Beretta 686 Silver Pigeon I

ShotgunsEditor's Pick
Written By

Editor's Personal Pick — This is gear our editor carries afield.

Editor's pick: the over-and-under that earns its slot in the truck for the next thirty years.

Why we picked this

The 686 Silver Pigeon I is the over/under that ends the search. Beretta has been refining the box-lock action this gun is built on since the 1960s — every modern revision tightens tolerances, cleans up the lockup, and keeps the same essential virtue: this is a gun a working hunter can carry every season for the rest of their life and the next person's. We've put the 686 in front of dawn pheasant in the Sac Valley, chukar in the Modoc, valley quail along the Coast Range — it doesn't care.

Quick specs
Category Shotguns
Brand Beretta
Action Over/under, box-lock
Gauge options 12, 20, 28, .410
Barrel lengths 26", 28", 30"
Chokes OptimaChoke HP (5-tube set typical)
Approx. weight 6.6 lbs (12ga 28")
Stock Select walnut, oil finish
Price around $2,400 ($$$$$)
Use case All-day upland, all NorCal species
Editor's verdict Buy used at 30 years and pass it to your kids.

The full review

The 686 lives at the intersection that almost no other gun in this price range hits: weight, balance, build quality, and a price that — relative to the gun's actual half-century lifespan — is reasonable. A 12-gauge with 28" barrels weighs in around 6.6 pounds. That's light enough for the chukar hunter who walks twelve miles, heavy enough that the swing is honest, and balanced enough that the muzzles don't dive at the second shot.

Beretta's box-lock action is the tell on quality. Open one up — really open it, take it apart at a clean bench — and you'll see the kind of fitting that machine-tooling alone can't deliver. The internals get hand-finished. Lockup is square and consistent from the first round to the ten-thousandth. We've shot 686s with thirty years of pheasant fields on them; they still close like a vault and the stock-to-receiver fit hasn't moved.

The OptimaChoke HP system gives you the standard five tubes (cylinder through full) and accepts most aftermarket extended chokes if you want to push performance. For NorCal mixed-bag days we run improved cylinder + modified for valley quail in Coast Range chaparral, and modified + improved modified when chukar gets long. The 28" barrel is the right call for almost everyone — only a hardcore chaparral quail hunter benefits from the 26".

The trim levels (Silver Pigeon I, II, III, V) climb in engraving and wood figure, not action quality. The base Silver Pigeon I is the working gun. Pay for the higher trims if you want a gun that looks like an heirloom out of the box; the Silver Pigeon I will become one over time.

The sub-gauge versions (especially the 28) are the upland obsessives' second purchase. A 28-gauge 686 weighs just over six pounds, points like a wand, and cures any doubt that small bores can take birds at honest range. Pair it with #7.5 lead or Boss Bismuth #6 and you've got the most enjoyable upland setup in the state.

What we love

  • Lifetime build — these guns get passed down. Used 686s from 1995 still on the line at every clays course.
  • Beretta's after-sale support — parts and service are real. Try replacing a part on a Browning Beretta-clone and you'll appreciate the difference.
  • The 28-gauge option — once you've shot it, you'll want it.
  • Sane factory pattern — no stupid wide-open patterns out of the box. The standard chokes shoot where you point.
  • Honest weight — 6.6 lbs in a 12-gauge means you carry it on day twelve and your shoulder doesn't quit.

What to know before you buy

  • The 12-gauge stock fits most adult men. If you're under 5'8" or have a long neck, look at the Sporting models with adjustable comb, or have a stock fitter shorten and pad the stock — both worth doing.
  • OptimaChoke HP threads aren't compatible with older Mobilchoke 686s — make sure aftermarket chokes match.
  • Extractors, not ejectors, on the base trim — most upland hunters don't care, but worth confirming if you're a competition shooter.
  • Used market is strong — a clean 1990s 686 at $1,200–1,500 is a better buy than a new entry-level competitor.

Where to buy

Note: firearm purchases require a transfer through a licensed FFL dealer. Online retailers ship the firearm to your local FFL; you complete the background check and pickup there.

CaliforniaUpland.com earns affiliate commissions from qualifying purchases at participating retailers (Sportsman's Warehouse, MidwayUSA, Bass Pro Shops, Bud's Gun Shop). Brand-direct and dealer-locator links are provided as a service and do not pay commission.

See also

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