Gibbybox

As promised some photos from the first syndicate day last weekend. Great day out and a nice mixed bag. Pictured are my first two birds with the new gun on the first drive and the only teal of the day which was nice! Gun performed flawlessly and I was loving the nimbleness of it in comparison to the usual O/U. Definitely a keeper!

Delighted to have made contact, it’s a small world after all! The gun is a credit to you, lovely condition and the stock work done by @demonwolf444explains why I was blown away by the finish. I took a couple more photos tonight by the fire but they don’t do it justice. I’m the first of the shooting group to buy a SxS and at 28 years old I look forward to many seasons ahead with it. Will report back with game photos when the syndicate gets going. Really chuffed to have found out a bit more of the history behind the gun, I’ll take good care of it 👍🏻

Thanks for the support folks. Will get a photo of the other side of the stock tomorrow, but I reckon it’s equally as nice. Choke wise the salesman gauged it to be 1/4 and slightly more than 1/4 but not as much as 1/2. Will suit me fine for my range on the game days. Planning to try it on a few clays at home and maybe even a pattern plate or two to check I’m on the ball before taking it to the live stuff. Funny thing is I was looking for a 20g for the Mrs all afternoon and it was just as we were leaving the salesman was talking about fashions and how he had a lovely AYA in and couldn’t believe it hadn’t been snapped up. Quick swing and I knew it had to come home with me!

Hi folks, Was down at Westlands Country Club at Annan today shooting the sporting and watching Digweed do his stuff, great day all round and would thoroughly recommend the ground. Spent a while in their fantastic gunroom and ended up taking this AYA No4 Best Quality Boxlock home. Wasn’t until the deal was done that the salesman produced the case so that was a nice bonus. Paid £1000 for it which is twice what my beretta 686 cost but I can really appreciate the quality of the wood in particular. Can anyone help with any info on the gun? From the serial I reckon it’s between 1984-87 but apart from that I can’t find much about the ‘best quality’ model online? Can’t wait to try it on the pheasants on the first syndicate day in a fortnights time!

I did thanks but it wasn't what I expected. Thanks anyway!

I'd be interested in buying this if you can send photos to my email please? I've PM'd you my email address. Thanks, Gibby

A home-made shooting bench has been my list of projects for a while now and I'm intrigued about this slot together idea! Would you mind sharing the plans that you have? I'm fairly handy with woodwork and have a good selection of tools for the job. Thanks in advance.

I'll take second dibs on these if Ace01 does not buy them. Thanks, Gibby

Just in case anyone is looking at this older thread, myself and friends have had a few thousand of the new velocity to play with for a wee while now. They seem to perform very similar to the old styles (translucent pink and translucent blue) but I definitely notice that they leave significantly more residue in the barrels. I am not sure of the significance of this, whether this means some of the powder isn't being burnt properly? There should be no issues with damp either as these were delivered straight from the factory and stored in a well heated home. Does anyone else have anything to add on the performance of these?

Hi there, I encountered this a while back, here's what I gathered: The basic beretta o/u was called the 686, then the 686 silver pigeon and now simply the silver pigeon 1. This has standard scroll engraving and is available in field and sporter models with corresponding differences in forend, barrels, rib and chokes. The next level up was originally the 687, then the 687 silver pigeon and now the silver pigeon deluxe. This has game scene engraving and better wood than the 686 (or equivalent). I believe game and sporter models are also available in this range. To put it simply, the 686 and 687 are from the same era with the 687 having better wood and fancier engraving. They are based on the same action and similar options should be available for barrel length, chokes etc. Hope this helps in some way. Gibby

Cheers for the heads up on the Amazon price! I've had my eye on these for over a year now at around £40 so £30.89 with free delivery and returns is a bargain... I also signed up for Amazon clothing promotional emails and got an extra 20% off, so only cost around £25, spot on!

I can vouch for the leather conditioner on Humperdingle's Baikal! Used it a lot in all weathers since purchasing it and it's still going strong... Just the job

A wee bit away but I've been using Montrose Guns and Tackle recently and Mike Davies there is spot on. Stock mainly Gamebore at good prices (same as Just Cartridges without the delivery) and always happy to help! Hope this helps

Have a wee look at the link below, I used it to identify the rough age of mine and it's an 844EST. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=wAFGGOZRi2kC&pg=PT1642&lpg=PT1642&dq=lanber+model+844&source=bl&ots=RopAbI0cPy&sig=sw0KltN7y9mKaHMPfp8QOenk0SU&hl=en&sa=X&ei=9GFAU6rpJ4eUhQeBjIDwBg&ved=0CEcQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=lanber%20model%20844&f=false My action is similar to yours but the engraving is different so I assume yours is newer perhaps? See photo of engraving below:

Good luck mate! I'm typing this when I'm supposed to be doing my dissertation (due next Monday) so be prepared for some major procrastination on here! All the best