Beretta 687 Silver Pigeon III Field £2,245

The go-to gun for many game shooters has had an upgrade; Mark Heath looks at what’s changed, what has stayed the same and how it shoots

- Mark Heath

OUR VERDICT

The original Beretta 687 was an all-round gun — is there a place for an updated version in-game shooting today? The success of Beretta’s 690 series of guns, both Field and Competition, means you would be forgiven for thinking that the last post would be playing and the flag being slowly lowered as the sun sets on the Silver Pigeon. But such is the popularity of that action, especially among game shooters, that we have a resurrection in the form of the 687 Silver Pigeon III Field.

It was 37°C so I relented and allowed shorts and polo shirts rather than the usual collar and tie for the instructors. Half and three-quarter chokes fitted, we went straight out on to the shooting school loaded with 28g No 8s, some 30g No 5s and a box of 32g No 6s.

Starting at the 40ft tower, the handling, as always with a Silver Pigeon, was predictable on all angles with no vices. Using the 28g No 8s the clays became balls of smoke.

The ejector timing was typical Beretta — efficient and well timed but not so powerful that they would throw the cartridges into the blackthorn 10 yards behind the peg.

Moving on to the 80ft, 90ft and 120ft towers, the gun performed exceptionally well. For targets at 60 yards and more I would prefer a little more weight, but this gun is not intended for extreme birds as a general rule.