Best Over Under Shotguns

The Browning Citori CX Shotgun is designed to be adaptable to all the clay target games, trap, skeet and sporting clays - and still be adept in the game field without being too heavy or cumbersome to carry all day long. The Citori CX is the ideal choice for someone wanting to participate in all three of the major clay target games without having to buy a purpose-built gun for each.

The Beretta 686 Silver Pigeon I Sporting offers all the functional features of Beretta's premium over-under competition shotguns at a particularly attractive price. It is built around the best-in-class 686 action, which is compact and low-profile while being extremely strong. The Optima-Bore, Optima-Choke barrels are light-weight and place the shotgun’s point of balance right at the hinge-pin, meaning lively feel in the hands and natural pointability. And with its select-walnut stock and tasteful scroll engraving, the Silver Pigeon I Sporting won’t fail to turn heads at the range, also thanks to its unmistakeable Beretta looks.

At the heart of the Silver Pigeon I Sporting is the legendary 686 action, a long-standing favorite among competition shooters and hunters. Over-under actions must have a strong locking mechanism, because the stress of every shot causes the action to “want” to open. For this reason, most manufacturers place the locking lug(s) at the top of the receiver, making it strong but also taller and bulkier than it needs be. Thanks to its long experience, Beretta uses instead two conical locking lugs at mid-action, right between the barrels. This gives the 686 receiver vault-like locking strength while keeping the profile considerably lower. The advantage is that the eye of the shooter is a lot closer to the plane of his supporting hand: considerably better swing and hand-eye coordination, more targets shattered.

Another advantage of the Silver Pigeon action is the fact that the locking lugs are conical. As the number of shots fired goes into the five digits, the receiver will still lock up positively: the conical lugs merely “self-adjust” by setting themselves slightly deeper into the barrel unit, without any compromise on strength. This means that the Silver Pigeon Sporting is a shotgun that will stand up to years of enjoyment and can be passed down from generation to generation.

While not as elaborately decorated as Beretta's premium shotguns, the Silver Pigeon I Sporting has all the elegance that you can expect from a Beretta. The oil-finished stock sports a beautiful and crisp checkering pattern, and the schnabel fore-end adds to the classic flavor of this over-under. The scroll-engraved receiver is a functional work of art in itself, with its interesting geometry blending perfectly with the stock and contributing to the gun’s graceful lines. This is a shotgun that has all the elements of a treasured heirloom, without the price-tag to match.

Franchi’s first sideplate-style shotgun hearkens back to a time when European gunsmiths crafted the most elegant firearms in the world. Sleek lines, lustrous wood, fine engraving and gold inlays combine to make this one of the most beautiful shotguns you’ve ever laid eyes on. The receiver is color-casehardened steel featuring exquisite engraving with gold inlay to match the gold-plated trigger. The Prince of Wales stock and Schnabel forend are AA-grade walnut with checkering to ensure a firm grip. A red fiber-optic front bar on the ventilated rib atop handsome 28-inch glossy blued barrels lets you get on target quickly. Five extended screw-in chokes are included. Shoulder a Franchi Instinct Sideplate to experience its instinctive pointing and smooth swing. You’ll understand why a Franchi just feels right.

Features

• Incorporates automatic ejectors to quickly clear spent hulls and faciliate fast reloading
• A horizontal barrel selector switch on the tang-mounted safety allows for the choice of which barrel fires first
• The monobloc receiver is machined from a solid steel block and features a color case-hardened finish for a refined and classic look and increased durability
• Vents between the two barrels assist in the dissipation of heat when multiple shots are fired in quick succession

The flagship of the over/under line, the tried-and-true Redhead also gets a 1-piece CNCed receiver. In addition, it gets the same laser-cut checkering, solid mid-ribs, pistol grip and a classy white bead. The Redhead Premier is a true all-purpose shotgun, it’s just as comfortable to shoot at a sporting clays event as it is when chasing chukhar in the mountains. With a silver receiver and ejectors that kick out the spent shells automatically, the Redhead Premier is packed with features that can’t be found on another shotgun in its price range.

Features

• Gloss Black Chrome Barrel
• Turkish Walnut Stock
• Silver Satin Chrome Receiver
• Manual Tang Safety

Designed and tested in collaboration with the Beretta Shooting Team, 694 is the new over-and-under platform designed specifically for competition shooting, with a precise objective in mind: to help shooters increase their success rate.

Thanks to a meticulous mechanical and ergonomic design process, the 694 represents a perfectly balanced over-and-under competition shotgun. Natural and immediate when shouldering, it features a precise swing and it’s easy to control.

On the sporting version, the stock has been completely redesigned and features a widened blade and comb, and a lengthened pistol grip with palm swell in order to provide maximum comfort while ensuring the position of the hands is extremely natural and stable.

The new steel forend iron system improves the sensation when opening the gun, thanks to the redesigned geometry and the barrel hook, which is fitted with a replaceable latch that may be substituted by any Beretta Certified Dealer in order to maintain the owner's preferred loading configuration.
The forend coupling system has also been redesigned and now consists of a piston-operated stud in an advanced position, separate from the forend iron, and a self-regulating auget button.

The metallic surfaces, which are subject to overheating in continuous usage, have been drastically reduced, benefitting the shooter's hands. The newly designed, steel action has a modern, sporting look, and features side panels with a mirrored profile and diagonal lines underlined by a blue graphic design. The bottom of the action is decorated with Beretta's three arrows and 694 logo, again in blue, while the Nistan finishing lends it the typical matte grey color.

Thanks to its unique manufacturing process, Steelium is the barrel production technology which enables Beretta tri-alloy steel to become a true ballistic gem. Deep drilling, cold hammer forging and vacuum distension provide the steel with mechanical characteristics that are ideal when superior ballistic performance has to be achieved.

The Steelium Plus barrels boast an internal tube profile with a highly elongated progressive triple cone that varies with the length of the barrel, reaching as far as 300 mm from the muzzle.