Looking for info on this gun
- Thread starter ken wyse
- Start date
- Location
- Lloydminster SK
Copied from SGW. I couldn't find much on this gun at all. You can check the date codes from a Beretta S/N reference. The pricing seems a bit low, but as with most pumps, not greatly collectable, and mostly sentimental. An old ad from '61 indicates a chromed barrel, and 1961 MSRP of around $95.
Bill
------------------------------------------------------------
h ttp://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewIt ... m=65534841
Beretta designed their pump-action gun primarily for the American market, but it was not very successful here. Wilson says they were made from 1960-1996, but a lot of the pumps that Beretta made were military and police models, and I suspect that the sporting versions were available only over a shorter time period. The Blue Book says the SL-2 was made 1968-71, but it does not give any dates for the Pigeon series. The 1972 Shooter's Bible does not list any Beretta pump-actions, but the 1961 Gun Digest lists the Silver Pigeon at $91.25, Gold Pigeon at $139.75 (skeet or trap version $169.25) and Ruby Pigeon at $274.75 (skeet or trap version $312.75).
The Blue Book is obviously wrong, with its introduction date of 1968, because they were available in this country at least as early as 1961, according to the Gun Digest. However, the BB might be right about the last date of 1971, since they were not listed in the S Bible in 1972. I don't know why Wilson gives the latest date as 1996, but he got his data from the factory in Italy, and the M&P versions of the gun may have stayed in production for sale in Europe that long. That's just my guess.
The Silver Pigeon, Golden Pigeon and Ruby Pigeon were the same gun with differences in cosmetics (engraving, wood grain, etc).
Grading 100% 98% 95% 90% 80% 70% 60% (2004 US Pricing)
$250 $200 $175 $160 $150 $140 $130
Bill
------------------------------------------------------------
h ttp://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewIt ... m=65534841
Beretta designed their pump-action gun primarily for the American market, but it was not very successful here. Wilson says they were made from 1960-1996, but a lot of the pumps that Beretta made were military and police models, and I suspect that the sporting versions were available only over a shorter time period. The Blue Book says the SL-2 was made 1968-71, but it does not give any dates for the Pigeon series. The 1972 Shooter's Bible does not list any Beretta pump-actions, but the 1961 Gun Digest lists the Silver Pigeon at $91.25, Gold Pigeon at $139.75 (skeet or trap version $169.25) and Ruby Pigeon at $274.75 (skeet or trap version $312.75).
The Blue Book is obviously wrong, with its introduction date of 1968, because they were available in this country at least as early as 1961, according to the Gun Digest. However, the BB might be right about the last date of 1971, since they were not listed in the S Bible in 1972. I don't know why Wilson gives the latest date as 1996, but he got his data from the factory in Italy, and the M&P versions of the gun may have stayed in production for sale in Europe that long. That's just my guess.
The Silver Pigeon, Golden Pigeon and Ruby Pigeon were the same gun with differences in cosmetics (engraving, wood grain, etc).
Grading 100% 98% 95% 90% 80% 70% 60% (2004 US Pricing)
$250 $200 $175 $160 $150 $140 $130
