Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Introductions by Beretta

(by Matt Rutherford - contributor)

For my first post on Beretta.com, I thought about introducing myself, telling everyone about my fantastic life shooting Sporting Clays in the UK. As I pondered how to start, I began thinking of all the fantastic people I have met since starting shooting just two years ago. For the first few months, I used my friends Beretta 682 Gold. We went to a monthly club in a farmer’s field, about ten or twelve guys shooting 50 targets from manual traps. I came last at first, but more importantly I was making friends. These guys are my monthly anchor, as my shooting develops, I am still coming back to see them. Every month without fail, we meet in the farmers field, drink some coffee (or something stronger at Christmas) and shoot those 50 targets again.

After a while I bought my gun, a Beretta 686 E Sporter and started getting out to more shoots, with harder targets and more experienced shooters. At the same time, I started my website, to capture all the information I was hungrily learning about Sporting Clays, I started to meet shooters from further afield, right across the UK and beyond. I went to the Beretta World Sporting Championship in the UK in July and shot with people I hadn’t met before, learning about the kind of targets presented in competition and watching hundreds of Beretta owners tackling a challenging shoot.

So, my shooting is improving, but so is my social life. I’ve made new friends, started my own website and travelled further to shoot with more people. All down to buying my Beretta. My 686 E has taken me places I couldn’t imagine. As I look forward to I can see more out there – more meet-ups from the people on my website, more competitions to shoot and hopefully, continued progress up the classifications.

Thanks Beretta.

Friday, October 21, 2011

A day at the range

From time to time, we receive questions about how we come up with some of our videos. Today, for example, we went to the Prince George's County Trap and Skeet facility to shoot some footage of Brian operating the A400 semiauto and Silver Pigeon over and under.

Our followers on Twitter and Facebook asked us to explain why Beretta is known as one of the best over and under products on the market. So, we decided to go to the range and shoot some video footage about it.

You could not have asked for a better day: the sun was not too bright, the temperature not too hot, and the clouds were just enough to give our video footage the perfect light. We first shot some footage indoor, with Brian presenting an overview of the Silver Pigeon and the entire line of Beretta over and unders.

We then moved out to Station 12 to shoot footage of Brian smoking targets left and right. I have to admit he's a pretty talented shot.

Even I got to do some shooting. What impressed me the most was exactly what Brian said about our over and unders: they really have a low profile, and allow for very instinctive shooting!

In addition to the Silver Pigeon I, we also shot the A400 Xcel and Xtreme.

I have to admit: I am having a hard time deciding which one is better. The Silver Pigeon certainly has the traditional, high-level lines that I think of when I think of quail hunting. The A400 series, however, has virtually no recoil, which is obviously important when you're firing hundreds of rounds or three and a half inch cartridges.

Here's the good news. I don't really have to choose! Come next week, when Brian and I go back to Prince George's County trap and skeet to shoot more video footage, I'll be able to use any one of these guns once again.

Life at the Beretta doesn't get any better than this!

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Beretta and the Boy Scouts of America

This weekend, we traveled across the country, to San Jose, California, to participate in the 2nd Annual Silicon Valley Sporting Clays for Scouting event, where Beretta was the title sponsor.

The proceeds of the event will help over 16,000 Boy Scouts in the local area.

The Sporting clays event was held at Coyote Valley Sporting Clays in Morgan Hill, CA.

Beretta donated 30 guns for the event for prizes, auction, and shooting samples for the stations all to help raise money for scouting!
On the evening of October 14, we attended a raffle, silent auction, and standard auction to raise money for scouting.

The following day we had the main event, with teams squaring off to bring home a piece of the over $20,000 in prizes and giveaways. Over 140 shooters were in attendance.
Many teams showed up with their own guns and I am proud to say most of them were Berettas!
10 stations--6 shots per station for 60 targets total.

Beretta sample guns were located at each station so that the participants had a chance to shoot the entire line of shotgun offerings from Beretta, including our A400Xtreme, Xplor and Xcel.

Some of the most sought-after guns, however, were our Silver Pigeon over and unders.

Many positive comments were made about the multitude of offerings, the natural swing and balance of the guns, and the legendary Beretta performance.

The course was challenging, with a multitude of target presentations--singles, following pairs, and true pairs at each station.

Everyone had a wonderful time. Many personal best scores were shot (with Beretta shotguns, no doubt) and everyone was a winner, at the end of the day (some were just more winners than others!)

We are excited to think about the fact that, thanks to the success of this event, which had a record turnout, and the generous donation from Beretta, the Boy Scouts will certainly have another successful year in their mission to introduce the youth of the area to the wonderful character-building programs offered by the Boy Scouts of America.

Friday, October 14, 2011

The voice is (sometimes) mightier than the sword

How about a multimediatic post for Friday?
Here's a rundown of our most recent podcasts, on Beretta Talk.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Friday, October 7, 2011

A Beretta Law Enforcement Day

On September 27, Beretta sponsored a demonstration day at Fresno Police Department, Fresno, CA. The event saw almost 100 officers from a dozen different agencies step up to the line to test fire the entire line of Beretta Law Enforcement products, including the line of Px4 pistols, the Benelli M4, the Cx4 carbine, Sako and Tikka products.
The FPD range is a state-of-the-art facility that proved to be an excellent venue for the event, with a large handgun, carbine, and shotgun area, and a long distance shooting range for the long rifles.
The shooting range was broken up into three functional areas with a representation of the full-size Px4 family, along with compact and subcompact models, the 96A1, the special duty .45ACP for demonstration/use, and the Cx4 carbines.
The shotgun venue featured the M4, M2, and the Nova pump shotguns.
The last venue, the long rifle, featured Tikka T3 and Sako TRG rifles for use in the long range.
The event was sponsored by Beretta, while our host, Fresno PD, provided  breakfast snacks, drinks and lunch.
The event was a great success, with much attention going to the Cx4 carbine. Some of the attendees admitted to not knowing about the depth of the Beretta line as a total solution package for Law Enforcement agencies.
The TRG 22 and the Tikka T3 received very good feedback and the officers were impressed with the weight of the weapon compared to what they normally carry for a sniper rifle.
We look forward to our upcoming Law Enforcement events!
To view the complete album of images from this event, visit our Facebook page.