04-Aug-2026
Ask a serious clay shooter or game gun collector to name the finest shotguns Beretta has ever built, and the SO series will come up within the first breath. The SO5 in particular occupies a special place: a true hand-built sidelock over-and-under from the world’s oldest gunmaker, offering craftsmanship in the territory of London’s great names at a price that, while serious, remains within reach of dedicated shooters. Searches for the SO5 have been rising steadily on Rightgun.uk, so here’s a proper look at what makes this gun special and what UK buyers should know.
The SO series: Beretta’s hand-made heritage
While Beretta is best known in the UK for volume-produced guns like the 686 Silver Pigeon and the competition-dominating DT10 and DT11, the SO line is something else entirely. Dating back to the 1930s, SO guns are built in Beretta’s premium workshop, where a small number of craftsmen produce sidelock over-and-unders largely by hand, filing, fitting, regulating and engraving in the old way. Production numbers are a tiny fraction of the standard lines, and waiting lists for new guns are measured in years, which is precisely why the second-hand market matters so much to SO5 buyers.
The SO5 sits in the upper reaches of the series, above the earlier SO3 and SO4, and below only the exhibition-grade SO6 and SO10. It was conceived with competition in mind, trap, skeet and sporting variants were all offered, but plenty of SO5s have spent their lives on game, and the gun wears either role beautifully.
Sidelock vs Boxlock: Why it matters
Most over-and-unders, including nearly every clay gun you’ll see on a Saturday morning, are boxlocks or trigger-plate designs. A sidelock carries its locks on removable side plates, in the manner of the great London side-by-sides. The practical advantages are a longer, often finer trigger pull geometry, intercepting safety sears on quality guns, and easy access to the locks for maintenance. The aesthetic advantages are obvious: those broad plates give the engraver a canvas, and SO-series engraving, from restrained scroll to deep game scenes, is some of the finest work to leave Italy.
It’s the same fundamental architecture that puts guns from Holland & Holland and Purdey at the top of the side-by-side world, which is why the SO5 is often described as the thinking shooter’s route into true sidelock ownership.
What an SO5 is like to shoot
An SO5 handles like what it is: a hand-regulated competition gun. Barrels are typically fitted with the care you’d expect at this level, the action is glass-smooth, and trigger pulls are crisp in a way volume guns rarely match. Balance varies with configuration, trap guns run heavier and flatter-shooting, sporting and game configurations livelier, so it pays to handle the individual gun rather than buying on model name alone. Many SO5s carry detachable sidelocks (the “EELL”-style refinement of hand-detachable plates on certain examples), adjustable trigger blades and stock dimensions cut for their original owner, so check fit carefully or budget for stock work.
If you shoot a 682 or DT-series gun today, the SO5 will feel familiar in pointability but noticeably more refined in lockwork and finish. It is, in the best sense, a gun you buy once.
Buying a used SO5 in the UK
SO5s appear on the UK market in modest numbers, usually through specialist dealers and marketplaces rather than general racks. When one comes up, here’s what matters. Condition and originality first: original stock dimensions, unmolested engraving, and matching serial numbers on barrels and forend. Bore condition and wall thickness should be checked by a gunsmith on any gun of this value, and proof marks confirmed, many SO5s are 70mm-chambered competition guns, so check chamber length against the loads you intend to shoot. Ask about service history; a sidelock deserves periodic attention from someone who knows the type. Finally, cased guns with original paperwork, chokes and accessories command a meaningful premium and are easier to sell on.
Prices vary widely with grade, engraving, condition and provenance, from the price of a new DT11 to multiples of it for exceptional examples , so comparing several listings before committing is the sensible route.
Is the SO5 right for you?
The SO5 makes sense for three kinds of buyer. The competition shooter who wants a gun of genuine distinction that can still win on Sunday. The game shot who loves over-and-unders but wants London-grade craftsmanship without a London price. And the collector, for whom the SO series represents Beretta’s finest work in the modern era, with rarity on its side. If your priority is purely scores-per-pound, a DT11 or 682 remains the rational choice, but nobody ever bought a sidelock purely on rational grounds, and that’s rather the point.
FAQ
How many Beretta SO5s were made? Beretta has never published detailed figures, but SO-series production is hand-built in small numbers, a tiny fraction of the company’s standard output, which is why examples come to market relatively rarely in the UK.
Is the Beretta SO5 a sidelock or a boxlock? A true sidelock, the locks are mounted on side plates rather than in the action body, in the tradition of the finest London guns. This distinguishes it from Beretta’s 68x and DT series, which are not sidelocks.
What’s the difference between the SO5 and SO6? Both are hand-built sidelocks; the SO6 sits above the SO5 with more elaborate finishing and engraving options, and the SO6 EELL above that again. Mechanically, they share the same core design philosophy.
Is an SO5 suitable for game shooting as well as clays? Yes. Although many SO5s were configured for trap, skeet or sporting, game configurations exist and competition guns can suit driven days well, check weight, barrel length, chokes and chamber length against your intended use.
Find a Beretta SO5 on Rightgun.uk
Beretta SO5s and other premium sidelocks appear regularly among the Beretta shotguns for sale on Rightgun.uk, including dedicated SO5 listings when examples come to market. Browse current listings, compare grades and prices, and if you have an SO5 to sell, list it in front of the UK’s most engaged shooting audience on Rightgun.uk.
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