Any Guys Shoot The Beretta Vittoria as Their Main O/U

[thegazelle]

Just um...asking for a friend...

So my friend recently got a Winchester 101 (circa 1964). Loves the look finish and feel of the gun, BUT as he is a shorter statured guy, the fit wasn't perfect.

He recently went into a local gun store and saw a Beretta Vittoria on sale - he shouldered it and LOVED the fit (though not the price). Think it was primarily the shorter LOP.

He knows these things are designed for women, but are there any drawbacks for a short statured male to use this as their O/U for clays, and for field use?

As an aside, years ago he had a Remington express youth model he bought that fit him as an adult much better than the standard offerings.

Just curious if anyone of you as a male uses a Vittoria primarily and if so, any feedback on drawbacks and shortcomings (functionality wise - he doesn't care if he is using a "women's gun" nor any labelling/perception)

Thanks for any feedback.

 

[Jay]

I don't shoot the Beretta Vittoria, but my wife has one. I'm average height for a man & when I shoulder the Vittoria, the rib plains off into the sky for me with the bead at the top, ie I can not get my cheek down low enough to properly mount the shotgun. In comparison, my wife is a little shorter than average for a woman and the 20 ga Vittoria is a much better fit for her, not to mention lighter than my 12ga o/u.

While it is marketed as a 'ladies gun', IMHO it is simply intended to fit shorter shooters.

 

[thegazelle]

I don't shoot the Beretta Vittoria, but my wife has one. I'm average height for a man & when I shoulder the Vittoria, the rib plains off into the sky for me with the bead at the top, ie I can not get my cheek down low enough to properly mount the shotgun. In comparison, my wife is a little shorter than average for a woman and the 20 ga Vittoria is a much better fit for her, not to mention lighter than my 12ga o/u.

While it is marketed as a 'ladies gun', IMHO it is simply intended to fit shorter shooters.

Hi Jay thanks for the comments - how does your wife find the recoil on the lighter gun (granted, it is 20ga as well so not an apples to apples to the 12ga my friend was considering).

Does sound like it is made for smaller stature shooters with smaller hands.

 

[Jay]

Hi Jay thanks for the comments - how does your wife find the recoil on the lighter gun (granted, it is 20ga as well so not an apples to apples to the 12ga my friend was considering).

Does sound like it is made for smaller stature shooters with smaller hands.

It's a trade off wrt recoil. In the lighter 20 ga Vittoria recoil isn't an issue at 6.8lbs, especially if the gun fits you well...

By comparison, my 20 ga SxS FAIR Iside Tartaruga Gold is 5.94lbs and I perceive it as kicking harder than my o/u Beretta Perennia III in 12ga!

Bottom line, the shotgun has to fit & if your buddy isn't average height then the Vittoria just might be the fit for him!

 

[thegazelle]

It's a trade off wrt recoil. In the lighter 20 ga Vittoria recoil isn't an issue at 6.8lbs, especially if the gun fits you well...

By comparison, my 20 ga SxS FAIR Iside Tartaruga Gold is 5.94lbs and I perceive it as kicking harder than my o/u Beretta Perennia III in 12ga!

Bottom line, the shotgun has to fit & if your buddy isn't average height then the Vittoria just might be the fit for him!

Thanks Jay. My buddy bought one.

He will just identify as Linda when he shoots it at the club

I just looked up the specs on it - I don't think there's anything in the Vittoria that identifies it as a woman's gun - it's not pink, it doesn't say ladies, etc. It's not like he's using ladies' golf balls.

 

[Jay]

Nice! Which one did he go with, Field or Sporting?

 

[thegazelle]

Nice! Which one did he go with, Field or Sporting?

Sporting. 28" barrels. He missed a sale on these during black friday last year - apparently they could be had for $2600 back then. They are now at $3600 but the current sale has them at $3000. I suppose for him, this is more of a long term investment of a quality O/U.

The Winchester 101 is very nice as well - for a 1964, the hinge is nice and tight, and has no wobble or slop. I have heard that the stock buttpad is not really good so the person from whom he bought it replaced it with a Kick Eze which just needs to be grounded down. But then from what is on the internet, it looks like it kicks quite a bit. But he's under 5' 7", so I am sure it will knock him around a bit; hence him looking at the Vittoria (and now buying it).

When you picked up the Vittoria for your wife, were there other considerations as far as other makes/models that were designed for women/shorter statured shooters? I guess with other companies, they may market the women's models as "youth models", though it is good for Beretta to target a market of sport shooters which is growing.

 

[Jay]

Sporting. 28" barrels. He missed a sale on these during black friday last year - apparently they could be had for $2600 back then. They are now at $3600 but the current sale has them at $3000. I suppose for him, this is more of a long term investment of a quality O/U.

The Winchester 101 is very nice as well - for a 1964, the hinge is nice and tight, and has no wobble or slop. I have heard that the stock buttpad is not really good so the person from whom he bought it replaced it with a Kick Eze which just needs to be grounded down. But then from what is on the internet, it looks like it kicks quite a bit. But he's under 5' 7", so I am sure it will knock him around a bit; hence him looking at the Vittoria (and now buying it).

When you picked up the Vittoria for your wife, were there other considerations as far as other makes/models that were designed for women/shorter statured shooters? I guess with other companies, they may market the women's models as "youth models", though it is good for Beretta to target a market of sport shooters which is growing.

My wife has also owned the Browning Micro BPS and Remington 870 Youth, both have shorter lengths of pull, can't comment on drop etc as I don't recall...

Currently, she has the Remington 870 and Beretta Vittoria, both in 20ga.

The 870 sticks around because she can use it in the goose field instead of her nice o/u lol!

 

[g3arhead]

I’ve got a Nikko 5000 ii 12ga which is basically the same gun as Winchester 101. Made in the Kodensha factory in Japan just like the Winchester. I have a 1/2 kick-eez pad on it. It’s pretty mild recoil. Great gin. Good balance.

To the OPs comment, I don’t see the Vittoria much at my club. It’s hard to get an o/u shotgun that is women specific or short stature specific . There’s also the Franchi Instinct Catalyst and also Fausti Lady Conrad.

 

[doctor_meltdown]

I picked up a 690 series Vittoria a few years back from Dante. I think it came out to $2200 all-in new after the mail in rebate.

I actually liked the shorter LOP (5'10") but the stock has a raised top/cheek piece which apparently is designed for how women hold a shotgun. It made for an odd cheekweld for me and I was missing a lot of shots I could easily make with another ou.

It fit my wife and a female friend very well, and I would say they were more proficient than another OU.

I had bought a full sized spare stock for it, but ended up selling the shotgun as it didn't get used.

 

[thegazelle]

I’ve got a Nikko 5000 ii 12ga which is basically the same gun as Winchester 101. Made in the Kodensha factory in Japan just like the Winchester. I have a 1/2 kick-eez pad on it. It’s pretty mild recoil. Great gin. Good balance.

To the OPs comment, I don’t see the Vittoria much at my club. It’s hard to get an o/u shotgun that is women specific or short stature specific . There’s also the Franchi Instinct Catalyst and also Fausti Lady Conrad.

Was the Kick Eez pad fitted for the Nikko or did it have to be grinded to fit? His is the Kick Eez on the 101 but it clearly looks like it needs to be ground as the base is significantly larger and looks goofy as a result.

 

[g3arhead]

Was the Kick Eez pad fitted for the Nikko or did it have to be grinded to fit? His is the Kick Eez on the 101 but it clearly looks like it needs to be ground as the base is significantly larger and looks goofy as a result.

I had to grind it myself. It’s messy but I think it’s worth it. I’ve done it before but if it’s your first, you’ll need practice. Quite tricky to get the fitment close without taking off too much .