Beretta 686 Silver Pigeon | 20 Gauge Over Under Shotgun Review

Welcome to our first-ever review of an over-under! Today we're taking a look at the Beretta 686 Silver Pigeon. Enjoy!

   MSRP

• This 686 is going for about $2,350

 Quick Specs

• 20 gauge - Over-under (Available in 12,28, and 410 gauges as well)
• Designed for upland/wing shooting
• 28"  Barrell (30 inch available)
• 6lbs 3oz 
• Length of Pull 14 3/4" Out of the Box (Longer pads available)
• Drop at comb 1 3/8"
• Drop at Heel  2 1/4"
• Comes with 5 flush mount chokes - Mobil Chokes

Ergonomics/Look & Feel

• Extremely light with a fantastic balance
• Grip areas are quite narrow for a solid hold on the firearm
• Very nice Schnabel forend
• Single brass bead on front
• Wood checkering is nicely done and comfortable
• Top auto-safety with barrel selector - the safety function was not smooth and interfered with my mounting motion as tried to put it on fire simultaneously
• Overall great value in the ergonomics. The feel of this gun makes me want to shoot more!

Trigger 

• 4lbs 8oz (Average) 
• Fairly light with a clean break
• Very easy to pull
• Has an auto-safety

Quality of Build

I always look at the quality of the build relative to the price. 

• Like I said, this gun feels solid. Love that
• Wood is standard grade but looks great
• The receiver is finished flawlessly with beautiful stately engravings
• The gold trigger is a great style touchpoint
• Operation is smooth and tight

Ease of Breakdown

• This 686 comes apart as most over-unders do via the forearm release lever.
• The lugs are high quality - at this price I expect it to last a very long time. If you experience component issues though, Beretta makes it very easy to purchase individual replacement parts. I appreciate that very much

Recoil

• Loved the trigger reset! It's pretty much what you'd expect from a 20 gauge
• A lighter weight gun will typically translate to more recoil - this Beretta surprised me with how light it recoiled considering its overall weight
• Overall very enjoyable 

Reliability

• There's not much that can go wrong when it comes to reliability of an over-under. I have a lot of guns to shoot throughout the year so I'm unable to talk deeply about how this gun has held up. If you own this gun, I'd appreciate your comments on how its worked overtime for you! 

Speed Shooting

I find this evaluation valuable because it tests how all the moving parts really come together. From getting on target, having an appropriate trigger pull, recovering from the recoil, and cycling good enough to get back on target. 

• The fastest time I could accomplish with the 686 today was a 1.18
•   I also did a side test to see how fast I could pull 2 shots without moving targets. That was a blazing .19 seconds! 

In conclusion, I was happy with the operation of the 686 during my first over-under review! Check it out at REEDS!

 Whether our targets in the field or our targets in life, we will only hit what we are focused on so live the #targetfocusedlife

Stay Target Focused,

Steve