Beretta Wood Finish

[DaleS]

I just purchased a Beretta White Onyx Sporting Clays 12gauge for my son. I ordered it from Jaqua's in Ohio. Nice guys by the way. When it came in to my local FFL dealer I looked at the wood finish it was not the high quality gloss finish on the other Beretta's I've seen, including my 687 Silver Pigeon II Sporting. It was like a flat finish. The White Onyx field grade at the local Sports Authority has better looking wood and a better finish.

I called the guy at Jaqua's and he said this is the way Beretta is finishing the wood. I was shocked. I've never seen such cheap looking finish on a Beretta. I wonder if I called Beretta they wood trade out the wood.

Hey Fabs what do you think? Didn't you have some problems with the metal finish on your 682.

thanks,
DaleS

[fabsroman]

Dale,

I had problems with the metal finish on my 682 Gold E and Beretta gave me a song and dance about it for a little bit saying that it wouldn't affect the performance of the gun, but I insisted that at $3,600, performance and beauty should be one and the same. They gave me a new in box 682 Gold E, but it did take a little while.

At the same time, I had a problem with some wood on my 391 Teknys because the finish was rubbing off. I dropped it off with the 682 and Beretta put some new wood on it for no charge and the wood is really nice.

Now, my 686 Onyx Sporting Clays gun, which is mostly used for hunting now by my dad, has some pretty crappy wood on it. I just don't think you can expect really nice wood on a 686, unless you get that Xtra wood fake stuff. Make sure the guns you are looking at with the really nice wood aren't the Xtra wood stuff.

Of course, it never hurts to send Beretta a picture of the crappy wood and complain. Like my mom and dad say, you won't get anything if you don't open your mouth, and as we all know on the board, my mouth and fingers are always running.

[DaleS]

Hey Fabs,
Thanks for the quick reply. I know the 686 is the bottom end of the Beretta o/u's, but I really expected a better finish. Especially on a Sporting Clays model. Oh well, live and learn.

I'm going to call Beretta to see what they have to say. I'm sure they'll give me the "too bad reply". I'll let you know how it goes.

Dale

[fabsroman]

Do let me know how it goes because I am pretty interested to see Beretta's response.

What you got is one of the reasons why I am always very scared to order guns without seeing exactly what they look like.

[DaleS]

Hey Fabs,

Well, as I expected. I called Beretta today and told them about my disappointment in the wood. The customer service person said they had no exchange program for the wood and they won't trade me out. Well at least I tried. Hopefully my son will see past the wood. He'll probably be so excited about the gun he won't even care about the wood.

regards,
Dale

[fabsroman]

How old is your son? If he was like me when I was 12-18, he really wouldn't care too much about the wood. I really didn't start caring too much about the wood until I was about 25. That is about the time I saw some guns with really pretty wood at the clays range.

If you really want to put better wood on the gun, there are plenty of places that sell after market wood in different grades and it shouldn't be that hard to put on the gun. Let me know if you are interested and I can PM you a couple of sites that I thought about buying wood from for my 391 Teknys.

[TreeDoc]

Originally posted by fabsroman
I really didn't start caring too much about the wood until I was about 25.

I think "the wood" became a powerful force when I hit about 15-16....just about the time I could drive. Then, it was all about "the wood" and "nothing but the wood". Most of my High School chums were the same.

http://www.jesseshunting.com/forums/html/emoticons/smiley-hitting-self.gif

As for the stock on your shotgun, Dale....that sucks that you're not happy with it. That has been a fear of mine and one of the reasons I have not "ordered" a gun without being able to see it. That in and of itself makes it hard to aquire some of these lovelys that we seek. I was lucky that my dealer ordered in the series of Browning Citoris with the special finish and case colored receivers, I had no attachment to them until I saw them....I bought them all!

[DaleS]

Fabs and TreeDoc
My son is 13 years old. I was just discussing it with a shooting buddy of mine and we were just talking about the fact that he probably won't even notice the wood detail. I haven't given him the gun yet. I sent the barrel off to Ballistic Specialties for a porting job first.

Hey Tree Doc,
Who is your dealer in the "Five Cities" area? I'm making a quick to SLO town to see a friend. I might stop by your dealers store if he has a storefront. Have to stop in at Avila Beach for a short visit. I almost bought the Browning XT trap for him. Now that's some pretty wood. Beautiful gun.

regards,
Dale

[TreeDoc]

Hey Dale,
Lee at The Outdoorsman in Grover Beach. He's in the same shopping center as the Von's at Grand Avenue and Oak Park. I was in day before yesterday and no real fancy guns in now but he has a few O/U's and SxS's, a few of those low priced Huglu's. Four Seasons in SLO town has a pretty good inventory to look at but they're full retail for everything!

[fabsroman]

Dale,

I am positive that your son will be more than happy with the gun.

As far as the porting goes, I have it on my trap gun because the gun came with it, but I seriously doubt I will ever have it put on a gun of mine after shooting with a couple other guys that have it on theirs. The ported guns are so much louder than non-ported that it is actually uncomfortable with ear plugs.

[DaleS]

Hey TreeDoc,
Thanks for the information on the stores. I'm going to try a sneak away for awhile and check them out.

Fabs,
Thanks for the help. I think you're right he'll probably love the gun regardless of the wood.

Thanks,
DaleS