I don't think I could form an opinion of the engraving or finish without seeing the gun first hand, it does sound as if Beretta has cheapened the quality of the metal finish though. I don't mind plain wood on a field gun as chances are it will get worn and banged around a little bit anyway as long as the wood is of good quality, and this one appears to be that, I'm happy enough. This one looks as if the wood to metal fit is as good as most 686's, which is to say that it's pretty good for a machine made gun. The head of the stocks are always proud of the metal on Beretta's so in video's and picture's the shadows often make them look as if there are gaps which are not there in real life. Getting rid of the schnabel fore end is a huge plus in my opinion! Optima barrels are nice but they're generally lighter than Mobil barrels so I'm not certain why this gun balances ahead of the trunions, I'd definitely add weight to the stock to balance it out and put up with the extra weight. Overall the gun looks fine to me as long as you keep in mind that it's a bottom end gun for Beretta, and that's not meant to take anything away from it.