Antonio Zoli Ritmo

     Notes: Zoli makes a wide variety of shotguns, most of which are trap of fowling weapons of high quality, usually hand-made and built with many measurements taken over the next two years to make the shotgun exactly suited to the shooters frame and stance.  The Ritmo is primarily a trap shotgun, with a single barrel and the unusual feature of a ventilated aiming rib that stands quite high above the barrel (the barrel is situated at the bottom of the receiver).  Other than a gold nib at the end of the sighting rib, the sighting rib takes the place of sights on the Ritmo. The stock has a pistol grip wrist and a Mannlicher-style stock. The receiver has blackened side plates, which may or may not be engraved.  On the butt is a ventilated rubber recoil pad,  At the tang is a selector lever which safes the weapon or allows the single barrel to be fired. The forearm is swelled and checkered.  The barrel is an astounding 34 inches.

Antonio Zoli Safari Combinato

     Notes: The Zoli Safari Combinato (signifying its rifle caliber/shotgun gauge barrels).  The Combinato is available in two basic forms: the standard Combinato, still what other manufacturers would consider a deluxe model; and the Combinato De Luxe, which uses a higher grade of wood, and is intricately engraved on its side plates.  (The standard Combinato also has engraved side plates, just not as much as on the De Luxe).  The De Luxe also has false sidelocks, which are also engraved. I saw one on sale on a web site sale site, and the Combinato De Luxe was advertised at $4400 or so.  That’s RL pricing, however; as you know, T2K pricing is nowhere near the RL cost.

     The Combinato combines an upper barrel chambered for shotgun rounds, and a lower barrel with a rifle caliber.  A tang selector determines whether the weapon is to be fired, or safes the weapon.  Three rifle calibers are available, as are two shotgun gauges.  We’ll have to do a little brisk juggling of apples and oranges here, due to the possible combinations of calibers and gauges.  Essentially, I will put calibers of barrels and gauges of barrels separately, and let you, the player, put them together as desired. The barrel length is 24 inches, with the barrels being joined at the muzzle and inside the forearm.  Combinations are for specific combinations of rifle and shotgun (despite how I am presenting here for simplicity’s sake).  Double shotguns of this type are also available, with a 12 Gauge upper and a 20 Gauge lower.  The total weight depends on the caliber and gauge. The Combinato does have a true boxlock action.  Double triggers are provided; in T2K terms, you can’t fire the Combinato “both barrels,” though the two barrels can be fired quickly enough to give the Combinato an SA rating for ROF.  The stock and forearm are of fine walnut (and even finer of the Combinato De Luxe); The barrels are blued, though the side plates are steel with a plating of brass. For game purposes, the two are identical.

Angelo Zoli USA Over-and-Under

     Notes: Not to be confused with Antonio Zoli (who is different shotgun maker, though also headquartered in Brescia, Italy), the Angelo Zoli O/U is more for the masses, and primarily sold in the US, Canada, and Mexico. The stock and forearm is made from oil-finished hardwood rather than walnut, and the barrels are blued with the side plates and receiver being nickel-plated (and can be had engraved).  The action features double automatic shell ejectors. The barrel has a ventilated sighting rib with a small gold bead sight at the muzzle on the sighting rib.  The barrels are also separated by a ventilated spine between the O/U barrels.  The barrels are 30 inches long, making them good for fowling as well as trap shooting. The stock has a pistol grip wrist and the butt has a ventilated recoil pad; separators may be installed between the recoil pad and stock to increase or decrease the LOP as desired.  Barrel selection is done by the selector on the tang, which also is used to safe the weapon

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Beretta 412

     Notes: This shotgun series is noted by it's ability to break and fold at the breech for compact storage. (It cannot be fired when folded.)  It is a single-barrel shotgun with a standard 28-inch barrel and coming in a plethora of chamberings. The break is actuated by a break lever in front of the trigger guard, and continuing to hold it folds it. The Model 412 is meant to be a hunting weapon, and it serves well in it's purpose; otherwise, it is a well-made shotgun at a moderate (IRL) price. The Model 412 is simple to operate and field strip, but has formidable recoil. The Action and Barrel are of Chrome-Moly Steel; the stock may be of wood or thermoplastic.  The safety is a crossblock safety in the trigger guard. The barrel may have Improved Cylinder, or Full Chokes; it does not take interchangeable chokes.

     The Model 413 is the same, a more deluxe grade of wood, satin-finished barrel, and an engraved side plates.  The Model 413 bis is also the same, except for the even greater quality of wood, and the external metalwork plated in gold and the side plates engraved.  For game purposes they are identical to the Model 412.

     The Companion FS-1 is a sort of a step up aesthetically from the Model 412. It was built 1950-1960. In Italy it is known as the Monocanna Ripieghevole (RP), some were made in Brazil, and they were imported to the US as the Galef Companion.  Another import title is the Polaris. Wood is of the next better grade, and the side plates are of nickel-plated steel with some engraving.  The semi-pistol grip is checkered, as is the forearm. Barrels are of Chome-Moly steel which is blued and 26 or 28 inches, with a full choke (it cannot take interchangeable choke tubes). The design and function are almost identical to the Model 412. It is a little heavier than the Model 412, which in a few cases mitigates recoil in game terms. It too comes in a plethora of chamberings, though not as many as for the Model 412..

     Spare parts for these shotguns are not common, and often must be handmade by an armorer or gunsmith.

Beretta 424 Series

     Notes: These are double-barrel shotguns designed for hunting use.  They were introduced in 1950, and are still produced.  The breech is forged from a single piece of nickel steel.  The shotgun has external hammers which have a half-cock safety, and the weapon also has a manual safety.  Model 424 has a plain steel breech block; Model 426E has an engraved breech block with floral motifs; Model 427 has hand-engraved side plates for the breech block that made to order.  For most of its production time, these shotguns were made with a choice of single or double triggers, but they are now made only with single triggers, and the safety catch doubles as a barrel selector.  (This also means that both barrels may not be fired at the same time.)  Models 426E and 427 have automatic ejectors; Model 424 has a manual extractor. They are all virtually identical for game purposes.

Beretta 451

     Notes: This shotgun is designed for strength and durability.  The breech is made from highly-tempered nickel steel, and the entire gun is built to close tolerances and hand-finished.  The side lock is of the Holland & Holland type, further strengthened by Beretta’s patented twin safety bars.  The barrels are of Bohler Antinit-Anticorro steel, and finished and polished by hand.  The rib between the barrels is filled with a silver solder.  The stock is of select walnut.  The choke is up to the buyer, but is fixed.  The Model 451 may have twin or single triggers, and if a single trigger is used, it may or may not have a barrel selector.  The Model 451 may or may not also have automatic ejectors, according to the wishes of the buyer.

Beretta 470/471 Silver Hawk

     Notes: The Beretta 470 was introduced in 1997.  It is based on the Models 424/426/427, but uses new technology to produce a stronger and better gun, including electric discharge machining, which allows for very precise removal of excess material, and special welding techniques to produce a mono-bloc double barrel.  In 2002, this gun was renamed the Model 471.  The Model 470EL has retained the Model 470 designation, and has engraved side plates and only uses barrels of 26 or 28 inches (but is otherwise identical for game purposes).  These guns have a single trigger with a selector switch to choose the barrel; the barrels cannot be fired simultaneously.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: These shotguns do not exist.

Beretta 686 Onyx Hunter-Sport

     Notes: This is intended for the first time game hunter, to fire slugs or shot.  It is a beautiful gun, with well-made walnut stocks and over-and under construction.  It fires Magnum cartridges and comes in two barrel lengths, both long. A selector switch determines which barrel is fired; both cannot be fired at the same time.

Beretta 687 EELL

     Notes: This is an over-and-under shotgun designed for sport shooting, such as at targets and clay pigeons.  Though the statistics (such as cost and weight) I present here are for a basic gun, in practice, you will probably never encounter such a model of the 687 EELL.  The 687 EELL was known as a “rich-man’s gun,” and most of them have a wide variety of personalized adornment, from inlaid stock carvings to engraved receivers, expensive, rare woods, and things like gold, silver, or platinum filigree.  Even the steel is of the finest quality, and most have variable choke that allows the choke to be changed by a succession of small degrees.  They are capable of firing almost any sort of ammunition, including the most powerful magnum shells. 

     As might be guessed by the name, the Silver Pigeon V is designed primarily for pigeon-hunting and other fowling, but it is as well a veritable work of art, with side plates which are color case-hardened, decorated, engraved, and gold-inlaid.  The trigger is likewise gold-plated.  The breech block is small and lightweight, but strong.  The stock is oil-finished and made from fine Italian walnut root, and has a Kick-Eez recoil pad.  Care is taken to ensure the balance of the shotgun, regardless of gauge or barrel length. The barrels come with interchangeable chokes for maximum utility.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: The Silver Pigeon V is not available in the Twilight 2000 timeline.

Beretta ASE

     Notes: The ASE-90 was originally introduced in 1987, based on the earlier SO4.  It is an over-and-under shotgun designed for competition shooting, but is equally capable in the hunting role.  The steel on the ASE-90 is especially durable; the breech block is of nickel-chrome-molybdenum steel and the barrels are cold-forged and can be made from special “Titania” steel or Bohler Antnit steel.  The locking is of the double Purdey type.  The ASE-90 has a single trigger, with a barrel selector as an option.  The ASE-90 was originally made only for 2.75-inch shells, but in 1998 the option for 3-inch shells was added.  The barrels are uniformly long, ranging from 28 inches to a whopping 34 inches, with a barrel rib.  They are normally fitted with Mobilchoke interchangeable chokes, but may be fitted with fixed chokes if desired by the customer.  The trigger is removable and the position of it may be moved somewhat to fit the shooter better.

     In 1992, the name of this gun was changed to the ASE-90 Gold, but changed only cosmetically.  In 1996 the “-90” part of the designation was dropped and the gun simply became the ASE.  Variants include the ASE Gold-X, which has a more prominent barrel rib and a Monte Carlo stock, as well as a gold-inlaid goblet in either side of the receiver.  Skeet, Sporting, Trap, and Deluxe versions also exist, but all are identical to the standard version for game purposes.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: The 3” chamber version does not exist.  Furthermore, this gun will still be known as the ASE-90 in the Twilight 2000 world.

Beretta BL-1

     The BL-1 is the beginning of a series of over-and-under shotguns designed primarily for Trap and competition, though they are credible hunting shotguns.  The BS-1 was built 1969 to the early 1970s. They have boxlock actions. a top lever on the tang that both breaks open the action and safes the weapon; the action is hammerless, and the gun has double triggers. The chromed barrels are 26, 28, and 30 inches, and chrome-bored.  External metalwork is blued, and the gun has a checkered semi-pistol grip and fore-end.  It's "defect" is its light weight, increasing felt recoil.

     The BL-2 is identical to the BL-1, but the trigger is single instead of double and the tang selector also selects for barrel.  The BL-3 is also the same as the BS-1 for game purposes, but has a ventilated sight rib and engraving of the side plates. The BL-4 has deluxe wood and deluxe engraving; it also has hand-checkering and automatic ejectors (the others have automatic extractors).  The BL-5 is even more fancy, and the BL-6 is the highest-deluxe of the BL line.  All these are, for game purposes, identical to the BL-1.

Beretta DT10 Trident

     Notes: This is a fairly new over-and-under shotgun that was designed for clay pigeon shooting.  It is a fairly heavy gun, but quite finely balanced and designed to be resistant to wear and abuse.  The barrels are bored using a new Beretta concept known as Optima-Bore; in Optima-Bore, the internal dimensions of the barrel are several hundredths of a millimeter larger than usual.  This does not affect the seating of the shell, but does improve the shot pattern somewhat and reduces recoil.  New interchangeable chokes have also been designed for the DT10, called Optima Chokes.  The DT-10 also has a rubber recoil pad to further take up the shock of a shot.  The “DT” in DT10 stands for “Detachable Trigger;” the trigger unit of the DT10 can be moved somewhat along a rail to suit the shooter.  The DT10 comes in several versions: the DT10 Trident Skeet has 2.75” chambers, a 28-inch barrel, and a fixed Skeet choke; another version of the DT10 Trident Skeet has an adjustable cheekpiece, a 28-inch or 30-inch barrel, and Optima Choke.  The DT10 Sporting is designed for 3” shells, has a silver breech block instead of blued, and has 28, 30, or 32-inch barrels.  The DT10 Trident Trap guns consist of the Trap, Double Trap, and X-Trap; these weapons vary in quality and fanciness of the materials used, but are otherwise identical for game purposes.  All DT10 Trident stocks and fore-ends are made from walnut, and they have a sighting rib above the barrel.

     In 2012, Beretta released the DT-10s follow-up, the DT11.  It is designed specifically for competitions of any sort, though clays are still its forte. The DT11 comes in three flavors – Sporting Clays, Skeet and Trap B-Fast. The Trap version is relatively short-barreled, but in the DT11 Trap this means that the primary barrel length is 32 inches with a secondary barrel length of 34 inches.  It has a ventilated aiming rib above the top barrel, with a gold bead site on the end of the rib. The 34-inch-barrel versions are switch barrel designs; the barrel can be replaced with a 32-inch barrel.  Barrels are match-quality, and made of a “tri-alloy,” and further hardened into what Beretta calls “Steelium.” Like all DT11s, they are treated as Premium Shotguns, with a beautifully-finished hand-finished stock of Super Grade American Walnut, and hand-fitting of both the primary and secondary components.  The bore is carefully reamed to fit 12-Gauge exactly; the DT11 Trap is chambered for 3-inch magnum shells of 12-gauge shot (or slugs, for that matter).  The Skeet is similar to the Trap, but has no sighting rib. The Sporting Clays is also similar, but with shorter barrels (30 or 32 inches).  These shotguns have a ventilated rubber recoil pad on the butt.  The DT11 can use Optima Choke screw-in choke tubes.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: These weapons do not exist in the Twilight 2000 timeline.

Beretta EL Gold Pigeon II

     Notes: The Gold Pigeon II is a subset of the Model 687 family; it’s an expensive gun, but not as expensive as the rest of the Model 687 range.  It is the kind of gun one would get when upgrading out of the “my first gun” status.

     The fit and finish of the Gold Pigeon II good but not exceptional, though many describe the Gold Pigeon II as almost too beautiful to shoot; it is, however, intended as a field gun for actual use.  The receiver has false sideplates which are heavily engraved and also with bas-reliefs of hunting scenes, with gold inlays.  The bottom of the receiver, the fences, the top tang, the trigger guard, and the top lever joint are also engraved in scrollwork.  The woodwork is of dark walnut, with checkering on the pistol grip wrist and fore-end, and a recoil pad on the butt.  (The checkering, while it is 24 dpi, has so little raised relief that it helps very little when gripping the shotgun.)  Some negative points include a very slight imperfection between the wood and metal, and the top lever looks like Beretta tried to ridge the surface to allow a better grip, but didn’t do the ridging deeply enough to really help.  These are considered by most to be minor points, however, and all in all the Gold Pigeon II is though to be well-balanced (except in its 32-inch-barrel version, which is front-heavy), good looking, and an excellent shooter. Barrels come in several lengths (except for the Combo versions, which have only 28-inch barrels), all with Modified Cylinder chokes, and with a ventilated sighting rib atop the upper barrel.

Beretta Giubileo

     Notes: This over-and-under shotgun is part of Beretta’s Premium range of shotguns.  The guns have been hand-built and the parts made by top craftsmen.  The breech block and side plates are intricately engraved by master engravers.  The steel and the walnut stocks are made from the finest quality materials.  The bottom of the front grip has a 24-carat gold plate.  The chokes are normally fixed to order, but Mobilchoke interchangeable chokes are also available.  The locking system is similar to the Model 686, but there is absolutely no play in the parts. 

Beretta Giubileo II

     Notes: This newer design is more or less the Giubileo in a side-by side double configuration, with some new twists, mainly the choice of Optima Chokes for the 12 gauge version and Mobilchokes for the 20 gauge version, and the use of new, stronger steel. 

     Twilight 2000 Notes: This shotgun does not exist.

Beretta Mark II Trap

     Notes: This shotgun falls just short of medium-price (IRL). It was built from the mid-1970s to early 1980s, It has many features that are found on more expensive shotguns, such as a boxlock action, a top swinging lever that functions as safety and to break open the weapon.  It has no exposed hammer.  The stock is walnut, with a checkered semi-pistol grip and fore-end, and a Monte Carlo stock, giving it raised cheekpiece (though some do not have this cheekpiece. The stock has a recoil pad.  The side plates are engraved, but all external metalwork is blued.  Some have a stock adjustable by spacers. Barrels are very long, with a native Full choke; it can also take Beretta screw-in interchangeable chokes. A ventilated sighting rib is found atop the barrel. A relatively heavy weight helps reduce recoil, and it is known as a robust gun difficult to damage.