Hi Guys, my very first shotgun was given to me by my Dad many years ago. It has never seen a Gunsmith, ever and it appears now it does. If I press the top lever all the way as far to the right as it will go, then try closing the action, nothing, top lever needs a slight nudge to release it. If I dont press the lever all the way to the right the gun opens and closes perfectly. When top lever is as far as it will go the tiny release pin in the action face is loose, not under spring tension at all

Would appreciate your input as to what might be the problem?
Thanks in advance

That little spring may be corroded and sticky.

Jim is probably right in the ball park. Most probably a case of: "no one has ever taken me apart and cleaned out all of the gribblys in 15 years." It's probably polymerized oil and dirt that's stove up the little spring.

You can try taking the buttstock off and soaking it in a gallon of kerosene with a quart of oil mixed in it to free it up. Short of that it should go to a gun plumber. Some of the Beretta triggers can be a bit rat trappy and parts can be hard to get for the older models if you loose a pin or spring.

Thanks Guys. I have literally doused it with ATF and not much better. I will try paraffin tomorrow morning, failing that I will send her off to the local Agents. If she does need spares I hope I am able to find them.
Been doing loads of Internet searches the past few hours and what I can come up with so far is that the two conical locking lugs may be worn. Seems the top lever position should be just to the right of the 6o clock position. According to what I have just read the more left of 6 oclock position the more worn they are....? The thought of packing her up and sending her away gives me sleepless nights?

Thanks for the replies
Regards

I have a Silver Snipe that is about the same as your gun and I have taken it down several times over the last 50 years. They are not very difficult to take apart and they do need a good cleaning and lube every so often. Just make sure you use the right size screw drivers and you should be ok.
C.G.B.

quote:

Originally posted by cgbach:
I have a Silver Snipe that is about the same as your gun and I have taken it down several times over the last 50 years. They are not very difficult to take apart and they do need a good cleaning and lube every so often. Just make sure you use the right size screw drivers and you should be ok.
C.G.B.

Thanks cgbach, I am confident in my abilities to take a pistol or bolt gun apart but this Beretta scares me...! I have it soaking in paraffin/kerosene now and will check it out this evening. You know where I could possibly source any spares if needed? Perhaps conical locking lug etc? Thanks in advance

Some times it is just amazing what a good cleaning well do for firearm.

I have brought several that the owner was selling because it was broken.

A good cleaning was all they needed.

quote:

Originally posted by lal:
Thanks Guys. I have literally doused it with ATF and not much better. I will try paraffin tomorrow morning, failing that I will send her off to the local Agents. If she does need spares I hope I am able to find them.
Been doing loads of Internet searches the past few hours and what I can come up with so far is that the two conical locking lugs may be worn. Seems the top lever position should be just to the right of the 6o clock position. According to what I have just read the more left of 6 oclock position the more worn they are....? The thought of packing her up and sending her away gives me sleepless nights?

Thanks for the replies
Regards

Unless the barrel and receiver have become loose I wouldn't worry about the lockup. If memory serves the Berettas have differing size bolts like the Perazzi and the Remington 700 and are marked as such. In the Berettas no mark on the bolt designates the standard size, a number (1) is one size larger and the number (2) is the largest. Unlike the Citori, Superpose, BT99 and Perazzi I don't believe that you can TIG weld the Beretta bolts back up to correct them. While I have welded up hundreds of the others I have always shied away from the Berettas because of warnings from gun-plumber friends. As I understand it they have a nasty habit of going hard and warping around like pretzels like the Antonio Zoli bolts sometimes do.

Yip you guys were right !!! A good paraffin/ kerosene bath did the trick. Many thanks for the good advice she works like her old self now!

Over time oils will oxydize .Good oils have anti-oxidents added.
Once oxidized you have goop instead of lube !!Occasional thorough cleaning and inspecting with fresh good quality oil does wonders !

Most of these modern wonder lubes will dry out and polymerize after a few months. Mineral oils will go for years without gumming up. The old standard for guns has always been sewing machine oil. It's just 10 weight mineral oil. I use 1 gallon of sewing machine oil to 5 gallons of dry, white kerosene in my soak take. If I have to clean out carbon or polymerized oil I use 1 part sewing machine oil to 1 part lacquer thinner. I buy sewing machine oil bulk by the gallon for about $19 a gallon. I go through about 5 gallons per year so it's very cheap compared to the wonder oils.

ADD NOTE:

If you don't put at least 1 part oil in 5 parts kerosene your parts will rust on the first damp day that comes around. Just spraying a bit of oil on them after the fact is not enough. It will not get into all the nooks & cranny's and those dry areas will rust after the kerosene evaporates from those areas. Adding the oil to the bath ensures that there will be oil left behind on the parts after the solvent is gone.

Seems my Dad has a better memory than I do! He remindedme that the first and only time I lubed the action over 20 yrs ago I used WD-40 ! This stuff can really gum up! Appreciate all the help guys,now just waiting to see Swallows in the sky which usually means the Quail have arrived! Regards

There are a couple of sources for Beretta parts here in the U.S. You can get oversize locking bolts if you need them.
C.G.B.

Thanks CGB, any details would be appreciated. Thanks in advance. Guess for the near future I will be needing an oversize locking bolt.