I don't exactly remember what year it was that I switched to shooting Kolar shotguns, though I believe it was the end of 2003
At the time I had been shooting a Perazzi MX3 and shooting it quite well. The first I had seen the Kolar that was to become mine was at Fort Bragg. Berkeley Stevens had purchased it in Florida at the Florida State shoot. He brought it back to NC specifically to sell it.
A shooter out of Alabama had had it specifically made by Kolar as a dedicated doubles gun. The guy who had it made found out that he couldn't shoot it very well and traded it for a Perazzi.
Berk had brought it to Bragg in April of that year. He then found a top single barrel to add to it to make a combo unit. I admired it and made the mistake of putting it together and shouldering it. Although I didn’t buy it at that time, every time I went shooting or even thought about shooting, the Kolar would come to mind.
It got to be December and I had been a very good boy………….I called Berkeley and asked if he still had the Kolar. He did. We made a deal that included trading the MX3 and a couple dollars to complete the transaction.
I was living close to Lexington at the time, Berkeley was actually just down the road near Asheboro. Short road trip and I brought baby home.
On to the Mebane Senior Center (Buckhorn) for the initial registered shoot with it. I managed to break the first 100 singles targets I ever shot at with it. Actually, 101 as I shot a target that was broken as it exited the house. Mr. Redmon was on hand to assure that proper protocol was observed.
Handicap was a different story. The top single didn’t shoot as high as I needed and I did not have the hardware along to make the adjustments needed to adjust POI. This was later addressed and I earned the 27 yd line for the 3rd time with it.
Then came doubles. First targets were easy. Problem was the release trigger wouldn’t consistently set to get a shot off at the 2nd target. Oh Boy! Struggled to complete the event.
Talk about being on a high from singles to a crash landing in doubles!
The next day I called Pete McCall (All American and Kolar rep). He gave me the name and contact info for Kolar’s Chief Engineer. He also contacted them ahead of me to give them a heads up and insight into the issue I was having.
I called Kolar and talked to Keith Sprangers. After preliminary conversation, Keith said, that’s that real pretty high rib isn’t it? (That’s when I found out it was the first high rib O/U out of their factory) I replied that it was. He then said we’ve been looking for that gun for a while. Evidently they discovered that someone else had done the release trigger conversion and they didn’t want it out there for someone to experience the exact trouble I was having.
Keith instructed me to return the triggers to Kolar marked to his attention. I packaged the trigger group up and shipped it off. They had it back to me the next week. Completely rebuilt to their specs.
No charge.
What???
Their position was all about customer satisfaction! It doesn’t end there either. I determined that I needed to add weight to the top single and knew they do have a weight set available. I called Keith again and told him what I had in mind. He asked if my shipping address was the same, I replied that yes, it was. Less than a week later I received the complete weight set. Again, No Charge! THAT is unparalleled customer service.
That Kolar and I evolved together. I did have a GraCoil added to it. She and I had a disagreement for a while and got a divorce. She went to live with Jeri Wilson for a couple years until Jeri decided she preferred her Browning (ugh).
I had a fling with a CG for a short time. Shot it well, but it just wasn’t the same and I soon parted with it. I acquired another Kolar (unsingle/combo) when Darvin decided to part with his. Then, divine intervention. Jeri put baby up for sale. My lovely bride found out and made arrangements for baby and me to be reunited!
Due to a rather severe injury to my right shoulder, baby now wears a PFS and is dedicated to doubles. We have broken some great scores as well as a few not so stellar scores. Things are well on the way to getting to where we need to be. Practice and Patience…………
I completely understand that they are not for everybody, but, IMO Kolar performance is the best there is and, Kolar service is the best in the industry.
See you next time wherever it is. Travel Safe! Dan