Gun

BERETTA 686 E

E - BUSINESS

After the 682, it is the turn of Beretta's 686 series guns to get the E treatment. Richard Rawlingson heads for the trap layouts in this month's test.

Other makers must hate Beretta at the moment. Just when they think all is quite and they can get them back in their sights again, the Gardone giant moves the goalposts. First the A391 Urika raised the semi-auto stakes another notch, then last year the DT10 was launched and the trusty old 682 was given a total makeover. Every one of these guns has shouted style with a capital 'S', thanks to Beretta's much-hyped link up with some of Italy's top industrial designers.

The strategy is easy to follow. I remember Bjorn Waktare once bemoaning the fact that Berettas are so well made that they will last a shooter a lifetime - great for the customer but not so much fun for the men trying to sell us new ones. And if the new one looks just the same as a ten-year-old model why should we bother? So, enter the gun as fashion statement. Be with the latest off the catwalk or be square.

After all the activity on the rest of the range, the venerable 686 series guns would have looked off the pace, so it is no surprise to see the latest incarnation of Beretta's entry-level competition model get the treatment. This has always been an important element of the Beretta range, with its competitive price point around the crucial £1,000 mark. It is often the buyer's first serious competition gun and vital in securing that all-important marque loyalty all makers seek. Will it be this season's must-have item?

New Clothes

The first and most obvious impression is that the new guns have been reclothed from the same rack as the 682E. It shares the same basic styling, with its two-tone finish and abstract graphics, marking it out clearly as a piece of dedicated sports equipment, not a warmed over game gun. Whether you like the graphic treatment or not - and I am lukewarm over it - there is no denying that it gives the 686 a presence few other guns in this price bracket can match.

The influence of designers from outside the gun trade pervades everything Beretta turn out at the moment and is apparent not just in the overall look, but in the detailing. For example, out test gun is a trap model and features a conventional plain beavertail fore end. The look of this fairly mundane element is however carefully crafted. I have the gun propped against my desk as I write and it is apparent how much care has been taken with the layout of the chequering and detailing on the fore end latch to produced something that has been styled not just thrown together. Similar attention has been paid to the grip chequering, which flows with the gun's lines and is part of a cohesive whole, not just tacked on.

The combination of matt and gloss parts on the action body, together with subtle gold detailing, could look totally naff if poorly executed and this is where the Beretta might is so apparent. Their technology and volume of production can put this kind of finish on a £1,000 gun. Design is one thing, translating it into production another and you have to admire the engineering skills that can achieve this.

Beneath the skin

So, we have a gun that looks like the more expensive 682E - which of course costs upwards of £1,750. So what is to stop all those 682 buyers from choosing the cheaper model and pocketing the difference? Well, do you remember the VW Golf Driver? It was introduced at the time the Golf Gti was the hottest thing on four wheels - if you could afford the insurance. The Driver looked like a Gti, but under the bonnet was a cooking engine. Lots of show, not so much go.

Beretta have taken a similar route here. The 682E not only has radical styling, but also some innovative features beneath the skin. In particular it features Beretta's new 'Optima Bore' barrel configuration, a combination of long forcing cones, larger than normal bores and a totally new multi-choke system. The 'ergonomic' chequering is also one of the more expensive gun's very obvious features.

The S686E gets none of these features, to make sure there is clear water between it and its sibling. The barrel boring is the traditional 18.4mm we have come to expect over the years and the sporting models will retain standard Beretta shot 'Mobilchokes'. Conventional chequering and a non-adjustable trigger blade also differentiate this from the higher priced stablemate.

It would be easy to dismiss these new guns as '682 Lite' and move on, but that would be unfair. They should be evaluated against the competition in their own price bracket and not compared to guns costing over 60% more.

On Test

GMK supplied us with a 30" trap model for our test. They will initially be bringing in just this and the sporter, both with the added-cost option of the 'Memory System' adjustable stock. The trap gun, from the details I have, does not seem to be available as a 32", which may limit its appeal, while the sporter comes with the choice of 28 or 30"

Beretta have not made such strenuous efforts with this gun to reduce barrel weight as they did with the 682E. On the example of that gun we tested last year the weight had been pared down to a very trim 1.35 kg, largely as a result of removing a section of mid rib beneath the fore end. The barrels on this gun weigh 1.49 kg, much more typical of past production. This may not necessarily be a bad thing. Opinion is divided on the ultra-quick handling of the 68E and some may prefer the heavier tubes.

This gun has a solid mid rib and parallel (10mm) top rib. The sporter gets a tapered (10-8mm) top rib and will also be chambered for 3" cartridges. Total weights will be 3.7 kg for the trap gun (just over 8lbs), a fraction less for the sporter depending on barrel length.

The test gun's stock is what Beretta call 'international style'. The specification sheet supplied shows two sets of drop dimensions for this model: 32/42 mm comb and heel and 35/45 mm. Our gun had the latter measurements, which I would consider fairly flat for a trap gun and more suite to the international disciplines. The higher stock would be a better choice for DTL work. Length is the same on all models at 373mm (14 ¾ "). The gun has fairly neutral balance, only a fraction in front of the hinge pin and I know many people who would be more than happy to shoot a gun set up this way as a sporter.

Every new Beretta I receive these days has a little surprise lurking somewhere and on this gun it was at the butt end of the stock. Instead of the expected conventional trap pad of hard butt plate, there is a new and rather stylish recoil pad called 'Gel-tek' and it is evidence once again of styling turning an ordinary object into something rather sexy. It is a beautiful piece of production work, made of a firm but squidgy material, contoured to fit snugly in the shoulder and with a high gloss upper surface for snag-free mounting. Not only that but it can be removed or replaced in seconds thanks to an ingenious locking system. Pull down the wire loop at the bottom and it comes off. Replacement takes three seconds (I timed it). I wouldn't have believed that I could wax lyrical about a recoil pad, but it's gorgeous.

The stock finish is artificial but without the false high gloss look of the 682 that I found rather off-putting. It just looks smart and understated and makes the best of unremarkable wood. The chequering is as good as I have seen on a gun in the price sector and you have to admire the way the gun is put together. Beretta are setting very high standards in this regard these days.

They are also leaders when it comes to trigger pulls on this class of gun. I measured the test gun at just under 4½ lbs for the bottom barrel, a fraction heavier for the top, good sensible settings. Pull quality is excellent, hardly a hint of slack and crisp - as good as you will find anywhere on a gun of this price.

Chokes were as expected on a production trap gun, three-quarters and full. My impression was that both are producing fairly tight patterns. Recoil is reasonable thanks to the full 8lbs weight. Although I do generally find it a bit firmer on Berettas with the standard, slightly tight of nominal, boring.

Summary

The S686E may lack some of the headline grabbing features of the more expensive models in the Beretta line-up, but it is hard to fault as a solid contender for this highly competitive sector of the market. The recommended retail pricing is £1070 for the trap model and £1185 for the sporter and you can be certain that the realities of the high street will see those much lower in practice. For the money you get not only engineering that has been proven over many years, but sharp, up-to-the-minute styling and solid residual values. It is also nicely presented in its Team Beretta hard case. If your budget for a new gun is around the £1,000 mark then this has to be very high on your list.

More information: GMK Ltd 01489 579999