Bought an AL390 today...

[Snarlingiron]

Ok, I did it. I have been thinking of getting rid of my Remington 11-87 for quite a while. I have worked on it, and worked on it, and worked on it, and it still insists on failing to feed. I just got tired of screwing around with it. As I told my wife, I am trying to improve my shooting performance, not screw around with my gun every time I go out.

I took it to Bass Pro a few weeks ago. It is an 11-87 Premier that is very nice condition. I had the original box, the original papers, all the chokes, the wrench, etc. They made me an offer, but I couldn't decide. Today, I went back, and they honored the previous offer. I looked at the Beretta AL390, and the Winchester SX2. Both are on sale for $599.00. Both are great guns with excellent reputations.

In the time since I last visited Bass Pro, I picked up a used A390. I have put about 500 rounds through it. Boys and girls, I am SOLD. I have resisted the Beretta mania, but I now see why people love them. No problems, no failure to feed, no failure to fire, no failure to eject, no failure to anything.

So, bottom line, I bought the Beretta AL390. I walked out the door for $319.00, Tax, Title and License.

It has the matte finish, and synthetic stock and forearm. The bolt is black matte as well. I detail stripped it and cleaned and lubricated it. I did notice that it has a molded plastic trigger group. Not a big deal for me, because I have 2 Remington 870 express's and they have held up very nicely. It came with IC, MOD, and Full chokes (Mobil Choke).

Big surprise...while the box is marked Pietro Beretta, Brescia, Italy, the receiver is marked on both sides, “Made the USA”. For me, this is a plus. I like to think I am helping someone in Acoceek remain gainfully employed.

I plan to head for Elm Fork tomorrow at lunch, if I can get away. If not I have a sporting clays session scheduled for Sunday. I will report back, but I expect it to run perfectly.

The Bass Pro guy told me that they had just received 20 units, and had not sold any of them yet. I am thinking that Beretta is out to beat Remington at their own game. I.e. a reliable gun that will run flawlessly for a really good price. Frankly, I expect to see these on sale for $525.00 shortly before Dove Season (September 1, here in Texas).

I am not big on endorsing “Big Box Stores”, but I have to say the Bass Pro guys could not have been more friendly and accommodating. Great bunch of guys. Great service. Made me feel right at home, and I will be back.

Range report soon.

[jmr40]

Congratulations, I have never had any problems out of the 11-87's I used to own but like the Beretta better myself. For me the main selling points were the lighter weight and the location of the bolt release. I always thought it was awkward to depress the button to load each shell. A big plus is that I found I hit more consistently with it.

[ArmedBear]

The trigger alone is a reason to swap a Remington for a Beretta. Not the trigger pull, even, but the gawd-awful skinny piece of sharp steel Remington calls a trigger. Trigger reach is excessive, as well.

[viking499]

They also serve purpose as a trap/hunting gun. Very reliable.

[Dave McCracken]

Congrats. IMO, the 390 has a great gun/money ratio.

Please post a T&E report after some range time.

Thanks....

[JNewell]

The 11-87 is a a great gun. I have one in the safe, a nice 20.

But, we have three AL-390s, which tells you how we feel about them. Good buy.

[Pete409]

S-iron,

Good purchase on the 390. IMO, they're the best deal going for a moderately priced autoloader.

Personally, I prefer the wood stocked version with the polished bolt and shiny blue barrel and receiver, but dependability wise, I don't think there is any difference.

I suggest you keep it well lubed and run several boxes of 1 1/8 ounce, 3 Dr Eq loads through it before attempting the light stuff.

Enjoy the new gun. :)

[Snarlingiron]

Bought the gun on Thursday, took it home, detail stripped it, cleaned it up and properly lubricated it. Ran a Tico tool down the barrel, and it didn't seem to have any sticky goo in it, so I gave it a cursory glance, cased the gun and put it in my trunk along with a flat of shells and a shell bag.

Friday I left work about 30 minutes early and headed for Elm Fork on my way home. Put 75 rounds through the gun. Fit is nice. I hit a lot more than I missed.

I headed on home and stripped and cleaned again. This time I decided to properly clean the bore. I ran my usual patch soaked with Ed's Red down the bore on a jag. Let her sit awhile, followed up with a patch soaked with SiliKroil. Took a good look down the barrel, and noticed a "dirty" ring just ahead of the chamber. Hmmm. Took a tornado brush to it, and no effect. Wrapped a bore brush with 0000 steel wool, chucked the rod in a drill and went to work. Still there. Took a wooden dowel, reached in and "felt" of it, and guess what, it ain't dirt. It is an unfinished area. You can feel the roughness.

So, Saturday morning, back to Bass Pro. The counter guy took me and the gun to the gunsmith. His response was, "Oh, yeah, they are all like that." I responded, "Really?, none of my 11 other shotguns is like that." He says, "Yeah, but those are all older guns." "No", I says, "the Stoeger I bought 4 months ago is not like that". He says, "Well unless you are willing to buy a Purdy or something like that this is what you are going to get". He then suggested I buy a hone and hone it out myself if it really bothered me.

I took it back upstairs and told the counter guy I wanted to talk to someone else about it. They were very accommodating, and pulled barrels from a couple of other shotguns, and guess what...THEY WERE ALL LIKE THAT!!

Ok, it is not a safety issue, and based on the range it does not affect performance, but still. I intend to call Beretta tomorrow and see what they have to say about it.

So, my thought is that it is what it is so I headed out to meet my friends at Elm Fork for sporting clays. I used the new gun to get some rounds through it.

With the 75 rounds I shot on Friday evening, and the 125 or so I shot this am, I have a total of about 200 rounds through it. Friday I shot 1 1/8 oz, 3 1/4 dram heavy dove loads.

This am, I shot Gun Club 1 oz. 3 dram loads. My best round of sporting clays ever. This was my 6th or 7 round, I can't remember, but I shot 49 out of 100. Not great, but it made me happy.

As far as the AL390 is concerned... perfection. No failure to feed, no failure to eject, no fail to fire, no fail to anything. It ain't pretty, but it works every time (so far). It points well and I couldn't be more pleased.

For the money, I really can't imagine that you could do any better.

[Harry in SC]

Snarlingiron,

You have peaked my interest in this shotgun. Up until I read your post, I swore I would stay away from the Beretta because it is not one of the big names...Browning, Benelli, Remington, etc. (Of course, that statement could also be a direct reflection of my inexperience with shotguns.) Nonetheless, I am thinking about this shotgun now. I appreciate the post about it. Would you be so kind as to post some pics of your new toy? I would really like to see it.

Thanks for the great post!

Harry :cool:

[sernv99]

yeah this peaked my interest as well...am looking for a second gun to use for clays....would be interested to know how this gun compares to a Benelli Monte S90, Franchi 612/712, and a Browning A500.

[Lee Lapin]

Ummmm... not to be picky or anything, but...

Beretta has been a 'big name' in firearms for well over 400 years now...

lpl/nc

[Snarlingiron]

You have peaked my interest in this shotgun. Up until I read your post, I swore I would stay away from the Beretta because it is not one of the big names...Browning, Benelli, Remington, etc.

Lee is right, Beretta has been around for a loooong time. The world of firearms has changed a lot in the last few years. Beretta owns Benelli, Stoeger, and is the exclusive US distributor for Franchi. They are the proverbial 800 pound gorilla. Winchester and Browning are owned by Fabrique National, Herstal and are essentiall the same shotguns.

I too have resisted Beretta, but for different reasons. I am an ornery old curmudgeon that just won't buy into anything just because most others do. The world of sport shooting is overrun with Berettas. Over Unders and Auto loaders. Some one once commented, "There is a reason they are so popular."

Another thread mentioned that because the synthetic stock is lighter than wood it makes the balance of the gun "off". Since I own the A390 with a wood stock, and the AL390 with a synthetic stock, I am in a pretty good position to asses that situation. I don't notice any significant difference, and my scores don't demonstrate any significant difference. I am certainly no expert, and a lot of the guys that post here definitely are, so, I will defer to their judgment, but for me I don't find the difference significant.

Bottom line, try to find someone that has a Beretta autoloader, or for that matter a Beretta O/U, that doesn't like it. You won't find many. You will find folks that have hundreds of thousands of rounds through them with virtually no problems.

The AL390 I just bought is essentially the "Wal-Mart" Beretta. Do a search on that, and again you won't find many folks that have one that don't love it.

[RNB65]

I swore I would stay away from the Beretta because it is not one of the big names...

:what:

Harry, my boy, you have got a lot to learn. Beretta is THE biggest name in shotguns and has been for half a millennium. Founded in 1526 (that's 482 years ago, 34 years after Columbus discovered America), Beretta is one of the oldest continuously operated businesses in history.

No one makes a better shotgun. And few come close.

p.s. Beretta owns Benelli.

[sernv99]

what would be a good price for a used/new one for these guns? Gunbroker inflates prices way too much and I only see synthetic stocks listed anyway. I prefer a good solid wood shotgun.

[oneounceload]

what would be a good price for a used/new one for these guns? Gunbroker inflates prices way too much and I only see synthetic stocks listed anyway. I prefer a good solid wood shotgun.

If you look for 391's, you'll find that new ones are around 1,000 and up

Beretta's aren't cheap - that said, you might try and find a 303 - nice older model, usually with a fixed choke from the ones I've seen and shot

[Snarlingiron]

I bought a nice A390, wood stock (pretty nice wood, too), used but in very nice condition with the exception of a couple of pretty good scratches on the butt stock for $450.00 at a local gunshop. Some will probably think I paid too much, but I am very happy with it.

Frankly, from what I have seen in this area, there aren't a whole lot of these available on the used market.

As far as the AL390 in wood, I don't think Beretta offers it that way. They do offer the A3901 American Statesman with walnut stock (same gun as the AL390), but you are going to probably have to spend a couple of hundred more for it.

[sernv99]

so if I cant find a 390/391 that is reasonable priced (under $800 new or used), what would be comparable to the Beretta? I have an offer for a Benelli Montefeltro 12 gauge wood for $700, the seller shot only a box full of shells when shooting clays. Others I have been looking at are Franchi but I was told by a member on another forum the 612 series had problems taking light loads and he didnt think for the price you pay for a Franchi, you get anything worthwhile as opposed to paying for a Beretta, Benelli, etc. with respect to fit and finish.

[Snarlingiron]

In my opinion, the Benelli you mention is a decent buy. However, with that said, the Montefeltro is an inertia gun, not gas. You may find putting a couple of hundred rounds through it in a morning to be a bit uncomfortable, since percieved recoil will be snappier than the gas guns.

The Winchester SX2 may be a good choice. These are on sale at Bass Pro right now for $599.00. Wood stock. Nice gun.

[sernv99]

guy just called me, he already sold the Benelli yesterday...

on the other hand, I did a find a local shop carrying a new Beretta 390 with 30" barrel for $850. I may pull the trigger on that.

[Hawk]

Beretta is THE biggest name in shotguns and has been for half a millennium. Founded in 1526 (that's 482 years ago, 34 years after Columbus discovered America), Beretta is one of the oldest continuously operated businesses in history.

My wife, who seldom takes an interest in such things, was amazed by the Beretta episode in "Tales of the Gun". Something about being the oldest family owned manufacturing firm in the world.

I was fascinated by the fact that the map of Europe and Italy had changed while Beretta remained in the same spot. That's just plain cool. Or the observation that Beretta was celebrating their 250th birthday around the time we were declaring our independence. Or that they were around 200 years old when the town of Ilion was first founded by Palatine Germans in 1725 (It would be roughly another 90 years before another firm famous for shotguns was founded in Ilion in 1816).

http://www.euratlas.com/history_europe/europe_map_1500.html

Sorry, I had an attack of triviaitis...
:)

There may be some reasons for not buying a Beretta shotgun but "lack of practice in manufacture" isn't one of them.

[Harry in SC]

Sorry about the Beretta comment. The only experience I have had with a Beretta firearm is one my father had when I was growing up. If my memory serves me correctly (please do not attack me here) my dad said it jammed a lot and he wasn't very happy with it. Again...sorry for the comment for those of you I pissed off...

Harry :o

[Cougfan2]

I used to work Sporting Clays shoots and the AL390 was very popular. Second only to O/U's.

[Hawk]

Again...sorry for the comment for those of you I pissed off...

My apologies if I came off that way - I was just enjoying the opportunity to spout a little trivia.

Wouldn't surprise me if it was one that was choking - nobody bats 1000 in that game.

[sernv99]

these Berettas hold only 4 rounds total. Is that a drawback when shooting sporting clays? Or it doesnt matter if its 5 rounds or 4 rounds.

[RNB65]

2 shells is the maximum number you can load in sporting clays, skeet, or trap. If it will hold two, that's all you'll ever need for clay shooting.

[Snarlingiron]

2 shells is the maximum number you can load in sporting clays, skeet, or trap. If it will hold two, that's all you'll ever need for clay shooting.

Just to add my .02 cents worth, I have been hunting for a long time. Two shots is all you are going to need in upland hunting much more often than not. I have rarely seen a 3rd shot bring down anything but air. The exception is if you are fortunate enough to get in to a situation where the dove are coming over in waves (I have had this happen to me only a few times). You might then get a good shot at 3 succesive birds. Quail are usually gone before you even get a second shot much less a third. There has probably been more upland game taken with old SxS doubles and single shots than anything else. Besides, for migratory game birds in the U.S., you are limited to a 3 round capacity anyway.

Spray and pray isn't the way to bring down game.

I dear hunted for many years with a friend that used an old .22 Hornet single shot. Everyone teased him about his gun. His response was "If you know what you are doing 1 shot is all you need."

Guess what...He was right.

Capacity is not an issue in clays or hunting, even though many think it is.

[jmr40]

The only time I have ever hit anything on the 3rd shot was to finish a crippled bird.

[sernv99]

ok then what's the point of buying an autoloader if you can't load more than 2 shells in the gun when doing sporting clays? Why not get a O/U or SxS?

are we talking about professional sporting clays competition or just going down to the range and paying a few bucks for a round of clays?

[PJR]

ok then what's the point of buying an autoloader if you can't load more than 2 shells in the gun when doing sporting clays? Why not get a O/U or SxS?
Two of the biggest advatages of an autoloader are the gas guns are softer shooter and they are less expensive than o/u for comparable quality guns.

The Beretta guns are also very tolerant of a wide range of shells. My 391 can shoot the very lightest of factory loads right up to 3" shells. The autoloader is generally more versatile IMO than the o/u.

[Snarlingiron]

You pays your money, and you takes your choice. Nothing wrong with a SxS. It will get it done, but PJR is right on. You can buy a whole lot more shotgun in an autoloader than you can for the same money in a SxS. Many people find the extremely wide sight pattern of the SxS distracting. Some won't shoot anything else. I too think the autoloader is a more versatile gun for all around use. With that said one of my favorite upland guns is a spanish made SxS 20 ga. Very slim, light, fixed IC and IM chokes. It is a joy in the field. I prefer my autoloader for skeet and sporting clays. The recoil thing is an issue when you are shooting 200 - 300 rounds in a weekend.

Try both. Get the one YOU like. I have a number of shotguns. I have a SxS, and an O/U. The autoloaders get the most use by far. I was shooting 870's, but the pumping was making my left elbow hurt like crazy, so I went to autoloaders.

Folks are different, some play Pinochle, some like World of Warcraft, some bowl, some like single shots, and some like uber tactical shotguns that hold 10 rounds. It's what makes the world go 'round. {aw hell, get the Beretta, you know you want to.}

[RNB65]

ok then what's the point of buying an autoloader if you can't load more than 2 shells in the gun when doing sporting clays?

Because a quality autoloader can be had for about 1/2 of what a quality O/U costs. That's the biggest reason. I regularly shoot clays with both a Browning O/U and a Beretta autoloader and I don't really prefer one over the other.

[TX1911fan]

I have a Stoeger, so inertia guns are not an issue. I thought I was a die hard Benelli fan and that I would be getting an Ultralight when the money was available. Then I held a 20 gauge Beretta Urika. It felt fantastic. Shouldered great! I thought a gas gun would be bulkier due to my exposure to Browning and Remintons. I'm thinking very seriously about getting a Teknys gold for my "fancy" gun.

[Hawk]

Teknys Gold is just plain yummy, and I didn't think I was easily swayed by "pretty".

The field model in 20 Ga. is supposed to be under 6 pounds and looks like art in wood and steel. Were I ever to find myself looking at 1,900.00 MSRP autos that guy would be right at the top of the list.

Don't go into Ray's - they had one in stock last I was there - probably in 12. I went out of my way to not look too hard.

[Pete409]

As far as the AL390 in wood, I don't think Beretta offers it that way.

They don't offer them any more, but they used to. I've got 2 of them. If I lost either of them, I would immediately be on the lookout for a replacement of one just like them. They are available on the used gun market, but you may have to look for awhile because most people who have them don't want to sell them.

[Grayrock]

So, bottom line, I bought the Beretta AL390. I walked out the door for $319.00, Tax, Title and License.

So was that the real price or what you paid after trading in your 11-87?

[Snarlingiron]

So was that the real price or what you paid after trading in your 11-87?

The price was $599.00. They gave me $300.00 for my 11-87. I walked out for $319.00 including sales tax, and the $5.00 discount from the card that I bought from the Boy Scouts for $10.00.

If I hadn't had the discount card it would have been $324.00 difference.

[Grayrock]

DANG IT! I knew there was a catch. I was all excited about buying me a new sling-o-matic for under 5 bills! I guess I'll have to keep shopping.:(