At one time all shotgun manufacturers made shotguns for men, but over the last several decades marketing research has shown that there are a lot more women hunting and participating in clay target shooting than ever before. Designing shotguns that appealed to the growing cadre of female hunters and shooters seemed like an easy proposition, at least to a design room full of dudes: simply cut down the length of pull on a shotgun designed for men, give said shotgun a feminine name and perhaps a pink stock, and boom—a shotgun model that was sure to make the ladies swoon.

Except serious female hunters and shooters weren’t buying it. By the time Kim Rhode had started piling up Olympic medals the “shrink-it-and-pink-it” crowd was out of vogue. To appeal to women shooters who were dedicated to the sport, there needed to be a shotgun company that was equally invested in creating firearms that were built for women with input from top female shooters.

Enter Syren. As a member of the Caesar Guerini/Fabarm family of firearms, Syren had all the Italian gun making machinery and know-how required to build a great target or hunting shotgun, but when Syren first emerged in 2014 the company had something no one else at the time did: a line of top-end shotguns designed by women, for women.

Syren’s Flagship Field Shotgun

Named in honor of Julius Caesar’s only daughter, the Syren Julia is a stunning over/under shotgun. Like other Syrens, it features a Monte Carlo walnut stock that has been altered to properly fit female shooters. The drop at comb for both the 20- and 28-gauge versions is 1.5-inches. Drop at Monte Carlo is 1.75-inches and drop at heel is 2.5-inches. The Julia features a 13.9-inch pull length. The Julia’s pitch (angle of the buttstock in relation to the topline of the shotgun) is 7 degrees, while the breech to comb length of the Julia is 7-inches. Cast at heel is .25-inches for the Julia and cast at toe is .5-inches.

If you’ve never delved into the finer points of shotgun fit some of these figures won’t mean much to you. However, they prove a point: Syren viewed developing a stock for women shooters as a back-to-the-drawing-board effort where every dimension and angle was called into question and closely examined. The takeaway from Syren’s research into stock fit for female shooters is that you simply can’t chop an inch or two off the rear portion of a stock with a Sawzall, mount a new pad, and call your creation a “woman’s shotgun,” especially if you’re planning to appeal to experienced shooters who want a gun that’s properly built to kill birds and break clays. The process of designing Syren stocks required a careful examination of traditional stock dimensions and how altering those dimensions would impact female shooters. The engineers determined that the average female shooter performed better with a gun that offered about twice the cast as traditional hunting/clays guns like the Tempio. They also learned that the stocks with slightly less pitch distributed recoil impact more effectively for most women than the more steeply angled shotguns designed for and by male shooters.

Form Follows Function

As the sister brand of Caesar Guerini, it should come as no surprise that the Syren Julia Field is a striking gun. The Turkish walnut stock belongs on a high-end shotgun like this one, and the hand-rubbed oil semigloss finish brings out the feature and flame in the wood. Instead of a rubber recoil pad, the stock is backed by a perfectly fit 15mm wooden butt plate that adds to the aristocratic bearing of the gun. A rounded pistol grip and Schnabel forend add aesthetics and functionality to this fine gun, and the 26 LPI checkering is clean and crisp. A distinctive laser engraved rose rests on pistol grip just above the checkering—a subtle but sophisticated upgrade fitting for a gun of this, ahem, caliber.

Striking as the Julia’s Monte Carlo Turkish walnut stock may be, it’s the receiver of this gun that will attract attention. There are sideplates on this boxlock action, and those sideplates feature a gold floral scene that evolves into a woman’s face. It’s the rare bit of shotgun art that feels at once avant garde and classical, a design touch that manages to step outside the established box of scroll, floral, and game scene engraving without galling traditionalists. The gold floral scene rests on color case-hardened steel, and the whole of the action is protected by Syren/Guerini/Fabarm’s Invisalloy coating which resists rusting and highlights contrasts in the metalwork.

Mechanically, the Syren Julia Field is built to the same high standards as other guns in this extended Italian family. It comes with a manual single selective trigger and a tang mounted safety with integral barrel selector, although there is also an option for an automatic safety that engages when the action is open. Five nickel- plated flush fit chokes (Cylinder, Improved Cylinder, Modified, Improved Modified, and Full) come standard. A silver front bead sits at the end of the 28-inch barrels and atop a 6mm ventilated top rib. The mid rib is solid and the Julia features an Anson-style push button forearm release.

As previously stated, the Julia Field is available in a choice of 20 or 28-gauges with 28-inch pipes. Total weight for the 20-gauge version is 6 pounds, 9 ounces while the trimmer 28-gauge runs five ounces lighter, making this an easy gun to carry all day in the upland fields. The 20-gauge version comes with 3-inch chambers while the 28 features 2 ¾-inch chambers. MSRP is $5,925 for either the 20- or 28-gauge, and buyers can select the left-handed stock option for an additional $270. If you prefer, there are also 20/28-gauge combo guns available. All Julia guns come in Syren locking hard cases with velvet sleeves for the stock and barrel.

Syren Julia Field Shotgun Specifications

• Action Type: Over/under boxlock
• Gauge: 28- and 20-gauge
• Chamber: 3-in. (as tested)
• Weight: 6 lbs. 9 oz.
• Finish: Case color receiver, 24-carat gold inlay, blued barrels
• Chokes: 5 flush-fit (C, IC, M, IM, F)
• Suggested Retail Price:$5,925 ($6,195 LH)
• Website: syrenusa.com

In the Field

The Syren Julia is a striking gun that manages to add feminine styling like the rose on the stock and the gold and lavender floral motif on the sideplates without seeming to pander to the fairer sex like guns that slather on a layer of ink and shorten the stock. Being a member of the Guerini family, it’s no surprise that the Julia’s hand-oiled walnut stock is finely figured and detailed. There’s a lot of features and detail in the wood and

the butt plate is perfectly mated with the rest of the stock. The 26 LPI checkering is crisp, and the rounded pistol grip and forearm are comfortable to hold. Lock-up is tight, crisp, and clean and the push-button forearm release is properly machined and functions well.

“I never thought I’d love a gun as much as my Syren Tempio; until the Syren Julia.” says Dorothea Dotter, a member of Syren’s Prostaff and an NSCA instructor. “This Syren stands out with her stunning 24k gold scroll work that forms a woman’s face against the beautiful case-colored receiver and has been one of the most requested guns for me to bring to demos. I was not surprised when they sold out on the initial release.  Her quality & beauty is unmatched. I absolutely love the Julia!”

My wife Bethany is also a proficient wingshooter and has shot enough shotguns to notice the variation in stock design between a typical shotgun (designed for the average-sized male shooter) and the Julia Field.

“The stock design does make more sense for a woman,” she said. “There’s no shifting to get the gun in position, and I didn’t have to reach to find the trigger. Gun mount is definitely more natural.”

We emptied a couple hoppers full of clays from a Caldwell Claymore thrower, her shooting the Julia and I shooting my own gun. Bethany hit very well with the Syren, and when I asked her about the recoil of the 20-gauge test gun she told me that it was manageable from the almost seven-pound gun and that wooden recoil pad wasn’t abusive with a vest in place (the Sporter version of the Julia, which is available in 12- or 20-gauge, does come with a rubber recoil pad).

This gun’s Guerini DNA shines through, and the build quality of the two brands is commiserate. What you’re getting with the Julia is a gun that is well-designed with the female shooter in mind but doesn’t lack any of the refinement we’ve come to expect from this family of brands