Bettinsoli reliability

[billgatese30]

Out of interest how tall are you Ovenpaa (if you don't mind me asking of course), I'm about 5'11" with longish arms and I'm struggling to find a Miroku which feels long enough, they leave me feeling all hunched up with my right hand too close to my face.

[Primer]

I've got a bettinsoli diamond and have had it for about a year and have mixed feelings over it, it is supposed to be the early ones that had all the issues you read about on the net.

To be honest I got shafted by the dealer who came well recommended, I was nieve and looking for my first gun and was sold what they said was a year or so old gun that had only had 100 shots through it and the dealer said it fitted me perfectly, I tested it at the ground and it felt ok so put a deposit on it as they were going to get some 20g in that my wife wanted to try and said we would do a cash deal for the 2 but 3 weeks passed and still no 20g in (intact they have never bothered to contact us) , so I picked mine up, that's when the problems started, they had not even bothered to clean it which annoyed me, they also told me it had the balance of the original warranty on it so I contacted the official UK importers to register with them but they had no record of the gun coming through them so could not offer any warranty, they did say a lot have made it into the UK via Irish dealers, so I contacted bettinsoli direct and about 4 weeks later had a response that confirmed they had supplied to an Irish dealer and that it was done so in 2008, so my gun was intact 4 years old and not about a year as the dealer said ( I had nothing in writing unfortunately from the dealer) .

If you do look at a 2nd hand betty record the serial number and contact the importers (ruag I think) to check the history before purchase.

Anyway back to the gun. I had used it for a few weeks without too much bother apart from a few failures to fire the 2nd barrel but also an instructor at my shooting ground said it looked a bit short in the stock for me and suggested I had the gun fitted to me, so I duly went to his recommended gunsmith and found the stock was about 2 1/2 inches short for me (im 6ft 3) and had him extend the stock, since then it has been more comfortable to shoot but I did get more failures to fire the 2nd barrel but that seemed to be more me not releasing the trigger enough after the 1st shot due to the gun now being longer, that has now stopped but now it has developed a tendency to double discharge after about 50 shots and will do so frequently when the gun is hot ( after talking to my local dealer this is also a problem on some high end perazzi guns too) .

Would I buy another, NO. At the time this fitted into my budget but I now wish I had waited and brought a berreta as I never had any of these problems when using the club guns. Not sure its even worth selling the gun with the hit I would take due to its real age and the money spent on gunfittingand I'm reluctant to spend anymore on it to see if anything can be done with the double discharge problem.

Sorry for being long winded but this is my experience

[billgatese30]

Sorry for being long winded but this is my experience

No problem being long winded, that is exactly the feedback I am looking for to be honest, thank you for sharing. Its a shame to hear you got shafted by your original dealer, and as you say, I'd rather by the right gun first time around rather than have to then pay another 20% of its value to get it to fit me better at a later date. Obviously if it was a £6k gun then £50-100 to get it fitted is nothing, but on a £500 gun I'd rather look for one that fits off the shelf if I can. I've been to a few shops now (all with good reputations) and they all seem to be recommending the correct fit (i.e. when I feel the gun comes up short in the stock they aren't telling me it fits etc) and it seems pretty consistent from shop to shop which is encouraging.

I might fly an email to RUAG and ask their advice RE: serial numbers to be wary of when it comes to the guns with reliability issues, although I may plumb for something else (Lanber/Miroku etc) to avoid the risk.

Thanks again for the input everyone. :cheers:

[Polchraine]

The Bettinsoli should be within your budget for the Diamond Line - £650 ish for a new one and there will be some negotiation room.

There is a 3 year warranty from new.

They make several butt pads to effectively lengthen the stock - I fitted the largest and maybe it needs another 1/8" but I am 6' 3" with fairly long arms.


In the end - it is down to how it fits.


The CLA Game Fair is the best place to do the comparisons - but with the cancellation you will need to visit several dealers and try the same guns in each and see what they all say.

[Scotsgun]

....... I now wish I had waited and brought a berreta as I never had any of these problems when using the club guns.

Don't assume that buying even a new Berreta will result in a trouble free future. I have an immaculate Silver Pigeon, bought from new that i swear is bloody cursed!

[Primer]

I think the gun cost me £600 but the intention was to get a discount for buying 2 but they failed to getany 20g in and the gunfitting cost me £150 due to the work needed. I brought the wife a New Lincoln 20g from a different dealer and that hasn't missed a beat.

At least I know what to look for on gunfit now so when I get my next one my eyes will be more open.

[carlsenior]

I've got a diamond X which I bought second hand (immaculate condition) around a year ago, I must say this gun has been faultless on clays and the quality is brilliant! i'd get another one no problem at all