Beretta SO. 22 July 2003

The Beretta SO sidelock is quite an unusual gun. Unusual in the sense that although they are expensive, and lets face it, the SO is a premium grade gun even in its most basic form, they are still probably the most affordable OU sidelock gun on the market.

Few other gunmakers make sidelock OU's. and those that do only compete at the higher SO price level, where we are talking about guns in excess of £20,000.

The thing that sets them apart from the normal series of Beretta OU guns is the sheer amount of hand workmanship that goes into these guns.

Beretta has a dedicated shop in which the SO is built and finished.

Also slightly different materials are used, particularly in the barrel making side. The barrels are made from Boehler Antinit steel. It has high tensile and impact strength. It is also flexible and has an inherent resistance to corrosion. Be aware though you need to keep an SO clean. They are not chrome lined in the bores and so are not quite as forgiving as the cheaper series guns.

The tubes are cold hammer forged to refine the grain structure of the steel and still further impart strength as the gun is made.

Barrels are made on the monoblock principle as are all Beretta guns. The ribs are soldered in place and the top rib is hand file cut.

Because of the soldering of the ribs, the barrels are blacked in the same way as an English gun with successive coats of solution, rusting, boiling and polishing to achieve a deep lustre blue.
The action frame is made from high quality alloy steel and machined by computerised machinery. These main components are then hand assembled and jointed. This is the only way in which guns of this quality can be built. And if you pick up any gun of this quality something of that hand built feel imparted by the gunmaker will come through to you.

The SO is detonated, that is the action fences are carved and shaped to flow with the lines of the barrels by hand. The parts are then polished ready for the engraver.

Mechanically the SO is a very strongly built gun. The action is locked by a cross bolt at the top of the action frame. This is positioned to bite with the lugs on the barrel monoblock at the axis height of the top barrel to minimise stress when the gun is being shot.

The lock work is quite simple. On the latest SO which go back about 20 years or so, the locks have been simplified to have just 4 pins on the right and 3 left, apart from the tumbler pivot. Guns earlier than this had 4 and 5 pins respectively. As a general rule the more lock pins a SO has then the older it is.
The locks are essentially the same on either side the difference comes in that the forward pin on the right lock acts to brake the mainspring when the gun is fired and make the right lock rebounding. This is so that the striker can retract a little after firing and not drag or jam in the primer as the gun is opened.
Trigger pulls are usually very crisp as could be expected on a sidelock.

SO's can come with either double, single non selective and selective single triggers.

The guns can be made auto safe with the simple addition of a bar between the top lever cam and the safe. The selector for the single trigger is the same as for the series guns with a button in the middle of the safe.

The strikers or firing pins are housed in retaining nipples. These are very strong, and although I have replaced them, I have yet to see one broken. Both strikers are spring loaded.

Cocking is by rods that are located on each side of the action floor. These push lifters that in turn work on the hammers. This and also the ejector work is exactly the same in principle to that used on the series guns.

The ejectors/extractors themselves are housed within the monoblock of the barrels, and are directly powered by coils springs and followers also housed within the monoblock. The ejectors are cocked into postion by the cocking rods and trip themselves as the gun is opened.

The most striking thing about the SO is the level of finish. In preparation for engraving the metal parts of the gun are polished to a high standard. With the SO, the internal parts are also polished to this standard. Both lockwork and action frame, not to mention the trigger plate. The screws or pins that hold and secure the gun together are finished, engraved and finely slotted with great precision.

It goes without saying that the engraving work will be of the highest standard. As a nation, Italy has the best engravers in the world. And some of the best are employed to work on the SO guns depending on the work required. There are many standard patterns, but also the guns may be custom engraved, so every one is individual.

The woodwork is often highly figured, which adds to the attractiveness of the particular gun. Stocks and forends are hand fited to SO's to ensure a high level of wood to metal fit. Then the wood may be oil finished to bring out the beauty of the figure.

Problems to watch for:
Biggest one is to look at the stock. They can be known to crack. This depends on the wood and is also more often seen on selective single triggers. This is because more wood is hollowed out from the centre to accommodate the mechanism.

But it also has a lot to do with how the gun is handled. SO's do not need to be slammed shut. Just close them gently. The quality of the jointing will ensure that the gun will close without undue force.
A couple of times I have seen the tail break off the top lever that cams open the bolt, but this can usually be repaired without problem.

Mainsprings will occasionally break as they are vee type springs, but are easily replaced.
Extractors will also sometimes break, but are easy to replace. And are no more problem than the series guns.

When buying and SO you have to look at it as an individual, they are as different as each team of gunmakers that produced them.

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