OVERALL RATING:

Workmanship: A+
Performance: A+
Price / Value: B

If by some alchemy you could distill the essence of an upland bird gun and give it physical form, it might look something like the Ellipse Evo Light from Caesar Guerini, a sexy stunner that took top honors in this year’s hotly contested shotgun evaluation.

It’s a classic 20-gauge over/under game gun with both British and Italian influences. The solid ribbing on the barrels, which are topped with a single brass bead, give the gun a clean, uncluttered elegance and contrast pleasantly with the gorgeous wood and handsome extensive engraving on the coin-finished receiver.

The action is rounded, as is the knob on the grip, and its lines flow gracefully from the flush-mounted choke tubes at the muzzle to the wooden buttplate, which is fixed smartly in place by screws with perfectly aligned slots.

The Ellipse Evo Light shoots as well as it looks. With 28-inch barrels and a lithe 5 1⁄2-pound weight, it got on our clay birds as fast as a diving falcon, and to the same deadly effect.

To a person, we raved about its handling; each of us longed to carry it for wild quail or sword-tailed cock pheasants.

Our sample came with a non-selective trigger and no automatic safety, and was stocked with a cast for right-handed shooters, but each of these are customizable options should you want something different.

It’s a near-perfect bird gun and a worthy Editor’s Choice.