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There we go, something a bit more familiar for today's consumers, law enforcement and military. As I said, Beretta is an old company, roughly 488 years old, and has been in the hands of the Beretta family ever since the beginning. There are very few firearms manufacturers in the world that can make a similar claim. In fact, Beretta is the oldest actively producing firearms manufacturer in the world today as well as the first manufacturer in Italy.
The company hasn't been in business for so long for nothing. Beretta has built a solid reputation for "uncompromising quality, design, materials, construction and performance" that has become known the world over. I personally own a Beretta 92FS and I can testify for the quality and performance. I will provide a review on my 92 later, but for now let's learn a little more about Fabbrica D'Armi Pietro Beretta.
Maestro de Canne (master gun-barrel maker) Bartolomeo Beretta started it all, handing down the business of designing and building firearms, father to son, for generations. The actual company had been in business since sometime in the 1400's but, the Arsenal of Venice order in 1526 was the first paper order made. The company remained largely unchanged and local until Pietro Antonio Beretta, in the early 1800's, began to travel Italy and make the quality of workmanship that was the Beretta firearm known to the world. Pietro's son, Giuseppe, continued the work of his father, gaining international attention to the small manufacturer in Gardone Valtrompia, Italy.
Pietro Beretta (not the same Pietro Antonio, but his grandson) took over the company in the 1900's and modernized the plant, bringing about new manufacturing methods and patents that helped Beretta remain at the top of the firearms manufacturing industry. Since then, more generations of the Beretta family have taken over control of company. As of today, the company is run by Ugo Gussalli Beretta and his two sons, Franco and Pietro, and it is still one of the most prevalent firearms companies in the world.
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| Left to Right: Franco, Ugo Gussalli, Pietro. Image from Beretta USA website. |
In 1995, Ugo Gussalli and Pietro Beretta formed the parent company, known as Beretta Holdings S.p.A. Since then, the number of subsidiary companies continues to grow with 26 being the current number. You may recognize some of them: Benelli with the US military famous M4 shotgun, Sako Finland with their high-end rifles and Burris, the renowned scope and optics company. You also have Uberti, Tikka, Stoeger, Steiner, Franchi, and Beretta Defense Technologies. If you are like me, you were surprised that all of these companies were under the Beretta banner. If you already knew, dont judge me. Anyhow lol
As for the firearms themselves, Beretta has gained a renown for their weapons. The United States military signed Beretta on in January 2009 with a contract for 450,000 units of their Model 92 series, the largest military order for handguns since World War 2. The 92 series became designated the "M9" and is the primary sidearm for the United States Army, Marines and Air Force to this day.
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| The Beretta M9 in 9mm Parabellum. The PB in the circle next to the engraving stands for Pietro Beretta. |
Beretta is also known widely for their shotguns, such as the A400 semiautomatic sport shotgun used in hunting, competition shooting and home defense. They are also known for their double barrel shotguns, both over-under and side-by-side.
Their real claim to fame, however, is their line of "Premium" firearms. Beretta craftsmanship is some of the most intricate and unique as you will ever find. Every piece is hand crafted by an experienced gunsmith to ensure that the highest level of detail is attained. Once the gun is complete, it will have an entirely unique design on its receiver and the artist will engrave his or her signature to attest to the individual talent that it took to design it. Due to the unique nature of the shotguns, they are very expensive, with the SO10 over-under's MSRP at $90,000 and the Imperiale Monte Carlo side-by-side at $130,000. Some prices may go higher as some of the custom work can include gold and diamond inlays and rare and beautiful wood stocks.
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| A couple examples pulled from the Beretta website. This is what $90,000 buys you. |
Well, that's that. The oldest firearms manufacturer in the world making some of the most beautiful, reliable and expensive guns in the world. We can honestly say that Beretta is worthy of its reputation as Uncompromising when it comes to quality and appearance. The 15th generation of the Beretta family is making the memory of the Maestro Beretta proud.
That concludes my History Lesson of Fabbrica D'Armi Pietro Beretta. Until the next episode, treat every firearm as if it were loaded and check it before you handle it. God Bless our America!
If you need any other information regarding Beretta, visit the websites at http://www.beretta.com/en-us/ or at http://www.berettausa.com/
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