This Semi Auto is unusual in that it is manufactured in Northern Spain at the Beretta subsidiary near Vitoria in the Basque region. This plant was established in 1975 and came into Beretta Group’s ownership in 1990. The plant has a capacity to manufacture around 9,000 shotguns per year and employs around 100 people including the commercial employees. Spain is a big market for Beretta, auto’s in particular, so there is a huge sales operation based here that distributes all the Beretta brands including Benelli, Sako, Tikka and Steiner. Like GMK in the UK, they are also distributors for Federal and CCI which are outside the Beretta group of products but compliment them very well.
The plant brings in barrels that are made in the Beretta HQ in Gardone in Italy, the stocks are also sourced through Beretta Italy. The ES100 actions are, however, made in the Spanish plant and the mechanical assembly and proofing are also done here. The Vitoria plant also makes the chokes for the entire Beretta Group which includes Benelli and Franchi, totalling nearly 700,000 per year. It also has a role in the manufacture of certain specialist parts within the group and of certain other, short production run, models.
The ES 100 is a budget priced Beretta Auto that operates on the inertial recoil system. This is unlike the majority of Beretta semi autos which are gas operated. Both systems are well proven and have their advocates and detractors. It is generally accepted that gas operated systems are able to handle light load more quickly than inertia systems which take a period to bed in. The gas systems on the other hand have traditionally required more frequent cleaning.
View the ES 100 HERE
