Silver pigeon date

[barney 66]

Hi,can someone date and tell me the exact model of beretta silver pigeon i have the serial no is M76897B

I am either going to sell this or my Ultralight neither have done a box of cartridges,the ultralight i bought new so i know all the details of that but the silver pigeon was off a family who the owner just bought it and passed away,

Thanks for looking

Chris

[BerettaSV10]

Ring GMK on 01489 579 999 and they should be able to help. Is there any markings on the trigger gaurd?

[clayman]

Beretta firearms produced in Italy carry a proof mark for the year of production.

 

The chart below is used to identify the year by this mark.

 

Shotguns have this mark stamped on the barrel near the chamber. You may need to remove the barrel to read the mark.

 

Sometimes markings are a combination of roman and numerical figures are combined, for example XX 8 instead of the listed XXVIII for year 1972.

 

Older guns:-

I - 1945; II - 1946; III - 1947; IV - 1948; V - 1949; VI - 1950; VII - 1951; VIII - 1952; IX - 1953; X - 1954; XI - 1955; XII - 1956; XIII - 1957; XIV - 1958; XV - 1959; XVI - 1960; XVII - 1961; XVIII - 1962; XIX - 1963; XX - 1964; XXI - 1965; XXII - 1966; XXIII - 1967; XXIV - 1968; XXV - 1969; XXVI - 1970; XXVII - 1971; XXIII - 1972; XXIX - 1973; XXX - 1974;

 

New series:-

AA - 1975; AB - 1976; AC - 1977; AD - 1978; AE - 1979; AF - 1980; AH - 1981; AI - 1982; AL - 1983; AM - 1984; AN - 1985; AO - 1986; AS - 1987; AT - 1988; AU - 1989; AZ - 1990; BA - 1991; BB - 1992; BC - 1993; BD - 1994; BF - 1995; BH - 1996; BI - 1997; BL - 1998; BM - 1999; BN - 2000; BP - 2001; BS - 2002; BT - 2003; BU - 2004; BZ - 2005; CA - 2006; CB - 2007 etc

Edited August 9, 2012 by clayman

[barney 66]

Thanks for that but what date does that put my silver pigeon with serial no M76897B? and my Urika 2 which is only 4 or 5 years old starts with AA

[BerettaSV10]

Think on the beretta's the ser No. and date stamps are two different things, for the date stamps you need look whare clayman has stated for the marks.

[barney 66]

Sorry your right didn't read claymans post properly i'll look at proof marks now

[barney 66]

BL puts it at 98,poor chap bought it and had a stroke never got to use it,i guess if this is the proof date they could have hung around a bit before sale as my Ultralight is CC putting that at 2008,and i think it was 2010 i bought it i would have to look for the receipt to be sure thats not had a box through it either,just got to decide which one to sell now,

 

Thanks for your help and for the chart clayman ( i should learn to read before posting )

[HDAV]

Dont forget they get made, then proofed, then shipped to UK, then sit at a dealer/importer then sold so 2 years between proof and purchase is normal

[clayman]

Gun age really only matters when it comes to getting spares, as specifications can change on the same named model over a period of time.

 

Condition is everything in real terms.

 

Its just like cars, you can buy a five year old NEW car in the showroom with delivery mileage - it was made 5 years ago and has sat in a holding yard or dealership ever since. Conversely, you can buy a 2 year old car thats been a taxi or reps car and has done a quarter of a million miles -

 

The 5 yr old "NEW" car on new plates and delivery miles can be in far worse condition than the 250K taxi because the seals have hardened, rubber perished, rust got in - while the taxi has been carefully maintained , not driven hard and is as sweet as a nut !

 

This happens in the gun industry, an unfired new gun can languish on the shelves for years unsold, oil drain out and dry action, rust in the barrels and actually be in poorer nick than a much younger well cared for gun that been used for 10,000 rounds.

 

So, while its nice to know the age of your gun, or the one you want to buy - ultimately its all down to condition and the only reason for needing the true production age is to get the right parts should you need them.