NAPLES, Fla. — Most dealer awards measure sales volume. This one measures something harder to quantify. Cole Fine Guns and Gunsmithing has been named the No. 1 Beretta Premium Dealer Worldwide, a distinction the company has now earned seven times since 2018. The award recognizes expertise in Beretta shotguns, premium custom services and customer service, and in Cole’s case, it carries a backstory that predates the business itself by six years.
In 1979, Rich Cole began an apprenticeship with Beretta, splitting time between the company’s Accokeek, Maryland, facility and its historic headquarters in Gardone Val Trompia, Italy. The northern Italian town in the province of Brescia has been the center of Beretta’s operations since the company’s founding in the 16th century, and the gunsmithing traditions there run deep. Cole spent several years absorbing the precision and artistry behind premium Italian shotguns before striking out on his own. In 1985, he established Cole Fine Guns and Gunsmithing in Harpswell, Maine. The business has since expanded to locations in Naples, Florida, and San Antonio, Texas.
“We are honored to be named the #1 Beretta Premium Dealer Worldwide,” Cole said. “Beretta has had a lasting impact on my passion for gunsmithing, and the standards that we hold our work to today. This recognition reflects the dedication of our team and the trust our customers place in us.”
What separates Cole Fine Guns from a typical dealer is the integration of gunsmithing into the retail transaction. Rather than selling a shotgun and directing the buyer elsewhere for modifications, Cole’s team bundles custom services and upgrades into the purchase price on many Beretta models. The approach is visible in guns like the A400 Xcel Cole Pro, the DT11 and SL2 with custom stocks and the 688 with upgraded wood, where factory-standard shotguns are enhanced with Cole’s fitting and finishing work before they leave the shop. The result is a gun that arrives in the buyer’s hands closer to a finished custom piece than a stock production model.
Cole Fine Guns is also an authorized Beretta warranty service center, one of only five in the United States. That factory authorization means the shop handles warranty repairs and service with direct access to Beretta’s parts pipeline and technical documentation. Cole has built a team of experienced technicians around that capability, training his gunsmiths in the same European shotgun traditions he learned in Gardone Val Trompia more than four decades ago.
For more information on Cole Fine Guns and Gunsmithing, including available inventory and custom services, head to colegun.com.
