Shotgun manufacturers are continually pushing the envelope of target-gun development with a constant stream of bolt-ons and adjustable components. This month’s gun test bucks the trend and features a new Beretta without these distractions and instead provides an important development in terms of specification. A gun’s action body is the component around which the rest of the gun is built, and the new 690 Competition, like the 692, has a 41mm-wide, heavier action. Beretta can use this to build Trap, Skeet and Sporter guns with excellent feel and balance at an affordable price.
I’ve been looking at the Sporter. With an all-up weight of 7lb 13oz, this 76cm, 30in-barrelled gun provides an immediate feeling of balance and stability. Beretta’s time-honoured principle of creating a low-profile action by way of a locking bolt above the bottom barrel is also incorporated, producing a combination of strength and elegance. This ingenious design, while familiar, should not be taken for granted. Likewise, the coil-spring powered, non-detachable trigger plate action: First introduced as long ago as 1956, this mechanism has been constantly refined to create class-leading trigger pulls that have ensured these volume production guns have won medals at the highest levels of competition.
Nice article for good gun.