JohnBlanke
April 2, 2007, 07:28 PM
Recently, while visiting our son in the Denver area, he and I happened on a pawn shop with a wall of the usual beater rifles and shotguns. In the center, though, were two Berettas, a BL-3 and a BL-4. The owner handed me the BL-3 first. Metal was beautiful, but the previous owner had carved off the comb with a disk sander and glued in a piece of leather to protect his face. No sale!
The second, a BL-4 was pristine and I bought it for our son's birthday, Christmas and next birthday.
Back home the now alone and lonely BL-3 was calling me. "All I need is a new stock, and I will be beautiful again," it kept repeating. I was not buying it though until I found a new stock for this 1970 shotgun
So, I called Cole Gunsmithing, the Beretta smithing shop with the excellent reputation. My call was handled by Mr. Jim Belgard, who said they had some at $185 each. That's a lot of money to send off for a piece of walnut, sight unseen, so I thought about it and said I'd call him back.
Then, I went ahead and bought the BL-3. After it arrived, I called back to Coles and asked for Jim. "He is with a customer, can I help you?" Mr. Rich Cole says. I tell him my story and he says, "I have a bunch I bought from Beretta and I'll pick out the best one and send it."
Wow! He sent me the most a beautiful brand new stock I could have imagined with the curls and a crotch pattern seen on fine custom guns from Europe. It took a bit of preparation, but now I have a hand rubbed replacement to adorn the old Beretta BL-3 and she is beautiful again.
So if you are in the market for a fine piece of buttstock or forend walnut for a soon to be beautiful Beretta, be sure to check with Cole Gunsmithing Inc., at 207-833-5027. Man, have they got wood!
Regards,
John Blanke
The second, a BL-4 was pristine and I bought it for our son's birthday, Christmas and next birthday.
Back home the now alone and lonely BL-3 was calling me. "All I need is a new stock, and I will be beautiful again," it kept repeating. I was not buying it though until I found a new stock for this 1970 shotgun
So, I called Cole Gunsmithing, the Beretta smithing shop with the excellent reputation. My call was handled by Mr. Jim Belgard, who said they had some at $185 each. That's a lot of money to send off for a piece of walnut, sight unseen, so I thought about it and said I'd call him back.
Then, I went ahead and bought the BL-3. After it arrived, I called back to Coles and asked for Jim. "He is with a customer, can I help you?" Mr. Rich Cole says. I tell him my story and he says, "I have a bunch I bought from Beretta and I'll pick out the best one and send it."
Wow! He sent me the most a beautiful brand new stock I could have imagined with the curls and a crotch pattern seen on fine custom guns from Europe. It took a bit of preparation, but now I have a hand rubbed replacement to adorn the old Beretta BL-3 and she is beautiful again.
So if you are in the market for a fine piece of buttstock or forend walnut for a soon to be beautiful Beretta, be sure to check with Cole Gunsmithing Inc., at 207-833-5027. Man, have they got wood!
Regards,
John Blanke