Silver service!

Hot off the ‘bench’ comes the all-new Beretta 687 Silver Pigeon III – the latest gun from the Gardonne giant. Mike is one of the first to get his hands on it – and it doesn’t disappoint...

- MIKE YARDLEY

My thanks to Lyalvale Express for supplying the Super Light cartridges used in this test.

I dread to think how many Berettas I have tested over the years; it certainly runs into the hundreds. Nevertheless, when a new gun appears, I am, as you might expect, most interested to try it. I like Berettas, I own a number myself, I know their history and I have been to the factory at Gardonne half a dozen or more times including a visit last year. It is always impressive to see this massive industrial concern and it’s evolving manufacturing methods. On both R&D and production, they have become extraordinarily sophisticated – Italy has led the way with computerized gun manufacture.

Beretta, meantime, the world’s oldest gunmaker, make an incredibly durable product. In my experience, their shotguns go on almost forever even when subjected to hard use and neglect. If they do break down (which isn’t common) or wear, they are usually easy to put right. The major bearing surfaces in a Beretta action are quickly replaceable by any competent gunsmith. The hinge pins and the conical locking bolts are available in a variety of over-sizes to facilitate this. And the guns, no matter the grade, are all made with first-class materials (which are constantly checked by the in-house laboratory to ensure consistency).

So, time to the look at the test gun. The latest incarnation of the Silver Pigeon III is a field model with 30 barrels and a 6mm vented rib hitting the scales just over 7½ lb. It is distinguished primarily by smart new game scene engraving (a pheasant on one action wall, a partridge on t’other with scrollwork on the belly) – and the wood on the test gun seemed particularly good.