Been away..................................quite a while.

[philpot]

Hello guys, it has been some time since I was on here not because I fell out with the forum but simply because I have been far more involved in vermin shooting with shotgun and rifles, however it came to me the other day that whilst chatting with an old clay shooting friend that on reflection I had been down to John Bidwell's, Highlodge for a few days in Oct 21 and one visit to Cockets Shooting ground in the Dukeries and that is all for about 2.5 years.

You sometimes just get out of the habit of doing something and I suppose being a retired ole fart living on a pension, the costs of gas, electric and petrol have hit all time highs, I admit to finding it hard BUT we have decided to downsize so the cottage is up for sale and free up some cash ................................................................... NEW GUN me thinks and kick start clay busting again for both myself and my wife.

Not sure if I am to get a second CG or lash out and buy a Perazzi or go back to Beretta with a DT10 / 11, well that will depend on how much is left in the pocket after the cottage is sold or if it gets sold.  I have heard some good things about the Beretta 694, are they any good, I know they are not a DT11 or Perazzi but at 71, I am not going to start comp shooting again, too expensive so a certain degree of common sense will have to be applied which is not something that happens too often in an rfd with a selection of guns on the table. 

Slight change of subject, is 'Clay Shooting' magazine out of production as I have not found any shops selling them and I also heard that WH Smiths were stopping selling all shooting magazines WTF...............       What mags are out there for clay busters now apart from the free mags that you can get from various shops and grounds, I think that one is called 'Clay Shooter'.

Anyway, it's nice to be back and I wish you lot a Happy New Year (better late than never.)

Phil

 

[Will Hewland]

I fancied a DT11 but just couldn’t quite see what I was getting for the huge price jump over a 694. Very happy with the 694 and great value. 

 

[Freddypip]

My 694 is working very well. Like Will I could not justify the price for a DT11.

I have - for me - found 4 faults with the 694 - which can be easily fixed.

• The stock is wide so it needs extra cast - this made a big difference for me.
  
• The horrible white foresight - a brass one sorted that.
  
• The trigger is neutral - get a canted (left or right) trigger fitted.
  
• The chequering on the stock needs extending - there's not enough and it's not all in the right place. I bit of DIY fixed that for me - its not pretty (or that bad) but it very much does the job.
  

I'm also going to say the barrel fit on mine is not perfect - I have seen better. It one of the 31 inch Ltd Ed models however and as as a lefty there was very limited supply. It works just fine and the gun feels much more solid and planted than my 686E. Please also be aware that the 694 is not a light gun - I notice it at the end of shooting 150 over a couple of hours or 300 in a day whereas the 686 was easier on the arms and shoulders. In short I know its me missing and not the gun.

 

[Will Hewland]

I haven’t noticed anything wrong about trigger or chequering for me personally. The one thing I would improve is that the forend rattles a bit, like it’s not locked in tight. My mates one is the same. I have an adjustable comb, which I do have shoved over a long way for cast-off. 

 

[jasper]

My dt11 is ace . I shoot well with it and it's never missed a beat. Caveat the blue stripe is carp. The 694 was not available  when I got mine. 

Very happy with my choice . And as it was a pre loved purchase it seems to be holding up well price wise too. 

Jasper. 

 

[mpmilo]

My 694 trigger and chequering are fine for me, I find my forend can have a tiny rattle if i have put a few through it, All the T15 screws are tight and i dont want to overtighten them as i have heard a few forends splitting.  Mainly abroad from what i can gather. { Heat /Humidity ? }

I have a left handed ,Adjustable comb 32" which weighs in at 8.5lb which is perfect for me.

The comb is quite thick and i did have it over a long way when i first set the gun, i found for gun down it wasnt mounting perfectly. So i have removed the 23mm pad and replaced with a 13mm, which mounts a lot better and has bought me further down the comb which is now only kicked over 1mm.

I was set on a DT11 black ,but found the sight picture a bit bulky in the action. Although if i was 20 years younger and still shooting right handed i would have snapped one up'

 

[philpot]

Thanks for the responses, very informative. I may well sell my 30''CG and go for 2 x 694, trap and sporting as I would like to do some OT and a dedicated trap gun would be better although I have used my old DT10 32'' and my current 30'' CG. The jury is out on this at present but there is no rush.

What about the magazine guys, is it no longer available.

Phil

 

[Mike]

Sporting Gun took Clay Shooting over I believe.

 

[philpot]

Sporting Gun took Clay Shooting over I believe.

Oh hell, that is a great pity.

 

[Jonny English]

I haven’t noticed anything wrong about trigger or chequering for me personally. The one thing I would improve is that the forend rattles a bit, like it’s not locked in tight. My mates one is the same. I have an adjustable comb, which I do have shoved over a long way for cast-off. 

My father has a 694 and the forend is loose/ rattles on his as well. Thought it was perculiar just to his, but looks like more of a common problem. Other than that his is a great gun, loves the stock dimensions on it.

 

[philpot]

Looking at the various youtube vids, there is no mention of the forend issues in fact there is supposed to be a new system for keeping the whole thing tight.

 

[jasper]

We had two 682 gold e both had loose forends continuously.  So seems like this problem won't go away. 

No such probs on dt11 to date. 

Jasper. 

 

[ColinD]

Very happy with my CG Invictus Allsport 32''

But you do need to try before you buy, everybody's own gun is the bee's knees when people ask  

 

[Scotty]

Another vote of confidence in the 694. And happy to say my forend doesn't rattle at all.

However, my complaint is on cleaning the barrels. The long forcing cones seem to hang on to crud much more than I'd like. It is possible to get the barrels back to a mirror finish inside, but it takes a fair bit of effort. "Clean enough" is fairly easy to get to, so it's not a complete nightmare, but to get them spotless is a bit.

And not a complaint, but the ejectors come out in a weird way and it took me AGES to find out how!

 

[Richard59]

Tuppence worth, all own personal experience and by no means similar/ same as anyone else’s, we are all shapes and sizes after all.

Had a DT10 sadly we didn’t get on, very much more my poor choice than the gun itself. MX2000S, had a long term hankering for one and kept for 5 years in which I shot it a lot, yes had good days and yes some not so, I very much appreciated it more as a gunmakers work of art ( very nice it was ) than an out and out clay smashing tool, will probably regret moving it on as she was a thing of beauty. Have recently tried numerous DT11s and a couple of 694s the former, even in my clumbersome mitts is a well built workhorse the latter I felt a bit wanting so much so that I won’t try another.

As per others, suggest you try as many of each gun as is possible, Ive been surprised how different two “identical” guns actually feel when in one’s hands. Good luck and enjoy the process / shopping

 

[Westward]

However, my complaint is on cleaning the barrels. The long forcing cones seem to hang on to crud much more than I'd like. It is possible to get the barrels back to a mirror finish inside, but it takes a fair bit of effort.

You're not the first to find out how difficult it is to clean the cones on Optima barrels. I had a Prevail for 5 years and never succeeded properly. When I took it to the dealer to trade it in I spent 4 hours failing to get the bores to a perfect finish.

OTOH my CG takes less than 10 minutes.

 

[Scotty]

Yeah, I've head that from a few guys on here. It's a bit mad thinking that one would be harder to clean than another.

I mean, what could it be? The geometry can't be that much of a factor. Is the thickness of the chrome enough? Perhaps the surface finish isn't as mirrored as it looks?

It's a pain either way. BUT not enough to make me want to shoot it any less. I LOVE my 694.

 

[Westward]

The finish in the bores of my CG was noticeably more glossy than any of my Berettas.

 

[mpmilo]

 I dont seem to have a problem with my 694 barrels, i do ensure any cartridges i use have been against a radiator or other heat source the night before i shoot. This came up last week when shooting and my mate was commenting how dirty his 694 barrels were, we use the same Fiocchi carts, all his cartridges are stored outside in an unheated building. 

The other thing i do is when i get back to the car is run a cheap copy of a Paradox cleaning rod through the barrels, this seems to remove any streaking. Warm barrels seem to have the best result.