Description
The Beretta 686 Sporting in 20 gauge, catalogued by Beretta as the 686 Silver Pigeon I Sporting and stocked under part number J686S2030BF, is the clays build of the small bore 686. Barrels are 30 inches, blued with a vent rib, chambers are 3 inches, and the steel receiver wears the floral scroll engraving. Two things separate it from the field guns.
The top rib is the wider 10 by 6 millimetre tapered sporting rib rather than the 6 by 6 field rib, and the walnut stock carries Beretta’s B-Fast adjustable comb, so comb height can be set to the shooter rather than the other way round. Five flush Optima-Choke HP tubes ship in the case, which is what the CT5 in the distributor listing refers to, and the pad is the Extralight.
What the adjustable comb is actually for
On a shotgun the rear sight is your eye, and comb height is what decides where that eye sits relative to the rib. Get it wrong and the gun shoots high or low no matter how well you swing it.
A B-Fast comb lets you raise, lower and shift the comb until the rib picture is the same every time you mount, which is the difference between patterning a gun and guessing at it.
It matters more on clays than in the field, because a target presentation repeats and small errors compound over fifty birds instead of being lost among four flushes.
Set it once with a pattern board, note the position, and leave it. The adjustment is there to be used properly, not fiddled with between stations.
Why the Beretta 686 Sporting suits a 20 gauge
The 10 by 6 tapered rib gives a wider, flatter sighting plane than the field rib, which makes the gun easier to keep consistent across a round.
Thirty inch barrels on a scaled 20 gauge receiver land the finished gun near the weight of a 28 inch 12 bore, so you get the long swing without the long day.
A 20 gauge on sporting clays gives away less than most shooters expect at typical distances, and gives back a great deal in recoil across a hundred targets.
The low profile boxlock and steel receiver are unchanged from the field guns, which is why these actions stay tight through years of heavy round counts.
Specifications
- Model: Beretta 686 Silver Pigeon I Sporting 20 GA, part number J686S2030BF
- Gauge: 20
- Chamber: 3 inches
- Barrel length: 30 inches, blued with vent rib
- Top rib: 10 by 6 millimetre tapered sporting rib
- Action: over and under boxlock
- Receiver: steel, floral engraving
- Chokes: five flush Optima-Choke HP tubes
- Stock: Grade 2 walnut with B-Fast adjustable comb
- Recoil pad: Extralight
- Trigger: single selective inertia
- Weight unloaded: 6.3 to 7 pounds
- Left handed: no
Shotshell dimensions and pressures are standardized by SAAMI, and the 3 inch chambers take both 2 3/4 and 3 inch twenty gauge shells, though clays shooting is 2 3/4 inch work. Federal Top Gun 7/8 ounce 7.5 shot is the sensible practice load, and Browning BXD Upland in 5 shot covers the days you take it hunting. Set the comb on a pattern board before you shoot a round with it, and do not dry fire it without snap caps.
Shooters who want the field guns should compare the 26 inch and 30 inch 20 gauge builds, and the 12 gauge 30 inch is there if you want the bigger bore.
Why it is worth considering
- A B-Fast adjustable comb, so the gun is fitted to you rather than the reverse.
- A 10 by 6 tapered sporting rib, wider and flatter than the field rib.
- Thirty inch barrels on a scaled 20 gauge frame, which buys swing without buying weight.
- Five flush chokes in the case, so the gun arrives ready for more than one presentation.
- A steel receiver and a low profile boxlock, which is why these actions survive heavy round counts.
Who it suits
This suits a sporting clays or skeet shooter who wants a gun they can fit properly and shoot all day without paying for it the next morning. It is more gun than a casual upland hunter needs, and anyone who wants the lighter, handier package should buy one of the field builds instead. Every long gun we sell ships to a licensed FFL for transfer.
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