM

Ownership was never switched. The importing contract was.
Sigarms does not list the Fabarms the last time i looked.
I wish I could buy an extended magazine tube for my fp6.
Searched everywhere but found none.
The remington 870 one does not work with it either different thread spacing.

Hotbarrel · August 21, 2005, 11:19 PM

Yeah, I haven't seen any releases or published info on the switch in distributorship, but my favorite gun dealer sells both H&K and SIG, and told me about this back in February. He got an incentive from H&K to move all his H&K-labeled Fabarm stock, which is why I got a few bucks off his usual price. Mine's got an H&K hard case, and has the usual sterling H&K warranty.
I don't know if H&K owns Fabarm outright, but they've taken the Lion series guns -and all shotguns -off their website, so there may be good deals available on the H&K/Fabarm line. They're very good guns, and apparently Fabarm is the leading shotgun brand in Europe.
expeditionx, I see what you mean about the lack of mag tube extensions for the FP6. I did an internet search and found all kinds of accessories except that item.

JMC · August 22, 2005, 06:14 AM

Back in '02 I bought a Fabarm Silver Lion II SxS from HK when they were the importers.

HK never owned Fabarm. They, HK, needed a shotgun line when Benelli jumped ship on HK and went on their own here in the US in '97. They struck a deal with Fabarm but never actively marketed the product line.

The Fabarm "tactical" shotguns could not live up to the Benelli line so HK did not do very well with them either.

HK is no longer the importer of the Fabarm line, SIG Arms is but they haven't begun to list the products that they will carry.

Unfortunately, HK is now going to be the importer for Merkel shotguns. This is bad news for Merkel in deed.

HK will honor the life time warranty on HK marked Fabarm guns but as usual, it is very hard, next to impossible, to get parts from HK. I know this becasue I just needed a side plate screw and had to go thru Hell to get it.

SIG will NOT honor ANY warranty on HK sold/marked guns. In fact, the impression I got from speaking with them is, they don't want anything to do with HK sold guns. Period. They did not even return a call I made to them looking to buy the screw that I needed. SIG has a $25 minimum parst order so I wasn't about to pay that for one 2" screw.

I really like my Silver Lion II. It is a well made European shotgun. While a tad on the heavy side, 7.2 lbs., it performs well in the field and is a good looking shotgun which has drawn many good comments from others.

Quote:

They're very good guns, and apparently Fabarm is the leading shotgun brand in Europe.

I don't know about that. There are many excellent shotgun manufacturers in Europe that turn out far better guns at much higher prices than Fabarm.

Fabarm shotguns are a good value for the $'s.

expeditionx · August 22, 2005, 01:05 PM

The part about Hk not owning Fabarms is correct. That is what i meant about ownership never changed. To export into different countries often comes with rules about where the firearms are kept, licensed facilities, and legal distribution channels. Fabarms is not going to just build a multi million dollar warehouse facility in the USA with out enough established business and legal footings.

A great example of this is the Russian company that exported arms to the USA through E.A.A. Saiga brand was imported through EAA but EAA did not own IZHMASH the company that makes Saiga. Remington did not buy out IZHMASH but has become the marketing distributer for their Baikal line of shot guns. Springfield Armory did not buy the croation company that currently manufactures the XD line of pistols they just market their products.

Glock still does not have a full manufacturing facility in the USA and look at how much they sell. They are just getting around to manufacturing certain frames on US soil not to long ago.

chris in va · August 22, 2005, 06:22 PM

My friend has one of the pump 12ga versions. Frankly I've never felt such a light pump gun before. Makes my Nova feel like a tank.

Unfortunately he got it used and the shells keep getting wedged in the chamber after firing and won't extract, so it has to go back to the distributor.

Hotbarrel · August 22, 2005, 08:37 PM

I don't know about Fabarm's ownership, but I did call H&K's US customer service about the warranty and they told me that they would continue to guarantee products sold under their name. Specifically, my question was about the durability of the piston's polymer sleeve, and they assured me that it would hold up for tens of thousands of firings and function properly with or without the sleeve. They went on to offer me a free replacement piston if I felt I needed one. I may take them up on that to have one if the part should wear out.
From what I've read, Fabarm is the European sales equivalent of Remington in the US.
Ultimately, all I care about is that the gun holds up for years. I think it will.

Ssgt Savage · March 19, 2008, 02:08 PM

I picked up a new, still in the sealed cardboard box ad case H&K Fabarm Gold Lion last year. Fabarm to my knowledge is not affiliated with Sig. They have a website http://www.fabarm.com/ nothing mentioned there.

I agree they aren't the best in Europe for sure. But I would stack it up against any of my 1100's, Browning, Benelli (that's all my auto SG's)..... It's extremely light and what I once considered a pain, loading and unloading, finally made sense when a turkey walked up on me in my tree stand. I switched the 3" Mag 000 Buck for a #4 Buck quietly enough to kill the gobbler. It's very well made, HQ parts and I even took a flying arse dive off the back of a pickup going up a mountain into a creek this season with it and we both made it out in good condition. Actually my coccyx bone took a pounding so the SG did better!

NINE · March 19, 2008, 06:31 PM

I have a Fabarm Martial Pro Forces 14". It's the best shotgun I've ever owned.

HorseoftheSea · March 19, 2008, 07:21 PM

Tristar's website claims that they are the new importer for Fabarm products, supposedly starting in 2008, but I haven't seen any of their products out there yet.

Ssgt Savage · March 20, 2008, 11:49 AM

Want to trade?

That is nice. Are you LE?

I can't go under 18.5" legally without the permits. I'm working towards automatic/Class 3 now and I think that llicense covers this but I couldn't have a 14". I have a nice Mossberg I'd be willing to send along with the Fabarm Lion in exchange???

If you aren't an LE isn't that a restricted weapon by the Feds?

Nice layout by the way. Appears to be a HK USP along side the Fabarm and a throwing axe/hatchet??? Man, try to step on a twig if you're coming for me so I can duck the flying axe!

chris in va · March 20, 2008, 12:14 PM

Thread necromancer.

Ssgt Savage · March 20, 2008, 12:37 PM

Better to start a new thread then to summon one magically through the search engine?

SenapangPatah · May 20, 2008, 04:44 AM

Hey guys, I'm a newbie and just got the permit for a 12gauge fabarm shotgun (silver lion?) that used to be my father's.
I was searching for info on my s/gun and found this forum.

Anyway, on my registration stated this gun as "Wischo Fabarm". Can anybody tell me exactly what my shotgun really is? The wischo name was never brought up here.

By the way, I'm located in Malaysia, and to get permit for shotgun here is like applying for citizenship.

August 21, 2005, 07:44 PM	#1
pdt1793db Senior Member Join Date: January 20, 2005 Posts: 170	Fabarm Shotguns One of my friends found a Fabarm shotgun that he likes and since Ive never really heard of the company before and what kind of reputation they have I was just wondering what you guys thought of them and if there guns were any good or what problems you guys have had with them.

August 21, 2005, 09:46 PM	#2
Hotbarrel Senior Member Join Date: August 7, 2004 Location: Sacracalifas Posts: 122	Fabarm is an Italian company in Brescia, in the vicinity of Beretta and most other Italian gunmakers. They only make shotguns: SxS, O/U, pump and auto. They used to be distributed by H&K, but I hear they've gone over to SIG now. I don't know what type of gun your friend has, but last April I bought a left-handed H-368 autoloader new for $550. I shot a few boxes of 3.5 dram loads to break it in, and it's functioned flawlessly over 1,000 times since. Synthetic stock with swivel studs, action's a copy of the Rem 1100, piston's an improvement on Beretta's. Excellent fit and finish all around. The cylinder wall's a bit thin, so be careful not to bang it hard when disassembled. That's my only caveat. Best money I ever spent on a gun. __________________ VT VENIANT OMNES -"Let them all come!"

August 21, 2005, 11:19 PM	#6
Hotbarrel Senior Member Join Date: August 7, 2004 Location: Sacracalifas Posts: 122	Yeah, I haven't seen any releases or published info on the switch in distributorship, but my favorite gun dealer sells both H&K and SIG, and told me about this back in February. He got an incentive from H&K to move all his H&K-labeled Fabarm stock, which is why I got a few bucks off his usual price. Mine's got an H&K hard case, and has the usual sterling H&K warranty. I don't know if H&K owns Fabarm outright, but they've taken the Lion series guns -and all shotguns -off their website, so there may be good deals available on the H&K/Fabarm line. They're very good guns, and apparently Fabarm is the leading shotgun brand in Europe. expeditionx, I see what you mean about the lack of mag tube extensions for the FP6. I did an internet search and found all kinds of accessories except that item. __________________ VT VENIANT OMNES -"Let them all come!"

August 22, 2005, 08:37 PM	#10
Hotbarrel Senior Member Join Date: August 7, 2004 Location: Sacracalifas Posts: 122	I don't know about Fabarm's ownership, but I did call H&K's US customer service about the warranty and they told me that they would continue to guarantee products sold under their name. Specifically, my question was about the durability of the piston's polymer sleeve, and they assured me that it would hold up for tens of thousands of firings and function properly with or without the sleeve. They went on to offer me a free replacement piston if I felt I needed one. I may take them up on that to have one if the part should wear out. From what I've read, Fabarm is the European sales equivalent of Remington in the US. Ultimately, all I care about is that the gun holds up for years. I think it will. __________________ VT VENIANT OMNES -"Let them all come!"

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August 21, 2005, 09:50 PM	#3
FamDfndr Member Join Date: July 3, 2005 Location: Jamaica Posts: 24	Hey, I posted about a Fabarm O/U on the forum and it closed awhile back with zero responses. I have also been going through the older threads and so far I have come across only one post with the mention of that name shotgun and if I remeber correctly it was a senior member that said that he had one and it fit him well and he shot it well. Research on the net reveals that this is a brand that is owned by Heckler &Koch try the address below. http://www.arizonagunrunners.net/Pro...rshotguns.html They have semis, Over /unders, and Side by sides. I have not come across any of these guns at the range or my local dealers. But HK pistols are pretty good. I posted because I stumbled upon the web site above in my search for O/Us.

August 21, 2005, 09:52 PM	#4
FamDfndr Member Join Date: July 3, 2005 Location: Jamaica Posts: 24	Sorry did not know about the switch in ownership. Maybe there is a more current website.

August 21, 2005, 10:10 PM	#5
expeditionx Senior Member Join Date: July 10, 2004 Posts: 330	Ownership was never switched. The importing contract was. Sigarms does not list the Fabarms the last time i looked. I wish I could buy an extended magazine tube for my fp6. Searched everywhere but found none. The remington 870 one does not work with it either different thread spacing.

August 22, 2005, 01:05 PM	#8
expeditionx Senior Member Join Date: July 10, 2004 Posts: 330	The part about Hk not owning Fabarms is correct. That is what i meant about ownership never changed. To export into different countries often comes with rules about where the firearms are kept, licensed facilities, and legal distribution channels. Fabarms is not going to just build a multi million dollar warehouse facility in the USA with out enough established business and legal footings. A great example of this is the Russian company that exported arms to the USA through E.A.A. Saiga brand was imported through EAA but EAA did not own IZHMASH the company that makes Saiga. Remington did not buy out IZHMASH but has become the marketing distributer for their Baikal line of shot guns. Springfield Armory did not buy the croation company that currently manufactures the XD line of pistols they just market their products. Glock still does not have a full manufacturing facility in the USA and look at how much they sell. They are just getting around to manufacturing certain frames on US soil not to long ago.

August 22, 2005, 06:22 PM	#9
chris in va Senior Member Join Date: December 26, 2004 Location: Louisville KY Posts: 13,806	My friend has one of the pump 12ga versions. Frankly I've never felt such a light pump gun before. Makes my Nova feel like a tank. Unfortunately he got it used and the shells keep getting wedged in the chamber after firing and won't extract, so it has to go back to the distributor.

March 19, 2008, 02:08 PM	#11
Ssgt Savage Member Join Date: March 19, 2008 Location: Virginia Posts: 96	I picked up a new, still in the sealed cardboard box ad case H&K Fabarm Gold Lion last year. Fabarm to my knowledge is not affiliated with Sig. They have a website http://www.fabarm.com/ nothing mentioned there. I agree they aren't the best in Europe for sure. But I would stack it up against any of my 1100's, Browning, Benelli (that's all my auto SG's)..... It's extremely light and what I once considered a pain, loading and unloading, finally made sense when a turkey walked up on me in my tree stand. I switched the 3" Mag 000 Buck for a #4 Buck quietly enough to kill the gobbler. It's very well made, HQ parts and I even took a flying arse dive off the back of a pickup going up a mountain into a creek this season with it and we both made it out in good condition. Actually my coccyx bone took a pounding so the SG did better!

March 19, 2008, 06:31 PM	#12
NINE Senior Member Join Date: May 4, 2001 Posts: 431	I have a Fabarm Martial Pro Forces 14". It's the best shotgun I've ever owned.

March 19, 2008, 07:21 PM	#13
HorseoftheSea Member Join Date: January 3, 2006 Location: Baton Rouge, La Posts: 19	Tristar's website claims that they are the new importer for Fabarm products, supposedly starting in 2008, but I haven't seen any of their products out there yet.

March 20, 2008, 12:14 PM	#15
chris in va Senior Member Join Date: December 26, 2004 Location: Louisville KY Posts: 13,806	Thread necromancer.

March 20, 2008, 12:37 PM	#16
Ssgt Savage Member Join Date: March 19, 2008 Location: Virginia Posts: 96	Better to start a new thread then to summon one magically through the search engine?

May 20, 2008, 04:44 AM	#17
SenapangPatah Junior Member Join Date: May 20, 2008 Posts: 3	Hey guys, I'm a newbie and just got the permit for a 12gauge fabarm shotgun (silver lion?) that used to be my father's. I was searching for info on my s/gun and found this forum. Anyway, on my registration stated this gun as "Wischo Fabarm". Can anybody tell me exactly what my shotgun really is? The wischo name was never brought up here. By the way, I'm located in Malaysia, and to get permit for shotgun here is like applying for citizenship.