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Reader Survey >Beretta 687 500 Years Limited Edition review: an anniversary Silver Pigeon
- Last updated: 25/09/2026
Beretta has given the Silver Pigeon an anniversary makeover for its 500th year. Lloyd Pattison tests the limited-edition 687 Sporter on clays to see whether £3,625 buys more than a collector’s piece.
Few guns are as instantly recognised as the Beretta Silver Pigeon. It started out in 1979 as a dedicated Trap and Skeet gun built on the then-new low-profile action, with trunnions locking into cutouts in the monoblock, twin conical lugs and trapezoidal shoulders. The 682 followed in 1982, then the 686 and 687 in 1983 and 1984, the 687 being a dressier version of the basic 686 Sporter.
During the 1990s, alongside the classic 682 Gold and Gold E, the 680 series was brought together under the Silver Pigeon name we know now. The Silver Pig, as everyone calls it, is the gun that brings most people to Beretta, and for some it is all the shotgun they will ever need. In the 2010s it gained Steelium barrels with redesigned forcing cones and the Optima choke system to improve recoil and patterns.
It is light and slim, suits both game and clays, and comes in a range of specifications and grades for different tastes and budgets. Today the Silver Pigeon family comprises the 686 SP1, 687 SP3, 687 SP5 and the 688 performance sporter, with its all-black finish and laminated wood.
Even the most casual shooter will know that Beretta is 500 years old this year. The firm has launched a flood of new models, plus a handful of one-off premium guns, to mark the occasion. The latest is the gun on test here, and it is the most affordable way to own what many will hope becomes a collector’s item: the 687 500 Years Limited Edition.
Prices are RRP at the time of publication and may since have changed.
The SP500, to give it a shorter name, is limited to 1,526 Sporters and 1,526 Field guns, a nod to 1526, the year Beretta was founded.
Mine is the Sporter, with a 10x8mm rib and white bead, extended chokes, a choice of 30in or 32in barrels and the B-Fast adjustable comb. The Field gun has a 6mm game rib, a steel front bead and flush chokes, and comes only with a fixed comb for those who like a more traditional outline. Its barrels run to 30in, with 28in and 26in also listed. Both get the swappable MicroCore pads, so length of pull can be adjusted without a trip to the gunsmith.
The test gun weighed exactly 8lb, and I think it is the more versatile of the pair. Turning your nose up at extended chokes on a game day is surely a thing of the past, but if it bothers you, a set of flush chokes will not cost much.
The Sporter has a 10x8mm rib with a white bead
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Extended chokes come as standard on the Sporter
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The Grade 3 walnut has a pleasing glossy oil finish, with the grain nicely filled on the rounded fore-end and the adjustable pistol-grip stock. The laser-chequered grip is slim, with no palm swell, and will feel familiar to anyone who has used a 680-series gun. The blued barrels are well struck off, with ventilated top and mid ribs, 2¾in chambers and superior steel proof.
So far, so ordinary. It is the action and its decoration that make this gun different. Mechanically, action and lock-up are unchanged; the embellishment is where it gets interesting.
The fences, trunnions and fore-end iron carry laser-etched floral engraving with a light touch of gold, which gives a pretty, tasteful finish that never shouts. Underneath the action, the 500 logo and the model name are picked out in gold, and as the pictures show, it looks very smart.
On the top tang are the LE serial number and a tiny gold spark, which represents the idea behind the Beretta name and business five centuries ago. The remaining controls are as on any other Silver Pigeon.
The gun comes in Beretta’s familiar blue plastic case, but with a well-finished lining in 500 styling.
Gold detailing on top of the action
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Laser-etched floral engraving with a touch of gold
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If you have shot or owned a Silver Pig before, it is fair to say only the engraving is new. Even so, the SP500 is a very well-presented gun that some will find impossible to resist. At £3,250 for the Field and £3,625 for the Sporter it costs more than the current SP3, but to my eye it is a much prettier gun, with the added appeal of a limited run and an anniversary badge.
Nothing about the way it shoots will surprise anyone. It balances well, and at 8lb it sits comfortably between the heavier 9lb clay-busters and the lighter, whippier game guns. As always, the 687 is a fine all-rounder that can turn its hand to any discipline. It handles predictably, with a swing that is neither too quick nor too slow, and most shooters will be able to make the fit work, especially on this version with the B-Fast comb.
All my testing was on clays, but I have used 680-series guns on pigeons, partridges, pheasants and duck, and I am confident nobody would regret taking this one out for live quarry.
Lloyd Pattison tried the gun across a range of layouts
On Skeet it was obliging and quick enough. On Sporting and Sportrap there were no problems, except perhaps on a big, stretching crosser, where a heavier gun would have helped. For Trap, most will find it outclassed by purpose-built Trap guns, so I doubt it will feature on any Trap shooter’s wish list.
Versatility is the SP’s strength, and you could also call it its weakness, as with any gun that does a bit of everything. If you are committed to one discipline, a gun built for it will always have the edge.
The fences, trunnions and fore-end iron all carry the anniversary engraving
Very few of us are so devoted to one discipline that nothing else matters, so a gun that is good enough for everything, with 40-odd years of history, spares on every shelf and endless new and used chokes, makes perfect sense.
The SP500 builds on all of that and adds some elegant 500th-year decoration and a limited run that make it collectable. It gives almost anyone the chance to own something a little special, if that appeals.
£3,250 RRP for the Field and £3,625 for the Sporter, both above the current 687 SP3. Beretta is distributed in the UK by GMK.
Just 1,526 of each version, matching the year the company began. Look on the top tang for the limited-edition serial number, which sits beside a tiny gold spark.
Mainly the rib, chokes and comb. The Sporter is set up for clays, with a broad rib, a white bead, extended chokes and an adjustable comb, and barrels up to 32in. The Field is the game version, with a narrow rib, flush chokes, a fixed comb and barrels from 26in to 30in. Both share the swappable MicroCore pads.
Yes. It is the same 680-series gun that has been used on pigeons, partridges, pheasants and duck for decades, and a set of flush chokes for game days costs little.
Beretta Silver Pigeon III – the standard SP3 the anniversary gun is priced above.
Beretta 687 EL II – another dressed-up 687 on test.
Beretta AX800 Suprema tested – another of Beretta’s 500th-year launches, also tested by Lloyd Pattison.
