Losing the faith

R

reddog

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Super GunNutz
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Before everyone insists that they have had no problems with their Firearms from Beretta / Benelli I must be the exception.I have replaced my hunting guns which were A 400 and SBE 2 after having issues with them .The A 400 I believe was spring related but after several trips to the Doc . could not depend on it cycling all the time.The Benelli SBE great gun but the "Benelli click" was driving me crazy and it would fail to cycle when I shot vertically which in a layout is quite a bit.The o/u my 682 E sold after it had issues with the cocking levers ,guy I sold it to now seems to have the problem solved after a few Dr trips.The ASE which I have documented on this blog still not repaired ,682 I bought hammer spring let go halfway through doubles marathon,Benelli 828 stock self imploded on the same day,all three down at the same time.Thinking that's it, especially after the Stoeger treatment where we were questioned on ethics.Replaced all my hunting guns, now am going to change out the target ones as well ,I guess I have lost faith.:(
 
I have had feeding/ cycling issues with my A400 since new which is why it sits and I grab an old browning gold or winchester superx 3 all the time since they go bang every time :)
Cheers
 
I have always been a Beretta autoloader fan. I have 390’s and 391’s. Just for a change, I bought a Fabarm Waterfowler for hunting. Cycled light target loads right from the start and very well built. 2000+ with no malfunctions at all. Very different set up than Beretta so it took some getting used to, but I am quite happy so far. A lot cheaper than an A400 as well.
 
I’ve had a lot of beretta shotguns over the years and have very good service from them albeit they have all been over and unders with the exception of some older semis. The only beretta semi I own these days is an a303 and it’s been dependable. My wife also shoots a 682 gold e otherwise that’s it for berettas these days. They have all been good guns but but with the trouble your having I’d probably lose faith too!
 
I own several Berettas, both O/U and semis. I've had good luck with them, the O/U's see several thousand rounds per year, the semis not so much. All my Berettas were bought used low-mileage, between 5 and 15 years ago. I paid what I thought was a fair amount of money at the time (eg 686e with adjustable comb - 1800$, 391 with K/O - 1000$). When I look at todays prices for similar models, and the reputation Stoeger has in Canada, I give my head a shake.
I recently went out and bought a new 28 g Huglu O/U for about 1000$. Aside from the trigger being a bit heavy, I find the gun to be very serviceable. I'm pleased to say that I shoot it better than my 28 g 686, and now use it preferentially at the range.
Its no surprise that I'm seeing more and more non-B guns at the range these days. Beretta needs to smarten up if they want to maintain market share, there is a lot of competition nibbling at their heels!
 
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I admit 4 of my 5 Berettas are semi auto 3 of the 4 are a400 xplors I love them. They've all been flawless but comparing fit and finish of newer Berettas to new huglus Beretta severely lacks
Warranty thru stoeger is about the worst in the country where as most Turkish offerings are free and immediate now a days. I've never had issue with any of my huglu guns but I'm willing to bet prophet river would handle any complaints and make it right
All brands will make a bad gun sometime or other but man you just got bad luck and I don't know what to tell you but best of luck in any brand you chase
 
The other side of the coin…….over the last 30-35 years I’ve owned and used 3-4 Beretta side by sides, two autoloaders, one pump and literally several dozen Beretta over/ unders. A few purchased new, mostly purchased as very low mileage excellent condition guns. For trap and other competitive shotgun sports they fit me best, I shoot them best and so I use them the most. I’ve competed with and against Brownings, Perazzi’s and a few others but none worked as well for me as Berettas. For many years I shot 7000-8000 rounds of trap per year as well as smaller amounts of sporting clays and other games and my Berettas never let me down once. Over these years I saw every make imaginable fail and cost a great shooter a match, it can and will happen to any make but my impression over the years was that Berettas, particularly the 682 series, were among the most reliable and some of the guns that I was observing had well over 100,000 logged registered targets. Stoeger? Warrantee? No experience, never needed their support. There are currently four Berettas in the house, a 28 gauge 687EELL, a 20 gauge 687 Silver Pigeon C, a high mileage 682 Gold E Sporting and a near new 694 Sporting, about average around here. No complaints from me.
 
my buddies benelli's receiver blew up in his face after 20 shots. they claimed since the receiver was in a bunch of pieces they couldn't verify that it was their fault/if it was just defective. IMO a shotgun that blows up in your face is pretty defective.
 
Everytime I read reviews of ammo, it's the semi shooters who moan about terrible quality ect. I shoot a lot for work, I use a mossburg 500. I have no issues. Get a pump and 80% or reliability issues dissappear. And with ammo selection issues lately, you solve other issues too! And to answer your question, yes a few sbe2 shooters and 1 a400 I know and hunt with have had feeding/cycling issues recently.
 
Everything we own and use breaks at some point. Every product has the occasional product defect. Simpler is typically longer lasting and less prone to problems than complicated. Semi autos are complicated. Pumps and break actions, less so. Often there is correlation between initial retail cost and build quality, but not always (See Land Rover). B guns generally deserve the reputation they have. Turkish guns are getting better every year. I don't think it's any more complicated than that.
 
If we pay more for anything mechanical then we expect that it should last longer or be more reliable or at least have a better warranty and that's often the case but even top quality and expensive items break, hopefully just not as often as lower priced items. If you have problems with several supposedly good quality items all at the same time then that's unusally bad luck!
 
Agreed, some of the Turkish guns are beginning to show a favourable track record but none have yet shown themselves capable of standing up to the demands of competition shooters. I have yet to see or even hear of a single dedicated trap/skeet/sporting clays shooter that has replaced his Beretta/Browning/Perazzi/Kreighoff, etc, with a Turkish gun for competition. Field guns? Yes. Spare or backup? Maybe. Competition? Your Kia can’t compete on the Grand Prix circuit.
 
Beretta quality may be not quite as good as it used to be and they're warranty service no so good but Beretta shotguns have always worked well for me so I'm not so quick to abandom them... even if my current most used gun doesn't bear that name. And I'll still recomend B guns over anything comeing out of Turkey right now.
 
I am of the opinion that older Berettas seem to be the ones TO HAVE. My 682 is a stalwart which with the new hammer spring carved through several hundred doubles this week no issue.The Benelli destruction was a loose set screw that allowed the stock to shift a hair when it was fired. Now how to tighten or know to tighten that screw would be an issue. So down to the ASE which I know can be fixed. No fire sales but had an epiphany due to some bad luck.Will soldier on but do not regret changing out the autloaders appreciate the feedback cheers RD
 
Yeah, the 682 series is a formidable contender and thousands of them have served admirably for decades and so deserve a fair shake. Sure there are 682's that have had problems but for the most part they're as durable and reliable as any other shotgun and more reliable than most in they're price range. I've shot them for years with no issues.
The ASE... that really sucks, one gets burned every now and then unfortunately! Get it fixed, shoot it and if it feels good then keep it and if it doesn't then get rid of it. Just get it fixed properly so you can sleep at night if you get rid of it.
 
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