Is my beretta urika modified???

F

Frox

Inactive
I just bought a used beretta urika 391, and I noted that the hole under the gas cylinder looks like its been drilled larger??
I have attached a picture to show which hole I mean, and a close-up of the hole. How does your urika look? Is mine modified, and why should someone want to do that?
 

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Only thing I can think of right now is to call Brownells and see if the tech guys know what size the hole is supposed to be, then measure yours. No idea why someone would modify such, but that's one of the things about buying used guns, you need to be able to tell if Bubba has been around. I repair a lot of Bubba'ized guns. Goatwhiskers :eek:
 
I have a few 390s, the kissing cousin to the 391, and my similar hole is much smaller.

It could have been modified to allow more gas to discharge before it hit the cylinder, which would in theory allow heavier loads without the carrier peening the back of gun. I have never shot anything other than target loads on 390s, but I know that Cole gun sells a kit to adjust the spring for my 390s to allow proper cycling of very heavy or very light shells.

The real quesiton is how far do the shells get ejected. I believe the target is 4-6 feet.

Kelly at Cole Guns can also answer all of your questions.
 
I'm not an expert on the ports of berettas. With that being said, the close up photo that you provided, does in fact look to be tampered with, and definetly not by a "smith." Like earlier post said, the only logical reason I think you would do this, is to allow excess gas escape before cycling. Just my thoughts.
 
My Beretta is a hinge gun, so, like .50cal Packer, I'm not a 391 guy. The "hole" in question is the exhaust port. IINM, controlling the gas works is done more with vale spring pressure than the size of the exhaust hole. I concur with those who've commented that the hole in question seems to have been modified by the gunsmith's apprentice.

With gas guns, the gas must go somewhere after it's completed its task. With the Remington 1100 there are notched vents in the top of fore-wood. You can see exhaust gunk on both sides of the barrel after an 1100 has been exercised. This isn't a problem unless you happen to have a shooting style that places your finger/s over one of the vents. Back in the day, it wasn't unheard of to rework an R-1100's fore-end to redirect the exhaust.

With Berettas, there is an exhaust grill assembly at the tip of the fore-end. If you place your hand under that grill, you might get a mitt full of warm gas. By enlarging the exhaust port's size, you'll reduce the exit gas pressure and possibly eliminate/reduce the hot hand problem. Or, perhaps it helps to keep the gas works cleaner (Do those exhaust vents get gunked-up after prolonged shooting?). My 2¢ worth, YMMV
 
I just looked at mine. The hole is drilled on an angle upwards away from the receiver. Mine is about a 1\4'' at the widest point of the oval. Maybe 5\16 to 3\8'' in length. But it's a clean hole.
Mine is practically brand new, 6 months old and about 500rds thru it.
Unless it's causing a function problem, I'd leave it be. I can't tell really how big the hole in yours is.
 
Isn't that the access hole to clean the gas ports? Maybe the owner wanted easier access.
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Humm... John, I think you may have hit the nail squarely on the head. I found a pictorial of the Beretta gas works in action and, contrary to my initial assumption, the hole appears to have nothing to do with exhaust gas. You know what they say about assumptions. :rolleyes:
 
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