[dgreeney]

DEAL OR NO DEAL, looks to be in good to great condition, I did not thoroughly inspect the gun as if I was going to buy it as I hve been looking more in the $350 price range for a good 2Ga. black synthetic mainly for upland field hunting and also some clays for fun.
I have been considering a Benelli Nova, Stoeger P350, or Remington 870 Express.

But today I found this conspicuously marked "Beretta Vitoria" 12G semiauto shotgun at the pawn shop for $450. I passed over it but it has been eating and eating at me ever since.

Can I have some opinions from everyone? It would be a stretch for me to go above what I was planning to budget, but I don't want to pass up a steal if this is one. I am not certain it is the model of Pintail ES100, but from some online research that is what I am concluding. I have also read that it is the inertia driven system, similar to other Benelli, Franchi, Stoeger semi's - which is very intriguing to me as I am a sturdy man with little care about recoil, and more care about a good handling and lightweight gun for upland type hunting.

Should I stretch my budget and get this gun, or stick to my original plan to start my collection off with a decent pump shotgun as mentioned above? (I am tired of using grandpa's worn out old shotgun and borrowing from friends)

Cheers.

[chevyforlife21]

the stoeger is like a cheapened benelli. just go with the benelli. keep in mind the benelli nova was designed for very rough use. very resistant to rust and internaly designed very thoughtfully. the safety is in a good spot the action release is in a good spot. i had one and sold it, only cuse it has a 4 round magazine and mossberg 500s have 5 round standard. i have had a remington,benelli,mossberg. i now have the mossberg but in a 8 shot defense model. buy the benelli, dont be scared away by the polymer reciever as there is steel plates inside. the purpose was so less maintenance. the benelli comes apart easiest as well. get the benelli. the 870 is the next best choice its a great gun but the safety isnt in the best spot and isnt as corrosion resistant as the benelli.

[oneounceload]

This is from another forum:

I think you should kick yourself really hard. The Vitoria is actually a Beretta ES100 Pintail manufactured in the city of Vitoria in Spain (thus the name) and uses the famous recoil system of Benelli which is a joy to operate and clean. Is is a great balance of price/quality, shoots well up to 3" without any adjustments and takes 5 chokes from 1 to 5 stars.
It costs really low has the Beretta name and the soul of the Benelli. Great Gun!

This asker passed on a deal similar to yours

[JohnBT]

After a little searching around, I'm confused.

There's mention of a Vitoria introduced in 1980 by Beretta that some in the U.S. have reported that BerettaUSA doesn't have parts for. "Beretta ES100 Pintail manufactured in the city of Vitoria Spain" Here's a machine-translated page
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=el&u=http://www.alfa-omega.gr/article.asp%3FAID%3D3291&ei=EojKSo-mKZmTtgf_k_WvAQ&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=10&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3D%2522Beretta%2BVitoria%2522%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26start%3D10

Then there's the ES100 Pintail/Vittoria listed in various gun books (always with 2 T's) that was introduced in 1993 and then renamed the ES100 Pintail in 1999. The current Blue Book shows this one at $400 in 98% condition.

I don't know what to tell you.

[kentucky_smith]

They can be found in that price range. A Beretta 1200 or 1201 would also be similar, as is the Franchi 712 IS.

[BBA]

The Vitoria is a great gun. I have the Pintail and a Vitoria, the recoil action in these is very simple and easy to clean. Just remember they don't like light loads. The Franchi 712 is a gas sys.

[dgreeney]

Thank you for the replies everyone. I appreciate you taking the time to lend an opinion.