Perazzi

Perazzi is an Italian firearms manufacturer based near Brescia and known primarily for high-end competition shotguns. The company was established in 1957 by Daniele Perazzi, who had entered the gun trade as a teenager and developed an early reputation for practical firearms engineering. Its business is centered on over-and-under shotguns for Olympic disciplines, clay-target competition, and sporting use, with a smaller hunting-oriented presence. Perazzi guns are recognized for precision manufacture, hand finishing, removable trigger assemblies, extensive fitting options, and a premium price position. The company’s importance in the shooting-sports market grew from its close relationship with elite competitors. In the early 1960s, Daniele Perazzi worked with Ivo Fabbri and the Italian shooter and designer Ennio Mattarelli on a high-quality shotgun intended to combine sophisticated hand manufacture with more systematic production. Mattarelli used an early Perazzi design to win Olympic trap gold at the 1964 Tokyo Games, establishing the brand’s international competition credentials. After Fabbri left to form Fabbri Arms, Perazzi continued developing guns with Mattarelli and produced the MX8 for the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. The MX8 incorporated design features intended for demanding competition conditions, including a high rib, a corresponding stock configuration, interchangeable screw-in chokes, and a detachable trigger group using V-springs. The removable assembly allowed competitors to replace or service the trigger mechanism without sending the whole shotgun away, an especially valuable feature in tournament use. Perazzi’s product family subsequently expanded around the MX platform and related models such as the MX12, MX2000/8, MX2000/3, MX2005, MX2008, MX2000/S, SC3, and High Tech variants. These guns have been used by numerous Olympic medalists across trap, skeet, and double-trap events. The brand’s competitive reputation is reinforced by its focus on balance, trigger performance, stock dimensions, barrel configuration, rib geometry, and long-term serviceability rather than mass-market volume. The company also sells sporting and hunting shotguns. Many guns are made to order, allowing customers to specify gauge, barrel dimensions and length, rib design, stock and fore-end wood, trigger configuration, engraving, side plates, and other aesthetic or ergonomic details. Customers may use a test gun to establish measurements and fit before production. Perazzi presents this factory-based customization process as the “Perazzi Experience,” combining technical consultation, gun fitting, and visibility into the manufacturing process. Daniele Perazzi died in 2012, after which his children Mauro and Roberta Perazzi took over the business. In December 2023, Prague-based Czechoslovak Group acquired an 80% stake. Perazzi therefore remains an active specialist manufacturer with family involvement but operates within a larger industrial ownership structure. Its positioning continues to rest on Italian craftsmanship, custom fitting, competition heritage, and the performance expectations of serious shooters.

Daniele Perazzi’s introduction to firearms began in childhood through a family connection. At fourteen he entered the trade as an employee of a local gunsmith, gaining practical experience before starting to work independently at about twenty. His first significant commercial success came from a patented trigger design that he licensed or sold to other firearms manufacturers. In 1957, at age twenty-five, he formally established Perazzi Armi. In 1960, Perazzi met Ivo Fabbri, an automotive engineer employed by Fiat. They shared an ambition to create sophisticated, hand-built shotguns that would offer some of the qualities associated with prestigious British makers while remaining more attainable for Italian customers. Their work was joined by Ennio Mattarelli, an accomplished Italian shooter who also contributed design and testing expertise. The resulting early Perazzi competition gun was used by Mattarelli to win Olympic trap gold at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics with a world-record score of 198 out of 200 targets. This result gave Perazzi a powerful foundation in the international competition market. Fabbri left the partnership in 1965 and later established Fabbri Arms. Perazzi continued working with Mattarelli, developing a new shotgun for the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. That project produced the MX8, a model that became central to the company’s identity. Its higher rib and corresponding stock configuration were intended to address sight-plane distortion in hot conditions and help manage recoil. The MX8 also used a pistol grip for additional control, interchangeable screw-in chokes in the lower barrel, and a detachable trigger group based on V-springs. V-springs could deliver a crisp trigger pull but could fail abruptly when worn; the removable design meant a competitor could carry or install a replacement unit during training or competition. Slanted hammers were also intended to reduce ignition problems. Over subsequent decades, Perazzi developed a broad family of competition guns around the MX architecture and introduced models for trap, skeet, double trap, sporting, and hunting. The MX8 and related variants became frequent choices among elite shooters. Perazzi shotguns appeared in Olympic medal results across multiple Games, including Tokyo in 1964, Moscow in 1980, Los Angeles in 1984, Seoul in 1988, Atlanta in 1996, Sydney in 2000, Athens in 2004, London in 2012, Rio de Janeiro in 2016, and Tokyo in 2020. Medal-winning users included Ennio Mattarelli, Kim Rhode, Michael Diamond, Giovanni Pellielo, Jessica Rossi, Zuzana Stefecekova, Fehaid Al-Deehani, and other leading competitors. The manufacturing model has remained closely associated with made-to-order production. Buyers can specify gauge, barrel length and diameter, rib dimensions, stock and fore-end wood, trigger group, engraving, side plates, and other details. Factory fitting with a test gun allows dimensions to be tailored to an individual shooter. The company describes the customer-facing process as the “Perazzi Experience”; the factory includes a public viewing area, and visitors may combine the purchase and fitting process with hospitality at a nearby family-owned café and restaurant. Daniele Perazzi died in 2012. His son Mauro and daughter Roberta subsequently took over operation of the family business. In December 2023, Czechoslovak Group acquired 80% of Perazzi, adding the specialist shotgun maker to its industrial portfolio. The transaction marked a major ownership transition, but the brand’s identity continues to be linked to the Perazzi family, Italian manufacture, custom fitting, and elite clay-target shooting.

• 2023

  Czechoslovak Group takes a controlling stake

  [1]Perazzien.wikipedia.org

  Czechoslovak Group acquired 80% of Perazzi, creating a new majority ownership structure while retaining Perazzi family participation.

• 2012

  Family succession after Daniele Perazzi’s death

  [1]Perazzien.wikipedia.org

  Following the founder’s death, his children Mauro and Roberta assumed responsibility for the family business.

• 1968

  MX8 introduced for Olympic competition

  [1]Perazzien.wikipedia.org

  The MX8 was developed for the Mexico City Olympics with a high rib, configurable choke system, and detachable V-spring trigger assembly.

• 1965

  Fabbri leaves the partnership

  [1]Perazzien.wikipedia.org

  Ivo Fabbri separated from Perazzi and later founded Fabbri Arms, while Perazzi continued its development work with Ennio Mattarelli.

• 1964

  First Olympic breakthrough

  [1]Perazzien.wikipedia.org

  Ennio Mattarelli won Olympic trap gold at Tokyo with a Perazzi shotgun and set a world-record score.

• 1960

  Partnership with Ivo Fabbri begins

  [1]Perazzien.wikipedia.org

  Daniele Perazzi and engineer Ivo Fabbri began collaborating on high-quality shotguns intended to combine hand craftsmanship with broader affordability.

• 1957

  Perazzi Armi established

  [1]Perazzien.wikipedia.org

  Daniele Perazzi formally founded Perazzi Armi in Italy after gaining experience as a gunsmith and commercializing a patented trigger design.

High-end, competition-focused, hand-finished Italian shotguns with extensive custom fitting and personalization.

• Competition shotgun · 1968

  MX8

  The MX8 is Perazzi’s best-known competition platform and was developed around the needs of elite trap shooting. Its design is associated with a high rib, a pistol-grip stock, interchangeable screw-in chokes, and a detachable V-spring trigger group. The removable trigger mechanism allows competitors or gunsmiths to exchange the assembly separately from the rest of the shotgun, an important serviceability feature in high-level competition. MX8 variants have been used by Olympic medalists across several decades.

• Competition shotgun

  MX12

  The MX12 is part of Perazzi’s competition range and has been associated particularly with Olympic double-trap and related clay-target disciplines. Like other Perazzi competition models, it is built around an over-and-under configuration and can be tailored through barrel, rib, stock, trigger, and finish specifications. Its presence in Olympic medal results helped establish the model as one of the company’s recognized specialist offerings.

• Competition shotgun

  MX2000/8

  The MX2000/8 is an MX-family competition shotgun used in Olympic trap and related events. It represents Perazzi’s approach of adapting a common high-performance platform to individual disciplines and shooter requirements. Custom fitting, adjustable configuration choices, and hand finishing are central to its value proposition, while its use by Olympic medalists has supported the model’s reputation among serious clay-target competitors.

• Competition shotgun

  MX2000/3

  The MX2000/3 is a competition-oriented Perazzi model used in Olympic trap and related disciplines. It belongs to the company’s family of configurable over-and-under guns, where balance, rib profile, stock dimensions, barrel specifications, and trigger characteristics can be selected for a particular shooter. The model has appeared in Olympic medal-winning use, including the 2016 Rio Games.

• Competition shotgun

  High Tech

  The High Tech is a modern Perazzi competition line designed for elite clay-target shooting. It has been used in Olympic competition, including gold-medal use at Tokyo 2020 and bronze-medal use at Rio 2016. The line extends Perazzi’s emphasis on competition ergonomics, detachable trigger technology, precise fitting, and customized configuration rather than standardized mass-market production.

• Skeet shotgun

  SC3

  The SC3 is a Perazzi shotgun associated with skeet competition. It is part of the brand’s specialized sporting range, where barrel configuration, balance, stock fit, and trigger behavior are selected to suit the rhythm and target presentation of skeet shooting. The model was used by an Olympic gold medalist at the 2004 Athens Games.

• 2023

  Sale of an 80% stake to Czechoslovak GroupM&A

  Background

  After decades of family operation and following the second-generation succession, Perazzi entered a new ownership phase.

  Action taken

  Czechoslovak Group acquired an 80% stake in the company, with the Perazzi family retaining a minority position according to the cited reference.

  Aftermath

  The transaction made Czechoslovak Group the controlling owner while preserving Perazzi’s identity as an Italian specialist shotgun brand.

  Source

• 2012

  Transition to the next family generationStrategy

  Background

  Founder Daniele Perazzi died in 2012 after building the company around specialist competition shotguns and family ownership.

  Action taken

  His children Mauro and Roberta took over operation of the business.

  Aftermath

  Perazzi continued operating as a family-run specialist manufacturer and retained its focus on made-to-order competition and sporting guns.

  Source

• 1968

  Launch of the MX8 competition platformProduct launch

  Background

  Perazzi and Ennio Mattarelli were developing a shotgun for the hot and demanding conditions expected at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics.

  Action taken

  The company introduced the MX8 with a higher rib and stock configuration, interchangeable screw-in chokes, a pistol grip, and a detachable V-spring trigger assembly.

  Aftermath

  The MX8 became the foundation of a long-running family of Perazzi competition guns and was subsequently used by numerous Olympic medalists.

  Source

1. 1Perazzien.wikipedia.org