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Beretta, the good and bad

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I bought two Berettas recently, here is the straight story. Both were older: 2002, 1992. Bought online for very good prices. Both were clean, well made and great values. The 1992 is a wide receiver model and built like a tank. I expect many years of service from these guns and I shoot often. That's the good part.

28" O/U White WIng and a trap combo set with 34" single barrel and 32" O/U 686 models. Both were about 1/3 the cost of new guns. The White Wing is a plain vanilla 686 designed for retail stores.

Although they both test fired fine upon arrival, they had broken parts inside the receiver! The firing spring bushing end broke off. They would not fire the second barrel consistently. Not cool. Hey, buyer beware and they may have been like this for years. Easy fix for me- send to Cole's in Maine for complete internal rebuild. 

Lesson learned: Buy a used Beretta for a good price online and have the seller send it directly to Cole's for rebuild. It probably needs something, even if it is not apparent. This way you can save one shipping charge and end up with a great gun in factory new condition. The rebuild is about $300 and well worth it. Maybe a lightly shot gun would not need this but mine were well used and I plan to run thousands of rounds a year thru these firearms.

White Wing.jpg

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It was a blind sale from 2 gun shops. If they opened them up, the pieces were sitting in a recess in the stock. One seller offered  "to take a look at it" but Cole is THE Beretta shop. I think the nuts backed off and the bushing thread snapped when the end of the nut bottomed against the stock counterbore. Hey, but what does a mechanical engineer know about machinery? 

They were still worth buying and owning. You will not see them up for sale. 

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Over the last few months I pulled the receivers from their stocks of a number of doubles and got them in for a good sonic cleaning. The Beretta receiver is a robust piece of workmanship. This late 80's Beretta 686 Onyx doesn't look bad for being used and hunted with over three decades.  (However, the stock and forend have acquired "character" over the years.)

 

 

  

IMG_7400.jpg

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Lets see the whole gun when you put it back together.

I don't know what it is about double barreled shotguns. Over/Unders look sexy, Side by Sides look mean! 

I have a Browning O/U that I bought used, looked brand new in the box, and I love that gun! One of the few I will never sell.

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On 6/15/2020 at 3:36 PM, M4BGRINGO said:

Lets see the whole gun when you put it back together.

I don't know what it is about double barreled shotguns. Over/Unders look sexy, Side by Sides look mean! 

I have a Browning O/U that I bought used, looked brand new in the box, and I love that gun! One of the few I will never sell.

I assembled it back together a few months ago. The early Onyx was a solid shotgun, plain wood, matted blue/black finish (described as "Bruniton") on the barrels  with metal pistol grip cap, black rubber butt pad and Mobilchokes. Solid 686 shotgun. Would like to find a 20 ga. with straight grip stock but they are hard to come by. 

S/S's don't "look mean." I would describe them more as refined and elegant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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12 minutes ago, Parker said:

 Would like to find a 20 ga. with straight grip stock but they are hard to find

 

 

 

 

 

My wincheater M21 has an English stock on it and its my favorite by far, I think im faster on getting the gun up and on a bird than with a pistol grip stock. Now that I mostly just hunt grouse and woodcock I've been considering picking up a 28g because I've been able to find allot of them with english stocks. 

Obviously the M21 dosent come into the woods any more. 

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On 6/15/2020 at 3:36 PM, M4BGRINGO said:

Lets see the whole gun when you put it back together.

I don't know what it is about double barreled shotguns. Over/Unders look sexy, Side by Sides look mean! 

I have a Browning O/U that I bought used, looked brand new in the box, and I love that gun! One of the few I will never sell.

M4BGRINGO -

Here's the Onyx assembled, and a Citori Superlight 20 ga. (90's vintage with steel receiver and Invector Plus tubes) that also got a bath:

 

 

 

 

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20 minutes ago, Parker said:

Different 'grade' lumber on Citori's can go from plain to nice to spectacular depending on Grade level of the shotgun. 

I know, I’m a “ termite” by profession.

i smell of rich mahogany after work

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I know I stated once I don't get jealous, Dad always thought me, 

Don't be jealous of what you don't have, Work hard for what you want.

Words I've lived by and thought my kids. 

But these pictures might be changing me. Love my Berettas 92, might need the long gun to go with them.

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7 minutes ago, Bklynracer said:

I know I stated once I don't get jealous, Dad always thought me, 

Don't be jealous of what you don't have, Work hard for what you want.

Words I've lived by and thought my kids. 

But these pictures might be changing me. Love my Berettas 92, might need the long gun to go with them.

Werd

its fancy wood.

@Parkersucks.

i have a feeling I know him.... reagent chemical?

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1 hour ago, Parker said:

If you like wood -

 

A 1970 Browning Skeet gun I broke down for inspection, clean & lube some months ago. Don't know the provenance on this one and wasn't sure if this salt-wood era gun would be a problem. Inspection turned up no corrosion. The wood could have been factory replaced by Browning years ago but I wouldn't know unless I researched further.  

I know this thread started as a Beretta thread but the other "B" gun is just as fine. 

 

IMG_7264.jpg

IMG_8617.jpg

IMG_8618.jpg

Very nice, wanna see these twice!

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15 hours ago, Bklynracer said:

I know I stated once I don't get jealous, Dad always thought me, 

Don't be jealous of what you don't have, Work hard for what you want.

Words I've lived by and thought my kids. 

But these pictures might be changing me. Love my Berettas 92, might need the long gun to go with them.

I attribute my luck and any good fortune to being around family and friends with the same interests in shotguns for more than half a century. Good opportunity to learn and develop an appreciation for such things. 

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7 hours ago, Parker said:

I attribute my luck and any good fortune to being around family and friends with the same interests in shotguns for more than half a century. Good opportunity to learn and develop an appreciation for such things. 

What other Skeuse could you have?

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