Beretta 694 Sport 31
Distinguished by its 31in barrels, this solid competition gun is ideal for clays but also has potential for occasional wildfowling forays or for high birds, as Michael Yardley explains
THIS month’s test focuses on a Beretta 694 Sport 31 – distinguished by its uncommon 31in barrels – imported and distributed by GMK of Fareham. It is designed as a superior clay-breaking machine and is a good weight for that purpose at 8lb 7oz. It could, however, be pressed into service on high birds or wildfowl as well. It is, arguably, not too heavy for the field if heavy loads are being contemplated.
The trend in the competition world is for heavier and longer guns. Club Shots tend to use 30in or 32in barrels. Most of the top performers opt for 32in now (some even 34in). In terms of weight, 8lb to 9lb seems the modern norm. Game guns have become heavier and longer-barrelled too. The 25in, 26in, 27in or 28in, 6½lb or 6¾lb side-by-side of two, three or four generations back have been replaced by the 7lb to 7½lb, now typically 30in over-and-under (circa 1900, though, best side-by-sides tended to have 30in barrels and weighed around 7lb – similar to modern dynamics).
First impressions of our 694, meanwhile, are that it is clearly of the Beretta family, with its silver action and simple, modernistic decoration. There is minimal adornment as befits a gun primarily intended for competition. It looks quite like a DT11 at first glance. The action decoration is similar to the base model DT11, with blue detailing. There is also something of the old 680 and 682 here, as well as much resemblance to the 692, which it subtly improves upon.
The specification includes fleur-delys steel proof, 3in chamber, taper-bored Steelium Plus barrels, long Optima HP multichokes and an adjustable trigger. The stock is rather full in form with a large, quite tightly radiused grip, which has a right-hand palm swell. The comb is thicker than on the 692. The well-shaped fore-end is rounded and without a lip. It’s not too big and does not take the hand far away from the barrels.
The 31in barrels are topped by a 10mm to 8mm ventilated sighting rib with centre channel. They are marked at 1,530g for weight (mid-weight for their length) and come with a protective non-reflective black wrap to prevent damage in transit. This is not a feature, as I first thought, and may be removed. Thirty-one inch barrels are a rarity, although they are also seen in GMK’S 50th Anniversary 694.
The stock dimensions of this test 694 are higher than the old Beretta (or Browning) average and better for it. I measured the drop as close to 1½in and 2in – the classic shelf dimensions of the British trade for a side-by-side. The butt has a length of pull of 14¾in with the trigger in a mid-position. There is a thin 18mm Microcore recoil pad to the rear (and a 23mm alternative in the silver ABS travel case that comes with the gun, allowing for a 15in pull with a similar trigger position).
There is slight cast-off for a right-hander (a left-handed, cast-on stock is an option, as is an adjustable comb). The grip is good but quite large, as implied, and the palm swell, not usually my preference, wellconceived. The stock form and shapes allow one to lock well into the gun – vital in a competition tool where consistency of mount and swing are all-important. The butt also contains within it the Beretta B-fast balancing system, adjusted at the factory for near hinge-pin balance.
The first 69 series gun seen was the 692, launched in 2012 at Seville, Spain. The 690 III game gun arrived in 2014, and the improved 694 – a refined version of the 692 with a shorter fore-end and steel fore-end iron – in 2019. I visited Gardone for the launch of all these, and they impressed from the start. I use a 30in 695, a deluxe derivative of the 690, for occasional high birding, encouraged after some competitive success with the original 690 in Italy.
The Beretta 694 Sport 31 is designed as a superior claybreaking machine and is a good weight for that purpose