And I really think one of you should consider buying it for me
1969 - Beretta SO3 - Old World Craftsmanship - Hand Made Side Lock!
SO3 - 12ga, 28", 2-3/4", Briley Chokes (SK / SK M / IM / F), Vent Rib, Ejectors, Boehler Antinit Steel Barrels with English Stock - LOP of 14-1/4" over a Checkered Butt, with Drop of 1-3/8" to 2-1/8", and Neutral Cast. Weight 7 lbs. Outstanding Condition - 98+% since being refinished. Very tight. Looks and feels like a NEW gun.
Why would I want this gun instead of an original SO3 that hadn't been refinished, with tubes installed? Because guns like that are so far out of my tax bracket that even daydreaming about them makes me feel ludicrous. Make this gun a 20 in original condition with a solid rib and choked IC/M and there you'd have perfection, but alas, I'm not perfection-grade. I'm "merely adequate" grade.
But this gun has been monkeyed around with just enough that (I'm assuming) it will probably go lower than a regular SO3, perhaps even low enough to cross my daydream threshhold. I'll say $2,500 to $3,000.
Which does bring up an interesting question: assuming it would sell in that price range, would you rather have the sidelock 12 gauge Beretta or, say, a late fifties-early sixties vintage 20-gauge Browning Superposed with 28-inch barrels and a solid rib (they were all RNLT back then I believe), which is the rarest and most desirable configuration of the old supers (I'm talking grade 1 supers here, not the pigeons, Dianas, etc). Most of the field-grade 20-gauge supers with that configuration are going around three grand or so, so I think it's a fair comparison.
Hmmm. That's a tough one. I've always, always wanted a 50s-60s era 20 gauge super, but I'm gonna have to go with the SO3 here. What a lovely piece of work those old Berettas are.
Love the wood and the scroll work....double triggers....not so much.
ReplyDeleteNice,but make mine a SxS and we'll chat.
ReplyDeleteTell you what, if you buy me one then i will think about buying you one.
ReplyDeleteSO3 without a doubt. At one time they were underpriced-- hard to believe, though if you get it for 3, you will prove they still are And ergonomically they beat any Superposed ever built. Brownings have wonderful worksmanship but handling?...meh.
ReplyDeleteI would Prefer the SO3, and over that you used to be able to find some quite nice Merkels before they got crazy expensive. I've hunted with the 20 ga superposed and a 16 Ga Merkel 203. The Merkel was the better gun for me.
ReplyDeleteHaving spent my formative years perusing the old Gun Digest at length, I was and remained enamoured with the Browning gun. Superposed. Lightning. Something stirred in me as I looked at those guns in stunning black & white, in all their configurations, and the "suggested retail" price was meaningless to me.
ReplyDeleteFinally, a few years ago just before the Custom Shop in Herstal called it quits, I ordered a custom Browning Superposed Lightning, 20 ga., 28" barrels, solid rib, RKLT, beautiful case coloring...5 1/2 lbs of pure sexy quail killing magic. Fits me like a glove. A surgical glo ve!
Ergonomically...not an SO3. Meh. An SO3 isn't a Fabbri or a F.lli Rizzini. That's why they make so many guns, so everyone can have what they want.
Browning FN b25 v. beretta so3... the eternal question. I say: have them both! Anyway, you have this fellow beretta lover´s blessing. buy it. 2.500 us is more than a good price. Check Holt´s auction in the UK, thou. There´s a 12 gauge one starting at 500 pounds.
DeleteThis hunting season I went out with an old small b25, with both barrels cylinder. awsome results, at all distances. incredible gun.
Browning FN b25 v. beretta so3... the eternal question. I say: have them both! Anyway, you have this fellow beretta lover´s blessing. buy it. 2.500 us is more than a good price. Check Holt´s auction in the UK, thou. There´s a 12 gauge one starting at 500 pounds.
DeleteThis hunting season I went out with an old small b25, with both barrels cylinder. awsome results, at all distances. incredible gun.