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Beretta Silver Pigeon 410

Beretta Silver Pigeon 410

The test gun this month is a Beretta Silver Pigeon .410.It is a smart, solid looking gun, with all the familiar features of the Silver Pigeon range – bifurcacted barrel lumps, conical bolting, neat machine engraving, and excellent finish. Apart from a very nice rounded forend, they used to call it the ‘American’ pattern, the only thing one really notes as a bit different are the quite wide joining ribs between the barrels because of the bore size (there also diddy little multi-chokes which are of the shorter Mobil pattern).

The gun is, of course, imported by GMK of Fareham, and my thanks to Robert Frampton Sales Manager of GMK for supplying it. He always makes these exercises so easy, which is a big deal when you are a hard pressed shooting journo with deadlines to meet (OK, that’s a pint you owe me Robert). Jokes apart, dealing with a GMK imported gun should give any purchaser real confidence, first because the products themselves tend to be very good, and second, and certainly in the case of Beretta and Benelli, they have about as a sophisticated service operation as any that I have ever seen on site in Fareham with Malcolm Gredon and his team.

The .410 Fan Club

I have to admit, meantime, to never really falling victim to the .410 fad. I own a number, including a Hushpower Baikal and a beautiful side by side Bland Hammer gun. I had half a dozen of them as a kid too (and learnt to shoot with a .410). But, generally speaking the .410 has always been ‘a bore too far’ for me. I much prefer a 28 gauge (and there is an excellent version of this gun in 28 too). The bottom line is 410s are not easy to shoot, but they do offer a real challenge.

Now, that’s the negative. Here’s the positive, this is about as sweet handling a .410 as I have ever encountered. If you want to get serious about the diminutive bore, I would say, without giving too much of the test away, that this gun would be a very good place to start. It is not too light at 6lbs 10oz. It has controllable 30” barrels with a balance point about 3/4” forward of the hinge pin which seems to suit the gun. It feels slightly barrel heavy (with tubes marked at 1,380g). Quick to start, quick to stop, that is usually the curse of the small bore or ultralight, so a bit of weight to the front can really help.

Everything About This Gun Feels Right

The diminutive action – the same as used on the 28 bore Silver Pigeon – is well engineered and smartly finished with scroll in the latest Beretta style. And, the multi-choked, monobloc, barrels are equipped with a narrow 6mm rib ‘game’ rib which suits it well. All things considered it’s a very pleasing package. First impressions could not be much better. The wood grain does not stun, but the shapes and finish are very good. The gun is well proportioned, and comes up nicely. One notes quite a full comb and the first class, slightly swollen, forend – absolutely superb.

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Everything about this gun feels right - one of my biggest compliments. I liked it from the moment I picked it up, and the styling and spec seems to bring out the best of the Silver Pigeon model even better than in some of the bigger bored siblings. The .410 SP has the usual mono-block barrels, as noted above, marked up with Italian proof marks for 3” (70mm) cartridges. They are made from chrome-moly steel (as all 68 series Berettas). I know of none that are tougher.

The ventilated top rib is well presented with a metal bead at the muzzle. Side ribs are solid and extend all the way back; many Beretta now dispense with side ribs under the forend as a weight saving measure (a common practice today). I prefer the distribution of weight in a full ribbed gun. Overall the heavier than average barrel weight is perfect for this serious, grown-up, .410. It is heavy enough to be really stable, but not so heavy as to be an impediment. The finish of the barrels is excellent too, internally and externally, they impress as do the mono-block joins and ejector work.

The action is what we know and like. There are stud pins at the knuckle as in all models. The action body is short but it is not properly called a ‘boxlock’ because the works are not in the box of the action but on a trigger-plate which accommodates the main springs etc.. 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 recesses/bites either side of the chamber mouths. Again, this has been inspired by earlier British designs, but our designs used square bolts rather than the conic form 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 too to allow for wear. It’s a brilliant plan and will ensure that these guns will last as long as anything available - the best of British included. The action is very well put together as one expects and neatly engraved. The scroll decoration is not especially fancy but pleases the eye. The trigger mechanism is recoil operated and there is a barrel selector of the usual Beretta pattern mounted on the safety thumbpiece. The trigger pulls were better than average with short travel and very little creep in evidence. They were set at something over 3 pounds. The automatic safety was positive.

Stock Dimensions

The design of the stock was sound as mentioned. The length of pull was 14 3/4” with 1/8” more at the heel and 3/8” at toe. Drop was 1 3/8” and about 2 1/8”  with just a little right-hand cast. All standard modern Beretta. I have noted my liking of the new forend design. The grip was OK too, even though the Beretta design does tend to narrow to the front (though this is less noticeable in the 410/28 bore action). Overall, I liked the stock a lot - shapes, standard measurements, finish - all were good.

Best Yet

As discussed, .410s are not easy to shoot. This gun, with excellent handling, makes this difficult gauge easier to master.  Pointability is A1, and, the sensible weight means that 3” loads can be used with comfort as well as standard 2 1/2” shells (my usual choice).The stock is especially good with the best forend on any Silver Pigeon to date. Indeed, I would say this is also the best .410 over and under that I have yet encountered. It is not cheap with an RRP of £1,775 but Beretta have to pay a surcharge for the 30” barrels (otherwise all the basic grade Silver Pigeons are £1,600). It’s worth it in my opinion, however, longer tubes make a .410 or 28 significantly better in my opinion.

My thanks to Lyalvale (Express) for supplying the cartridges used in this test and to Clayhouse Ltd. Shooting Ground. GM

  • Beretta Silver Pigeon 410 - image {image:count}

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  • Beretta Silver Pigeon 410 - image {image:count}

    click on image to enlarge

  • Beretta Silver Pigeon 410 - image {image:count}

    click on image to enlarge

  • Beretta Silver Pigeon 410 - image {image:count}

    click on image to enlarge

  • Beretta Silver Pigeon 410 - image {image:count}

    click on image to enlarge

  • Beretta Silver Pigeon 410 - image {image:count}

    click on image to enlarge

  • Beretta Silver Pigeon 410 - image {image:count}

    click on image to enlarge

gun
features

  • Model: Beretta Silver Pigeon
  • Bore: .410
  • Chamber: 3”
  • Barrels: 30” (28 available at reduced cost)
  • Rib: 6mm
  • Chokes: Multi (Mobil pattern)
  • Weight: 6 lbs. 10oz.
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