Beretta AM 301 reviews?

E

Erickson5006

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Location
Bonnyville Alberta
Grandfather doesn't have the shoulder for geese hunts anymore, could sell me his Beretta AM 301 in 3".


Anyone on here with experience of this gun? I know berettas have a good name, but how about older models? Can't find much online
 
It is one of the best auto loaders Beretta ever made. They will last a lifetime with proper care and they point nicely too. I hunted one for two seasons and never had a hitch. Check out the Beretta section on Shotgun World nary a bad word spoken about this model. Browning's B80 is in fact a A301 in Browning dress.

Darryl
 
I bought one used years ago. I fired anything and everything in it, including a reload that was VERY hot. It has never given me any trouble. Used it for shooting (at) clays, and gophers. I don't care for the recoil from pumps or doubles any more. This is coming from an old gunner who loves shooting Mosin Nagants and 98's with surplus ammo! :p
 
I have an A303 that replaces an A301 stolen from me They are a good gun but lack the self adjusting gas valve so they can be finicky with lighter loads and unless choked Mod or IMP would not be suitable for steel shot, but this is easily remedied by a competent gunsmith. I had mine fitted with replaceable gas ports so it will shoot any shell from 7/8 oz target to 1 7/8 oz turkey loads by replacing the orfice which takes 2 minutes. They are a well built gun and will last more than a lifetime if cared for,
 
I've owned an A301, an A302 and currently own an A303 target model, these are fabulous guns and good ones are highly sought after by some shooters because of their relatively low market value and high degree of reliability. I don't use the A303 much because I prefer break action guns but it's really nice to shoot and I bring it out when a new shooter wants to try shooting clays. The low recoil makes it pleasant for kids and women to shoot for the first time.
The barrels that are marked 3 inch have smaller gas ports than the ones marked 2 3/4 inch, this is so that the heavier loads won't batter the action too badly and damage it. Some guys drill the ports out on the 3 inch chambered barrels so it will cycle lighter loads, that's ok but it's inadvisable to shoot 3 inch loads after that. I've also seen more than one of these guns with a drill bit broken off in a gas port where some tinkerer tried to drill his own!
Prices really vary with condition and whether or not it has choke tubes but $400 to $700 seems to be a common range.
 
Well this condition was "it gets cleaned every time I pull the trigger" and "if you take it apart it might stop working".....it was ugly inside and everything that moved sounded like sandpaper. But I bought it anyway. There is nothing I can find in the barrel to indicate what the choke of it is. It's not adjustable, and never been tampered with, but it simply doesn't say...?

Did beretta use symbols to indicate the choke?
 
I have an A301 and an A303, shot them for years until the lead ban came around, now I prefer something that can handle 3 1/2" shells for late season geese.
They're super reliable, and really don't need much cleaning. My father still shoots an A301 full choke with steel, and while he may not get the best pattern, it works just fine. I don't believe the A301 came with interchangeable choke barrels, but the A302 and A303 barrels threaded for chokes will fit just fine on an A301, look on the EE here, you might get lucky.
 
I had a 301 with choke tubes but they didn't screw in , they dropped in and were held in by a cap that screwed in on the outside of the barrel. It worked fine but i imagine the tubes can no longer be obtained as it was a short lived system.
 
I think there were some late model a301's with the early choke tubes that had a collar to hold them in but mostly you see them in a302 models. These tubes were actually called "mobil" chokes and the name was carried over to Beretta's first screw in tubes, the old ones are commonly called drop in tubes today. The drop in tubes didn't last long and my a303 has the screw in mobil chokes. I don't think Beretta ever put screw in or drop in chokes in the 20 gauge a301's or a302's, at least I've never seen one with them.
 
In a 12ga a dime will fit in a mod choke but not a Full.I have a A303 3" with Briley screw in chokes and a spare B80 barrel 2 3/4" barrel with Invectors.
 
I bought an A300 synthetic at the shutdown of that large outdoor goods chain for $900.

I got it to see if I would like trap shooting.

The A300 is light, swings OK for me and points well, is very reliable with every cheap shell I have run through it and was very affordable.
 
geologist said:
I bought an A300 synthetic at the shutdown of that large outdoor goods chain for $900.

I got it to see if I would like trap shooting.

The A300 is light, swings OK for me and points well, is very reliable with every cheap shell I have run through it and was very affordable.
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I think that you're referring to the A300 Outlander which is current production by Beretta. We've actually been talking about the A300 that Beretta was building in the 70's which is a totally different gun and never offered in synthetic. Lord only knows why Beretta decided to use the same name for a different gun!
 
Falconflyer said:
I think that you're referring to the A300 Outlander which is current production by Beretta. We've actually been talking about the A300 that Beretta was building in the 70's which is a totally different gun and never offered in synthetic. Lord only knows why Beretta decided to use the same name for a different gun!
Click to expand...

Sorry I am referring to the Outlander.

Carry on!
 
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