Beretta marks 500 years with a one-off pair of sidelock shotguns

For its 500th anniversary, Beretta has built a single matched pair of 12-gauge side-by-side shotguns called the 1526 Parallelo. They combine Marc Newson's sleek 486 design with true sidelock actions, something the company says required re-engineering the action from scratch.

The short version

Beretta unveiled the pair on September 27 in Gardone Val Trompia, Italy, where the company was founded in 1526. The design theme is water: the gold 500-year anniversary logo sits at the center of each receiver, and flowing waves ripple out from it before fading into a mirror-polished finish.

The guns draw on the 486 side-by-side designed by industrial designer Marc Newson and on the engineering of Beretta's SO10. To fit a sidelock mechanism into the 486's slim, rounded profile, Beretta says it eliminated the traditional hinge pins and lower plate, creating a seamless round-body receiver. The trigger guard, trigger, monoblock sleeve and opening lever were all reshaped to avoid breaking the lines. President and CEO Franco Gussalli Beretta calls the result "something never seen before."

Key points

• One-off: A single pair of 12-gauge sidelock side-by-sides for Beretta's 500th anniversary.
• Action: A re-engineered round-body receiver with no visible hinge pins or lower plate.
• Stocks: Grade 5 walnut, matched to within one gram of weight between the two guns, finished with more than 80 hand-applied layers of Tru-Oil.
• Finish: Mirror-polished receivers and barrels, hand-finished by Italian gunsmiths.
• Case: A lacquered wood motor case with laser-engraved wave motifs and a black Alcantara interior.

Bottom line

This is a showpiece, not a production gun, and Beretta did not give a price. For fans of fine shotguns, it is a look at how far the 500-year-old company will push design and hand craftsmanship.

Source: Soldier Systems Daily.