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The new Bettinsoli Diamondline is nicely balanced, shoots well and looks good.
By Jason Harris
Monday, 23 March 2009
Bettinsoli Diamondline shotgun: Entry-level Bettinsoli shotguns used to be seen as cheap, cheerful knockabout guns of plain design and plain looks.
Bettinsoli Diamondline shotgun: But that's now changed. The Italian makers decided some time back that if they were to stay competitive they needed to redesign their guns and invest heavily in computerised machine tooling. It was a wise move.
Compare today's 'entry-level' Bettinsoli Diamondline against its predecessors and you will immediately see how far things have improved.
In fact the turn-around is quite amazing - the new guns are extremely well finished, well built and reliable.
Just as important, they're still as highly affordable as they ever were in their class.
Thanks to the redesign the weight of the gun is approximately 7lb 10oz which makes it heavy enough for clay shooting but light enough to take into the field too.
The gun I've been playing with is the 30in version but a 28in option is available if you prefer something shorter; both are chambered for 3in (75mm) chambers, proofed for special steel shot and fitted with a 10mm ventilated top rib.
The side ribs have also been ventilated to maximise cooling and keep weight in check.
The mechanism on this gun follows a fairly traditional pattern with hammers pivoting from the trigger plate and the sears suspended from above. Both hammer springs are held captive on guide rods to ensure they rebound and prevent the firing pin dragging on the primer when the gun is opened after firing.
The gun is supplied ex-factory with a manual safe system, but can be converted by a gunsmith to auto-safe if preferred.
As you'd expect this Sporter has been fitted with a single trigger that selects first barrel by the movement of the safety catch through a gate.
Selection of the second barrel is made through inertia from the first shot being fired.
As you can see from the pictures the action frame has been given an almost full covering of game scene engraving incorporating pheasant, duck and woodcock along with a gold line that winds part way around the pattern.
The rest of the engraving is done in bold scroll. The action frame and all furniture have been treated to a silver finish and the top lever has been pierced for decoration.
Considering the cost of this gun it's good to see that the makers have chosen to stock it with good quality piece of wood that also carries a reasonable amount of figure.
Stock length is 14½in (which includes a ½in recoil pad). This is a little to short for most but other sizes of pad can be bought to fine tune the stock length if required.
There are three variants available - two of which come supplied with the gun.
Drops at comb and heel are 1½in and 2¼in respectively and the stock has been given a slight right hand cast at heel.
Each gun comes in a useful ABS gun case with five chokes and an extra recoil pad to adjust length of pull. There is also a small screwdriver to change the pad.
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