shotgun Archives

If you’re lucky enough and work hard you can become one of those financially secure adults that we all imagined becoming as children. And it’s about that time in a firearm enthusiasts life that he or she decides to start buying up guns that they want more than they need. While that statement could describe nearly any firearm, today we are discussing one in particular. Beretta is well known for making excellent shotguns, many of which I’ve been lucky enough to play with on the range. The Beretta 686 Silver Pigeon is yet another fine example of Beretta’s prime production, but this one brought up some interesting reflection..

Introduction

Beretta is well known for making excellent shotguns, many of which I’ve been lucky enough to play with on the range. The Beretta 686 Silver Pigeon is yet another fine example of Beretta’s prime production, but this one brought up some interesting reflection.

Almost anyone who owns a shotgun has a 12 gauge. It is the workhorse of American shotgunning. My first shotgun, like most people, was a 12 gauge as well. It just makes sense in so many ways. Ammo is typically inexpensive and readily available. There’s also a huge assortment of various cartridge types that are usually lining the shelves of any reputable sporting goods store. So why bother going with anything but a 12 gauge?

Beretta 686 Silver Pigeon in .410 — Even in .410 bore, the craftsmanship of the Silver Pigeon lends itself to accurate, effective shooting.

I gained most of my hunting and firearms knowledge as a child listening to the stories told by my father and other men in the family. A very often mentioned anecdote was that of my grandfather’s single-shot .410 shotgun. My dad and his brothers all learned to wing shoot with that old gun. I’d hardly had any interaction with .410s, mainly because I didn’t need to use one.

But I do remember hearing those old stories about the need for perfect leads and center hits. The .410 does not carry as much shot as its larger siblings. While this may seem like a disadvantage, I actually felt like it was a great reason to add another shotgun to my collection.

THE .410 SILVER PIGEON

Over/under shotguns enjoy a class all their own, and this Beretta is certainly no exception. I opened the box and quickly mounted the barrels and handguard. I immediately fell in love with the gun the second I shouldered it.

The 686 came with 28-inch barrels chambered in .410, a standard selection of chokes, and all the tools to change the chokes and maintain the firearm. As is typical with these guns, the Silver Pigeon has a perfect fit and finish, with detailed and handsome engraving throughout the receiver area.

After prepping the gun and familiarizing myself with its controls, we headed out to shoot it. While the current ammunition situation is a mess, I was lucky enough to find a few boxes of Federal .410 shotshells – 2 3/4 inches loaded with #7.5 shot. Just right for smashing a few clays in the sky. With the stories told by my father still in the back of my mind, I refined my focus knowing these loads were not the 1 1/4 ounces I was used to shooting from my other guns.

SHOOTING THE PIGEON

With several boxes of clays and shells, we were ready to make some noise. We loaded both chambers and started throwing doubles. I dusted both of the first clays. My immediate impression of the Beretta was that it was soft shooting. Follow-up shots were very quick because the gun hardly recoiled with such small and light loads. This was obviously a double-edged sword. If the clays managed to get very far, your shot had to be perfect or it would escape unscathed.

The lightweight of the Pigeon also made it very easy to move and quickly get on target. My young daughter took a few swings with it, and she found it to be a much better fit for her than the 12 gauges she had tried in the past. The quick handling of the shotgun made it an obvious candidate for the fast and small game birds that we frequently see in these mountains. I cannot wait to take it out on a grouse or Chukar hunt when the season arrives.

Not only was the recoil light, but the gun was surprisingly quiet. The wide-open country we were shooting in went on forever, and the sound waves seemed to dissipate very easily. The petite and lightweight Silver Pigeon was simply a pure joy to shoot.

The only problem or dislike I could find with this gun was a designed one. Every time the gun is unloaded and reset, the safety is automatically engaged, this may be a common design on some guns, but it’s one I personally don’t care for. While I’m sure it is easily remedied through training and practice, it did end up costing me a few misses when I failed to remove the safety prior to my swing.

CONCLUSION

There comes a time in life where you start buying guns based on desire instead of necessity. If I were only going to have one shotgun, it would certainly be a 12 gauge, probably in a pump or semi-auto configuration. But as tastes mature and shooters have more money to spend, adding something like a beautiful little .410 to your collection really is a gift to yourself.

The Beretta 686 Silver Pigeon is an outstanding firearm. Regardless of caliber, it would make a fine addition to your collection. Starting out with a .410 might be a bit of a challenge, but it will teach you lessons that will only make you more effective regardless of the shotgun you shoot.

-CBM

Check out more Beretta shotguns here

I’ve known for years that the Browning Superposed is a dream shotgun, a real clay buster if there ever was one. Maybe it’s because my father has always been a shotgun aficionado, much the same way I geek out with rifles. It was many years ago now, but I remember when dad brought home his Superposed 12 gauge. I thought it must have been something fancy because he was pretty excited. So when I got the chance to play with one myself, I was expecting to be impressed.

THE SUPERPOSED

Browning Superposed Shotgun — The over-under Browning Superposed is a beautiful balance of class and function.

The Superposed is a break-action over-under configured shotgun. It uses a single trigger to fire both barrels. It is said to be the last firearm designed by Browning himself, which may be part of why the gun has such a following. It was manufactured in various grades from the 1930s all the way into the 1980s.

UNBOXING

When I received the Superposed for this article, I was excited to see which one it would be. Upon opening the box, pure class came flowing out – intricate engraving, a shiny black finish, and beautiful wood grain as one would expect from a Belgian-made Browning.

This particular gun had been made in the early 70s, but it still appeared to be brand new. It still had all the telltale signs of a gun with a low round count. It was smooth and snug to open and close the action. Everything inside was immaculate and still factory polished. Both 28-inch barrels had been marked skeet, which immediately spawned images in my mind of me holding this classy piece of art on station looking up at the high house.

The craftsmanship of this shotgun was refreshing and reminded me of better times. Every mating surface had perfect alignment. The engraving was flawless as it flowed between parts. As the gun hinges together, parts almost seem to melt together and lines disappear. In a world where everything is mass produced, stamped, injection molded, and so on, it felt good to hold something that had been handcrafted by skilled gunmakers. It’s truly beautiful to see pieces of craftsmanship like this still available.

TO THE RANGE!

Despite the ammo situation we are currently enduring, I was able to get a few boxes of trap loads to shoot in the Browning. With a case of clays, we headed up to the mountains to bust a few.

The Superposed shoots just like it looks, smooth and with class. The fairly open chokes in this set of barrels make the gun extremely handy on those fast-moving and close birds. The first couple of clays we threw were instantly turned into dust and not very far away either. The barrels are shorter than many shotguns, which also made the gun very quick to get on and ahead of targets.

The chambers are 2 3/4 inches, which is all I would want in a skeet gun. But I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t take this gun on some kind of a hunt. The open patterns it shoots and its quick handling would be great for the fast-moving doves that love to zip by me as I hike through these mountains. But the beauty of this fine firearm would probably keep me from taking it on anything less than a fancy cultured hunt.

The safety/selector is crisp and audible, giving the user the ability to select which barrel fires first. This would obviously be a little more relevant if the barrels had differing chokes.

Shop over-under shotguns at Sportsman’s Warehouse

One thing that has for sure gotten better since the Superposed was manufactured is recoil pads. The Browning has an old, hard butt plate on it. Not that 12 gauges are overwhelming when it comes to recoil, but the soft rubber recoil pads found on modern shotguns provide a much more comfortable experience.

The vented rib over the barrels was complete with two beads to line up your perfect shot, which we were able to accomplish repeatedly. The feel and flow when shooting this shotgun was perfect. It’s a shooters gun for sure. The trigger was clean both to break and to reset for the second shot, at least once I went too fast shooting in front of the target.

We fired two different types of ammunition from Remington and Winchester. Both were trap loads in 1 1/8 ounces. Both types performed as expected as long as I got the lead right. Shooting the Browning Superposed was pure enjoyment with flawless function and perfect performance topped off with a touch of class and a little history. Continue Reading here…

CONCLUSION

There is a definitive line between used guns and used guns worth buying. That line is of course defined by the individual doing the buying. Guns like the Superposed are hard to pass up, not only because of their high level of quality and prestige, but also because they don’t make them anymore. It isn’t only a collector’s item, but one you can enjoy and shoot.