Appreciate opinion of the Silver Pigeon 1.

I seem to remember that Mike Yardley reviewed the gun in an issue of "The Field" some years ago - I think he also mentioned it in an article with some title such as "The top ten guns"

I personally have shot it with satisfaction but not very much - friend's gun. I was surprised at how well it handled for being so modestly-priced

King, it's a 686 with upgraded wood and engraving. I have a lesser grade 686 in 20 and it is a reliable, nice handling gun.
I had Cole upgrade the wood and install double triggers. Gil

I thought it was a sxs ?,
didn't they put out a sxs named something pigeon (or pigeon something) relatively recently ( 10+ years ago?)
Perhaps it wasn't the silver pigeon 1...I'm sure your right.
My first ever shotgun over here in the states was 686...boy I thought the world of it.Then I bought a nice old Francotte sxs & sold it, but it seemed a very reliable gun, for pretty short money
cheers,good luck with it
franc

King,

I have a 20 and a 12 Beretta 685 series that I bought new in the early 80's, they've both performed flawlessly for over 30 years without so much as a glitch. They will digest anything you feed them without a hiccup and all through beautiful chrome lined bores.

The 680 series Beretta's are one of the few designs that can go to Argentina, or anywhere, dove shooting and perform flawlessly for thousands and thousands of rounds. Their reputation is indeed famous.

The 680 series Beretta's are in the top 5 for all time designs, I would say, for built in dependability, balance and quality, including all the various trim levels and they are the most copied shotgun design in recent times.

Best Regards,

Franc, the 470/471 side by sides were Silver Hawk models. Beretta isn't real inventive with names. There were Silver Hawks previously, back in the 60's, which were essentially 409's tweaked a bit for the American market. But they did have a different name for their OU's back then: Silver Snipe, and their fancier version, the Golden Snipe.

Franc Otte & Larry,

" Beretta isn't real inventive with names." LOL

The new Beretta model name,... inventive?..... : 486 Parallelo

http://www.shootinguk.co.uk/gunreviews/5...dy_shotgun.html

Don't think Italian makers think any more about English names than they used to about field grade wood--"Americanos are all blondes, so give 'em blond wood!" "A noble metal plus a noble bird MUST equal 'class'!" Mustn't it???

And there were other Italian makers who made various kinds of "metallic fowl"....

Thanks to all hands. Emailed it to nephew after his sleuthing indicated the Pigeon may be a better gun for him than the Parallelo. The Rome retailers seemed to agree.

I have two 687 Silver Pigeon II's, a 12 and a 20/28 combo. They are rock solid guns. The 20/28 gauge combo is one sweat handing gun. Mechanically the SPI is the same gun.


Here's a link to the article in "The Field", "The World's 20 Best Shotguns". The last two paragraphs are the one's to heed.

http://www.thefield.co.uk/features/153911/The_world039s_20_best_shotguns.html

I still like my SxS's better but none are more reliable than my 687's.

As Doug indicated, the gun is one that is built well enough to handle Argentina high volume shooting without a hiccup. My 687 SPII Sporting has been twice and was the sole gun used there both times. Has digested around 10K rounds now, at doves, there and here. Never even one failure. Almost perfect ejectors, one of the finest single triggers ever made and handles like a dream, all JMO, of course.

SRH

Yardley has a very positive review of this gun on his website, and others have given it high ratings. I have a 32" SPI I bought from Coles for waterfowling and bad weather clays - you have to spend a lot more money to find a better gun.

The SP1 is Beretta's entry level SP, with a little engraving and very average wood. Nothing "upgrade" about one.
JR

+1 on all the positive comments.

I currently have 3 680 series guns.

The only failures I've seen on 680 series guns have been three differet cases of broken hammers.

One of them was my trap 682, a 1985 production gun. It fired quite a few shells before the failure. The hammer simply fractured into two pieces.

The good news is that Cole's sent me a hammer and it simply dropped in without much fuss or disassembly. Just drive the axle out with a pin, and presto - new hammer.

I'd take a spare set of hammers to Argentina.

Probably a good idea, along with a set of ejectors, strikers and some springs, but I am willing to bet that I can take mine the third time and put 5000+ rounds through it without a breakdown.

They're just that good.

SRH

One mans opinion only.

687 Beretta's are the Ford 150 pick up of O/U's Browning's are the Chevy's and probably just as good, except most Browning's are ported, something to be avoided.

Mine is a 687 SP II, dressed up same frame. A lot slimmer and to my mind better handling than other O/U's at the same price. Thousands of rounds and never a hiccup. Cheaper is not going to be as reliable, to top the 687's you have to spend a lot more money.

Boats