CZ Super Scroll Combo Review

December 17, 2013 By Steve Gash

CZ-USA's new Super Scroll Combo 20- and 28-gauge is truly a work of art. And more importantly, it's a truly functional work of art.

The shotgun action of choice for dedicated clay target shooters is the over/under. This is not lost on recreational shooters and hunters, so gun companies tailor field and multi-purpose models after them. Some are rather pedestrian, while others are decked out in finery and nice wood. The Super Scroll is of the latter genre.

The CZ Super Scroll Combo is made for CZ by Huglu in Turkey. Forget everything you've read about the quality of Turkish firearms. The quality, fit, and finish of the Super Scroll rival that of any gun. The price is high to be sure, but I dare you to find comparable quality remotely close to this MSRP.

This stack is the brainchild of David Miller, CZ-USA's Special Projects Manager, and a Master Class shooter in sporting clays. He put his many years of shooting experience to work designing the Super Scroll, and I quizzed him about its development.

First and foremost, the workmanship on the Super Scroll had to be "best quality, period," Dave said. For example, the barrels are bored and reamed; they're not made of tubular stock. The action had to be able to withstand tens of thousands of rounds without failure, just like CZ's other over/unders.

Dave has proven the durability of the CZ Sporting 12-gauge in competition since 2009, having shot about 85,000 to 90,000 rounds through it. The only breakdown was a firing pin at about 50,000 rounds.

Secondly, the handling characteristics of the 30-inch barrels are perfectly matched to the small-bore 20 and 28 gauges, and with either barrel set, the gun weighs exactly 7 pounds, 4 ounces. "On a 12-gauge, 30-inch barrels can seem bulky," Dave said. "But on the small bores, they are more balanced, and the gun swings naturally," and is best overall for both sporting and field use.

The triggers had to be crisp and light — but not too light, as with a lightweight gun, pulling a heavy trigger can actually move the gun off target, just like a heavy trigger on a rifle. Trigger pulls on the test gun were a hair on either side of 5 pounds, and are nice and crisp.

The Super Scroll over/under is built on a box-lock 20-gauge frame, and comes with an extra set of 28-gauge barrels and forend, all in a fitted aluminum hard case from Americase. Both barrel sets have automatic ejectors, (thanks to the 20-gauge frame), and five flush-fitting choke tubes are provided with each gauge.

The receiver has false side plates inletted into the stock, and all external metal surfaces, even the trigger guard, its screw head, and the forend escutcheon, are completely covered with hand-done scroll engraving — hence the name "Super Scroll."

This isn't your average scratch, either; it is superbly executed. The sides of the monoblock and ejectors are finely engine-turned, and the trigger face is delicately checkered. The tang safety is non-automatic and houses the barrel selector.

Wood-to-metal fit is excellent. The buttstock and forends are of No. 5-grade Turkish walnut, and as nicely figured as I've seen in quite a while. The two forends on my test gun match exactly, but each will fit only its barrel set. The wood has a lustrous semi-gloss oil finish, and the surfaces are slick as glass to the touch, with no ripples or imperfections. The forends terminate with an understated schnabel. There is a generous amount of 18 lpi checkering on the Prince-of-Wales pistol grip and forends.

Dave noted the Super Scroll is entirely hand-made, from start to finish, by craftsmen at the Huglu factory in Turkey. It is a meticulous and labor-intensive process, so production is limited to about 100 units per year. But thankfully, due to the good acceptance of the model, production is scheduled into 2014, as well.

The Super Scroll begs to be shot, so I hustled off to the beautiful Ozark Shooting Complex near Walnut Shade, Mo., and put both gauges of the little gun through a few rounds of skeet and sporting clays. I was sure I wouldn't like the "long" 30-inch barrels, but it only took a few shots to convince me that Miller knows more about shotgun design than I do.

The gun is not "bulky" or muzzle-heavy, and is very responsive without being "whippy." I am of "average" size, so the stock fit me perfectly, and the barrels seemed to hit where I looked, whether there was a target there or not!

Of the two bores, the 28-gauge seemed like it had radar, and conveniently crushed any target within range. The cylinder and improved cylinder tubes and ¾-ounce, No. 9s in the 28 were perfect for skeet, and my handload of ·ˆ•‚ˆ-ounce, 7½s in the 20 did wonderfully on the clays range. Recoil seemed mild. Of course, there were no malfunctions. If you want one, have your dealer get in touch with CZ, and get on the list. Figure out what you have to sell to afford it, find a spot in the safe, and make sure the wife is suitably mollified.

Then go have yourself some real shooting fun.

SPECIFICATIONS

Manufacturer: Huglu Mgf. Co., Huglu, Turkey

Importer: CZ-USA, Kansas City, Kansas

Action type: Box lock over/under, two-gauge set

Gauge: 20 and 28

Trigger pull: Lower barrel, 4 lbs, 15.1 oz; upper barrel, 5 lbs, 7 oz

Barrel lengths: 30 inches, raised 8mm ventilated top and mid ribs

Sight: Metal bead

Chamber: 3-inch (20-gauge); 2¾-inch (28-gauge)

Chokes: C, IC, MOD, IMOD, and Full (for each gauge)

Overall length: 47¼ inches