Beretta A 400 Extreme Feeding Issues

saskdude99

saskdude99

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I bought this gun last Spring and used it last fall and this fall as well. I clean my gun after every shoot. The problem is that it jams up constantly with 3.5" shells and occasionally with 3 inch shells. Has anybody else had the same issue. No call back from Stoeger. Any easy solution as I'm at the beginning of my late october goose shoot here in Sask. I only have 3 1/2" shells along.
 
Maybe you are cleaning too much? I know it's a bit different equipment but I only clean my A400 xcel with target loads about every 800 rounds.
 
Dirty gas ports would be my first guess. Clean them up and dont put oil in there. Second thing i would do is pull out the bolt and make sure all the factory greese is completely cleaned off. Use a cleaning/gun solvent to thoroughly clean it. Then LIGHTLY oil the mating surfaces. If this is all stuff you have already done, try changing the type of oil you're using. Breakfree CLP is what I use and it works perfectly. If your gun hasnt seen many round through it, i would also suggest cranking it manually for some time to try "working it in".

If all else fails, let me know and I'll buy the gun from you :). Good luck man..keep us posted
 
One other thing, what kind of ammo are you using? If you're mixing up different brands, pay attention to whats jamming. Maybe your gun has a preference to certain brands. For example, i have a Mossberg 935 that will cycle any size of shell I feed it EXCEPT remington supersonic 3.5" shells. I can probably cut a piece off a broom stick, chamber it and have it eject...but remington 3.5" shells are a guarantee fail to eject. I discovered that remington supersonic shells are about 1/8" longer once spent. That small difference is whats hanging it up in the action. Very bizarre! Just some food for thought...i'd bet your problem will likely be addressed with the above post. And dont hold your breath with getting help from stoeger canada. You can literally walk into their front door, and still not have any success
 
Response to posts
Target shells never jam
3inch shells seldom jam
3 1/2shelld 90% jam any make
The gun is cleaned dri lubed
Have not cleaned the ports ....how do you do it

The 3 1/2" shell hangs up at about30 degrees NOT entered into the chamber. At this point it takes a lot of force to move past the impingment spot. Once past it slides in nicely. The shells fired are 15 + feet away so I think the ports are ok.
My personal judgement is that the follower is to high or the follower spring to to tight. It is hung up before enteringthe chamber.
 
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Based on what you're indicating that 2.75" shells never jam, 3" shells seldom jam and 3.5" shells give you the most problems is clearly indicating that the gun is struggling with the feed on the longer shells. If there was a lifter problem all shells would fail to feed. If it was a bolt problem, the shells would jam on the way out of the chamber. From what I understand, the 3.5" shells are not cycling out of the magazine and into the chamber. If the follower and spring were problematic, you would like have issues with all shell sizes. This leave me to believe that it is infact a gas system problem. Firstly, pull the barrel off and look into the gas block (attached to the barrel where the gas piston slides in) You will find two small ports (holes) that lead directly into the barrel. Those two holes are what directs the gases to the piston that operates the whole system. Make sure those ports are 100% clean. Soak a pipe cleaner (or something similar) with solvent and force it through those ports. Do so enough times to ensure that the ports are not clogged and are perfectly clean. You also dont want to oil this area because by doing so, the ports will quickly clog again. Ensure the entire gas system is perfectly cleaned and free of carbon buildup. I find that spray solvents work great to free up carbon buildup on areas you cant get into. I would bet that this should clear up the problem.

Since the longer shells have a further distance to travel during the cycling process, a gas system that has any kind of impeding factor reducing the gas pressure being directed into the system will cause cycling failures. If there was an issue inside the magazine with the follower or spring, you would likely have issues with all shell lengths. That 30 degree hang up likely has to do with the gas system not generating enough pressure to blow the system back far enough. That explains why the smaller shells dont give you an issue...shorter shell = less travel = less pressure to activate the system.

I know you said you clean the gun regularly, so Im taking your word for it. But just one question...given that the gun is fairly new, did you break it down before your first use to clean out all the factory packing greese? I know that may sound stupid, but I've seen more guns fail to cycle because of packing grease then you would imagine.
 
There is a geometry issue with the follower and 3.5" shells. I found this on another board with first issue a400s. This term came from Stoeger itself. So I'll go buy 3" shells for now and send it in after the season.
 
Typical Beretta performance. They made the perfect auto loader with the model 390. Since then they've tried to duplicate the reliability of the 390 but cut back on the cost and end up with more "net profit" . The 391 was for the most part un-reliable with the usual feed problems.

It appears that the trend has been carried forward with the A400. Just a another Beretta marketing attempt to sell the same old with newer bells and whistles.

A shot counter...are you kidding me!!
 
dedbird said:
Typical Beretta performance. They made the perfect auto loader with the model 390. Since then they've tried to duplicate the reliability of the 390 but cut back on the cost and end up with more "net profit" . The 391 was for the most part un-reliable with the usual feed problems.

It appears that the trend has been carried forward with the A400. Just a another Beretta marketing attempt to sell the same old with newer bells and whistles.

A shot counter...are you kidding me!!
Click to expand...

I must have the only three 391's that are 100% reliable.
 
saskdude99 said:
There is a geometry issue with the follower and 3.5" shells. I found this on another board with first issue a400s. This term came from Stoeger itself. So I'll go buy 3" shells for now and send it in after the season.
Click to expand...

Sure is. Mine is OK but I have fixed one with the issue. There was a lot of conversation about this a few months back here.
 
Sent the gun to Stoeger and they repaired it promptly. Still pissed that this wasn't caught before sending them out..####ed up a weekend hunt. They did include a nice gift for my 57.00 freight.
 
Beretta rep told me that some synthetic models did have some issues and they can correct it. I have the A400 Xplor 3.5" with no problems. However I do not use 3.5" shells and don't see a need for them -- mine will shoot anything down to 900fps in 2 3/4". Ask your nearest Beretta dealer for the contact number for the rep.
Good Luck!
 
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