By Phil Bourjaily

Franchi’s Affinity is a reboot of the Franchi line of inertia semiautos that bear an eerie resemblance to Benelli inertia semiautos. That is not unexpected, as Benelli is Franchi’s parent company. If you think of the Benelli as the Cadillac of the line, then Franchis are the Buicks or Oldsmobiles, (that would make the very similar Stoeger semiautos the Chevys if I have my car brands straight). I had the chance to shoot an Affinity this spring and found a lot to like.

My test gun was a 20 gauge with a 26-inch barrel. It came in black synthetic; there’s a camo version, too. It has an acceptably low amount of the annoying futuristic styling* that afflicts shotguns made today. Besides, once I picked it up, I forgot all about the styling.

Franchi lists it at 5.6 pounds. My scale called it 5.9. There’s no reason to quibble over a few ounces because either way the gun is a wand. The forend is slim in hand, and the Affinity has a slender stock wrist to match. It is a light, lithe, long gun. It practically begs to be shot. Being accustomed to bulker 12 gauges it took me most of a round of skeet to get used to the Affinity. Once I did, I had no trouble shooting it straight. In fact, I liked it a lot. It functioned perfectly with light target loads and ground targets. It comes from the factory with a fair amount of drop in the stock, although you can change the dimensions significantly with the stock shims included with the gun.

The main internal difference between a Benelli and a Franchi inertia gun is that the Franchis have the return spring on the magazine tube where it is easy to inspect and clean, while Benellis have their spring in the stock.

On “The Gun Nuts” TV show I used the Affinity as an example of what the perfect mountain chukar gun might be: light to carry, with enough firepower to keep shooting when a covey rises, and stocked with black plastic so you don’t cry when you drop it on piles of volcanic rock. It would be fine for mourning doves, and early teal seasons and a multitude of other shotgunning uses. There is also a 3-inch 12 gauge version.

While I hesitate to use the word “affordable” in this space because one person’s “affordable” is another’s “out of reach,” I will call it affordable anyway: it lists for $849.

*I do wish all manufacturers would stop making these angled forends that partially cover the magazine cap. Sometimes caps stick, and you need to get a good grip on them. Franchi is far from being the only offender here.

Comments (11)

from deadeyedick wrote 1 year 1 week ago

So then, real world price would be in the 750.00 range, which would indeed make it a good buy. I assume it comes with choke tubes. On a sour note a very good friend of mine bought a franchi and had a lot of problems with it ie jamming, failure to fire. The gun has been sent to the manufacturer for repairs. That little 20 gauge is right up my alley tho.

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from somethingclever wrote 1 year 1 week ago

my brother has been looking for a review of this gun, so I'm going to forward this one. (I'm sure there are others out there. I'm lazy.) Thanks!

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from Tim Platt wrote 1 year 1 week ago

My brother had a Franchi semi-auto 12 gauge back in the early 70's that would not fire anything but heavy loads. It actually looked an awful lot like a Browning A-5 with the humpback and all. I am actually surprised they are still in business. Glad to see they are alive and kicking.

The 20 gauge in your post looks like a lot of fun to shoot, and that is what it is all about after all! I like my guns light, long, and lithe; just like my women...

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from Mark-1 wrote 1 year 1 week ago

What catches my attention with this new Franchi is the weight for the Uplands. In 12-ga it's a whole 1-lb+ lighter than a Remington or Beretta semi. BUT a standard trap load is the lightest load recommended. Beretta's and Remington's will cycle 1-oz & 7/8 oz loads for targets.

BTW: I see the street price on this gun is between $650 and $700.

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from O Garcia wrote 1 year 1 week ago

this doesn't bode well for Franchi then, since Oldsmobile has been discontinued.

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from 99explorer wrote 1 year 1 week ago

I share your aversion to futuristic styling. Good observation.

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from 357 wrote 1 year 1 week ago

Sounds like a decent deal, especiallu if you can find one new. I also hate the futuristic styling of most new shotguns it just looks ugly.

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from djamesdavidson wrote 1 year 1 week ago

$699 on Academy. I'm going to be interested in how durable this gun is. Aside from skeet shooting, I wonder how it would handle waterfowl.

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from springerman3 wrote 1 year 1 week ago

Gee Phil, you tested a 20 gauge auto and never called me ... I have thought of my 1187 as the chevy of gun types as I have had two S 10's with over 300,000 miles on them ! Looks like a nice gun, be good in the grouse woods too ( except I prefer a 20 gauge s/s )
How was recoil as it is has an inertia system ?

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from dale freeman wrote 1 year 1 week ago

If everybody would boycot them Ugly futeristic looking pieces of s##t, they would get the message.
there has been several times i've wanted to by, but it had "THAT" look.
Stand up and get purty guns back.

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from ejpaul1 wrote 51 weeks 6 days ago

Im scratching my head as to why anyone would buy the benelli M2 when you can get this thing, basically a slightly optioned down M2 for 400 bucks less? I got an M2 8 years ago as a wedding gift and havent looked back. I might get this for my dad.

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from Mark-1 wrote 1 year 1 week ago

What catches my attention with this new Franchi is the weight for the Uplands. In 12-ga it's a whole 1-lb+ lighter than a Remington or Beretta semi. BUT a standard trap load is the lightest load recommended. Beretta's and Remington's will cycle 1-oz & 7/8 oz loads for targets.

BTW: I see the street price on this gun is between $650 and $700.

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from Tim Platt wrote 1 year 1 week ago

My brother had a Franchi semi-auto 12 gauge back in the early 70's that would not fire anything but heavy loads. It actually looked an awful lot like a Browning A-5 with the humpback and all. I am actually surprised they are still in business. Glad to see they are alive and kicking.

The 20 gauge in your post looks like a lot of fun to shoot, and that is what it is all about after all! I like my guns light, long, and lithe; just like my women...

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from O Garcia wrote 1 year 1 week ago

this doesn't bode well for Franchi then, since Oldsmobile has been discontinued.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from deadeyedick wrote 1 year 1 week ago

So then, real world price would be in the 750.00 range, which would indeed make it a good buy. I assume it comes with choke tubes. On a sour note a very good friend of mine bought a franchi and had a lot of problems with it ie jamming, failure to fire. The gun has been sent to the manufacturer for repairs. That little 20 gauge is right up my alley tho.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from somethingclever wrote 1 year 1 week ago

my brother has been looking for a review of this gun, so I'm going to forward this one. (I'm sure there are others out there. I'm lazy.) Thanks!

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from 99explorer wrote 1 year 1 week ago

I share your aversion to futuristic styling. Good observation.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from 357 wrote 1 year 1 week ago

Sounds like a decent deal, especiallu if you can find one new. I also hate the futuristic styling of most new shotguns it just looks ugly.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from djamesdavidson wrote 1 year 1 week ago

$699 on Academy. I'm going to be interested in how durable this gun is. Aside from skeet shooting, I wonder how it would handle waterfowl.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from springerman3 wrote 1 year 1 week ago

Gee Phil, you tested a 20 gauge auto and never called me ... I have thought of my 1187 as the chevy of gun types as I have had two S 10's with over 300,000 miles on them ! Looks like a nice gun, be good in the grouse woods too ( except I prefer a 20 gauge s/s )
How was recoil as it is has an inertia system ?

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from dale freeman wrote 1 year 1 week ago

If everybody would boycot them Ugly futeristic looking pieces of s##t, they would get the message.
there has been several times i've wanted to by, but it had "THAT" look.
Stand up and get purty guns back.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from ejpaul1 wrote 51 weeks 6 days ago

Im scratching my head as to why anyone would buy the benelli M2 when you can get this thing, basically a slightly optioned down M2 for 400 bucks less? I got an M2 8 years ago as a wedding gift and havent looked back. I might get this for my dad.

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All submitted comments are subject to the rules set forth in our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.