Beretta Double Barrel for shooting

[frogwalking]

Someone with more experience than I with reproduction shotguns tell me how the Beretta over/under 12 ga. shoots.  Does it have any common known faults?  It looks kinda funky I agree, but how does it shoot and hold up?   I tried to build a kit from a well respected kit and parts maker but have been unable to get the parts from them due to supplier problems for the past 5 months. 

Someone said the load in the second barrel of a 12 double will shoot loose from recoil and must be checked after shooting the first barrel.  If that is true, it kinda negates the whole point of a double barrel.  What is your experience?

[Jim Jackson]

The only problems I have ever heard of involves the lower barrel not firing because of the path to the main charge.Seems its a long transit to the lower barrel through a passageway that is prone to clog easily.Works fine as long as this is clear.Have never heard about the second charge working loose on any double shotgun but I suppose its possible but I have never experienced it yet.

[Feltwad]

I have owned a pair of these since they were introduced in the 1980,s.For a gun manufacturer  like Beretta  they were poorly finished ,the main faults  were the locks and the  bottom barrel also the stock finish could have been better.
The faults that I found were as follows the locks were of poor quality  most had to be re hardened and polished ,on some the main springs were weak.Another main fault was the Allen screw plug in the bottom barrel some were prone to a gas leak and soon burnt a hole in the channel of the stock
For my pair  I customised them,the lock parts were re hardened and polished and tuned in  , the stock was checkered  to 18 lines to the inch stained and finished with an oil finish.
Today these guns shoot with no trouble at all ,a misfire is rare ,I would say to anyone buying one which is factory new be prepared to do the work that I have mentioned  it will be of benefit, enclosed are a couple of images of my pair.
Feltwad



 

[Feltwad]

Have finally manged to  install images
Feltwad

[frogwalking]

Thanks Feltwad.  I may just go with a Pedersoli SxS 12 ga.  I hate to pay that much and have to immediately rebuild it.  Might as well buy another Ducati.     Hmmmm.  Maybe this Italian stuff is actually just pre-assembled kits.

[Kermit]

Feltwad--never had that trouble with my MotoGuzzis and Vespas. Maybe they should make guns?

[Daryl]

frogwalking- I made some changes to my Pedersoli .58 - changes that could benefit the 12 bore.  The fences, while being shaped correctly, are not very 'active' due to poor lock geometry, too-high hammers, and too-high nipples. Too, the bolsters are not shaped correctly at the rear and are rain catchers. I re-filed mine and installed shorter nipples. Have to watch that the main springs, letting down just a bit further due to lower nipples, doesn't hit the bottom of the lock mortise. I also got rid of that horrible cheek piece & their nasty stain and refinished the gun in Danish Oil (Tung).  

I really do wish I'd been able to get one of the 12'as, but have to make do with a little .58.
factory hammer/nipple/fence relationship. Breech rain gutters filed out at rear of plugs. They were closed tot he fences as received.


altered gun with lcoks panels blued


Refinished rifle - locks, hammers, tang, trigger gaurd all blued - were bright chrome-like finish. Stock refinished with Tung oil- no stain.

[northmn]

I had a Navy Arms "magnum" which I used a great deal many years ago (when you could shoot ducks with lead)  It was a fine shotgun.  Another one I had was a lighter weight one that was supposed to be patterend after an English double.  I believe it was as it nailed me in the cheek horribly.  They used to make them that way for driven wing shooting.  The more current line of shotguns are likely better than the magnum I had.  It was fun, but somewhere I had gotten away from BP for a while.

DP

[frogwalking]

Thanks a lot folks.  It does sound like the Pedersoli will be easier to fix than the Beretta and maybe have fewer quirks.  I really always have liked the SXS guns anyway.  I just wish they did not stamp the loading instructions into the barrels.  I have heard that they do this today.  I guess I will find out. 

[northmn]

Some now have the screw in choke system.  Good or bad   I have a slightly choked barrel I made from a "modern" singleshot and it works fine but I reamed it out to about skeet.  Tighter chokes you have to start the card sideways and then tip over to get started.  could save you a lot of hassle in patterning.  Chokes were not used until the later 1870's as the tendency was to overdue them.  Forseth thought he had reamed the choke out when he discovered how little it took.

DP

[Daryl]

Sorry  - thought we were talking about rifles - the Pedersoli shotguns I've seen had too-high combs for normal shooting but the Navy Arms gun's Armi-San Polo, I think, had good fences/hammer/nipple relationship and proper drop at the comb and heel/toe - at least my buddie's does. It feels good - but I still beat him with my flint 20 bore at trap -  .

[northmn]

Some ML trap shooters have resorted to zip guns like rifle shooters and have made inline O/U's.  The O/U has the advantages of easier barrel regulation, one sighting plane and lessed recoil with the bottom barrel with more straight in recoil.  The side by side has a tendency to kick in or kind of twist with its offset barrels, which can also make it a touch slower for a second shot. These reason are why you see O/U's used at skeet, sporting clays and trap and rarely a side by side.  taht being said it takes a top shooter to take advantage of these differences.   The Beretta was made as a competition gun, but listening to feltwad, lacked the quality to follow through.  To be competitive in the trap events I used to shoot a good single shot woudl ahve been as good as anything.  I did fairly well with my Brown Bess replica and later with a 12 bore musket I built.  I remember at one range when I borke the first clay with the Bess they laughed and clapped thinking it was very lucky.  They quit after a few other breaks.  You probably would be better off getting a currently made double as parts can be a problem if something breaks.

DP

[Standing Bear]

I've had a Beretta OU since they were brought out.  No problems even with the lower barrel/long flash channel. 

But hey I'm a rifleman.  Shot guns fit or they don't and they spray shot so if they go off they are good. 
TC

[Levy]

Years ago I bought a Beretta O/U from a friend who had  gotten a bunch of them and was selling them for $200 a piece.  The bottom barrel was difficult to ignite as others have also found.  The hole through the screw that went to the bottom barrel  was a bit small and had to be enlarged.  The other problem was  one of alignment with the bottom barrel.  Once I got the alignment right I never had trouble with ignition.  The long screw did need to be sealed to prevent some gas leakage too.  I've enjoyed mine.  The light Pedersoli 12 ga. worked well, but never really fit (too straight).  When you fired the left barrel, it would burn your wrist with the as issued flash gutters/fences.  I bought a kit for a Navy Arms Classic (I think it had the case hardened lock plates and a steel buttplate) which turned out pretty good with some modifications.  I lowered the comb about 1/4" and lengthened the wrist about the same amount (I was using an old Hollis & Sheath as a reference) for a better fit.  The gun was way too thick top to bottom and I set the triggers in another 1/4" and removed the excess wood.  To my mind, the end result was a less clunky looking gun and it fit better too.

James Levy 

[northmn]

Guns that fit are more fun.  A shotgun has to fit or it only makes noise.

DP

[frogwalking]

T hanks to all for your wisdom.  Barbie just solved my dilemma.  She was having real problems with a supplier and I was losing hope of ever seeing my flint fowler completed.  She just notified me that my parts will be shipped late next week.  Yahoo!