Need opinions on a shotgun

[NickSully]

I'm looking at a Beretta 686 White Onyx, Sporting 32" for my continued love of trap/skeet shooting. I currently use a Browning Gold5L 28" semi auto but wanted a nice over and under for my next shotgun. This new shotgun will be dedicated to shooting clay pigeons so I don't need a dual purpose shotgun.

Here's the firearm on Beretta's website:

Beretta 686 White Onyx Sporting

Blanca and others have any of you used this or a similar Beretta? Any recommendations that are equal in quality? Thanks in advance!

 

[Blanca BusaLess]

Nick I'm sorry . I have no real exp with sporting clays or trap .
I've done it a few times and enjoyed it very much especially the sporting clays because sporting clays does a better job of simulating real world shot angles .
Instead of a clay just soaring out in the air the sporting clays I shot had some fly just a few inches off the ground and others going thru trees and others coming up from way out yonder .
The Beretta your looking at again I'll have to apologize as I don't have enough exp to say yea or nay on .
I do know Beretta is the oldest firearms manufacturer in the world and it's tough to best them on quality and dependability .

 

[NickSully]

Nick I'm sorry . I have no real exp with sporting clays or trap .
I've done it a few times and enjoyed it very much especially the sporting clays because sporting clays does a better job of simulating real world shot angles .
Instead of a clay just soaring out in the air the sporting clays I shot had some fly just a few inches off the ground and others going thru trees and others coming up from way out yonder .
The Beretta your looking at again I'll have to apologize as I don't have enough exp to say yea or nay on .
I do know Beretta is the oldest firearms manufacturer in the world and it's tough to best them on quality and dependability .

Thanks and no need to aplogize. If you're ever out in my neck of the woods I'll take you to the local club to do some sport shooting. The place I go to is setup like a golf course and you have to drive a golf cart from one setup to the next.

Thanks for you time!

 

[Pardini]

Fit is more important than anything else. If, your shooting trap and skeet then your going to have a dual purpose gun. What gauge are you going to get? A 32" 12 ga won't be ideal for skeet, that's a sporting clays set up that would work for trap. I like 28 ga 28 or 30" for skeet.

Berettas are quality guns, through many consider them way over priced. Citori's are great guns less money. Verona, SKB. Go to Bass Pro and see if they have any Savage Milanos. It's made in Italy by F.A.I.R. aka Rizzini. They are good guns that BassPro has been closing out for sub $800. They didn't sell due to being way over priced at near $1500, but it's a helluva gun under 800 bucks. CZ's are decent made by Huglu in Turkey, solid, kind of plain looking. The Milano and CZ both have mechanical triggers, if you like that.

Dosen't matter how much you spend or what the quality is if it dosen't fit you. FITshould be your NUMBER ONE GOAL regardless of cost.

 

[Blanca BusaLess]

Sure , my time is yours. Sporting clays is really interesting to me because as I said it tries to simulate the birds real flying by having the clay stay low or go thru trees and stuff.
Trap is very challenging but the few times i shot sporting clays I saw it could be a very addictive thing . Expensive as well

 

[Phil96]

Fence jumpers more my style.

 

[Blanca BusaLess]

Fit is more important than anything else. If, your shooting trap and skeet then your going to have a dual purpose gun. What gauge are you going to get? A 32" 12 ga won't be ideal for skeet, that's a sporting clays set up that would work for trap. I like 28 ga 28 or 30" for skeet.

Berettas are quality guns, through many consider them way over priced. Citori's are great guns less money. Verona, SKB. Go to Bass Pro and see if they have any Savage Milanos. It's made in Italy by F.A.I.R. aka Rizzini. They are good guns that BassPro has been closing out for sub $800. They didn't sell due to being way over priced at near $1500, but it's a helluva gun under 800 bucks. CZ's are decent made by Huglu in Turkey, solid, kind of plain looking. The Milano and CZ both have mechanical triggers, if you like that.

Dosen't matter how much you spend or what the quality is if it dosen't fit you. FITshould be your NUMBER ONE GOAL regardless of cost.

Good stuff right there .
Pardini is right . It will be difficult to be 'quick' and accurate if the gun doesn't fit you properly .

 

[RussellJ]

Fence jumpers more my style.

+1

 

[Blanca BusaLess]

Personally I prefer to kill paper

 

[skydivr]

Beautiful Gun. I just bought a A400 Explor for Dove/Pheasant....kicks like my 20 GA and VERY light.

 

[Pardini]

Good Info Here

SHOTGUN PAGE

 

[Blanca BusaLess]

Good Info Here

SHOTGUN PAGE

Pardini that is a great page with many useful links . I'll have to read some of them in the morning.

 

[NickSully]

Fit is more important than anything else. If, your shooting trap and skeet then your going to have a dual purpose gun. What gauge are you going to get? A 32" 12 ga won't be ideal for skeet, that's a sporting clays set up that would work for trap. I like 28 ga 28 or 30" for skeet.

Berettas are quality guns, through many consider them way over priced. Citori's are great guns less money. Verona, SKB. Go to Bass Pro and see if they have any Savage Milanos. It's made in Italy by F.A.I.R. aka Rizzini. They are good guns that BassPro has been closing out for sub $800. They didn't sell due to being way over priced at near $1500, but it's a helluva gun under 800 bucks. CZ's are decent made by Huglu in Turkey, solid, kind of plain looking. The Milano and CZ both have mechanical triggers, if you like that.

Dosen't matter how much you spend or what the quality is if it dosen't fit you. FITshould be your NUMBER ONE GOAL regardless of cost.

Good Info Here

SHOTGUN PAGE

Thanks Pardini for all the info. When I was at my favorite firearm store that Beretta had the best fit for me. I have a 28" and tried some other 28" shotguns but I don't like the way they are balanced. The 32" felt more natural to me when holding it. I still need to try the 30" though because they didn't have one in stock. I'll be headed to the local Bass Pro Shop to see if they have any of the Savage Milanos too. Right now I'm just trying to hold as many shotguns as possible but so far that Beretta has had the best feel. Thanks again Pardini

 

[Brokenchickenleg]

Nick, I have the Beretta White Onyx Sporting in 28" 12ga. If it fits, you will be very happy with one. I completely disagree with one of the other opinions on this subject. If you have the opportunity, I would definitely get a 12ga with 32" barrels. With 12ga barrels, you can always load light skeet loads (I load a 7/8 oz load which is like a 20ga load). Or, you can always buy sub-gauge tubes to put in your barrels when you want to shoot 20,28 or .410 shells.
About barrel length, 28" barrels are fine for the occasional skeet shooter. After shooting 28" barrels for 6 months and then swinging a friends shotgun with 32" barrels, I knew immediately that having 32's would help my score. The extra length = weight towards the end which = smoothness in the swing and follow through. If you can, shoot a round of skeet with a 28" and then with a 32". You will notice an improvement with the longer barrels. And although I do have a 28" white onyx sporting... My serious skeet gun is a Beretta 687 EL with 32" barrels. They are almost identical guns mechanically, it's the barrel difference that keeps me shooting the EL.

 

[NickSully]

Nick, I have the Beretta White Onyx Sporting in 28" 12ga. If it fits, you will be very happy with one. I completely disagree with one of the other opinions on this subject. If you have the opportunity, I would definitely get a 12ga with 32" barrels. With 12ga barrels, you can always load light skeet loads (I load a 7/8 oz load which is like a 20ga load). Or, you can always buy sub-gauge tubes to put in your barrels when you want to shoot 20,28 or .410 shells.
About barrel length, 28" barrels are fine for the occasional skeet shooter. After shooting 28" barrels for 6 months and then swinging a friends shotgun with 32" barrels, I knew immediately that having 32's would help my score. The extra length = weight towards the end which = smoothness in the swing and follow through. If you can, shoot a round of skeet with a 28" and then with a 32". You will notice an improvement with the longer barrels. And although I do have a 28" white onyx sporting... My serious skeet gun is a Beretta 687 EL with 32" barrels. They are almost identical guns mechanically, it's the barrel difference that keeps me shooting the EL.

Thanks for the info. I'm really leaning toward the 32"