McNab lowlander .   24 May, 2001

John Macnab are certainly a company that do not let the grass grow under their feet. Starting off with
some top of the market guns that will easily compete with some of the very best guns produced by
British gunmakers. They then turned their attention to biggest sector of the market, with guns in the
£1000 to £2000 range, with a line of guns called the Highlander. These guns were very well finished
and consequently have been enthusiastically received by the market.

The latest chapter in the John Macnab story is a range of guns to provide for the first time buyer, or
someone looking for a good second gun, yet not wanting to tie up a great deal of money.

Logically called the Lowlander, these guns are also made in Italy to John Macnab’s specification.

The gun is immediately eye catching in a rack with the distinctive Macnab logo of salmon, grouse and
stag engraved on the bottom of the action. The sides of the action are also engraved with a dog on the
left and duck on the right. The rest of the action is covered with a large leaf scroll that has been
engraved by means of etching to bring out the whole in relief.

The action is very simple, built on tried and tested lines with no frills. The large hammers are powered
by large coil mainsprings that are captive on guide rods, so giving the gun a rebounding action that
helps to prevent striker drag when the gun is opened after firing.

The sears are suspended above the hammers and drop down to engage the hammers. Sears are
picked up by the selector block behind them, which in turn pivots directly onto the trigger. The second
barrel is picked up by inertia- in other words recoil from the first shot resetting for the second.

Selection of over or under barrel is made using the safe; the whole safe moves to either left or right,
much the same way as a Browning or Miroku. The safe is automatic as we would expect on a game
gun.

Obviously the gun is an ejector , with directly spring loaded extractors. These are set by the cocking
lever moving forwards during firing and engaging a trip rod. The ejectors are then tripped by the action
pushing the extractor back and over-riding the trip rod at full gape.

Ejector springs are quite powerful which is useful as small gauge cartridges can be a little reluctant to
leave the gun sometimes.

The chambers are will accept up to 3” cartridges and are as goes with that are proofed for magnum
loads. The bore themselves are chrome lined as is more or less standard on Italian built guns. This
gives very good corrosion resistance. 

Chokes are ¼ and ½ which is an ideal starting point and will suit most game shooters and is also quite
useful should you wish to try the odd few clays before the start of the season.

Overall the barrels are 28” long, which again will be ideal for most. They are made on the mono
block principle and are finished with solid side ribs and have a ventilated top rib. The rib is 7mm wide
and matted to reduce glare when sighting. The barrels are finished with a brass foresight.

The woodwork is very presentable for a gun of this price and was quite well figured. The stock shape
is a pistol grip, which is slim and comfortable in the hand. The forend shape is a slim semi beaver tail,
which is well rounded and comfortable to hold. The wood match between stock and forend is good,
and both are finished with a lacquer type finish giving a semi gloss. Fairly durable and easily maintained
with some wax polish. Stock length is 14” and a polymer butt plate is fitted. This should allow the gun
to shoulder without snagging and being thin it gives a good length of wood should the gun need be
lengthened. Similarly the gun is a suitable length as it is for most youngsters starting their shooting
career, even if they do need to stretch a bit.

The gun’s specified weight is 5 lb 12oz, this one did weigh a little more than that but handles well for a
gun in this price range.

Speaking of price this gun be selling in the shops for around £595, a multichoke version will soon also
be available at around the £675 mark. And for those looking for something smaller still there is also a
28 gauge version in the pipe line.

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