MICHELANGELO TECHNICAL DETAILS AND DESCRIPTION
Over-and-under manufacture
The bodywork, made of forged Cr2 steel, undergoes a series of heat treatments. The design features a rounded front near the forend iron, medium-sized fences, smooth sides, a short tang and safety catch at the end. Weights and dimensions are carefully balanced to achieve a final weight of around 3.4 kilos in the 12 gauge version. The frame is painstakingly
finished by hand, inside and out. An interesting feature of the base of the frame is the single bead, which is kept smooth to present a larger surface area for engraving. The chopper lump barrels, made of superior quality materials and worked with scrupulous care both inside and out, are carefully measured for thickness and concentricity. They are then joined and soft
soldered with a concave or flat rib. Finally the barrels are blued which produces a lustrous patina.
Bosis makes frequent trips to Turkey and Russia to select the best quality highly figured walnut for stocks and forends. These are offered in the English straight hand, full pistol or Prince of Wales styles. The final product is then oil finished to a fine lustre.
The Michelangelo Model
The design of this model was significantly influenced by the original 1909 built London made Boss gun, considered by many to be the over-and-under "par excellence". One of it's main features is the Boss type side fin. A 30mm steel bar is cut to a length of 850 mm before heating and forging to create the lump which forms the breach of the top and bottom barrels. A
straight-flute drill is used to bore the barrel which is then turned. CNC millers create the barrel hooks. The solid hand-chequered top rib and two solid side ribs are then mounted. Bosis has designed his barrel hook to fit deeper in the frame, making the gun much smoother to open. It is standard practice, unless otherwise specified, to chrome just the inside of
the chambers as it is believed that the chrome may stiffen the barrels and prevent chokes from being replaced at a later date. This method also precludes the need for frequent cleaning, although we would adivse it is good practice to apply a film of protective oil after use. The casehardened steel frame is milled using a CNC machine and the tang is in one piece - a
refined feature in best guns. The frame is then worked slowly and patiently until finally it fits the barrels exactly.
Luciano Bosis has designed and produced new pinless locks for his high-end intercepting-sear sidelock O/U shotguns in 12, 20, 28 and .410.
Mr. Bosis began to develop his new locks because he wanted to create something absolutely unique that any gun connoisseur could easily identify
as the "Bosis locks". Starting from some pre-existing designs, the gun maker from Travagliato changed what he thought needed to be changed and added new technical and cosmetic features to give his O/Us a cutting-edge design and the best possible quality.
The new pinless locks are produced in scaled 12, 20, 28 and .410 action sizes and detach via a tiny Torx® screw hidden under an invisible trap door. Despite being much more resistant than any other screw, Torx® screws are a lot easier to remove when it comes to detaching the locks. Every shotgun comes with a perfectly shaped wood wedge specifically studied to open the hidden trap door and a tiny custom-made screw driver to loosen the Torx® screws.
Two thin side slides are used to cock the hammers. This feature was designed to optimise the mechanical operations and keep the dimensions and couplings precise.
The single trigger mechanism is also patented and operates the trigger pull by means of a 1,500-gram weight for the first round and 1,800 for the second.
The following elements of novelty will help you understand how anal and fastidious Luciano Bosis was while creating his new O/U shotgun locks:
Every operation carried out inside the locks to create the columns solid to the plate uses extremely small, high-resistance cutters the gun maker designed and had built specifically for that purpose. These cutters generate absolutely perfect cuts (zero tolerances) starting from the very first cutting operations.
Luciano Bosis has selected the best possible materials to build his new O/U shotgun.
The lockplates are in special alloy steel 18NiCrMo5 which is the best material for this part.
The lock internal components are in 56NiCrV7KU, an extremely resistant steel that can be either flamed- or TAF-hardened and reaches HRC 48-65 and 1200÷1300 N/mm2 resistance to traction.
Springs are made in Belgium following Luciano Bosis's design and specifications.
The gun comes with hand-forged chopper lump barrels made out of the new aerospace steel called "BOSIS ONE STEEL". The barrels are the perfect combination of old techniques, craftsmanship and new materials.
Every tube is accompanied by a quality certificate recording data
about:
1 steel production and delivery status;
2 barrel forging and relevant tests;
3 heat treatment and relevant tests
As barrels are really key in a shotgun Mr. Bosis works only with the best possible suppliers operating under extremely efficient Quality Control Systems and complying with the most strict international standards
Conclusion
CNC machinery is used to individually manufacture frames, forend-irons, locking bolts, trigger plates and other smaller parts for each different gauge of gun.
Handcrafted guns will always have a soul, a result of the dedicated skill and unerring eye of the master craftsmen in achieving perfection at all stages of the process.
Modern technology has certainly helped optimise precision in some areas and reduce the number of hours worked on the 'iron'. In spite of this it is the hand finishing that defines the term best gun.
From soldering to fitting the barrels, polishing the insides of the locks, bringing the wood to a perfect finish and finally engraving - these are all operations performed by hand to a standard that no machine can yet emulate.
Last, but certainly not least, comes the engraving, which almost deserves a chapter to itself. Only the best engravers are commissioned, artists including Pedretti, Pedersoli and Naida. The customer works with the gunsmith and engraver to create the perfect design for their gun.
All Bosis guns are entirely custom made and built to precise specifications in response to the customer's requirements.Over-and-unders. The Michelangelo is currently offered in the following gauges - 12, 16, 20, 28 and 410. The Wild in 12 and 20 bore.