Sport shooter David Kostelecký, who represents the Czech Republic in trap, has won – without exaggeration – every trophy there is to win in the discipline. He has been competing and collecting medals since the early 1990s. He took gold at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and silver in Tokyo in 2020. For over 20 years he has been shooting with a Perazzi shotgun, made by the Italian family firm of the same name, which produces the finest sporting and hunting shotguns in the world.
How long have you been using a Perazzi shotgun, and why?
I have been using Perazzi as an athlete since 2002, so more than twenty years. The company approached me at a time when I was looking for a new partner who could give me not just a good gun, but genuinely high-quality, personal service as well. Perazzi has treated me superbly from the very start. I have the best shotgun in the world and perfect service to go with it. Originally, like the whole Czech trap team, I used a gun from another brand, but I wasn't satisfied with it. I had to fight to make the switch to Perazzi – I was a pioneer in that respect, but thanks to me other Czech shooters moved to Perazzi as well.
You are not only a Perazzi shooter but also the brand's representative on the Czech market. How do you actually sell such a specific product?
This is not off-the-shelf merchandise. My approach to every Czech customer is entirely individual. Rather than a salesman, I am a guide through the process; I put my own name behind the brand. Every gun is made individually to measure for the customer. The ideal stock shape, which greatly affects the handling of the gun and therefore shooting accuracy, is defined directly with the customer at the Perazzi factory, and I am always there for it.
So when a Czech buyer contacts you saying they want a Perazzi, what happens next?
A Perazzi is not a gun for everyone. The people who contact me know what they want. I always meet prospective Perazzi owners in person, I advise them, and for a beginner I provide an individual course. I am effectively a coach. Then I contact Perazzi – and by that I mean co-owner Mauro Perazzi directly. I travel with the customer in person to the Perazzi factory in Lombardy, and there we take their measurements, so to speak, so the gun can be made to their needs, including the shaping of the stock.
Why is the stock so important?
The shape of the stock is determined by the shooter's height, weight and hands. A difference of a millimetre in the shape of the stock can significantly affect accuracy. At a distance of 30 metres, the point of impact shifts by several centimetres.
How often are you actually at the Perazzi production plant?
It depends on the orders. In some years I have been there as many as 20 times. The Perazzi factory is basically a second home to me. I know Mauro and Roberta Perazzi well, the founder's children who run the factory. They are wonderful people.
How hard is it to hold your own on the market with such a unique gun?
It isn't easy, but the target group of customers knows what it is getting into. They know they are getting the best gun in the world, half of which is made by hand. A Perazzi is so specific a gun that competition in the true sense of the word doesn't exist for it. And the unique accompanying services are part of the package.
Explain to a layperson what sets Perazzi apart from other shotguns.
You will struggle to find a gunmaker where a co-owner personally attends to the customer, measures their stock and tests the gun with them in the shooting tunnel. Perazzi has a carefully worked-out weight distribution for ideal movement of the gun, and the lowest possible recoil. Perazzi has been a market leader since its founding. They were the first to come up with a removable, interchangeable trigger, a special barrel choke that limits shot spread, and an adjustable stock.
How important is the quality of the gun for a good sporting result?
Absolutely crucial: a good result comes from a good gun. That is why I wanted to switch to Perazzi. In 20 years I am only on my second Perazzi gun. I fired 500,000 cartridges with the original one and I could still keep using it – it is essentially untouched. I know Perazzi shotguns that have fired over a million rounds and still serve well.
Can you give an indication of the price range of Perazzi shotguns?
Prices for sporting guns start at 12,000 euros, but depending on the customer's requirements they can reach several tens of thousands of euros. It also depends on the decoration, meaning the engraving. You are buying not just a gun but a work of art. Perazzi guns are also bought by collectors who don't shoot at all. In its own way it is an investment asset too.
Who uses Perazzi shotguns apart from athletes? Is it a gun for the wealthy?
I would disagree with that. Perazzi guns are bought not only by bankers, entrepreneurs and aristocrats, but also by gamekeepers and hunters. Someone on an ordinary income can save up for a Perazzi too, if owning the best gun is what they want. Women shoot Perazzi as well – excellent shooters. Barbora Šumová, for instance, who represented the Czech Republic in skeet at the Tokyo Olympics.
Isn't it a bit of a shame that Perazzi makes "only" shotguns? Why not extend the portfolio to other firearms?
What isn't, may yet be. For a time they made a hunting over-and-under rifle, for example. Now (2023), with CSG, a strong global group, buying the majority stake in Perazzi, the Perazzi family gains certainty and stability – and with it room for a possible expansion of the product range.
You have already mentioned that Perazzi has a Czech owner, the global industrial and technological group CSG. How do you think this news will be received by the world's sporting and hunting communities?
In the Czech Republic it will be received with enthusiasm. Abroad it may cause a bit of a shock, and with it expectations about where the change of ownership will lead. The key point is that the Perazzi family continues to co-own and run the company. And with a strong partner coming in, the family gains a new outlook. I am convinced that the sporting and hunting communities around the world will soon understand that this is a step that matters for the long-term stability, prosperity and development of the brand. It will certainly help the reputation of our country. Perazzi being bought will give the global shooting community a reason to find the Czech Republic on the map.
About Armi Perazzi
Armi Perazzi S.p.A. is a firearms manufacturer specialising in shotguns for the sporting discipline of trap (shooting at clay targets) and for hunting. Perazzi guns have helped top shooters from various countries win 62 Olympic medals at 11 Olympic Games. The company has branches in Italy and in California, USA, and exports its products to 50 countries. Armi Perazzi produces an average of 1,500 guns per year. Its core business, accounting for 80 percent of sales, consists of models for sport shooting. Every shotgun is made to measure according to the customer's requirements, and its production – from machining the parts through to testing – takes six months. Although the company uses modern technologies in production, a significant share of the work is done by hand by experienced gunsmiths.