Description
The Beretta 686 Silver Pigeon I in 12 gauge, part number J686F1230, is the 30 inch barrel version of Beretta’s long running field over and under. Barrels are blued with a vent rib, chambers are 3 inches, and the steel receiver carries the floral scroll engraving the line is known for. The stock is Grade 2 walnut with a 14.38 inch length of pull and an Extralight recoil pad.
Five flush Optima-Choke HP tubes ship with the gun, which is what the CT5 in the distributor listing refers to, and weight runs between 6.3 and 7 pounds depending on the density of the wood. This is the field build rather than the Sporting model. It simply wears the longest barrels Beretta offers on it.
Who should want 30 inch barrels
Longer barrels carry their weight further out, and that muzzle weight is what keeps a swing moving through a crossing bird instead of stopping on it. On doves, driven birds and pass shooting waterfowl the difference is obvious.
The sight plane is longer too, which makes small pointing errors easier to feel before the trigger breaks rather than after.
The cost is handling in tight cover. A 30 inch gun is slower to get onto a grouse that flushes at eight yards, and it is a longer object to carry through brush all morning.
If most of your shooting is walked up upland work, buy the 28 inch build. If it is open country, clays, or birds that come to you, this is the one.
What the Beretta 686 Silver Pigeon I gets right
The low profile boxlock puts the barrels close to the hand, which is the main reason this line points the way it does.
The receiver is steel, not alloy. It costs a few ounces and it is the reason these guns are still working generations later.
Conical locking lugs and replaceable shoulders mean a loose action is a gunsmith job rather than the end of the gun.
Five flush Optima-Choke HP tubes cover everything from a close flush to a forty yard decoying duck, and the Optima bore keeps the transition into the constriction gradual.
Specifications
- Model: Beretta 686 Silver Pigeon I, part number J686F1230
- Gauge: 12
- Chamber: 3 inches
- Barrel length: 30 inches, blued with vent rib
- Action: over and under boxlock
- Receiver: steel, floral engraving
- Top rib: 6 by 6 millimetre taper
- Chokes: five flush Optima-Choke HP tubes
- Stock: Grade 2 walnut, 14.38 inch length of pull
- Recoil pad: Extralight
- Trigger: single selective with automatic safety
- Weight unloaded: 6.3 to 7 pounds
- Left handed: no
Shotshell dimensions and pressures are standardized by SAAMI, and the 3 inch chambers accept 2 3/4 and 3 inch shells, though a gun this light is far more pleasant with the shorter shells. For upland and field work we stock Browning BXD Upland in 5 shot, and 2 3/4 inch 1 1/8 ounce target loads are the inexpensive way to shoot it on clays, where the long barrels earn their keep. Break the gun open before you set it down and do not dry fire it without snap caps.
Buyers who want a handier gun should compare the 28 inch build, smaller framed shooters should look at the Vittoria stock version, smaller gauges are covered by the 28 gauge and 410 combo, and anyone who would rather carry a gas gun should compare the A400 Upland.
Why it is worth considering
- Thirty inch barrels, which keep a swing moving through the bird rather than stopping on it.
- A steel receiver and a low profile action, which is why these guns outlast their owners.
- Five flush chokes in the case, so the gun arrives ready for more than one kind of shooting.
- Grade 2 walnut with a 14.38 inch length of pull, a dimension that fits most adults without alteration.
- Conical locking lugs a gunsmith can tighten, rather than a worn action you tolerate.
Who it suits
This suits a shooter who spends more time on open country birds and clays than in thick cover, and who wants one over and under to keep rather than a series of them. Grouse and woodcock hunters should buy the 28 inch build instead, and anyone who would rather shoot a semi-automatic should compare the A400 Upland. Every long gun we sell ships to a licensed FFL for transfer.
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