[Franco2shoot]

I have a couple questions that one of you Shotgun gurus can answer in a sentence or two, I'm sure.

First, the Beretta that I own is a sweet little thing with 26" barrels, my Scottish friends used to call it a "Walking Gun" since the short barrels made it quick to drop Hare's, Rabbits, grouse and pheasants etc. I do pretty well at Skeet when I practice, and never gave much thought to the chambering apart from the fact that it's 12 gauge. So my first question has to deal with High brass versus short, and 2 and 3/4 hulls versus 3" as well as Magnum versus Normal?

If memory serves me I thought the barrels were stressed for Magnum, but how can I tell? I tried looking down the barrels to see if there was some indentation that would tell me if I could shoot 3", but all I see is the discoloration from shooting 2 and 3/4.

The top barrel has 3 small o's and a dime fits tightly at the muzzle, the bottom barrel has 4 small o's and the dime is loose at the muzzle. One is improved, the other modified, but which is which?

Finally, does anyone have any idea what this piece is worth? It is a single trigger with selector switch on the top, and came with a recoil rubber pad at the back (I think due to the fact that it could shoot Magnum, but not sure)

I purchased it when I was stationed in Italy in 1972 directly from the factory and wouldn't think of selling it but would like to have a figure for Insurance purposes.

Thanks for any feedback.


KKKKFL

[stownsend]

I have the same shotgun that my dad bought similiar to you while touring in the Navy. I have heard that the S56E was a very common gun for GI's to purchase and bring back. I have two sets of barrels for mine, with different choke combinations.
The small o's tell the constriction and the more o's the more open:
oooo- Improved Cylinder
ooo- Modified
oo- Improved Modified (I think)
o- Full
My 26" barrels are Modified over Improved Cylinder like yours. I also have a set of 24" barrels that are Full over IC.
If yours is like mine, they have 3" chambers and will fire just about any 2 3/4" or 3" shell. Like you said, they are very light weight and make for a great gun for carrying around all day. Although they can be brutal on the shoulder if shooting a lot of 3" shells.
As for value, I have seen them in the $700-$1000 range, but that was a few years ago when I was doing the same thing as you and looking for values.
It is a great gun, enjoy it!

[oneounceload]

Somewhere on the underside of the barrels should be the chamber dimension (assuming it doesn't say it in English right on the top). You want 70mm for 2-3/4 and 75 for 3".

If it is only marked 70, then you are limited to 2-3/4" ammo. High brass and low brass have no meaning in modern shotgun ammo - that is a holdover from the old days of paper shells where the greater powder charge in the field ammo needed that higher brass to prevent burning through the paper.

what the choke marks are is still only a guess, as the true pattern will be determined at the pattern board. A dime does nothing except possibly scratch the muzzle. Different loads may pattern differently from one another

[Franco2shoot]

Thanks guys...
I'll look at the markings again.. there are more than a couple that I though were proof marks. I think one barrel has 18.3 and the other 18.4 which makes little to no sense. Maybe the gunsmith up the street can shed some knowledge on the markings.


KKKKFL

[Franco2shoot]

One last question, when you measure the barrels, do you measure the entire barrel from the back of the breech to the muzzle tip?

Cuz that's 26 and a tick inches. Obviously, if I subtract the length of the shell, it would be 24 inches. So for advertising information what length barrels do I really have?

KKKKFL

[NOLAEMT]

You measure from the breechface to the end of the barrels. so yours in 26"

[stownsend]

I still have the owner's manual at home. I will confirm the choke markings with the o's, but I am fairly confident what I wrote above is correct.

[oneounceload]

the 18.3 and 18.4 are the bore diameters in mm's, which is right at .720 - with .729 being the norm, that would mean a constriction of .009, making the choke an IC