Mike’s top choice
Beretta 687 EELL
Some versions of this gun are known as the 687 Diamond Pigeon, but they amount to basically the same thing – proven, long-life versions of a hugely popular design not just in the UK but throughout the world. The gun’s current incarnation is the 687 EELL Classic Game Scene, with a recommended retail price of £7,850.
That figure suggests that the price of a really good, recent, second-hand gun might well top £5,000 – but that’s not what I am suggesting Brian buys. An older gun which has been looked after would fall within his budget, and I would suggest something like the gun illustrated, which Sporting Gun reviewed new in 2009. In that year the new cost of the gun was £5,745.
The gun is one of the finest of Beretta’s “68” series, which includes the 682 competition series and the hugely popular Silver Pigeon. This gun stands out because of the fact that it has been put together with extreme care, the quality of its woodwork, and the excellence of its engraving. The gun we tested eight years ago was decorated with pheasants on the right-hand side-plate and woodcock on the left, and another woodcock on the underside of the action. Even the top lever was elegantly engraved.
Barrel lengths available are 28, 30 and 32-inches in the sporter version, and all have ventilated top and side ribs. All of the ribs taper from 10mm to 8mm. The chromelined barrels of the sporter are bored on Beretta’s Optima system, with internal
diameters of 18.6mm – or 0.732-inches – compared to the traditional English standard of 0.729-inches. This isn’t exactly over-boring, until you compare it to what was the Beretta standard of 0.719-inches, which was tight by anybody’s standards.
Like all of Beretta’s high-grade models, the woodwork of this gun is superb, with well-figured, dark walnut and an excellent match between stock and fore-end. The only thing I don’t like about the woodwork – and it is a personal preference – is the fact that the butt terminates in a ¾-inch rubber recoil pad. I would much rather see a hard plastic pad – or, better still, one of matching wood.