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Beretta citizen 3901
- Thread starter Polglock
- Start date
About as good as it gets in the auto loading shotgun world. I have 2 390's, which is the same shotgun. The 3901's are made in Accokeek, MD. My older 390 was made in Italy. My newer 390 is marked "Made in USA" on the receiver.
I have many thousands of rounds through both shotguns and have never had a failure of any kind on either one.
Not sure what kind of information you are looking for, but in general they are extremely reliable, well made shotguns. Just keep it cleaned and lightly lubricated and it won't let you down.
I have many thousands of rounds through both shotguns and have never had a failure of any kind on either one.
Not sure what kind of information you are looking for, but in general they are extremely reliable, well made shotguns. Just keep it cleaned and lightly lubricated and it won't let you down.
oneounceload
Moderator
I got one of these new last year
I wasnt sure if there were any tricksto cleaning it
The manual that came with it will tell you all about that
Very interesting. I did a pretty extensive search and found no detailed instructions regarding the 390, or the 303 (very close to the 390). There are a number of instructional videos and detailed posts regarding the 391, but it is a pretty different animal with regard to the gas system. I think the reason for all of the stuff on the 391 is the fact that its gas system is considerably more complicated than the 390. That is the very reason that I prefer the 390 over the 391.
The only thing I can offer in addition to the manual is that cleaning the piston after a lot of rounds can be a bit challenging. A hard carbon crust tends to form inside the piston that is difficult to get to. I have tried a number of exotic products that were supposed to work wonders on carbon build up and found most to be worthless as teats on a boar hog. I now toss it into a small jar of Ed's Red, let it soak for an hour or so, and brush the gunk away.
Is it necessary to get it this clean? Almost certainly not, but I was raised and taught by my dad (a machinist and later a watchmaker) that clean means clean and I just can't break myself of the habit.
One thing that I like to do is to take a 10" philips screwdriver and push the recoil spring and piston down into the tube and spritz a little very light oil, such as Remoil in.
That's about all I can think of.
Here is a pretty good video of breaking down a 391. There are more similarities than differences.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6U4FAs51tM
The only thing I can offer in addition to the manual is that cleaning the piston after a lot of rounds can be a bit challenging. A hard carbon crust tends to form inside the piston that is difficult to get to. I have tried a number of exotic products that were supposed to work wonders on carbon build up and found most to be worthless as teats on a boar hog. I now toss it into a small jar of Ed's Red, let it soak for an hour or so, and brush the gunk away.
Is it necessary to get it this clean? Almost certainly not, but I was raised and taught by my dad (a machinist and later a watchmaker) that clean means clean and I just can't break myself of the habit.
One thing that I like to do is to take a 10" philips screwdriver and push the recoil spring and piston down into the tube and spritz a little very light oil, such as Remoil in.
That's about all I can think of.
Here is a pretty good video of breaking down a 391. There are more similarities than differences.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6U4FAs51tM
rhinonewshooter
New member
I picked up a 390 12 gauge a few months ago, and just picked up a 390 20 gauge because I liked it so much.
I hate to tell you to go somewhere else, but go to Shotgunworld.com and go to the Beretta lovers section. There is a lot of informatoin there.
Among the recommendations i have read is to clean the piston with 0000 steel wool and not to oil it or clean with Hoppes as that will cause more gunk to gather there.
I remove the barrel and clean with a snake.
The bolt assembly is easy to pull out, although I found reassembly to be easier with shotgun vertical with the butt on my workbench.
the trigger assembly comes out once you tap out the pin. the first few times you may need to pull the trigger assembly forward, but then it supposedly is easier to pull apart.
I have not messed with the recoil spring or much more than that so far, but I've only put about 500 shells through mine so far.
Fun gun to shoot.
Not as many parts as the 391, but the videos are still instructional as to how to clean.
Once you clean and have the breach open, you will hear the piston go up and down as you move the gun. That's actually a sign of a nice clean gun, not anything to worry about.
Lots of info over at shotgunworld.
I hate to tell you to go somewhere else, but go to Shotgunworld.com and go to the Beretta lovers section. There is a lot of informatoin there.
Among the recommendations i have read is to clean the piston with 0000 steel wool and not to oil it or clean with Hoppes as that will cause more gunk to gather there.
I remove the barrel and clean with a snake.
The bolt assembly is easy to pull out, although I found reassembly to be easier with shotgun vertical with the butt on my workbench.
the trigger assembly comes out once you tap out the pin. the first few times you may need to pull the trigger assembly forward, but then it supposedly is easier to pull apart.
I have not messed with the recoil spring or much more than that so far, but I've only put about 500 shells through mine so far.
Fun gun to shoot.
Not as many parts as the 391, but the videos are still instructional as to how to clean.
Once you clean and have the breach open, you will hear the piston go up and down as you move the gun. That's actually a sign of a nice clean gun, not anything to worry about.
Lots of info over at shotgunworld.