Beretta Ultralight - what do ye think ?

brianfrancis45

Having not shot for over 20 years, now with more time on my hands (bloody recession !) I am looking to get back into it and would appreciate any opinions on what would be a decent o/u double barrel for rough shooting. I would be doing mixed shooting i.e. mainly rabbits and pidgeon plus a few days each season for pheasant and duck . I had a budget of max Euro 1000 in mind but would like if possible to get a lighter gun as the intention is to do a fair bit of walking.
I read a review on the internet about the Beretta Ultralight 12 guage which caught my eye. I then visited a dealer just to get a feel of the gun and must say that I was impressed but no chance to actually shoot it ,which was a shame as ideally I would have liked to try it out before even considering to part with big bucks. At well over 2 grand it is very pricey and realistically speaking is much more than I want or can afford to pay . However I did manage to locate a 2nd hand one in decent condition for about Euro 1500 and am feeling tempted to go the extra mile ( don't tell the missus !). Before doing so , I would appreciate hearing from anyone who has used the Beretta Ultralight and what they think of it. Or, does anyone have any recommendation(s) for an alternative make ( ideally max 7 lbs weight - I just don't like the heavier shotguns) which would not break the bank and which you feel would serve my needs .

Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

endasmail

dont think youl go to far wrong with any beretta
its find ing one at the right money thats the problem
and no i never shot a beretta ultra light so cant say feck all about them
i use a beretta 686e
wouldn change it

EPointer=Birdss

brianfrancis45 wrote: »

Having not shot for over 20 years, now with more time on my hands (bloody recession !) I am looking to get back into it and would appreciate any opinions on what would be a decent o/u double barrel for rough shooting. I would be doing mixed shooting i.e. mainly rabbits and pidgeon plus a few days each season for pheasant and duck . I had a budget of max Euro 1000 in mind but would like if possible to get a lighter gun as the intention is to do a fair bit of walking.
I read a review on the internet about the Beretta Ultralight 12 guage which caught my eye. I then visited a dealer just to get a feel of the gun and must say that I was impressed but no chance to actually shoot it ,which was a shame as ideally I would have liked to try it out before even considering to part with big bucks. At well over 2 grand it is very pricey and realistically speaking is much more than I want or can afford to pay . However I did manage to locate a 2nd hand one in decent condition for about Euro 1500 and am feeling tempted to go the extra mile ( don't tell the missus !). Before doing so , I would appreciate hearing from anyone who has used the Beretta Ultralight and what they think of it. Or, does anyone have any recommendation(s) for an alternative make ( ideally max 7 lbs weight - I just don't like the heavier shotguns) which would not break the bank and which you feel would serve my needs .

Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

My mate has one & he shot 1 pheasant last year. He blames the gun even though he shot a ball of woodcock with it. I've fired a few shots on clays & had no issues with it. Nice light gun with nice engravings. He paid 1800 new 2 years ago off a fella in Portroe near Nenagh. Might get a better deal than 1500 if you shop around

Cass

Bettinsoli diamond sporter. Good gun and cheap enough.
http://www.shoot.ie/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=150&zenid=a707ca62ec06665188e32fe96254a210

Would you consider going for a semi auto? Way more fun, light, 3 shots, run around 1100 - 1300 euro for good second hand ones. Beretta AL391, Browning Fusion, Remy 105 (new about 1350)

ormondprop

the dealer near Portroe is Jim Barry from Newtown, my father bought a beretta 686e off him a few years back, legend to deal with we get most our ammo nd anything else we ever need off him if he has it, he runs the local clay shoot aswell so let us take out a few guns and test them before deciding which to go for, the fathers 686 is a great gun, i always take it instead of my own auld yoke if he's not using it, would love one for myself, and as previously said you cant go wrong with a beretta so i presume the ultralight is everybit as good as long as it fits you

pullandbang

ormondprop wrote: »

you cant go wrong with a beretta so i presume the ultralight is everybit as good as long as it fits you

Probably the most important point of the lot. Make sure it fits.
The Beretta is an excellent reliable gun and will always hold it's value. You may pay a bit more for them now, but when you come to trade up or sell, you'll not lose too much on it.

brianfrancis45

EPointer=Birdss wrote: »

My mate has one & he shot 1 pheasant last year. He blames the gun even though he shot a ball of woodcock with it. I've fired a few shots on clays & had no issues with it. Nice light gun with nice engravings. He paid 1800 new 2 years ago off a fella in Portroe near Nenagh. Might get a better deal than 1500 if you shop around

Thanks to you and all others who responded - the guidance is appreciated. Fully agree with you that if I shop around I should be able to get a better deal and indeed I got the impression from seller of the 2nd hand ultralight that there was flexibility in his asking price of 1500. I very much liked the feel of the gun and it was in very good condition /little used and I think I will tell him that I am interested at ''x'' price but must ''try before I buy'' ......

It wasn't me!

Superb gun. Cousin has one and for fast-handling and light weight for carrying, it'd be hard to beat. For heavy pigeon shooting or clays or a lot of driven game, it'd beat you up pretty horribly though.

J.R.

Courtlough have one in mint condition for €1,450...........they will let you take it out on the range to try before you buy.

http://www.courtlough.ie/gunroom_guns.html

Ultra Light 28"M/C Mint Gun €1,450

J. Ramone

I've an Ata Arms 12 guage (Turkish) which is a couple of ounces short of 6 pounds. I like a fast handling gun and shoot better with it than anything else I've ever used. Not in the league of the Ultralight though which would be well worth the extra money I'd imagine.

I use Eley hushpower for informal clays and I find it doesn't kick any more than an average gun using using average cartridges. For pheasant or duck shooting I dont find cartridge choice a worry and am happy to use high brass loads.

ronn

shop around i bought a new berreta courtlough were looking for e1850 i got mine for e1650, both guns come from the same supplier in the uk. in a month or two there be loads of people handing back there guns they wont want to pay the e80 for the new licence

deerhunter1

brianfrancis45 wrote: »

Having not shot for over 20 years, now with more time on my hands (bloody recession !) I am looking to get back into it and would appreciate any opinions on what would be a decent o/u double barrel for rough shooting. I would be doing mixed shooting i.e. mainly rabbits and pidgeon plus a few days each season for pheasant and duck . I had a budget of max Euro 1000 in mind but would like if possible to get a lighter gun as the intention is to do a fair bit of walking.
I read a review on the internet about the Beretta Ultralight 12 guage which caught my eye. I then visited a dealer just to get a feel of the gun and must say that I was impressed but no chance to actually shoot it ,which was a shame as ideally I would have liked to try it out before even considering to part with big bucks. At well over 2 grand it is very pricey and realistically speaking is much more than I want or can afford to pay . However I did manage to locate a 2nd hand one in decent condition for about Euro 1500 and am feeling tempted to go the extra mile ( don't tell the missus !). Before doing so , I would appreciate hearing from anyone who has used the Beretta Ultralight and what they think of it. Or, does anyone have any recommendation(s) for an alternative make ( ideally max 7 lbs weight - I just don't like the heavier shotguns) which would not break the bank and which you feel would serve my needs .

Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Had an ultra light lovely gun to handle,wont go far wrong there

bmcm71

Have an ultralight since 2000 and use it for all my rough shooting. Great gun to kill and so light to carry all day. Warning though, it does pack quite a kick and while you won't notice it if you're only firing a few shots, if you intend firing a few clays or are lucky enough to do a bit of driven shooting it will hurt!!! I'd advise going for a standard silver pigeon, still fairly light, less than 7pounds and will last a lifetime.

brianfrancis45

It wasn't me! wrote: »

Superb gun. Cousin has one and for fast-handling and light weight for carrying, it'd be hard to beat. For heavy pigeon shooting or clays or a lot of driven game, it'd beat you up pretty horribly though.

Thanks for the advice. Managed to persaude the Seller to let me shoot the gun (28 inch barrles) and must say that it came up very well , was very balanced but as you mentioned after banging off more than a fair share of cartridges in a very short time , the recoil was pretty full on, which I guess is not surprising for such a light gun but in anycase not really an issue for me as I would be mainly rough shooting so I would not expect to be getting too many shots off in any given day.

On the way back I called into a gun dealer who showed me a Lanber 2077 lightweight o/u with shorter i.e. 26 inch barrels. A little bit heavier that the Beretta Ultralight and have to say I was a bit surprised that the 26 inch barrels seemed to suit me better .Also with that extra bit of extra weight the Lanber gun felt more comfortable to me personally than the Beretta.

A few questions if I may:

- Anyone have any opinion on the Lanber lightweight ?

- It is only chambered for 2 3/4 inch (not 3 inch) - mainly I would be shooting rabbits and pigeons and other than that just a few times per year for walked up pheasant and ducks. Do you think the fact the gun is chambered for 2 3/4 inch only and has the shorter barrel length of 26 inches , would this be problematic ?? I did ask if I could shoot the gun but unfortunately the dealer could not facilitate that.

- I would imagine that the gun dealers are pretty slow business wise at the moment and was wondering what is the general concensus of opinion from this board in terms of asking for a discount from the tag price of a new gun gun such as this. The tag price on the gun is E 1300 which is just over half the price of what they are asking for a new Beretta Ultralight De Luxe . As it is donkeys years since I last purchased a gun i'm trying to get an idea of what would be a reasonable discount (if any) percentage wise to ask from the gun dealer for a straight cash purchase as there is no trade- in involved . I don't want to be too cheeky with him but at the same time want to be prudent.

- slighly off the topic, where it says in the shotgun licence application form '' State the maximum number of rounds of Ammunintion applied
for '' , what would be the norm to request ?


Any opinions/comments greatly aprpeciated.

Thanks very much

pullandbang

brianfrancis45 wrote: »

- I would imagine that the gun dealers are pretty slow business wise at the moment and was wondering what is the general concensus of opinion from this board in terms of asking for a discount from the tag price of a new gun gun such as this. The tag price on the gun is E 1300 which is just over half the price of what they are asking for a new Beretta Ultralight De Luxe . As it is donkeys years since I last purchased a gun i'm trying to get an idea of what would be a reasonable discount (if any) percentage wise to ask from the gun dealer for a straight cash purchase as there is no trade- in involved . I don't want to be too cheeky with him but at the same time want to be prudent.

- slighly off the topic, where it says in the shotgun licence application form '' State the maximum number of rounds of Ammunintion applied
for '' , what would be the norm to request ?

Offer €1000 cash - he can always say no or you might get lucky.
Regarding the amount of shells - ask for 1,000 - say you'll be shooting pigeons.

ballistic

brianfrancis45 wrote: »

Having not shot for over 20 years, now with more time on my hands (bloody recession !) I am looking to get back into it and would appreciate any opinions on what would be a decent o/u double barrel for rough shooting. I would be doing mixed shooting i.e. mainly rabbits and pidgeon plus a few days each season for pheasant and duck . I had a budget of max Euro 1000 in mind but would like if possible to get a lighter gun as the intention is to do a fair bit of walking.
I read a review on the internet about the Beretta Ultralight 12 guage which caught my eye. I then visited a dealer just to get a feel of the gun and must say that I was impressed but no chance to actually shoot it ,which was a shame as ideally I would have liked to try it out before even considering to part with big bucks. At well over 2 grand it is very pricey and realistically speaking is much more than I want or can afford to pay . However I did manage to locate a 2nd hand one in decent condition for about Euro 1500 and am feeling tempted to go the extra mile ( don't tell the missus !). Before doing so , I would appreciate hearing from anyone who has used the Beretta Ultralight and what they think of it. Or, does anyone have any recommendation(s) for an alternative make ( ideally max 7 lbs weight - I just don't like the heavier shotguns) which would not break the bank and which you feel would serve my needs .

Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

I had an ultralight. They are a lovely gun and I got on well with it. Recoil is a big issue. Clays and decoying are out for this reason. For Game shooting, fireing ten or twenty shots a day its the perfect choice. 1400 euro is the max I would pay for a secondhand one no matter what the condition.