TrapperReady
Member
- Joined
- Jan 29, 2003
- Messages
- 2,732
Some of you may be aware of the fit problems I've been experiencing with my Browning 425. In short, it has been pounding my face in a horrific fashion. I've tried shimming, moleskin on the comb, changing my position, voodoo, etc... all to no avail.
Three weeks ago, I had to shoot a few rounds of trap for league. I gritted my teeth and shot the required rounds. While my scores were decent, by the third station of the second round, I had blood streaming down my cheek, and I still had to complete that round and one more.
In a fit of anger, I purchased a Beretta 391 Urika Sporting in 12 gauge with a 30" barrel. I figured "A gas gun has GOT to be better than this." To be totally truthful, I added a number of non-forum-friendly words at the start of that sentence.
Due to the Memorial Day weekend, there was no trap league until this week. With my face mostly healed, I took the new boomstick out to the range for a test run. The first round was extremely promising. Twenty-five targets flew into the sky, and twenty-five targets came to the ground in little tiny pieces. All but two were dusted. The other two were well hit, but had a couple larger chunks fly off. I'll settle for that. The gentleman to my right was shooting a sweet-looking Krieghoff, and I would have felt quite smug, had he not also run a straight.
During the first round, I got the impression that the Beretta was shooting just a little lower than my Browning and my Benelli. I spent the second round doing some "seat of the pants" patterning, and verified that it does shoot lower. I would guess it's around 50/50 or maybe 60/40. I'll have to hit the pattern board to find out for sure. Anyway, with the exception of those targets I missed while bracketing and determining POI, every other clay burst as before. I'm a very happy camper.
As far as recoil, it is substantially less than the Browning, and slightly less than my Benelli Montefeltro. I was shooting my standard reloads, consisting of 1 1/8 oz of #7.5 shot over 18.0 grains of Clays with a Remington STS hull and figure-8 wad. Functioning was flawless.
The only thing that was slightly odd was the T&S shell-catcher. I was unable to simply drop the shell in, and instead had to thread it in backwards, and rotate the shell once the brass was in the chamber. This is not necessary with the shell-catcher on the Benelli. It's not a problem in any way, just something different.
Some other notables...
The gun uses Beretta's new extended chokes. They are 3/4" extensions and have a sharply-cut pattern to aid grip while tightening. Even with some choke-lube and twisting them in quite tightly, they would loosen a little after a handful of shells. I merely got in the habit of checking it between stations.
Cleaning is not difficult, but certainly more labor-intensive than with the O/U or recoil-operated autos (or the 870 Dave ).
BTW, with the 30" barrel and the extended chokes, the gun is SERIOUSLY long. I had to adjust the top shelf in the safe just to get it to fit.
I'm visiting some friends this upcoming week, and will have an opportunity to shoot a lot of sporting clays. I hope to post some more info sometime next week after I've got a few hundred rounds through it.
In case you are wondering, the Browning has taken up residence in the back of the safe until such time that I can get down to Wenig's and get fitted for a new stock.
Three weeks ago, I had to shoot a few rounds of trap for league. I gritted my teeth and shot the required rounds. While my scores were decent, by the third station of the second round, I had blood streaming down my cheek, and I still had to complete that round and one more.
In a fit of anger, I purchased a Beretta 391 Urika Sporting in 12 gauge with a 30" barrel. I figured "A gas gun has GOT to be better than this." To be totally truthful, I added a number of non-forum-friendly words at the start of that sentence.
Due to the Memorial Day weekend, there was no trap league until this week. With my face mostly healed, I took the new boomstick out to the range for a test run. The first round was extremely promising. Twenty-five targets flew into the sky, and twenty-five targets came to the ground in little tiny pieces. All but two were dusted. The other two were well hit, but had a couple larger chunks fly off. I'll settle for that. The gentleman to my right was shooting a sweet-looking Krieghoff, and I would have felt quite smug, had he not also run a straight.
During the first round, I got the impression that the Beretta was shooting just a little lower than my Browning and my Benelli. I spent the second round doing some "seat of the pants" patterning, and verified that it does shoot lower. I would guess it's around 50/50 or maybe 60/40. I'll have to hit the pattern board to find out for sure. Anyway, with the exception of those targets I missed while bracketing and determining POI, every other clay burst as before. I'm a very happy camper.
As far as recoil, it is substantially less than the Browning, and slightly less than my Benelli Montefeltro. I was shooting my standard reloads, consisting of 1 1/8 oz of #7.5 shot over 18.0 grains of Clays with a Remington STS hull and figure-8 wad. Functioning was flawless.
The only thing that was slightly odd was the T&S shell-catcher. I was unable to simply drop the shell in, and instead had to thread it in backwards, and rotate the shell once the brass was in the chamber. This is not necessary with the shell-catcher on the Benelli. It's not a problem in any way, just something different.
Some other notables...
The gun uses Beretta's new extended chokes. They are 3/4" extensions and have a sharply-cut pattern to aid grip while tightening. Even with some choke-lube and twisting them in quite tightly, they would loosen a little after a handful of shells. I merely got in the habit of checking it between stations.
Cleaning is not difficult, but certainly more labor-intensive than with the O/U or recoil-operated autos (or the 870 Dave ).
BTW, with the 30" barrel and the extended chokes, the gun is SERIOUSLY long. I had to adjust the top shelf in the safe just to get it to fit.
I'm visiting some friends this upcoming week, and will have an opportunity to shoot a lot of sporting clays. I hope to post some more info sometime next week after I've got a few hundred rounds through it.
In case you are wondering, the Browning has taken up residence in the back of the safe until such time that I can get down to Wenig's and get fitted for a new stock.