Up until a few weeks ago Rich Cole’s stellar career was 100-percent Italian shotguns. Starting in 1979 he joined Beretta USA as a five-dollar-per-hour apprentice gunsmith. The job included extensive time at the mothership in Gardone, Italy learning the finer points of repairing and enhancing Beretta sporting shotguns.

When it comes to sporting guns, balance and performance have a price. The new 12-gauge Beretta SL3 over/under shoulders and swings with the grace of the more expensive Premium Beretta SO series yet at $19,999 delivers a fusion of mechanics and aesthetics in the upland realm so that you might consider it a “baby Beretta SO10,” which starts at nearly $90,000.