Beretta A303 12 gauge

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opto55

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I bought a Beretta A303 12 gauge with a 3 inch barrel. It would not cycle 1oz. loads so I bought a B80 Browning barrel 2 3/4 inch and it will cycle 1 oz. loads for the most part. I want to shoot 7/8 oz loads but it will not cycle them. Should I have the gas ports enlarged or resign myself to 1 oz. loads?
Thanks.
 
Personally I'd stick with factory gas ports and just fine loads that work
My a303 will cycle 7/8oz loads fine with an original Beretta a303 2.75" barrel. My 3" barrel won't reliably cycle anything under 1.25oz if using 2.75" shells. Runs any 3" or heavy field load fine
 
I have an A303 with a 2 3/4 chamber that shoots 1 oz loads just fine but I've never tried it with 7/8's oz loads so obviously that's of no help to you however personally I wouldn't open the ports up because sure as heck some day you will run out of lightloads and the 1 oz or 1 1/8th oz loads will beat up your gun. Just my 2 cents, your gun your call!
 
Falconflyer said:
I have an A303 with a 2 3/4 chamber that shoots 1 oz loads just fine but I've never tried it with 7/8's oz loads so obviously that's of no help to you however personally I wouldn't open the ports up because sure as heck some day you will run out of lightloads and the 1 oz or 1 1/8th oz loads will beat up your gun. Just my 2 cents, your gun your call!
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If it'll run a 7/8oz load will a 1oz load really beat the gun up that much? I am not familiar with this particular gun, so I really don't know... But I was thinking if the OP has two barrels, would it not make sense to modify the one that'll shoot 1oz loads so it'll shoot 7/8, then he can use that one for 7/8 and 1oz, and the other one for anything more spicy?

At any rate, I wouldn't be happy with buying a barrel that doesn't shoot the loads I wanted, it would feel like wasted money to me. So I would want to change something even if that means I can only use it with that one load.
 
If you are reloading, you should be able to find a hot 7/8 load that will cycle a 303. Have you tried 24 gram International loads ? If you want to shoot light 7/8 loads, the 303 was not the best choice in autoloaders.
 
To start with, 7/8's oz loads while not that uncommon for the 12 gauge are hardly the norm so to expecting them to work in a gas gun that is designed for 1 1/8 oz loads is a bit unreasonable in my opinion. I'm not saying don't open up the ports, just that the op should be aware that he's subjecting the gun to more strain than it was designed for if he decides to use higher power loads which are more normal and easier to find after opening up the ports, that's all. The A303 is a robust gun but it does have an alloy receiver so that should be respected in regards to load power levels. Lets face it, shotgun ammo isn't exactly overabundant these days so to expect to find loads that are not the norm is a bit unrealistic. There's circumstances where I will advise someone to modify a gun but many more where I will advise them not to.
 
Don’t forget, when you modify a gun to suit your preferences you are also modifying it for succeeding owners for many many years. And they may jot know that these changes were made.
 
If you handload you can get 7/8oz loads to cycle in most any autoloader. My 16 gauge 1100 cycles 3/4 oz handloads . Biggest problem lately is availability of powder and components.
 
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Thanks guys. Good information.
I think I will stick to 1 oz loads and maybe try international 24 gram international loads.
 
Falconflyer said:
You can up the velocity in a handloaded 7/8 oz load so it will cycle but that sort of defeats the purpose of using 7/8's oz loads.
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Not if you are trying to save on shot . I have been loading 3/4 oz 12 gauge and a bag of shot goes a long way and the target breaks have been great just up the choke constriction. But as you stated is it really necessary ?
 
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