Beretta 391 not extracting...RESOLVED!

yorgi

yorgi

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Toronto, Ontario
My friend's Beretta 391 has given him no problems until now... This week, he went hunting on turkey opener and loaded his shotgun as per usual, with an open bolt he dropped a shell in the chamber closed the bolt and loaded two in the magazine. No shots fired that day, when unloading, pulling back on the bolt did NOT extract his loaded shell from the chamber. When he got home, he tried loading a snap-cap into the chamber with similar results, the bolt was pulled back and did not extract the snap-cap.

I tried cleaning the bolt for him, paid special attention to the extractor pivot point, made sure it was free to move and lightly lubricated it. Put everything back together, yet I still get the same results. Closely inspected the extractor to see if maybe any pieces are missing or any burrs had formed, negative on both counts.

Any suggestions or advice on solving this problem would be appreciated.

Edited to ad: Failure to eject problem, in post #5
 
Last edited:
~ Remove the extractor and fully clean the spring, plunger, channel and extractor.
~ Remove burrs from sides of extractor.
~ Replace spring if weak.
 
Lodi said:
~ Remove the extractor and fully clean the spring, plunger, channel and extractor.
~ Remove burrs from sides of extractor.
~ Replace spring if weak.
Click to expand...

gunrunner100 said:
Run a tight fitting brush and oil in the chamber, powered by a hand drill. Chambers accumulate dry oil, rust, debris etc.
Click to expand...

Will follow through on both actions and report accordingly, thanks gents!
 
Followed Lodi's and gunrunner100's advice to a tee and now the snap-caps properly extract! That's the good news... the bad news is that the round does to eject, it extracts from chamber and drops to the top of the elevator.

By buddy has an extra 391, so I replaced the problem gun's barrel with the extra functioning barrel. Repeated the loading/unloading sequence and the snap-cap ejects with authority! Compared the two barrels side-by-side , cannot for the life of me see any difference. Tried working the ejector of the problematic gun in and out, moves freely, even dropped some oil in the shaft, no difference, still refuses to eject. Did not get a chance to actually fire the gun and see how it behaves but surely there is an issue if you can't eject the shells by bolt manipulation alone. I'm stumped, any suggestions?
 
yorgi said:
My friend's Beretta 391 has given him no problems until now... This week, he went hunting on turkey opener and loaded his shotgun as per usual, with an open bolt he dropped a shell in the chamber closed the bolt and loaded two in the magazine. No shots fired that day, when unloading, pulling back on the bolt did NOT extract his loaded shell from the chamber. When he got home, he tried loading a snap-cap into the chamber with similar results, the bolt was pulled back and did not extract the snap-cap.

I tried cleaning the bolt for him, paid special attention to the extractor pivot point, made sure it was free to move and lightly lubricated it. Put everything back together, yet I still get the same results. Closely inspected the extractor to see if maybe any pieces are missing or any burrs had formed, negative on both counts.

Any suggestions or advice on solving this problem would be appreciated.

Edited to ad: Failure to eject problem, in post #5
Click to expand...

Have you tried to fire the gun? Go out into the country-side with a box of shells and test it. Bring along a long push-rod, just in case. Best of luck!
 
cosmic said:
I wouldnt make a judgement based upon performance with snap caps and manual cycling. Try firing real shells before drawing conclusions.
Click to expand...

Forgot to mention that he first noticed the problem a few weeks ago, during the late goose season, shell would not eject. Unfortunately we live in the city and our Club is closed in the lockdown, so live testing is not available.

The perplexing part is that one barrel allows for manual ejection while the original does not...
 
I had a look at my daughter's 20ga 391. The extractor removes and holds the spent shell firmly to the bolt face. I'd check that first.
TLJ897G.jpg


Second, I'd check to ensure the ejector is nice and crisp, not chipped or bent.
v5JYZE4.jpg


Last, I'd lube up the return spring and tube etc just to make sure there isnt some resistance to the reward motion causing a sloppy ejection.

Keep us posted.
 
Took the advice from the posts above, disassembled the extractor, cleaned and lubed. Chucked the bronze brush with 000 steel wool and oil and polished the chamber, also oiled the ejector spring. Got a chance to fire the gun with three rounds, fired, ejected and fed perfectly! Still can't get the loaded shell to eject from the chamber my manipulating the bolt but it works under normal operating conditions so my buddy is happy!

Thanks to everyone who took the time to respond!
 
Some ammo if made better in the rim dimensions ... some is crap ... a live round may extract better if the barrel is pointed up...
 
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