beretta silver pigeon 1 20 ga

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SwampRooster
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beretta silver pigeon 1 20 ga

Post by SwampRooster »

Hello this is my first post although I have been a member for quite sometime. This site has been a wealth of knowledge and i usually can search and find what im looking to know however i cant seem to find much on this particular one. i have been wanting to purchase a nice O/U for sometime now. I like the fit and feel of the SP1 20 ga and thanks to my generous wife this christmas i now am able to make this happen. I am interested in any personal experience any of you fellows can give on it, mainly in regards to turkey hunting. my primary for years now has been a benelli sbe2 and i dont see that changing as good as it has been for me. However I cant see purchasing a nice O/U without at least putting a notch or two on it in the turkey woods. if yall have any suggestions for chokes/load combos or pros and cons or personal experience with this gun i would be glad to hear it. thanks!
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GLS
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Re: beretta silver pigeon 1 20 ga

Post by GLS »

Welcome aboard on your first post. I believe Spuriosity has a 12 gauge which he uses for turkeys. Fine gun you have there. It is a trouble free design based on the 686 with a little fancier wood and some cosmetic metal work design. I sold mine last year to free up funds for another 20 ga. It was a DU banquet gun that I had Cole install double triggers and fancier wood. I would try the various TSS loads but wouldn't go over 1 5/8 oz. I'd use the factory full and see what that does. Since the gun has a vent rib, a red dot can be mounted on it. Jamey has diy removable mount for vent rib suggestion which doesn't alter the gun or drill any holes in it. Good luck. Here's what Jamey did:
ttps://www.gobblernation.com/phpBB3/viewtopic. ... ib#p157747
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Spuriosity
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Re: beretta silver pigeon 1 20 ga

Post by Spuriosity »

https://www.flickr.com/photos/162908903 ... ed-public/

Here is a pic of my 12 ga 686 UL with the FF III mounted. It is my go-to turkey gun. I really like the light weight and the availability of two chokes.
Your silver pigeon will make a great turkey slayer. I agree with GLS about not going heavier than 1&5/8 oz. Recoil is stout with that load in 12 ga in my gun. I shoot 1&5/8 oz TSS 9s in the bottom barrel through a ST .675 choke and 1.25 oz TSS 9x8.5s through a light mod in the top barrel. You should set your gun up to shoot the heavier load (if they are different) in the bottom barrel as IME your POIs will be closer together that way. If you are shooting identical loads in both barrels, set your bottom barrel to fire first, as you will experience less muzzle rise thus allowing you to get back on target faster if a second shot is required. That advice goes for all O/U shotguns for all shooting, not just turkey hunting.

I played around with lead loads for the more open barrel. It's easy to make a really wide shooting close in pattern, but it is difficult to do that and still be able to kill to 40 yds with that barrel. Lead 7s are a good choice. With 1.25 oz loads I found a skeet choke to be effective to 20 yds, IC to 25, lt mod to 30. But I found that I was shooting a lot of turkeys in that 30-40 yds distance, so I switched to 1.25 oz TSS loads. They provide a reasonably wide pattern up close but still have a killing pattern to 40 yds. I kill most of my turkeys with that load in the open barrel. If they are 40 and out, they get the heavier load through the ST. Congrats on the new gun, and good luck.
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howl
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Re: beretta silver pigeon 1 20 ga

Post by howl »

No experience here. Best guess on short route would be Aimpoint S1, Federal TSS and ask SumToy about chokes.

Agree 1 5/8 is nuts to shoot. I've decided to disassemble mine and go lighter. I expect 1 1/4oz to do anything I want a turkey gun to do.
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Hoobilly
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Re: beretta silver pigeon 1 20 ga

Post by Hoobilly »

Them are nice O/U’s. Looking forward to hearing how she shoots for you
Don't start none, won't be none!

https://foxtrotammo.com/
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