Steel proofed SxS shotguns?

[Dunwaters]

I didn't know Berretta make any nice guns....they all feel aweful to me

I suppose that depends on what you’re looking for, their upper end guns are very very good, their standard guns aren’t half bad.
Ive had a couple.
Latest acquisition is an old EELL sporter, a very pretty gun, its not for walking about with, but with 2 sets of barrels it does nicely for clays and the odd driven day.


If the chance up came to get a SBS of similar quality I’d happily trample over women, children, dogs and the undeserving to make it mine.

 

[Len the dog]

I suppose that depends on what you’re looking for, their upper end guns are very very good, their standard guns aren’t half bad.
Ive had a couple.
Latest acquisition is an old EELL sporter, a very pretty gun, its not for walking about with, but with 2 sets of barrels it does nicely for clays and the odd driven day.
View attachment 334253View attachment 334254

If the chance up came to get a SBS of similar quality I’d happily trample over women, children, dogs and the undeserving to make it mine.

I don’t say this to many men, but nice wood you have there.

 

[enfieldspares]

One last word! If you are long necked, wide shouldered, slim as a beanpole or fat of face that many a modern SBS has a stock bolt and there will be a limited capability to bend or cast the stock. If you are Mr Average worry not. But if you aren't take time when choosing.

 

[dpaterson]

Anyone got any recommendations for steel proofed SxS shotguns to look into?

I have a SxS that I love but it’s not steel proofed and by the looks of it it’s going to become an ornament or an occasional bismuth shoot jobby in the next 5-6 years (thank you very much HSE…) so I figure I might as well get ahead of the curve with a decent steel proofed SxS to replace it.

Budget probably £2k max, would be great if it had the looks as well

Any good recommendations to look into?

Beretta, RFM or Rizzini.
One of the three will fit your budget and taste and all are well made.

 

[dlb8]

As others have said, big difference between superior steel proof and standard steel proof. Every gun nitro proofed (or reproofed) since 1954 has effectively been proofed for standard steel (Proof is pressure related, not shot material related). Steel is lighter so has to be driven faster in a high performance cartridge package, meaning higher pressure than standard steel (with standard steel being equivalent to the pressure for lead shot). If in good condition (well in proof from a bore measurement perspective and with good barrel wall thicknesses) then open your gun’s chokes (if tighter than half) and keep your current gun. It will shoot standard steel perfectly well. If you want to shoot high performance steel (only really relevant for very high birds or very long wildfowling shots) then you really will need a gun much heavier than a standard game weight O/U if you want to be comfortable. I mainly shoot high performance steel through a semi auto. I shoot standard steel at normal ranges very happily through a variety of vintage guns (including one with Damascus barrels, which the proof house advises against but in my experience is fine if the gun is in good condition). Steel shot will score the bores on even a gun that has been proofed for superior steel if the cartridge wad fails to cup the shot. However, the proof house is only concerned with barrels remaining intact (I.e not bursting) due to higher pressures. Scored bores aren’t dangerous. There’s a lot of misunderstanding about steel shot and the need to buy new guns at the moment. New high performance steel proofed guns are made in exactly the same way as guns have been made for the last few decades - with barrel walls 35 thou thick. The only difference with a new gun that has been superior steel proofed is that it has been ‘proven’ to take a shot pressure much higher than they were previously tested for when new as the ammunition pressure has changed.

 

[Smellydog]

with barrel walls 35 thou thick

Think you will find most modern barrels are thicker than that especially by the breech.
Is that a minimum you are referring to?