nody
Member
My local DFW range, Elm Forks for you locals that care, rents only Berettas. They are beat up range guns, bent ribs, missing beads, rust, filthy but they work without interuption; a testimony to Beretta.
The o/u's go for $20 and the autos $15 a day. A round of skeet/trap is $8.50 or $75.00 for a 10 round card. No one ever said Elm Forks was cheap. That's one of the reasons I have been driving double the miles to Alpine Gun Range in S. Ft Worth where prices are more reasonable and there is a varied grab bag of rental guns, time permitting. But I wanted another try at the Berettas.
Elm Forks also has the time delay capable target controller so it's great for solo practice undisturbed. I was working station 2/3 & 5/6 only this particular day.
I've been studying several books, trying to refine position, stance, etc. I hadn't shot the either Beretta in a few months.
I loved the fit and feel of the 686, the recoil (Federal 1 1/8 oz promos) actually felt better (not less, just better) than the 391 (more below), but I could not hit anything with it for two boxes of shells. Literally, I missed the first 15 shots, took a break, and missed at least half of of the rest. I was dumbfounded and about ready to call the day a writeoff and go home.
The bores looked reasonably clean. Obviously I don't know how this round patterns in this gun, but I'd used the same ammo in the 686 a few months before and shot in the high teens/low 20's.
Maybe it was the bent rib and missing front bead.
God, I gotta get my own gun!
The one thing I could put my thumb on was I felt like I was trying to swing a 4x4 piece of lumber; not too heavy, just too cumbersome.
I went back to the office and swapped the 28" 686 for a 28" 391, a beat up one. I nailed the first 15 and only dropped a handfull for 5 more boxes of shells. The gun swung so much better for me. Shouldn't the double bbls should improve the stability of the swing?
I hated the feel of the cycling of the 391 action though; it reminded me of grinding your teeth. Very "crunchy" and jerky, and noticebly different when there was a second round in the magazine (worse) or the bolt locked open (better). It seemed worse than I remember from the last time I shot the 391 and worse than the SX2 I'd been shooting at Alpine.
Any of you aces have any thoughts?
The o/u's go for $20 and the autos $15 a day. A round of skeet/trap is $8.50 or $75.00 for a 10 round card. No one ever said Elm Forks was cheap. That's one of the reasons I have been driving double the miles to Alpine Gun Range in S. Ft Worth where prices are more reasonable and there is a varied grab bag of rental guns, time permitting. But I wanted another try at the Berettas.
Elm Forks also has the time delay capable target controller so it's great for solo practice undisturbed. I was working station 2/3 & 5/6 only this particular day.
I've been studying several books, trying to refine position, stance, etc. I hadn't shot the either Beretta in a few months.
I loved the fit and feel of the 686, the recoil (Federal 1 1/8 oz promos) actually felt better (not less, just better) than the 391 (more below), but I could not hit anything with it for two boxes of shells. Literally, I missed the first 15 shots, took a break, and missed at least half of of the rest. I was dumbfounded and about ready to call the day a writeoff and go home.
The bores looked reasonably clean. Obviously I don't know how this round patterns in this gun, but I'd used the same ammo in the 686 a few months before and shot in the high teens/low 20's.
Maybe it was the bent rib and missing front bead.
God, I gotta get my own gun!
The one thing I could put my thumb on was I felt like I was trying to swing a 4x4 piece of lumber; not too heavy, just too cumbersome.
I went back to the office and swapped the 28" 686 for a 28" 391, a beat up one. I nailed the first 15 and only dropped a handfull for 5 more boxes of shells. The gun swung so much better for me. Shouldn't the double bbls should improve the stability of the swing?
I hated the feel of the cycling of the 391 action though; it reminded me of grinding your teeth. Very "crunchy" and jerky, and noticebly different when there was a second round in the magazine (worse) or the bolt locked open (better). It seemed worse than I remember from the last time I shot the 391 and worse than the SX2 I'd been shooting at Alpine.
Any of you aces have any thoughts?
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