Shotgun fit - what's similar to a Beretta?

[Dan_Smiff 2]

I have been to the sportsman gun centre (Exeter) at the weekend and they have laid down the law on gun fit in a way that no other RFD has been close to. It has changed my view on shotguns, whereas I had previously been set on buying a Miroku MK70 (having shouldered one in another shop and been told it was 'fine') but the v knowledgable bloke tried me with and MK70 and an MK30 sporter and both were miles off.

 

We then moved over to the Beretta's and they seemed to be much better for me - they had no used ones and the cheapest in stock (a 686e @ £1199) was too much for my already stretched budget. At the time I set my sights (excuse the pun!) on buying a Beretta when one came along around the £1k mark but since then I have decided that to be a little selfish given my/our current financial circumstance.

 

Therefore my question is; Of the cheaper brands out there (Lanber, Bettinsoli, Lincoln, Franchi, Rizzini etc), can anyone tell me if any match Beretta for fit? Does anyone shoot a Beretta alongside one of the cheapest guns and feel they are of similar dimensions?

 

I will go around the RFD's and try some out but if there are 1 & 2 two brands to concentrate on that's help a lot.

 

Hope this makes sense and thanks in advance for any help.

 

Dan

[Geoff.C 0]

All the cheaper guns you mention, work ok and can produce good results. The big three of the popular premium makes, Beretta, Browning and Miroku, can all feel better in the hand than the budget guns. For my money though, for balance, feel and smooth swing, nothing equals a 686 series Beretta. Don't buy in haste, wait for a used Beretta in your price range to come along.

[drducati 0]

I'm fond the the B. Rizzini but the Beretta is hard to beat. If I had to limit my shotguns to one I'm hard pressed to say which it would be but I'm inordinately partial to the Browning Superposed.

Actually I've found most of the Italian guns are very similar in lop .etc. The difference is in the character of the receiver, depth and contour.

I was quail hunting last week using a Caesar Guerini "Woodlander" 20 ga. After awhile I went to the truck and got my old Parker VH 20 ga. After the Parker, the O/U felt like a log in my hand.

Wait until you find one that really fits!

Edited December 20, 2008 by drducati