I have coveted these guns for a long time. Especially the A-10. Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. But.....I don't see many on the sporting circuit. How well do they hold up under repeated use?

Any personal experience out there?

Best to you all............TWL.

Can't say I have personal experience with the A-10, but good friend that shoots with me at local skeet/trap club has one and shoots it on a regular basis. I have shot it numerous times and it is a beautiful shotgun. Can't recall him having any problems with it and he normally puts 3-500rnds/wk. through it. He spent quite a bit of money to upgrade the wood on it and really is well done. He shoots "low gun" and had the butt stock fitted to him and a bit awkward for me, but shoots fine. The gun is equal to if not above the various K and P guns seen at the club, but that is just my opinion.
He feels sorry for me for I shoot mostly trap and use a lowly Win. Mod. 12 Trap. My father used it for years, I am now 72 and shoot it on a regular basis and if his A-10 lasts that long, it is a fine shotgun.

Its hard to ignore the similarities between the A-10 and a Beretta S0 series concerning the locks. In fact The only major difference I can find is on the lockup, when looking at the barrels the A-10 looks to use something similar to the Beretta 686 system, which of course is a proven design.

I wouldn't rate the 686 lockup as better than a Krieghoff, Beretta SO/DT/ASE(Kersten), or Perazzi from a design standpoint, on the flipside the 686 is very easy to rebuild.

Its speculation on my part, but it wouldn't surprise me if there is some affiliation there.

Id love to have one, but alas they wont offer it in barreled action only. The A-10 is the best deal going for a true sidelock o/u. You can find used SO3 or S2/S3 guns in the same price point with the better lockup but they will be older guns with shorter barrels and fixed chokes.