Happy Birthday Beretta, 496 years-old.
Well, it’s complicated...!!! It’s an epic tale, think Ford vs. Ferrari… maybe at least until 1983, and if you are familiar with the story, you will also understand the history, performance and excellence in craftsmanship. Unfortunately, or fortunately, we are not going to be talking about cars, but about guns! I love them both, the Benelli ETHOS Super Sport and the Beretta A300 and the only way for me to decide which to have, is to write out my thoughts and you get the glory of listening to it. I’ll probably own both...
Let’s get Started:
Beretta
So, let’s start with the history. If you know anything about Italians you will know that they love art. Yes, art. I love art too, especially shocking art! Let’s face it, the Italians put style into everything they do, whether its cars, motorcycles, fashion or shoes. It all has one thing in common and that is style, comfort and performance. It looks and feels great! The history of Italian firearms starts with the Beretta family in the 16th century, or more specifically in 1526 by master gun barrel maker Bartolomeo Beretta in the village of Gardone. The original order to Beretta was in October of 1526 by the Republic of Venice, then an independent state, for 190 long gun barrels for the use of the Venetian Infantry to defend themselves from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, for the cost of 300 ducats. What is a Ducat? Well, it is a gold coin used for exchange, in today’s values 1 Ducat of gold is 3.545 grams or 0.125 ounces which is worth about $150.00/each and 300 Ducats was worth about $45,000.00. This is loads of cash in the 16th century, no doubt, in today’s dollars it would be equivalent to $1,894,476.17 for a single order. The relationship between the Venetian Republic and Beretta Gun Barrel Manufacturing Company continued on over the centuries until 1797, when Napoleon concurred the Republic of Venice during his sweep throughout Europe to create the French Empire of his dreams only to be stopped by the mighty Russian bear in 1812. The company was passed down from father to son over the generations, and finally organized by great grandson Pietro Beretta and renamed as Fabbrica d'Armi Pietro Beretta S.p.A. The great-grandson of Bartolomeo Beretta who worked tirelessly to supply weapons for Napoleon’s conquering armies, reorganized the company as an Italian corporation and decided in 1815, during a time of peace, that he would transition the company from supplying weapons of war to firearms of sport. From the late 1800’s to the early 1900’s the son of Pietro, Giuseppe, took the company to the next level with the introduction of new patented firearms, along with the modernization of manufacturing methods. With the development of new and improved manufacturing methods, Berretta continues to improve its production and development process to this day. After five centuries of this family-owned business, Berretta continues under the leadership of Ugo Gussalli Beretta and his sons Pietro and Franco.
Benelli
So, the Benelli, specifically the ETHOS Super Sport… it looks great and the performance is like a Ferrari. With Italian Style comes solid engineering in a lightweight shotgun that is guaranteed to deliver in hunting or sport shooting, just wait for the break and then fire. In 1911, in the small Italian village of Pesaro, Italy, six brothers - Giuseppe, Giovanni, Filippo, Francesco, Domenico and Antonio Benelli began to develop motorcycles in a small work shop. The brothers, financed by their widowed mother, Teresa, soon began to expand and racing victories began to grow larger, and the family moved to a bigger and more developed shop in the mid-1930’s. To this day, the Benelli motorcycle is a trusted name in quality motorcycles tailored to the performance and style that targets its fans in the market. Enter 1967, Benelli Armi SpA, the firearms arm of Benelli, focusing on shotguns for the military, police, the sport shooting and hunting world had emerged in Urbino, Italy. The brothers were very passionate hunters, and with their engineering skills, began working on the semi-automatic shotgun. This idea was born and developed with Bruno Civolani, a young engineer from Bologna, Italy. The young engineer used an inertia-driven mechanism versus a standard gas operating system. The concept of the inertia- driven mechanism proved to be more reliable. The operation of the system is quite simple, as the hammer hits the firing pin it causes a detonation. The combustion gases never come in contact with the mechanical parts and are expelled with the shot. The spring in the bolt is charged with potential energy and the bolt position remains unchanged, passing the point of compression, the spring expands and bolt head is released. As a result, the rearward movement of the bolt action allows for the cartridge to be expelled outside of the firearm. A recoil spring allows the next cartridge to cycle and bring the bolt back to its fully closed position for the next cycle. With the bolt providing all of the movement needed, it created the fastest reloading action in its time, which permitted users to fire up to 5-rounds within seconds. Thanks to the continuous innovation of the Benelli engineering team, Benelli has, over the past forty-years, produced two million rifles and has celebrated impressive milestones until 1983. Understanding the innovative technology and the impressive engineering, Beretta bought Benelli for an undisclosed amount of money.
So, the stats:
| Beretta A300 | Benelli ETHOS |
Gauge | 12 and 20 | 12 and 20 |
Action | Semi- automatic | Autoloading |
Capacity | 3+1 | 3+1 |
Operating System | Gas Operated | Inertia Driven |
Chamber | 2 3/4 - 3 Inch | 2 3/4 - 3 Inch |
Barrel Length | 28 - Inches | 28 - 30 Inches |
Length | 47 Inches | 49 - 50 Inches |
Length of Pull | 13.8 Inches | 14.5 Inches |
Trigger Pull | 5 lbs. 4 oz. | 5 lbs. 4 oz. |
Overall Weight | 7.7 lbs. | 7.2 lbs. |
Price | $799.00 - $899.00 | $2,299.00 |
So, as you can see above, the stats are pretty close with the exception of the operating system and the price. So, we put the shotguns to the test. Yes, we used the Mrs. aka my wife, also known as Mrs. Sharp-Shooter to test which semi-automatic shotgun had the best value including performance, recoil and the buck. We went to Ohio’s premier outdoor shooting center in Delaware, Ohio, Black Wing Shooting Center and put the two to the test, with Mrs. Sharp-Shooter at the helm. As you can see by the exploding clays below, she is just that good, and the question came up, which is the preferred shotgun, the Versace or the Gucci?! The awaited answer from Mrs. Sharp-Shooter is… You should own both! And that’s why I love her!
Conclusion:
This will be a great year for all of us. We look forward to sharing with you some great stories and blogs, including our visit to Red State Barbecue in Georgetown, Kentucky and Warren’s Spirited Kitchen in Burton, Ohio, as well as our review and stories of some great firearms like the history of the 1911, and my favorite, the Kalashnikov. And, of course, we will have a great menu of game food and more...
Cheers! And live well!
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