Hi all,
I've been posting about my 692 acquisition in he '692 vs DT11' thread but this thread seems more 692 specific so I've jumped over.
Much to my suprise I collected my 32" 692 from the dealer last Friday having originally been told it would be July at the earliest. Sadly due to the typically crud weather here in Stoke I've not had chance to take the gun out for a spin yet - but I have spent a bit of time playing around with it over the weekend and can give you a quick update with a full 'how it shoots' report to follow once its been out!
The first thing I've noticed about the 692 is the overall quality of finish and wood to metal fit. This is my 3rd Beretta with the previous two being the current Silver Pigeon 1 Sporter and more recently the SV10 Prevail, both of which were very good in quality terms but the 692 does seem to have gone up a notch and feels more DT11 like in terms of finish but I suppose this is to be expected given it carries a higher RRP than the previous two. I seem to recall somewhere that the 682 Gold E's were made in the same workshop as the DT10's (a different workshop to the regular 686 series guns) so perhaps the same applies with the 692/DT11?
The woodwork is very nice indeed and I'm delighted with it (photos below). I guess there's no way of knowing if this level of woodwork will be maintained over the lifespan of the gun or if I've just been lucky with having picked up one of the first 32's to make it to the UK. I'm not sure what 'finish' is used on the woodwork but it certainly looks oiled and the wood looks well prepared and close grained.
In the hands the gun feels very nice indeed, it feels 'fuller' than my Prevail (which I wanted) with a nice, sensible sized palm swell without being overly chunky like the DT11. I'm sure there are plenty of people who love the feel of the DT11 so I'm not knocking it, but its a bit too much for me personally
The recoil pad is one of the new 'micro core' styles and it does seem to strike a good balance between providing a decent grip without being too 'snaggy' when you mount the gun, so it feels nice to use so far.
The new composite top lever 'appears' to be very well put together and 'looks' like it will be durable. According to the GMK rep I saw at the English Open last week the top lever is steel as normal but a hard rubber outer coating is bonded to it to give a better feel. The top lever is also slightly shaped to the right to suit the thumb which seems a nice touch.
One other thing I noticed when I was putting in my Muller chokes was just how easily they screwed in and out compared to my Prevail which used the same choke system. With the 692 I can fully tighten and remove the chokes by hand whereas with the Prevail I had to use a Teague choke key to get them fully seated or take them out.
The hard case the 692 comes in is very nice and finished in silver with 3 combination locks. The tool kit has been pared back a bit from the Gold E I believe and consists of the following.
Choke box with 5 x Optima HP extended chokes (they have the coloured bands on the end)
Small screwdriver to adjust the trigger
Stock removal bolt
Bottle of oil
Spare Micro-core recoil pad (slightly longer than the one that's on the gun)
Something that wasn't in the tool kit that I thought would be we're the balancing shims for the B-fast system. I queried this with the dealer and they said the gun was balanced at the factory but that more could be added or removed as required (and presumably purchased separately). I must admit though the gun does seem to balance beautifully, and bang on the hinge pin so this would seem to bear the explanation out.
I think I've covered the main points so far and I hope this helps build a picture. Fingers crossed I'll get to get out over the coming Bank Holiday weekend either to my local ground (Doveridge) for a few rounds of skeet or maybe do a local registered. Either way once I've put a bit of lead through it I shall report back.
Many thanks,
Iggy.