Home Forums Birds & Dogs Shotguns Beretta AL391, is this normal?

I've said it before, that is the nicest turkey gun I think I have seen, love the wood on that gun.
I had one just like that but less fancy wood. Great gun

When I'm serious about killing birds, the 391 gets the nod. It just fits me. Hard telling how many Kansas pheasants (when we still had piles of birds) have fallen to this in the last 18 years. $600 was the clearance price back then (2003) when they were switching over to the Optima choked ones.

Sounds like I bought a well-regarded gun, good to hear. I don't like the look of the weld but the rest of the gun is pretty nice. I paid too much but it's like-new with real wood. I'm coming from vintage double guns that are not so great with steel shot.

I shot the gun a little bit for the first time this morning. To me it feels unwieldy with the 30-in barrel, and I'm not quite sure about the fit, but it does break targets very consistently. I found the recoil to be extremely light. Good stuff.

I did experience two problems. For one, the extended choke tube comes loose during shooting. I had only hand snugged it, should I crank it down with the tool? Second problem, often the gun will fail to pick up the second cartridge from the carrier. First shell ejects properly, bolt closes, hammer drops on empty chamber. It did this with several kinds of ammo. Any ideas?

Thanks

If I remember correctly some 391s did have a shell carrier issue picking up the next round. I believe you can get a replacement one that fixes that or I believe some people bend their carrier a certain way (not sure how) and that also fixes it. Maybe someone here knows or you can search some shotgun forums or the net.
I would call Cole Gunsmithing, They are the beretta go to guys for parts and fixes, they can tell you, also have a website.

New or used?

Nice....looks new.

First: No oil on any part of the gas mechanism...Especially that piece that slides out of the mechanism...I think they refer to it as the piston..
Second: If that doesn't work...shoot a box of heavy hitters out of it to smooth up bolt rails.
Third: Call Coles and ask them about a different valve spring...

Regarding the choke tube- this is often a tolerance issue where there is a little sloppiness. You might be able to snug things up enough for the choke to stay tight but then you might not. You can give it a try and see what happens. Or, you can just get in the habit of hand tightening the choke between stations or after a few rounds. The last option would be to buy replacement chokes until you find some that fit securely.

There was an occasional issue with the lifter but I don't recall what it was. I was lucky enough to have not blundered into one with that problem. Thinking back, I don't recall directly knowing anyone who had that issue but there were enough instances that it was talked and written of.

Battue,

What was the reasoning regarding no oil on the gas exhaust valve? I was told the opposite by Bruce Buck, Rich Cole, and several others who were serious campaigners with Beretta gas guns. My own experience with them confirmed this advice.

That said, my wife is rather poor regarding cleaning and oiling her guns and they worked properly dry too. Wetting down surfaces with a CLP product then shooting a couple boxes of shells would loosen carbon build up enough that most of it could be wiped off with a paper towel. It is how I initiate a thorough cleaning of my wife's guns. I suspect running the gun dry/wet may be more an individual preference of the gun and/or shooter than any real need. It may even be a carryover from the Remington 1100 where some solvents played havoc with the O-ring.

Not sure of the reasoning, other than it possibly could gum up the gas ports. Years ago was told to run it dry, and never had an issue doing so. When cleaning mine, and that was infrequently, I would soak the piston in carburetor cleaner then wipe it dry. Friend used CLP or Slip2000 and said they were the best.

The manual for the A400 recommends not to oil the piston.

Unless the choke fit in the threads is really bad, a single wrap of teflon plumbers tape at the end of the choke skirt is usually enough to keep the choke snug. A drop of BLUE Loctite will do the same. You can use your choke tube tool to make the tube snug, and just snug. There is no reason to gorilla grip it and go crazy.

It not unusual for the chokes to loosen on occasion. Most just hand tighten. Or one can use a heavier grease on the threads.

Lite oil is a recipe for them to frequently work loose.

The above snugging with tool is a good suggestion if you think hand tightening is inadequate.

My Urika 2 with optima plus choke system is reliable as they come.

I had a 391 Silverside Optima that was great. When I sold it ( big mistake) I had over 25,000 rounds of competition shots thru it. The only problem I had was one of the sides to the part pushing into the stock broke. I have no idea when. I was at sporting clays Nationals and had Beretta shop clean it. They found and replaced it. I very seldom cleaned mine. It would shot forever dirty and dry.

Still miss it.

Old thread but, weld is normal. I have two 391's one Gold with gold engraved pheasant on one side of receiver, and mallards on the other. Paid $750.00 for it in 2001, wouldn't sell it or under $1750.00 today. Also have a plain jane black and synthetic model which is a good waterfowl or harsh weather gun. Both very capable and reliable shotguns.

Have a AL391 Urika 12 ga Sporter I bought new in 2002. Never has missed a lick. Should probably get it rebuilt with new springs one of these days. Still shoot it some despite adding a new A400 Xcel sporter last year. Excellent trigger...better than the A400 in stock form.

Bought a 2005 AL391 20 ga Teknys sporter last year. About "100 rounds" through it per the original owner that was double gun guy. It is a dandy but had to replace the big, obnoxious, tall front light pipe (replaceable fiber optic sight beads) with a simple Bradley white bead like is on the AL391 and A400 Xcel sporters. Also weighted it up front on the magazine cap to match the rear stock Teknys 8 oz weight.. Makes a fine +7# target gun now that is totally reliable and shoots about as well as the 12 ga Sporters. I like 391s and 400s for breaking clays!