Another Revelation
Originally published in the 2024 December edition of Safari Times.
By Terry Wieland
Tony Galazan’s Connecticut Shotgun Manufacturing Company of New Britain, Connecticut, is not as well known to American shooters as it certainly deserves to be. Occupying a large, ultra-modern factory, employing about 100 people and producing the widest range of fine guns to be found in America, Tony’s company should be as familiar as Ruger or Winchester.
But it’s not. For one thing, Tony deals directly with the public rather than selling through dealers and his advertising is minimal. For all that, he keeps turning out fine guns by the score and, it seems, introducing new models all the time.
The latest is a variation on an established design: his over/under boxlock Revelation, introduced in 2017 and initially available only in 20-gauge. The line has now been extended to include the increasingly popular 28 gauge, and I doubt you will find a better buy in a 28 anywhere than the Revelation.
Galazan started in the gun business in the 1970s, initially dealing in used guns and specializing in vintage Parkers. He gradually moved into manufacturing and introduced the new A.H. Fox in the 1990s. Since then, he’s acquired the rights to make the Parker and Winchester Model 21 and also owns the esteemed Belgian name of Auguste Francotte.
CSMC also makes a wide variety of shotguns of Tony’s own design. The ones we’re interested in here are the over/unders, and if you want a wide range in style, quality and price, you’ve come to the right place.
The absolute top-of-the-line is an over/under called the “Galazan,” which starts at around $70,000. Thirty years ago, Michael McIntosh described it as “unquestionably the best shotgun ever made in America,” Michael was in a position to know, having literally written the book on the subject. Externally, the Galazan resembles the revered Boss over/under and handling-wise, it’s certainly in the same class.
The A-10 over/under is, like the Galazan, a sidelock with a starting price of around $23,000. Then comes the boxlock Inverness at about $15,000 and, the least expensive, the Revelation, starting at $3,000.
The Revelation makes maximum use of modern manufacturing methods such as CNC machinery, lasers and so on, as well as a minimum of hand labor. The rounded action is beautifully case colored rather than engraved, and the checkering is laser-cut. What really matters, however, is the handling and shooting ability and I found the 20-gauge Revelation to be, well, a revelation. With its compact frame and 30-inch barrels, it handled and shot like a much more expensive gun and with the nice wood and case colors, it looked much more expensive than it is.
The A-10 28 gauge, shown in the photo, has a true 28-gauge frame and 30-inch barrels and weighs 6 pounds, 5 ounces — exactly my ideal 28 for adult males.
Shortly after I received it, I took it out with the Revelation to compare. When I got home, I contacted Tony and asked if he’d considered making a Revelation in 28.
“Funny you should ask,” he said. “Our new catalogue is coming out in October.”
The 28-gauge Revelation will be a plainer, lower-priced boxlock version of the A-10 — that is, it will have a true 28-gauge frame and be available with longer barrels, allowing a combination of ideal weight and perfect balance.
There are too many 28s, mostly from years ago but also recently, that are simply too small and light. They might be easy to carry, but they make it very difficult to hit anything. As a shooter, I’ll take a little more weight and heft and actually hit something, thank you very much.
I first met Tony at the Safari Club Convention more than a quarter-century ago and have visited his factory in Connecticut three or four times. Its showroom for used guns and rifles is breathtaking and on par with any I’ve seen anywhere.
Tony brings many beautiful pieces to his exhibit at SCI every year and plans to be in Nashville next month. I just hope he’ll have one of his new 28-gauge Revelations there. That alone would be worth the trip.
Terry Wieland is a writer specializing in fine firearms. His latest book is Great Hunting Rifles — Victorian to the Present. Wieland’s biography of Robert Ruark, A View From A Tall Hill, is available from Skyhorse Publishing.