Purchased first O/U Beretta 686 E

[warddc]

I purchased my first over/under this weekend. They opened a new Gander Mountain in Rochester NY near me. They had hundreds of shotguns (Browning, Beretta, Ruger, etc.) It was great to be able to shoulder all of the different models by different manufacturers. I ended up with the Beretta 686 E Sporting with 30" barrels. Great gun and the price was nice too (for over/unders anyway).

Gotta get shootin'...
Dave.

 

[BigG]

Hi, I hope you enjoy your new stack bbl Beretta! I got into O/Us a couple years ago and really enjoy mine. Two bbl shotguns are my favorite.

 

[9x19mm]

Congratulations! I have a few questions if you don't mind:
Is the 686E back bored or not?
Does it come with multichokes or (longer) optima-chokes?
Does it come with inertia or mechanical triggers?
How much did you pay for it if I may ask?

I am certain that it wiil give you years and years of good service!

Stay Safe

 

[warddc]

I believe that the 686E is back bored though I'm not 100% sure.

It comes with 5 multichokes (IM, Mod, IC, Cyl, skeet).

The triggers are mechanical with an inertial select to the second barrel. If you dry fire barrel 1 you must move the selector to the 2nd barrel to dry fire that. If you actually fire a round the 2nd barrels selects automatically.

The guns MSRP is 2008.00. With all the discounts on the Gander MT. opening I payed $1400. Most places I've checked sell that gun for around $1600. Plus Gander will give me back $75 in bonus cash cause I used my Gander credit card.

URL=http://products.berettausa.com/frame_tabellaprodotti_2002.asp?sgmt=8&Model=686 E Sporting#]Beretta 686E Sporting[/URL]

Dave.

 

[9x19mm]

Thanks for the info!
I believe that 686 OUs destined for the american market are overbored (backbored), which is not the case in Europe

Stay Safe

 

[Dave McCracken]

Great starter O/U. In fact, great shotgun period.

The 680 series shooters I know are a happy lot. And the design lends itself to mechanical immortality.

Enjoy!!

 

[45auto]

The 686 is a very good gun and you didn't pay much- that's good.
I know somebody that put an enormous amount of rounds through that series of receiver. He was very happy with it.

A nitpicking point, but I believe the triggers on Beretta's are 'recoil operated' instead of mechanical, unless they have changed them. It doesn't sound like it from the way you describe the dry fire. Mechanical triggers allow you to pull the trigger twice without resetting- so to speak.

I only mention that in case one day your first shot is a 'dud', and you try to fire the second shot and it won't fire. The gun is not at fault.

Have fun with it!

 

[PJR]

A shooting friend owns exactly the same gun and it's a fine piece of goods. He's very happy with it.

I believe the E models are back bored. At least my friends 686 seems much lighter in the barrels than my older 682.

As for recoil versus mechanical triggers, the majority of Berettas in my experience are recoil operated however factory mechanical triggers are not unknown. It nearly impossible to state a hard and fast rule when talking about Berettas. Sometimes it seems they have never built the same gun twice.

Paul

 

[9x19mm]

How about a range report then?

 

[warddc]

Tested pattern and convergence

Well last evening I set up some large cardboard to test the POI of the chokes and the convergence of the barrels. Overall I was impressed with where the barrels hit relative to the POA. The lower barrel was choked to Mod and at 15 yds it hit about 2" below POA and about 1" left of center. Most of the shot in the pattern fell within a 14" diam circle. The upper barrel was choked to IM and it hit dead on POA. This time the pattern fit within an 11" circle. I moved the targets out to 25 yds and the upper barrel still hit dead on (pattern increased to 15") and the lower barrel shot about 1" below POA and still about 1" left of center (pattern increased to 18"). It looks like the barrels converge at about 30 yds. Recoil was very managable but felt a little lighter in the upper barrel than the lower (but with more muzzle rise as expected). Trigger pull is smooth and crisp. I love this trigger. Ejection of spent cases is quite stout popping then out with a 'thwump' and leaving them several feet behind me if I didn't catch them first. Well maybe later on this week I will get out the trap thrower and shoots some clays.

Later,
Dave.

 

[JohnRov]

Have fun with yours, I'm getting the 682E trap in the spring, I can't wait.