Beretta A300 cycling problems and questions

[grahamsy2k]

I recently purchased a Beretta A300 for waterfowl and I'm running into cycling issues with 2 3/4 Winchester shells. Not a single shot cycles correctly. Fortunately the gun does fine with 3in waterfowl shots. I've read plenty articles saying the gun needs broken in with some heavy/hot rounds so I'm going to give that a shot, even though is says no where in the manual it needs broken in. After waterfowl season is over I'm going to send it into beretta to have it looked over because more people then not say theirs run flawlessly no matter the brand or size. Anyone with similar experiences?

Also taking part the gun apart I noticed a possible defect on the top of the bolt.
Can anyone with an A300 take a picture of the top of the bolt for me in good detail.
C8A484_Z

 

[nighthawk80]

I have the Beretta A300 Outlander and it does not like Winchester shot at all (I don't use 3" shells). I can get maybe 2 shots before it jams (mostly failure to eject). But I can use Federal, Remington, Rio, Estate, etc... without issues. I just chalked it up to it being picky.

 

[grahamsy2k]

That is what I am assuming. The Winchester loads that it is jamming on is their "extra-light" target load. So it's probable just not getting enough energy to push the bolt all the way back.

 

[Restroyer]

I no longer use Winchester shells in any of my shotguns (I have several 12 gauge shotguns and one 16 gauge). The Winchester constantly jams (won't cycle in my pump shotties or semi-autos). I actually took photos and measurements showing Winchester that the rim on their shells were larger than other brands and they had me send them empty casings of other brands shells to compare to their unfired (jammaholic) shells. It took a while but they actually refunded my money and then some extra for my hassle which I thought was good of them. I like Winchester pistol & rifle ammo but I now avoid their shotgun shells.

 

[TWEAKD4]

The few times I have been out with friends shooting clays there is always one that has ejecting problems. That friend is always shooting Winchester's. I avoid them now and just buy Federal. Never seen a problem with them.

 

[acss502]

The few times I have been out with friends shooting clays there is always one that has ejecting problems. That friend is always shooting Winchester's. I avoid them now and just buy Federal. Never seen a problem with them.

I’ll second this. Mine had extracting issues but only with Winchester shells. I run Federal or Remington without issue.

 

[Hookeye]

Which Winchester?

Promo, Super X hunting or AA stuff?

I avoid promo in ANY brand.

 

[510picker]

I've got an A300 that I bought when they first came out. I bought a flat of Winchester AA shells at the same time and never had any problems. I've since started reloading, some even being lights loads with 7/8 oz of shot, and it still cycles everything fine.

 

[bigbaloo95]

Never had a problem with promo shells. The reduced recoil are another matter though. The a300 has chewed through everything else I’ve fed it just not those.

 

[schumach]

I know this is a thread that is over 4 months old, but I thought I would post my findings on the A300 and cycling issue and how I resolved it. Note: My A300 has the wooden stock.

After a couple of months of trying to figure out why the shotgun was not cycling correctly I stripped the shotgun down, and after reassembling each part I would work the action. I noticed once I slid the forend back on and tightened the forend cap the action was much harder to cycle. I removed the forend and put the forend cap back on and the action cycled very smoothly. That led me to believe that the forend and operating rod were rubbing. To validate this assumption I applied chalk to the operating rod and cycled the action a couple of times. Sure enough the chalk was transferred to the forend. To create more space between the forend and the operating rod I put 1000 grit sandpaper on the handle of a screwdriver, to hold the sandpaper on the screwdriver I cut the sandpaper long enough so I could tape it to the rod of the screwdriver. I then inserted the screwdriver in a cordless drill and very slowly sanded the forend area where the operating rod was making contact. I would check the clearance after a about 20 revolutions and added thickness to the sandpaper as needed. Needless to say after about 5 minutes of sanding I put the forend back on (which slid right in to place unlike before) and the forend cap and the action functioned the same as if the forend was not on.

I have now put over 400 shells through the shotgun without any further issues. To get the shotgun to cycle at all before I sanded the forend I would have to use 2 3/4" shells with a velocity of 1300 fps, now I am shooting with 2 3/4" with a velocity of 1180.

I hope this is helpful for anyone else having the same issue.