Appears that during or up to the 1980s the firm produced their medal winning competition shotguns alongside replicas of the Sharps rifle. Most online info focuses on their high-end shotguns.
It is believed that sometime in the late 1980s or early 90s, they discontinued production of the shotguns and expanded output of the rifles. Reading below, I wonder if it was during the years when they were owned by Zoli that they made the Sharps replica?
From "Arms of Italy" (1990) by Egidio Bonomi and Graziano Guerini:
I.A.B. UNICOM SRL
Industria Armi Bresciane, S.p.A. (IAB)
Via I Maggio, 39
25068 SAREZZOO (BS)
Tel. 030/800313
Year of foundation: 1965
Medium-scale production
Number of employees: 4
Number of subcontractors: 15
Exports: 85%
Domestic market: 15%
The date when IAB, Industria Armi Bresciane, was founded in Marcheno goes back twenty-five years. The beginnings were successful with the creation of a revolutionary over-and-under, the brainchild of Fabio Zanotti. This gun featured the original through locking lugs and an exclusive type of direct fire mechanism. The ownership of the firm passed from Zanotti to Zoli and then onto the current owner Adriano Pedretti.
IAB now reproposes the ingeniousness of its direct percussion over-and-under. The firm has come a very long way due to its policy of continuous technological improvement and in-depth research. The original sixties' model has been transformed but it still preserves the technical features that made it a winner.
IAB production today concentrates mainly on various custom-built models of the target shooting version -- from the standard model to the more accurate de-luxe Premier, Los Angeles, Premier 2000, Riace Warriors, Grande Caccia and a few numbered editions.
