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Beretta a400 not cycling light loads

15K views 21 replies 9 participants last post by  VaTechTexan 
#1 ·
Ive had this a400 for over two years and just this last hunting season it quit shooting 2.75in 1 1/8 oz target loads.I can shoot high brass 2.75in and higher and it will eject but the light loads would get hung up ejecting.Ive cleaned the action and the gas system but still no luck.Ive changed brands but it seems to lack velocity.Did anybody have this happen before and how was it resolved?
 
#2 ·
When you cleaned the gas system, did you A) clean the gas port? B) damage the serrated piston ring?
 
#5 ·
Not shooting standard target loads usually is a clogged port or tweaked piston and since you say those are good, you might want to call Cole's and see if they have another idea you can try (before sending it to them)
 
#7 ·
Barney_Fife91 said:
I cleaned the gas ports and no damage to the ring.I've cleaned and lined the trigger group.I've cleaned everywhere I could see.
If you have done all you can do, then just send it to Cole Gunsmithing https://www.colegun.com/ . I have no idea what you mean by "it seems to lack velocity."

It is a 1-year warranty, but perhaps you registered you shotgun http://www.berettausa.com/en-us/custome ... formation/ and it is still under warranty?

Regardless, if it needs parts, you don't have them, so sending it to Cole's is the best path.
 
#8 ·
When you clean the gas system you are not leaving any residual oil are you? Oil and the gas system = carbon. When I clean my wife's I clean the gas system with MC-7 and then follow with something along the lines of gun scrub so not to leave any residual oils in the system.
Please keep us informed on the outcome.
 
#10 ·
Run a solvent soaked pipe cleaner in the gas port. The serrated split ring on the piston needs to be seated properly and not tweaked out of position - which can sometimes happen when removing the piston to clean it. My 2 A400s both handle my 3/4oz reloads without any malfs. 1-1/8 should be running it like a Swiss watch.
 
#12 ·
Soak it in a solvent if use a solvent-soaked rag. I also use old dental picks of various styles to get some of the caked on stuff off
 
#14 ·
Make sure the gas port is completely clean. Then check to make sure the the split ring on the piston isn't twisted. If it is the ends of the ring will not align with one another. Next check, your rails where the action rods and bolt travel back and forth in the receiver for any burrs or signs of high wear or binding. Make sure the carrier dog moves freely on its rivet without binding and trips the carrier easily. If all of these things are in order, it is likely that you may have to send it to Coles to have the exhaust port spring adjusted so that it will exhaust less gas and put more through the system to cycle the bolt. They just turned one around for me in less than 2 weeks. Call them. If the gun is under warranty they will have beretta email you with a shipping label so you will not have to pay for shipping.
 
#17 ·
there you go! glad to hear you got it fixed. Also alot of guys lube the piston of their Beretta's and what that does is actually create excess carbon. You don't need to lube the piston, just the rails that the bolt travels on.

Your A400 should cycle anything you toss in it.
 
#19 ·
I use a light coat of safari charlie oil on the piston and piston housing. Let it sit for a few minutes, then blow off the excess with an air compressor. Carbon doesn't adhere nearly as well to the metal if this is done and you'll be glad you did it come cleaning time. I've run them dry, and wet with many different lubes. Break free or safari charlie tends to work best. For what it's worth, the a400 type piston will seal better once it gets a little carbon on it. I was told this by the guys at Coles Gunsmithing. I've seen a few of these guns get cleaned, then would not cycle reliably right after cleaning. Then shoot it several times and it starts cycling like it's supposed to and not have any more issues so I decided to ask them about it. I know the book says no lube, but after testing several different ways, a light lube that doesn't allow carbon to adhere well seem to work best, along with a light coat on the mag tube and rails.
 
#20 ·
Mititec-1 is the lube I use and I keep the gas system very lightly coated with it. The gas vent ports (not the ports to the barrel) inside the valve assembly will still fill with debris but it is as soft as butter. A higher power shell will usually blow those out.
I use a port cleaning brush that I bought from Brownells to clean the barrel gas ports. Brownells sells 2 different sizes of wire brushes to clean ported barrels. The narrower of the two will screw into the gas port and allow you to clean it. As they get used then they will slide back and forth easier. I drop of Militec on the brush and the stuff comes out easily.
Using Militec is a two step process and is a bit of a pain but once done the gun takes no time to clean and the ONLY place I use a solvent is in the barrel. Everything thing else is wiped off and re-wiped with a rag that has fresh Militec on it.

I have found that 4-0 steel wool can be used to remove extremely stubborn caked on debris, don't scrub too hard and have it lubricated. But since I switched to Militec have not needed to do that.
 
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