Beretta Jubilee

We have an upmarket gun on test this month – well it is the season to be jolly. The test gun here is a very attractive Beretta Jubilee 12 bore, what the British used to call an ‘extra finish’ gun. First impressions are excellent – this is a beautiful gun with beautiful engraving. I have always liked the Jubilee which might be described as an upmarket EELL, though a significant amount of extra handwork goes into it. It is made in the ‘Beretta II’ factory where the SO sidelocks and DT11s are put together too.

It’s All In The Finish

There are many more options on the engraving front than an EELL, as well as better wood (that on the test gun is truly spectacular), hand regulated, and much more hand fitting and polishing generally inside the gun and out. This may not sound much, but the English gun trade has always worked on a similar principle where an A grade gun might cost four or five times more than a C or D grade – and there was good reason for it – the time that went into finishing.

I will mention before moving on a little more about the engraving, which is a big deal with the Jubilee. The test gun has a mixture of beautiful scroll work and game scenes. With Jubilees, there are at least half a dozen options. You have a selection of patterns for both for the (pinless) side-plates and for the bottom of the action. For example, you can go: pheasant/ pheasant/pheasant; duck/ duck/duck; or, woodcock/woodcock/woodcock (side plates and bottom). French partridge, grey partridge, and grouse are also possibilities for the side-plates but not for the action bottom.

I also might add now that I have always aspired to own a Jubillee, but it is one of the few Berettas that has never graced my cabinet, perhaps because the bottom line these days begins at £13,995 for the fixed choke model and £14,275 for the multi-choked gun as tested.

Barrels And Stock

Presentation of the test gun, which is multichoked, was faultless. Metal to metal and wood to metal fit are impeccable throughout. The oil finish and chequering are excellent too. The gun feels solid on closing - excellent jointing inspires confidence. Mounting does not dispel the good first impressions, and the gun feels about right at 7 ½ pounds with its 30” tubes (though the balance is slightly barrel heavy).

All things considered, the form of the gun is both elegant and practical with the elegant grip and slimmed forend without schnabel lip. The Jubilee is both solid and refined. And, even at £14K it is still just within reach of normal mortals. You don’t have to be a Bonus Boy to buy one, though this is a very significant amount of dosh, many spend more on their cars. If you have it, why not spend it on a gun you might keep for life? Jubilees moreover, though they are pricey, hold their value well. They would also be good guns for high volume shooting by wealthy shooters who want something both beautiful and boringly reliable.

Barrels

The 30” well blacked, hammer forged, chrome molybdenum steel barrels are made on the monobloc system.  They have jewelling on the monobloc, a slightly tapered rib, and a white bead at the muzzles. Lumps are bifurcated. Beretta developed their method of barrel manufacture a hundred years ago and are now they are the world’s leaders (making tens of thousands of guns using this principle each year). I know of no barrels tougher or more durable than those of Beretta.If I had to criticise Beretta barrels, it is that some can be a bit weighty. Those on the test gun come in at 1500 grams so they are not especially light, but I would not say the weight was excessive either (though my preference would be for 50 grams less). The bores are fairly tight (both marked at 18.4mm). The full length, solid, joining ribs get my approval, though. Some modern guns, including some Berettas, dispense with joining ribs under the forend to reduce weight. I never feel they handle quite as well as guns with full length ribs. I liked the subtly tapered, vented sighting rib.

Classic Action

The Jubilee is built, once you remove the plates, around a classic 600 series, conically bolted, stud pin-hinged Beretta action. The Beretta action, just by way of interest is based on design of the English Woodward under and over gun patented before WW1 and allows, with its bifurcated (split) lumps, for a very low action profile even in a 12 bore. Beretta began experiments in the 1930s copying English guns; soon after creating the first SO sidelock. They came out with their first mass-produced boxlock over and under in the 1950s (the Model 55) which evolved into the much loved 600 series.

These guns (whether bearing sideplates or not) might properly be called trigger-plate because the springs that operate the tumblers are positioned on a trigger plate and not within the action body itself. Apart from the hinging system, the other clever thing about the Beretta design is the conical bolts that emerge from the action face and mate with circular bites either side of the chamber mouths. This has been inspired by the earlier British designs, but our designs used square bolts rather than the conical ones which must be judged superior in a mass-production design. All the bearing surfaces in a Beretta hinge pins, conical bolts etc. are available in over-sizes to allow for wear too. This is a futher refinement of the ‘interchangeable’ principle.

Stock

The Jubilee’s stock was made from spectacularly figured timber and finished well with neat cut chequering that appeared as if executed by hand (but who knows today). The stock was 14 ¾  long with a wooden butt plate. The comb was a little low but nicely shaped. The measurement for drop at comb being 1 3/8” at the front of the comb and 2 ¼ at the rear/heel. My preference would be 1 3/8” and 2 1/8” on a shelf gun (and it is standard measurement I have suggested to many makers). There was a little cast for a right-hander on the test gun -about 1.8” at heel.

Beretta are happy to supply left-hand cast guns too. The semi-pistol grip - developed by GMK in the UK - feels especially good as does the rounded forend also perfected in Fareham by master stocker Mark Course (which carries a subtle gold Beretta logo).

Shooting Impressions

I have shot more Berettas than I can remember in just about every configuration and bore size that you can imagine. This one shot well, better than the average and did feel more refined than an ordinary Silver Pigeon. Trigger pulls at about 3 pounds were spot on for weight and the quality of pulls was good too. General handling was excellent, though if I was to pick, I might have taken just a little weight from the front and perhaps made the beautifully proportioned grip just a smidgen bigger (I much prefer it to the standard offering though).

Whatever way you look at it, this is a lovely gun, but it bears a lovely price tag too. Happy Christmas! GM

PRICE: £14,275 (£13,995 for fixed choke model)
CONTACT: GMK Ltd tel. 01489 579999 www.gmk.co.uk