Beretta 694 Problem

[ColinD]

Same here, always reply to any emails very quickly, first class service. Can't say the same when trying to contact Beretta, and good luck with getting a reply from Browning, they will only talk to dealers and not the general public is their policy, well they'll talk very nice to you on open day trade stands but good luck after that

 

[pigginspadger]

Caesar Guerini seems a popular alternative to the established Beretta, Browning and Miroku brands……..definitely worth serious consideration if only for the customer service aspect ……….

 

[philpot]

I am pleased you got the gun sorted and in my opinion you are lucky to have a GUNSMITH who can be trusted to carry out the work, for me the nearest gunsmith is Derek Lee, 1.5 hours away.

Phil

 

[pigginspadger]

All the more reason to look at the locking lugs jamming as this is exactly the symptom when it happened years ago to my Miroku. Try loading and closing the gun, check where the top lever sits, fire both barrels and see if the top lever has moved a little nearer the 6 o'clock. If it has then tell the gunsmith. He'll know what to do!

Thankyou for that advice Westward….I somehow think you’ve solved my dilemma!! Much appreciated!!

 

[bostonmick]

around 15 years ago I bought a 687eell new it did similar to what you describe locked up.so off to Derek Lee gunsmiths where he said wait there and he was back with the gun 20 minutes later all sorted apparently there was a small tab in the action that the American Market insisted on as a extra safety measure.this was removed and never a problem from that day.

 

[philpot]

around 15 years ago I bought a 687eell new it did similar to what you describe locked up.so off to Derek Lee gunsmiths where he said wait there and he was back with the gun 20 minutes later all sorted apparently there was a small tab in the action that the American Market insisted on as a extra safety measure.this was removed and never a problem from that day.

Derek is a really good gunsmith and a nice guy as well.

 

[bostonmick]

Derek is a really good gunsmith and a nice guy as well.

I have dealt with Derek for a good few years now all my guns come from him.

 

[Luke_(NL)]

My guess is the aforementioned U shaped locking bolt not retracting properly, which could be something as simple as a scoured surface, burr or anything that doesn't belong in there preventing normal operation. Knocking it on the floor could be loosening it enough to retract in a snap, only to jam up again on further use. Should be easy to sort, so I hope you'll have your gun back soon.

 

[JohnoT]

Hi, new member here - (thanks for admission admins).

Stumbled on this thread and found it interesting as I've recently bought a 694.

Initially when dry firing (snap caps) the second barrel would fire immediately after the first, with no bumping the stock or simulation of recoil. I thought they'd accidentally fitted a mechanical trigger to the gun! It always worked fine when actually shooting though.

Anyhow, a bit of a clean up and lubrication and the gun seemed to fix itself and has functioned perfectly ever since. I've heard of "physician heal thyself" but never shotgun...

Must have been a similar issue, a burr or dry surface or something.

Glad OP got his gun sorted.

 

[pigginspadger]

For me, the defects simply no longer inspire confidence in the new Beretta 694 model, this is a premium, expensive gun, to me insufficient development and poor quality control have contributed to the unacceptable defects, but the Beretta brand sails on, seemingly unaffected, it’s such a well established, well regarded world wide product, 500 years of provenance and manufacturing history are difficult to undermine………

 

[JohnoT]

Know what you mean, Beretta is a massive force in the gun making world, but I guess what we are seeing are the results of a certain amount of what used to be called "value engineering" and more reliance on machine made batch parts that make up the guns. Mostly they are good, but with tolerance build-ups and tooling wear rate predictors, you can only do so much with SPC charts and sample (or no) on-line inspections.
At the end of it they are hand assembled, so the human factor drops in there too....
My biggest worry is the incidence of forends cracking reported on various forums with this gun - worse in the U.S. ?
Does this correlate with the reports of initially tightly fitting forends I wonder. I'm getting paranoid and forensically examining the thing every time the gun comes apart..!
Overall though, I think it is a great gun and look forward to putting lots of cartridges through it.

 

[pigginspadger]

If a new 682 Gold E was available, I’d swap my 694 without a moment’s hesitation……

 

[ColinD]

If a new 682 Gold E was available, I’d swap my 694 without a moment’s hesitation……

But you'd have the same results as the 694 as it would come from the same factory, unless it's from the DT production line, oh hang on their having problems too

 

[Westward]

The Gold E was built in the custom shop by gunsmiths as was the DT10. Back then Beretta cared about their products and in 2011 had 68% of the UK new shotgun market. These days Beretta is run by accountants, the guns are assembled on a production line and I'll take a guess that their market share is more like 20%.

 

[ColinD]

The Gold E was built in the custom shop by gunsmiths as was the DT10. Back then Beretta cared about their products and in 2011 had 68% of the UK new shotgun market. These days Beretta is run by accountants, the guns are assembled on a production line and I'll take a guess that their market share is more like 20%.

Had the chance of a factory tour, shotguns are a small part of what they make now, was also surprised by what companies are owned by Beretta worldwide now.

 

[Luke_(NL)]

Beretta is probably in the top three of the most widely sold shotgun brands globally, if not at the top of that list. I am pretty curious how they would compare to any other manufacturer in a calculation of " issues in percentage(s) of guns sold", as I think the percentage would be far lower than what most would have you believe on the basis of individual instances. There is a reason why they are doing as well as they are.

I am also curious as to what ailments reportedly plague (all, most, or some) DT's, and whether that is from personal experience ( @ColinD ) . I own a DT11 and haven't had any issues, but maybe that is just luck. I also own a 692, which (despite its reputation) has only once presented an issue. This was a broken tang screw after several years of pretty heavy use, which I could likely have prevented that by checking it sooner. I was able to sort that issue myself by ordering the part from Beretta in Italy and was back in business in under 72 hours. Availability of parts (to your doorstep) is a very major advantage and in in my view other brands could really take a cue from Beretta in that regard.

 

[Will Hewland]

Yes I agree that with so many Berettas around, you have a high chance of hearing about any that go wrong. Balance that against the silent happy customers

 

[ColinD]

Beretta is probably in the top three of the most widely sold shotgun brands globally, if not at the top of that list. I am pretty curious how they would compare to any other manufacturer in a calculation of " issues in percentage(s) of guns sold", as I think the percentage would be far lower than what most would have you believe on the basis of individual instances. There is a reason why they are doing as well as they are.

I am also curious as to what ailments reportedly plague (all, most, or some) DT's, and whether that is from personal experience ( @ColinD ) . I own a DT11 and haven't had any issues, but maybe that is just luck. I also own a 692, which (despite its reputation) has only once presented an issue. This was a broken tang screw after several years of pretty heavy use, which I could likely have prevented that by checking it sooner. I was able to sort that issue myself by ordering the part from Beretta in Italy and was back in business in under 72 hours. Availability of parts (to your doorstep) is a very major advantage and in in my view other brands could really take a cue from Beretta in that regard.

Don't own one, tried a DT11 demo, it was brand new, they brought it out and they couldn't get it open. After several attempts they managed to get it open, mounted it in the shop to check fit and like all Berretta's it was too low in the drop for me, but I thought I'll try it anyway, shooting ground at the gun shop. First stand shot two, then couldn't get gun open, after several tries it opened. Shot two more stands all ok, then next same thing again, got it open and took it back. Like anything you only here about the things that go wrong with any brand, trouble is you ask any shop/shooter what's the best and they only mention the top 3 brands ''you wont loose much if you buy xzy when you come to sell it'' they all seem to say.
Well xyz has lost me money when I've chopped them in for another, so that doesn't stand up either

 

[pigginspadger]

That sounds unnervingly familiar to my experiences with a brand new 694, which, to the credit of my excellent local gunsmith (Matt Simpson at Simpson Brothers of Wittering Grange), he promptly fixed, and the problem did not recur, however three weeks later the forend cracked, at the lower front muzzle end, and the gun was returned to GMK, who replaced this without question. I have to say that I don’t have a great deal of confidence in this Beretta model, and every time I shoot it I expect something else to go wrong!! But to part exchange it for an alternative gun would mean a substantial financial hit…… vat alone accounting for £700 of the initial purchase price….. so what would I expect to realise in a part exchange….. for a gun that cost £3500? - 2k? Lots of Second hand 694’s are on Guntrader at £2450 upwards, so allowing the dealer a reasonable margin of £4/500, and doing another deal on another Beretta might give me another load of disappointment!! - should have stuck with Miroku!!

 

[Peteri]

Same problem for me. DT11 demo gun at Holland and Holland.

Top lever stuck on most stands. Could get it open eventually but took a lot of effort and left me we badly bruised thumbs/fingers.

Maybe it’s bad luck, but a demo gun needs to work - simples

Bought a Perazzi (used) instead