Beretta passed its 500th anniversary on Saturday 3 October, and for the UK trade the date is less a milestone than the midpoint of a selling year: GMK’s two 500 Years limited editions are on the counter, the maker’s buyer medal has a collection window opening in the shops from mid-October, and the distributor has already staged its anniversary hospitality for the industry at Ragley Hall. The anniversary marks the day in 1526 on which the Arsenal of the Republic of Venice paid Bartolomeo Beretta of Gardone Val Trompia 296 ducats for 185 arquebus barrels.

What does the 500 Years medal mean at the counter?

The scheme that touches every retailer is the commemorative medal. In the markets where it runs, a customer who buys a new Beretta in 2026 and registers its warranty is offered a 500 Years medal, and the medal is collected from the shop that sold the gun, on production of Beretta’s confirmation email carrying the serial number. Second-hand guns and anything bought before 2026 are excluded, and the offer runs while stocks last.

Collection is batched two to three months behind registration: guns registered between July and September are collected from mid-October, and those registered in the last quarter from mid-January 2027. That puts a run of medal collections through the counter in the weeks either side of the game season’s peak, and dealers will want their own records of which registered customers have yet to collect.

The limited editions GMK is carrying

Beretta’s programme, announced in December, runs to ten one-off guns and seven limited and special editions. GMK, Beretta’s exclusive UK distributor, lists two. The 687 Silver Pigeon 500 Years is built as 1,526 field guns, in 28in and 30in, and 1,526 sporting guns, in 28in, 30in and 32in, all 12-bore on grade 3 walnut, with laser floral engraving carrying gold detail, a gold 500 Years logo under the action and a dedicated serial number. The BRX1 500 Years is a worldwide run of 1,526 straight-pull rifles in .308 Winchester, .30-06 Springfield and .300 Winchester Magnum, with a 22.5in Cerakote barrel, a hand-polished nickel-plated receiver engraved with a wild boar and a bellowing deer, and an Extragrain stock.

The run number is the founding year, and the maker’s own pitch for the 687 edition rests on the 680 platform’s installed base, which it puts at more than one million hunters and shooters worldwide. Beretta has also marked the year with a five-euro coin from the Italian state mint, a Poste Italiane stamp series, a Garmin MARQ Commander watch limited to 500, Oakley sunglasses and a Santoni boot, and a book, Beretta: 500 Years of the World’s Finest Sporting Life.

Why did GMK take the celebration to Ragley Hall?

GMK hosted the UK leg of the anniversary with a gala dinner at Ragley Hall in Warwickshire during The Game Fair in July, alongside Lord Hertford, with guests from the United States, Norway and across Europe, trade partners, the Olympic medallists Nathan Hales and Amber Rutter, and Carlo Gussalli Beretta of the family’s 16th generation giving the keynote. Cannons were fired on the steps and the evening closed with a string quartet by the light of 3,500 candles.

Carlo Gussalli Beretta said: “The UK market holds a uniquely cherished place in Beretta’s history, built on shared traditions and deep friendships. Tonight was not only about honouring our past, but paying tribute to key figures like Bjorn, whose passion forever shaped our competition heritage, and looking forward to the next century of innovation.” GMK’s managing director Ali Angus said bringing “international guests, Olympic champions and the Beretta family” together was “a once-in-a-lifetime honour”.

The family still at the helm

The ownership question that hangs over most 500-year-old names does not arise here. Pietro Gussalli Beretta is president and chief executive of Beretta Holding, and Franco Gussalli Beretta is president of Fabbrica d’Armi Pietro Beretta, the gunmaking company; both are of the 15th generation. “From that moment on, there has always been a member of our family guiding the company,” the two said when the programme was announced.

What happens next

The first medal collection window, for guns registered between July and September, opens in the shops from mid-October; dealers who have sold registered 2026 Berettas should expect customers with confirmation emails from then. The anniversary programme runs to the end of 2026, and the next British Shooting Show, where GMK exhibited in 2026, runs from 12 to 14 February 2027 at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in Birmingham.

Useful links

Beretta 500 Years medal – the scheme’s terms, exclusions and collection windows

Beretta – the maker’s 500 Years page, with the anniversary message and the collaborations

GMK – the 687 Silver Pigeon 500 Years, the distributor’s listing

Frequently asked questions

How does a customer claim the Beretta 500 Years medal?

By buying a new Beretta in 2026, registering its warranty and collecting the medal from the shop that sold the gun with Beretta’s confirmation email and the serial number, in the markets where the scheme runs and while stocks last.

How many Beretta 687 500 Years guns are there?

1,526 field guns and 1,526 sporting guns worldwide, all 12-bore, each with a dedicated serial number. The run matches the founding year.

When is Beretta’s 500th anniversary?

3 October 2026, 500 years after the Arsenal of the Republic of Venice paid Bartolomeo Beretta 296 ducats for 185 arquebus barrels on 3 October 1526.

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