New Beretta o/u or old Parker double?

[wesheltonj]

Parker Trojan after spending more money then they are worth. But now has a stock custom fitted to my measurements.

 

[CJW]

When I was 14 or 15 I found two Beretta Silver Pigeon 28's on the used rack at GM.
These were the very nice models with beautiful walnut, nice engraving, gold birds and felt great in the hands. I drooled over them and then dragged my mother over to look at them and we both drooled. Alas neither one of us could afford them but what a stupidly good price they were. Around $1400 a piece if I recall. I've always wondered if they were priced incorrectly and dreamed of a nice Beretta o/u since then. I don't think you could go wrong. Have fun in your search.

 

[deewayne2003]

I bought a brand new 687 Silver Pigeon as a college graduation present to my self; complete with Briley 20&28ga tubes and chokes.

That shotgun was less than 18months old and less than 1,000 rounds through it before the rear stock cracked at the tang from a obviously poor fitting job- Berettas response......

“We warranty our wood stocks for 1 year from purchase date; your options are $600 for a new rear stock that we will try to match or $950 for a new set.”

For an established company, Berettas custom service on this issue fell flat on it face; I sold that 687 and will NEVER own another Beretta or no any kind with a wood stock.

 

[Tanks]

... Berettas response......

“We warranty our wood stocks for 1 year from purchase date; your options are $600 for a new rear stock that we will try to match or $950 for a new set.”

That was one of the reason I bought Caeser Guerini shotguns for sporting clays. Not only they have a lifetime warranty, they also have what they call a "pit stop" program where you take it in and they bring it to factory specs for free. (Twice in a lifetime).

 

[Professor Mawla]

A vintage Parker 12 bore side by side shotgun is definitely a thing of beauty . And that is what I would personally opt for . But then again , I am completely biased towards the side by side platform . I would not recommend firing anything heavier than 32 gram loadings through a firearm of such vintage .

If you wish to fire heavy loadings through your shotgun ( such as 36 gram or 42 gram American ammunition ) , then your only suitable choice is the Beretta over & under shotgun .

 

[fourfive8]

My history and evolution with a shotgun. Hmm? I went from a cheap old single barrel hammer break action that actually was quite a good gun to learn to wing shoot with, to a worn out old pump action repeater, to an inexpensive SxS, to a more expensive pump action repeater, to more expensive couple of O/Us and now down to a cheap not too old single barrel, hammer break action. Never owned an autoloader but shot quite a few of them. Nothing against them, just never strayed to that camp. Guess I made a full circle.

Looking back on it, the most natural for wing shooting, especially upland type shooting, and the easiest to instinctively point and shoot was the SxS. The expensive O/Us, being honest with myself, even though they were by far the most expensive of the bunch, were not the best for me. The only type bird shooting the SxS possibly wasn't the best for, in my experience, was for long range, heavy duty goose and sandhill crane shooting or concentrated shot pattern, small target shooting like turkey.

Instead of paying a premium for a collectible antique, maybe a more recent, sturdy but not fancy, less expensive used SxS. The glamour/popular factor favors the O/U, the practical favors the SxS, pump or autoloader. Maybe find some examples to try. Friends, a trap or skeet club or range. A decent condition,used Winchester Model 24 comes to mind straight away as a reasonably priced and very able SxS with which to get your feet wet. Not fancy and not expensive

 

[rookhawk]

When I was 14 or 15 I found two Beretta Silver Pigeon 28's on the used rack at GM.
These were the very nice models with beautiful walnut, nice engraving, gold birds and felt great in the hands. I drooled over them and then dragged my mother over to look at them and we both drooled. Alas neither one of us could afford them but what a stupidly good price they were. Around $1400 a piece if I recall. I've always wondered if they were priced incorrectly and dreamed of a nice Beretta o/u since then. I don't think you could go wrong. Have fun in your search.

that was the value back then, but not a particularly good gun in 28 gauge. Beretta only makes two frames, 12 gauge and 20 gauge. So a beretta .410 or 28 gauge can be a heavy unrefined thing in the hand as it’s just small barrels on a heavy breech and action.

A 12 or 20 gauge onyx or silver pigeon is a wonderful target gun for a cheap price. Their resale values are poor, as is anything in 12 gauge, so you can get good value for your dollars.