I've dug a little more regarding the GR-3/Empire connection.
Unsubstantiated internet banter indicates Beretta made the GR-3 starting in 1968. Apparently Roman numeral proofmarks specified the year... XXIV = 1968; XXV = 69; etc. As shown below, my Italian Daly shows the mark XXIII which could be construed to have been struck in 1967. Does this mean my gun is a "pre-production" vanilla GR-3??
As Larry indicated above, the twenty has PG, semi-BT, extractors, non-selectable ST, 28" with 3" chambers. (Thanks again Larry for puting me onto the Beretta connection.)
1967 manufacture is consistent with my September 1968 purchase date. As a young teen I spent the summer of '68 doing any kind of odd jobs available to scrounge up enough money to buy a shotgun and a ND waterfowl license (ND was teeming with waterfowl compared to MN). Amongst others, I started mowing the grass for an elderly gunsmith (H A "Hank" Smith). When he heard of my intended purchase and my desire for a double he smiled and recommended the Daly.
That September, with my $325 cash in-hand, my dad drove me to Ruhr-American in Glenwood, MN, a Herters outlet. They had 4 guns on closeout and let me choose the one with the nicest wood. Apparently they weren't very popular, as I haven't seen another one since.
Through 1972 I put hundreds (maybe thousands)of rounds through the Daly hunting ducks, white geese, sharptails, ruffed grouse and pheasant. Then a 12 gauge 3" Win M12 came along... the Daly was relegated to grouse hunting.
I had some restoration work done 2 years ago as the Daly was a little loose and battered... hinge pin, re-blue, and oiled wood brought it back to near new condition. I opened the chokes to IC/mod and it's a joy to carry and shoot while training/hunting with my first pointing dog.
Bryan