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Silver Pigeon I Sporting: Best Price-Quality, Value in a Competition Over-Under

The Silver Pigeon I Sporting offers all the functional features of our premium over-under competition shotguns at a particularly attractive price.

It is built around the best-in-class 686 action, which is compact and low-profile while being extremely strong. The Optima-Bore, Optima-Choke barrels are light-weight and place the shotgun’s point of balance right at the hinge-pin, meaning lively feel in the hands and natural pointability. And with its select-walnut stock and tasteful scroll engraving, the Silver Pigeon I Sporting won’t fail to turn heads at the range, also thanks to its unmistakeable Beretta looks.

Natural Pointability, Swing

At the heart of the Silver Pigeon I Sporting is the legendary 686 action, a long-standing favorite among competition shooters and hunters. Over-under actions must have a strong locking mechanism, because the stress of every shot causes the action to “want” to open. For this reason, most manufacturers place the locking lug(s) at the top of the receiver, making it strong but also taller and bulkier than it needs be. Thanks to its long experience, Beretta uses instead two conical locking lugs at mid-action, right between the barrels. This gives the 686 receiver vault-like locking strength while keeping the profile considerably lower. The advantage is that the eye of the shooter is a lot closer to the plane of his supporting hand: considerably better swing and hand-eye coordination, more targets shattered.

Extreme Durability

Another advantage of the Silver Pigeon action is the fact that the locking lugs are conical. As the number of shots fired goes into the five digits, the receiver will still lock up positively: the conical lugs merely “self-adjust” by setting themselves sligtly deeper into the barrel unit, without any compromise on strength. This means that the Silver Pigeon Sporting is a shotgun that will stand up to years of enjoyment and can be passed down from generation to generation.  

Flawless Fit and Finish

While not as elaborately decorated as our premium shotguns, the Silver Pigeon I Sporting has all the elegance that you can expect from a Beretta. The oil-finished stock sports a beautiful and crisp checkering pattern, and the schnabel fore-end adds to the classic flavor of this over-under. The scroll-engraved receiver is a functional work of art in itself, with its interesting geometry blending perfectly with the stock and contributing to the gun’s graceful lines. This is a shotgun that has all the elements of a treasured heirloom, without the price-tag to match. 

FEATURES

1. Floral Engraving

The receiver of the 686 is embellished with traditional designs reminiscent of the British and European gunmaking schools. The geometry of the scrolls is proportioned to match the elegance of the receiver, as well as to complement the overall lines of this perfectly-balanced shotgun.

2. Locking Lugs

The 686 features dual conical locking lugs that offer several benefits over the traditional cross-bolt at the top. By being positioned at the center of the action, they do away with the need of adding extra metal at the top for the cross-bolt, resulting in a much sleeker profile. Also, their conical shape makes them self-adjusting: as the hundreds of rounds you put through the shotgun add up, the lugs automatically sit deeper into the barrel unit, keeping the action tight and positive.

3. Cold-Hammer Forged Barrel

No matter how great a shotgun's action and how impeccable the balance, the shot must first travel through the barrel in order to make it to the target. So, the more perfect the geometry of the tube, the more consistent and predictable the shot pattern. Beretta's cold-hammer forged barrels are designed and painstakingly manufactured to offer this kind of precision, as well as the durability to match.

4. Monoblock Receiver

The monoblock receiver on the 686 makes lock-up positive and vault-like, and greatly enhances the durability of the gun even after many long seasons of hard use.

5. Schnabel

The schnabel fore-end adds a touch of old-world flare to the 686 Silver Pigeon I Sporting, guiding the eye even better along its smooth lines.

6. Select Walnut

A shotgun is not only a tool: it is an experience, from the moment its owner takes it out of the box. For this reason, Beretta shotguns such as the 686 Silver Pigeon I Sporting are designed to catch the eye as well as perform flawlessly at the range or in the field.