I picked up my latest acquisition tonight. Beretta 682 4-barrel set.
I bought the gun used for a measly $3,000.
If you're not familiar with this type of gun, I'll explain. It's a regular O/U type shotgun, except.....it comes with 4 barrel assemblies. Twelve, 20, 28 and .410 bore. All the barrels fit the same reciever and forend. They're few and far between and usually prohibitively expensive. I happened to know a guy who knows a guy...well...let's just put it this way. I got a pretty good deal on it.
First impressions: The gun shoulders very well. It feels very solid when it's up to your shoulder. All four barrels have a red muzzle bead with a white mid-bead. Very easy to pick up on the swing. Choked skeet/skeet all the way around. A big plus in my book...I don't to have sell a gun just to buy 8 Briley choke tubes!
The wood is substandard. The forearm and the buttstock are different hues and the grain doesn't match. There are also several gouges, nicks and scratches, BUT....it's a left handed stock. The stock has a slight left hand palmswell and is cast on, allowing quick and painless gun mounts from the low gun position. My theory on this is that I'd rather have people impressed by my scores than by how immaculate my gun looks. But I still take pride in my firearm, hence I am on the lookout for some new wood. Going to try a local stockmaker tomorrow to see what's available and how much more $$ I'm going to have to spend.
Action is a tad loose, but I'm not anticipating problems. I'm used to my Browning Citori when it was new. The Browning was a lot tighter, but who knows how many rounds this gun has seen.
Two of the four barrels are ported. Twelve and twenty gauge are ported. Twenty-eight and .410 are not. All of the tubes are 28", which is the same as my Browning. The swing was very similar. Although I prefer the Browning Citoris and their variants, I believe this addition will be one that will stay with me for years to come.
First thing I did was purchase a case of AA .410 bore shells and hit the skeet field. Need to build up a hull collection ya know?
It was the second round of skeet that I've ever shot with a .410. Squeaked by with a 21. Hopefully I can improve on that over the next couple months. I've heard lots of horror stories on shooting skeet with a .410, but it really didn't seem that difficult. I've got my fingers crossed that it's not beginners luck.
I did imagine buying a new Americase 4-barrel case for it, but after seeing the $400 price tag and realizing just how heavy it was..I thought otherwise. The gun with the original case has to be close to 40 pounds. I'm contemplating buying a regular single barrel case and just toting the gauge I plan on shooting that day. Gives me something to think about anyway.
Shooting the gun was a pure joy. A .410 in the O/U pattern is something that everyone should experience at least once. As the gun came with a mercury recoil reducer in the stock, recoil was nearly non-existent. Coming from 12 gauge, it was a huge difference, but I'm excited about a new challenge.
If anyone in the northern Sacramento area wants to laugh at me shoot, come on by the Beale AFB Rod & Gun Club. We'll hit a few birds and toss down some suds afterwards. You'll know who I am...I'm the guy cursing at those itty bitty shells.
Ed
I bought the gun used for a measly $3,000.
If you're not familiar with this type of gun, I'll explain. It's a regular O/U type shotgun, except.....it comes with 4 barrel assemblies. Twelve, 20, 28 and .410 bore. All the barrels fit the same reciever and forend. They're few and far between and usually prohibitively expensive. I happened to know a guy who knows a guy...well...let's just put it this way. I got a pretty good deal on it.
First impressions: The gun shoulders very well. It feels very solid when it's up to your shoulder. All four barrels have a red muzzle bead with a white mid-bead. Very easy to pick up on the swing. Choked skeet/skeet all the way around. A big plus in my book...I don't to have sell a gun just to buy 8 Briley choke tubes!
The wood is substandard. The forearm and the buttstock are different hues and the grain doesn't match. There are also several gouges, nicks and scratches, BUT....it's a left handed stock. The stock has a slight left hand palmswell and is cast on, allowing quick and painless gun mounts from the low gun position. My theory on this is that I'd rather have people impressed by my scores than by how immaculate my gun looks. But I still take pride in my firearm, hence I am on the lookout for some new wood. Going to try a local stockmaker tomorrow to see what's available and how much more $$ I'm going to have to spend.
Action is a tad loose, but I'm not anticipating problems. I'm used to my Browning Citori when it was new. The Browning was a lot tighter, but who knows how many rounds this gun has seen.
Two of the four barrels are ported. Twelve and twenty gauge are ported. Twenty-eight and .410 are not. All of the tubes are 28", which is the same as my Browning. The swing was very similar. Although I prefer the Browning Citoris and their variants, I believe this addition will be one that will stay with me for years to come.
First thing I did was purchase a case of AA .410 bore shells and hit the skeet field. Need to build up a hull collection ya know?
It was the second round of skeet that I've ever shot with a .410. Squeaked by with a 21. Hopefully I can improve on that over the next couple months. I've heard lots of horror stories on shooting skeet with a .410, but it really didn't seem that difficult. I've got my fingers crossed that it's not beginners luck.
I did imagine buying a new Americase 4-barrel case for it, but after seeing the $400 price tag and realizing just how heavy it was..I thought otherwise. The gun with the original case has to be close to 40 pounds. I'm contemplating buying a regular single barrel case and just toting the gauge I plan on shooting that day. Gives me something to think about anyway.
Shooting the gun was a pure joy. A .410 in the O/U pattern is something that everyone should experience at least once. As the gun came with a mercury recoil reducer in the stock, recoil was nearly non-existent. Coming from 12 gauge, it was a huge difference, but I'm excited about a new challenge.
If anyone in the northern Sacramento area wants to laugh at me shoot
, come on by the Beale AFB Rod & Gun Club. We'll hit a few birds and toss down some suds afterwards. You'll know who I am...I'm the guy cursing at those itty bitty shells. Ed
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