Which Beretta?

D

deleteyourselph

New member
Between a Silver Pigeon 1 Field and sporting. Will be going with 28" barrels. Mainly for pheasant and grouse hunting. Only looking at 20 gauge, already have a 686 onyx in 12. Worried the sporting might be a bit heavy for grouse hunting, but I like the venting between the barrels. I have plans to case color the receiver, and upgrade the wood down the road. Like a Cole Special but at my financial pace.
 
My opinion would be the weight of it is more important and a larger factor then the venting between a barrels but at the end of the day it's your decision. My guess is you will be pretty happy with whichever you end up with.
 
Not apples to apples, but dad has a 686 Black Onyx sporting and my wife has a 686 White onyx field. If I didn't know any better, I could get by with the sporting. Handle one and then the other, and the more trim lines of the field win everytime if its not going to be a dedicated target gun.

I don't know if this applies on their 20 guages or not, never handled either of them, but I just continually gravitate to trim guns. Hard to get any trimmer than Kimber rifles and an old school Ithaca 37 20 guage, two of my favorite guns.
 
I'd go field all the way. From a boring, practical perspective, cleaning crud out of barrel vents is a pain!
Dave
 
I had an Onyx and Sporting,

The stock dimesions were different, I sold the Onyx and kept the Sporting with 32" pipes... I hunted with that artillery piece for years.
 
Haha, I can see others have had similar thoughts to myself. I was more concerned that the vented barrels would swing better, but perhaps not. Cleaning the vents would most certainly be a downer. I thought I read somewhere recently that the weight difference of the field/sporting stocks was due to beretta not drilling out the middle of sporting butt stock. It will be used for clays occasionally, but will used for hunting 85% of the time. I have even tossed around the idea of the new Browning A5 sweet sixteen, but the lack of ammo in my area is irritating. Plus I've always had a fondness for Italian guns.
 
The plot thickens....

I have recently taken a keen liking to the Browning A5 Sweet Sixteen...as I assume many have.

I'm really between that and the A5 12....but there is something so nostalgic about 16 Gauge and it appears ammo is not as tough to come by. Not cheap, but somewhat available. I've really eyed up the 12 as well, just as that is what I'm used to shooting. I'd probably be between an A5 20 and 16 instead of the 12, but it doesn't sound like Browning even has an interest in the 20, and if anything, is putting its chips in the 16 basket.

I realize these new guns are more unlike than alike to the old Auto 5's, but we are a few decades from their heyday, and realistically things change and modernize, for better or worse. All of the guys in my hunting crew are family and quite a few years my senior (father, great uncles, second cousins, etc.). They all remember when they bought their Auto 5's brand new, and when they transitioned to 11-87s due to steel and magnum loads. When they could shoot lead they all had the Light 12s. In the long run, I might actually buy a 12 to go with the 16, who knows.
 
Beretta Rumors

I'd get the Silver Pigeon. I just picked up the 690 3 field in 20 but have yet to shoot it. I also picked up the new A5 sweet 16 it is a very neat light gun and am planning to shoot it today. I have a large arsenal to choose from and right now the two I choose are my Beretta SV and a browning Maxxus. If you are looking at 20 autos I think the Franchi affinity is the best deal going right now. I read that the 686 series may be replaced with the 690. I did see the SP in 20 at Scheels for 1700.00 nib which I think is a screaming deal. Good luck I have a gun buying disease but shopping around is a lot of fun.😃
 
A couple of years ago, I sold my Beretta S686S 12g ... the only reason was due to wonky shoulders, carrying it was getting harder after some hours in the field ... loved the gun and rarely missed with it ... it was a dream ... I now have a cheap 20g which is taking sometime to get used to, but I do not mind being out with it for eight hours ... I have had swivels mounted on it and use a sling ...
 
Ive got a 686 White Onyx 20 guage with 28" bbls and a 686 Onyx 12 guage with 28" bbls. There is a night and day difference between the two in regards to weight and clunkiness.. I never shoot the 12.
 
I enjoy hunting with the Beretta 686 Silver Pigeon II. 20 ga. with 28in barrels. 2 3/4 and 3".
gloss wood/ bright nickel finish receiver.
 
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