A modern entrant into clay competition 

By Darryl Groundwater

The Report magazine was given Australia’s first look at one of Beretta Australia’s new sporting clays shotguns – the 688. Fresh to the local shooting market, it was taken to the range to be evaluated over competition targets. 

Field testing the Beretta 688 

After setting up the firearm to suit competitor Aaron Blackwell, we ventured out into cloudy weather to shoot some rounds of clays. Interestingly, Aaron felt quite at home with the 688, as he normally shoots a Beretta 692. 

To say the least, the 688 performed beyond the squad’s expectations and, surprisingly, top scored for the first round. Based on the original 680 action, this firearm fell into the shooters’ hands without any stock modifications, which are often required when fitting a new gun. 

As anticipated, the sporting clays grounds had shooting stands that are set to test the best shots with their seasoned sporting firearms. The 688 in Aaron’s hands glided through all stands with a smoothness of swing that punished all targets released. Ammunition used was GB Pro Clays. The selection of ammunition necessary to engage these challenging targets seemed to match the medium-weighted 688, with little barrel jump and acceptable felt recoil on Aaron’s shoulder. 

We managed to shoot two courses over a variety of challenging stands before the skies opened up. The rain provided the perfect time to sit down with the squad to talk about this new addition to the Beretta stables and to understand the reasoning for the impressive performance that the 688 delivered. 

Overview of the Beretta 688 

Starting with the stock, the dark laminated wood is a surprise to initially observe. Stepping away from conventional one-piece timbered stocks may raise eyebrows from the more conservative shotgun owner; however, Beretta has done a fine job with this new design. The factory-adjustable comb is complemented with a sensible Beretta tool that carries out elevated and lateral adjustments quickly and with ease. The 688 also includes a T spanner for a quick release of the stock from the action. Added benefit for the shooter is a supply of coloured shims to support the height of the adjustable comb. Recoil reduction is assisted with a factory gel recoil pad. Stock length is set to satisfy the average shooter and additional factory gel pads can be sourced if stock-length adjustment is preferred. 

Beretta has made favourable changes to the pistol grip by extending it downwards to offer larger hands a practical hold of the grip to provide support for all of the fingers. The right-handed palm swell fitted Aaron comfortably and he mentioned his preference for the 688 stock over his 692. The quality of the laser checkering was impressive. Timber fit to the action was excellent. 

Moving onto the action and, once again, Beretta has demonstrated its initiative to capture shooter interest with a modern-designed action and signature to complement the 688. A rounder top lever to assist the reduction of thumb fatigue is a noted benefit. The stippling on the action is very well done, providing a low contour over the top of the action, and delivering an uninterrupted view of the rib. Beretta has provided a trigger shoe that is slightly angled to favour right- or left-handed shooters. Trigger pulls on the 688 were crisp at 3.5lb for the bottom and 4lb for the top. No take-up play was evident on either trigger before they released. Fine triggers such as these would be normally found in the most expensive sporting guns. Interestingly, Beretta has paid particular attention to detail in the stock design and competitive triggers to place the 688 into the competitive sporting arena. 

At first observation, the forend seems a little short compared to the norm. The length is more than adequate for a conventional gun mount; however, for those who support a longer mount, the fingers may sometime rest on the barrel.  

The 76cm barrels have a flat tapered rib measuring 10mm at the action and 8mm at the chokes. Five colour-coded extended chokes are provided with the 688 and range from skeet, cylinder, improved cylinder, modified and improved modified. All of these chokes are marked for steel shot. This is another practical benefit of the 688, as some clay target clubs around Australia are now stipulating steel shot ammunition only. 

The gun case supplied with the 688 is a practical purpose-built case. Robust and able to be roughly handled, it offers adequate protection for the firearm and provision for security to satisfy the requirements for firearm transportation. 

Summary 

Beretta has complemented the 688 with all of the attributes needed to make it a serious sporting shotgun. After observing the firearm through its paces over the challenging targets, the 688 did it better than the rest of the fine guns in our squad. Felt recoil appeared negligible and the long distant crossers were engaged by Aaron without any signs of flinching. The smooth movement of the 688, with the balance on the hinge pin, made any target flight path an easy task to engage. 

Overall weight of the 688 is 3.807kg (just under 8.4lb), making this firearm a well-weighted sporting gun 

The 688 comes with a 12-month limited warranty, which can be extended a further 24 months if the original owner wishes to register their purchase with Beretta Australia. 

Beretta Australia indicated the recommended price for the 688 is $5,490. 

Key attributes 

• Affordable, modern, upper-entry level competition gun 

• Adjustable and customisable 

• Modern black laminate 

• Greater weight reducing felt recoil 

• Laser chequered 

• Good weight distribution (adjustable) 

• Palm swell grip 

• Excellent handling and, well, ‘Performance’! 

Specifications:

Mode: 688 Performance Sporting  

Gauge: 12 with 76mm chamber  

Bore Diameter: 18.6mm  

Barrel Lengths: 1-76-81cm  

Chokes: Optima Choke HP  

Top Rib: 10×8  

Stock: Laminated wood  

Recoil Pad: MicroCore  

Finishing: Blued  

Weight: 3.8kg with 76-cm barrels  

Price: RRP $5,490