New Acquisition #2: Beretta S686 "Essential'

[oysterer]

OK I know what you are going to say, total relapse on the gun buying 'problem'.

When I went to my friendly neighborhood LGS to pick the 29-5 out of hold, I could not believe my eyes and I knew wallet was coming out regardless of my inner fight:

I really love 686 Berettas and used to have a field gun which I foolishly sold and still have a 32'' trap gun.

I do not at all like the nickel plated computer engraved bird scenes and fake engravings going on mid priced guns ($3000 and up go figure). But always looking out for a good field gun aka Ithaca 37 etc.

Here she is: Beretta 'Essential'. I find this way cool:
Full steel receiver, bead blast and hard chrome plated, P. Beretta roll mark and nothing else. The barrels are not even ribbed or connected and they are mat blue finished just like the SW model 28 which give off the feel of a trench gun. All other hardware is also mat blued. The gun was made around 1995 or 97 and has stunning wood especially for a economy field model. In short I absolutely love it. Brute, basic and a real shooter, I just tried it today and it breaks clay like the best of them. Came NOS, unfired with original carton, 3 chokes and all papers...for 850 incl. all taxes fees etc.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

$850OTD is a little more than what it sold for originally. I had a 686 Silver Pidgin 28" 28 gauge. About the same age. Sold new $1400, I found a shop in one of the Carolinas with 16 of them, that they would let go for a grand each. I had it until 2 1/2 years ago and sold it. It was a great field gun, but on sporting clays was just too "whippy". The inertia block in the trigger was set from the factory for 1oz loads instead of 3/4, the trigger wouldn't reset for the other barrel, so I sent it back to Virginia, when it came back it had the best triggers ever! and I assume the inertia block behaved like a mechanical trigger! I always wanted to do one of those dove hunts where you could do 500 shots a day. Except for the cost it would have been a breeze with that gun!

I see guys with those late 90's Berettas all the time, they just love them!

Ivan

 

[oysterer]

Original retail was around $1200 in the 90s and about a grand discounted. I had a white Onyx field gun until I sold it. This one is way better, more heft and sturdier built at least feels like it. I wanted to get another modern field gun and looked at the silver pigeon so many times but the wood is just like construction site quality and no place to touch one below $2K.

Trigger is super smooth, light and inertia resets easy every time. Ejectors have relatively light springs and are smooth like butter. The gun over all is well fitted and again if this is economy wood, hats off.

For the field this is perfect and for clays it's just a matter of practice. Today I used modified and full chokes and hit them nicely.

 

[clang444]

The 686 Essential was a value O/U Beretta was making about 20 years ago. I remember seeing them at Gun Shows NIB for about $700 when they came out. Pretty much the same gun as any other 686, minus the embellishments and usually very plain wood. I believe Beretta stopped making them because too many people were buying them vs their 686 Onyx which was priced around $1,000 at the time.

I've got a couple of Beretta 685s. These were the previous value O/Us that came out in the late 70s or early 80s. My guns have extractors instead of ejectors and no screw in chokes. The Imp Cyl/Mod 12 gauge I own is my favorite field gun and weighs 6 lb 12 oz. I'll never sell it.