At Davide Pedersoli, the quality of a firearm is ultimately demonstrated where it matters most: in the hands of experienced shooters and in competition.
Recent results from the 31st Muzzle Loaders Associations International Confederation (MLAIC) World Championship, combined with an extraordinary long-range test of a Pedersoli Sharps Competition at 1,015 meters, are an example of that philosophy.
At the August 2026 MLAIC World Championship in Eisenstadt, Austria, shooters using Pedersoli firearms achieved five individual gold-medal results, two silver-medal results, four bronze-medal results, five fourth-place finishes, four fifth-place finishes, and eight sixth-place finishes. The team medals additionally included six gold-medals, 8 silver-medals, and 8-bronze-medals. A true lineup fit to represent Pedersoli.
Pedersoli firearms were also widely represented throughout the competition, accounting for 281 of the 760 firearms recorded across the individual categories.
Among the championship performances were a gold-medal score of 95 by Italian shooter Denis Pasolini with a Pedersoli Kuckenreuter .38 in the 25-meter side-lock percussion pistol discipline. German shooter Sturm earned a perfect score of 100 with a Pedersoli Württemberg in the 50-meter Lamarmora military percussion rifle competition and another gold with the Württemberg at 100 meters in the Minie discipline.
Pedersoli shotguns also reached the top of the standings. German shooter Lotspeich earned gold with a Mortimer 12-gauge in both the Lorenzoni percussion shotgun trap competition, scoring 46 out of 50, and the Manton flintlock shotgun trap competition, scoring 42 out of 50.
Additional Pedersoli models, including the Le Page, Swiss Match, Gibbs, Mortimer, Remington, and Rogers & Spencer, appeared throughout the upper positions in a wide range of pistol, rifle, revolver, and shotgun disciplines.
For Pedersoli, these results are more meaningful than an advertising claim. They demonstrate the repeatability and consistency required when firearms are tested by accomplished shooters under international competition conditions.
A Sharps Competition at 1,015 Meters
That same commitment to performance was demonstrated in a very different setting during a two-day long-range shooting session held September 1–2 near Palazzuolo sul Senio, Italy.
The shooter, who had spent the previous five years concentrating on long-range shooting with Pedersoli black-powder rifles, including the Sharps Competition and Gibbs, had already developed extensive experience at 300 meters and 600 yards.
One challenge remained: 1,000 meters.
With the assistance of experienced spotters Luca Laurenti and Andrea Marani, the shooter set out to test a Pedersoli Sharps Competition at a measured distance of 1,015 meters.
The equipment remained traditional. The Sharps Competition was fitted with aperture sights rather than modern optics and fired .45-70 cartridges loaded with black powder and paper-patched bullets.
The target made the challenge even more demanding. It consisted of a steel plate approximately one meter in size with a free-moving circular center plate approximately 20 centimeters in diameter to simulate a V-Bull.
At more than one kilometer, the target was extremely difficult to distinguish with the naked eye.
For the session, 40 cartridges were prepared with paper-patched bullets cast from a 16:1 alloy. Thirty used a dual-diameter, elliptical-profile bullet weighing 526 grains, while the remaining 10 used a single-diameter bullet cast from a Pedersoli 034U305445 mold. The cartridges were loaded with 86 or 90 grains of Swiss No. 4 black powder.
Poor visibility during the morning required several rounds to establish the initial sight setting. Calculations provided by Marani helped establish an adjustment that proved highly accurate.
After additional corrections in the afternoon, the shooter began the primary test with 30 cartridges available.
The result was 10 hits on the steel target, including four V-Bulls. Four additional hits came consecutively across the main steel plate, while two more rounds also struck the target. Many of the misses landed close to the edges of the steel, providing further evidence of the consistency of the rifle and ammunition combination.
The accomplishment becomes even more significant when compared with formal 1,000-yard competition, where shooters typically fire at a clearly visible target approximately three meters wide by 1.8 meters high. The target used for this test was considerably smaller.
"For me, as well as for the friends who acted as spotters, the test was an outstanding success from every point of view," the shooter said. "It demonstrates the repeatability, consistency, and overall precision of the rifle and ammunition combination, qualities that are absolutely fundamental in long-range black-powder shooting."
Manufacturing Is More Than Assembly
For Pedersoli, the championship results and long-range testing also reinforce an important distinction in the firearms industry: manufacturing a firearm is fundamentally different from assembling one from components produced elsewhere.
Pedersoli maintains direct control over the production of the major components used in its firearms, including its stocks. This in-house manufacturing capability allows the company to control materials, machining, tolerances, fitting, finishing, and final assembly.
Producing a stock and assembling it with externally sourced components can certainly result in a well-made firearm. It represents, however, a different manufacturing philosophy from producing and controlling the components of the firearm within the same organization.
That control matters because precision is not the result of any one component. It is created by the relationship between the barrel, stock, action, and other mechanical parts, and by the ability to maintain consistency throughout the complete manufacturing process.
The results provide the clearest demonstration.
Five individual gold-medal performances at a World Championship. Numerous additional podium and top-six finishes. Hundreds of Pedersoli firearms represented across international competition.
And at 1,015 meters, using traditional aperture sights, black powder, and a Pedersoli Sharps Competition, 10 hits on a target approximately one meter across, including four V-Bulls.
Pedersoli prefers to let those results speak for themselves. Shop Pedersoli now: https://italianfirearmsgroup.com/product-category/pedersoli