Category: The Gun Thing

I have to admit that my experience with “sporterized” military rifles has not been good.  Too often, the work has compromised the function (and still more often the aesthetic beauty) of the original.  (This is not the case when the sporterizer has had a name like “Goudy”, “Stegall” or “Goens”, but then again, the lofty skills of said gunmakers has always been accompanied by loftier-still prices, so I’ve only ever handled such rifles, but never fired one.)

Here’s one that caught my eye, however, at Collectors:

Other than the plastic stock, I can’t find too much to dislike about this rifle — even that ugly muzzle brake should tame the 8×57’s recoil.  Also, it’s selling for less than a grand (compared to the $5,000-plus of the custom rifles from the above makers).

Want, with wood.

I am a huge fan of Pietro Beretta guns, of almost any age, function, caliber, whatever.  One of my all-time favorite .22 pistols is the Modelo 75, for example:

…which I think is easily one of the most beautiful handguns ever — almost Art Deco, with that slim frame and those flowing lines — and (coincidentally) the Beretta gun which I’ve fired the most, it being the pistol with which I learned to shoot handguns.

However:  like its major competitor Browning, Beretta guns have always been just on the slightly-unacceptable side of affordable.  I know, quality, value, workmanship etc. etc. aren’t free;  but still, they’re always a priced a leeetle more than I want to spend on a gun.

And here’s the subject of today’s GGP:  the lovely Berette 486 side-by-side in 20ga, as listed by Collector’s:

…and only the lack of a second trigger makes this an “Oooooh Kimmy wants!” object of desire.

That, and the price thereof:  $6,850 (!!!!!)

Okay, maybe I’m getting jaded.  But let’s be honest:  with the improvements made in manufacturing by CNC and so on — i.e. churned out of some (admittedly high quality) production line — would it be too much to ask that this gun be priced at the $5,500 point?  That would make it still expensive, but still maintain its premium well above Winchester, CZ, Mossberg and Browning, for example, and competitive with, say, an upper-end Fausti.

Because right now, if I were looking at buying a decent shotgun as specified above, the Fausti would get my order despite my reverence for Beretta.  Fausti offers a drop-in double trigger for a few dollars extra, which Beretta doesn’t — not for a “few dollars extra”, that is — and having handled several Fausti guns in the past, I believe their quality is on a par with Beretta.

All thoughts are welcome in Comments, as always.

Longtime Readers will know that when it comes to shotgun calibers, I am of the 20-gauge persuasion simply because I’m leery of getting my shoulder separated etc.  (I know, I know:  your 5’1″ 110lb wife can handle a 12ga all day blah blah blah whatever.)

THAT SAID:  I could be tempted into this matched pair of Hollands because reasons.  (All pics can be enlarged via the usual methods.)

You may say they’re not worth the money, but all I can think of is that choir of angels singing hallelujah every time I open the safe door.

Now where did I leave that winning lottery ticket…?