Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/528216
rather than to the receiver body like an Anson and Deeley boxlock, or to the locks of a sidelock gun, the action can be rounded to a degree that others can't. If done well, this creates a gun that feels almost organic, that carries effortlessly and swings as naturally as pointing your finger. The problem with them is that if you can find one, it will either be ancient or expensive—or both. All of the above praise applies to the 486 Parallelo. Needless to say, since it's a Beretta, it functions perfectly, and I would be absolutely amazed if it proves to be anything less than brutally durable. It carries like a dream, and flies to the shoulder as quickly as an evil thought comes to mind. Because it's well balanced, it tracks a crossing target with an ease that belies its quickness. The $5,400 price tag certainly doesn't qualify it as inexpensive, but it's not completely out of reach, either. I guess it depends on how much you value your shotgun and what else you might want to sacrifice. Not surprisingly, there are things about the gun that I would do differently. As a first-rate picker of nits, and an opinionated old goat as well, it's uncommon for me to find a gun that completely satisfies me. I could easily make the same observation about any number of best-quality doubles with prices well north of $100,000. And even some of them don't catch my fancy the way this Beretta does. I guess my quibbles fall into the "vanilla vs. chocolate" category, and you might well disagree, but I still would make some changes that would probably find favor with a large portion of the American shotgun market. Specifically, I'm not terribly fond of the "silver" finish or the laser- generated engraving. If I had my druthers, I'd probably go with something a little more subdued and more in keeping with the gun's Scottish soul. The same goes for replacing the single trigger with a pair of nice, crisp pulls and giving the wrist a little trimmer contour. The interesting thing about the 486 is that Beretta got all of the hard parts of the design very, very right. The heart of this gun is stunning. With a few custom touches, it could go from good to fabulous in about 2.5 seconds, and set a benchmark for others in this part of the market to shoot for. I think I'll talk to the folks at Beretta to see what we can arrange. Stay tuned, we might just be watching the evolution of a classic. The 486 Parallelo has new leaf springs in the action for faster and more precise firing-pin engagement. Its cold- hammer forged OptimaChoke barrels can handle every type of shell. S P O R T I N G C L A S S I C S 3 4