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Thread: Beretta A390 Gold Mallard

  1. #1
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    Beretta A390 Gold Mallard

    These were an earlier take on the current AL391 shotguns as far as I know, marketed through the 90's until the early 00's, although possibly longer.

    They are thought by many to be Beretta's most reliable self loading shotgun and I'm certainly amazed at how well they run. No amount of filth, water or cold has stopped it, and it appears to have had thousands of cartridges through it before I acquired it.

    Anyway, the shotgun itself is a little different in appearance to the usual. It has a walnut, Monte Carlo style stock which can be adjusted for LOP, drop and cast. The action is somewhat reminiscent of the Auto-5s "hump" shape. The fore-end has almost full length chequering and is long enough to accommodate pretty much any point of hold. The barrel has a full length trap rib which is fitted with a simple white bead.

    This particular one has a 30" inch, multi-choke barrel which were two particular features I felt were essential for it's intended purpose. They seemed to be aimed at fulfilling a variety of roles, and whilst it might ostensibly seem better equipped towards hunting, it seems excellent for many forms of clay shooting.

    The chamber is 3" inch, although it seems to have no issues with smaller length cartridges or even lower weights, such as 24gm loads. I generally use a 2.3/4" inch, 28gm cartridge; Eley Olympics specifically.

    Bolt-hold open can be manually engaged via a button on the loading gate. The safety is a standard cross-bolt which is mounted in front of the trigger. The bolt-release is a standard one mounted on the R/H side of the receiver, towards the front. It also has a magazine stop which is fitted to the L/H of the action.

    Field stripping is quite simple and works in a similar way to most shotguns, albeit with a few additional parts. I only lubricate the bolt-carrier, the rest of the action doesn't really require any. It gets fairly dirty, but it will run very well in spite of this.

    Build quality is quite high, although the receiver appears to be aluminium/alloy, but given they are quite heavy, a steel receiver would probably have been a bit much. This one is quite battered and worn, but they are a nice looking shotgun if well maintained.

    The action reduces the recoil quite well and has the usual, thick rubber Beretta recoil-pad. Muzzle climb is very minimal and it swings beautifully. It has improved my shooting immensely due to it being a good fit. I take no more battering from recoil due to poor fit.

    Personally I think it's a nicer product than the current Beretta autos.
    There can't be much else available that can come close in reliability; it certainly leaves Fabarms and Remingtons in the dust.

    Thanks for reading.

  2. #2
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    berreta semi

    i have ltd edition lioness no770 spot on think they are more or less same gun different packet

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Korium View Post
    ... They are thought by many to be Beretta's most reliable self loading shotgun ...
    Your gun's predecessor the A303 takes that honour, though it's all hearsay and repeat of other's opinions. I wonder what specifically were the significant 'improvements' made to the A390 over the A303 action. I doubt there's anything truly significant. A 3" chamber is undesirable and unnecessary unless you 'have to' be using magnum load cartridges but it's good to know this causes no ill effects to reliability. You sound pleased with your purchase as I am with my 18 y/o A303 and, like you, I shoot better with it than any shotgun I've previously owned. Enjoy. Regards ... Geek
    Last edited by Gungeek; 22-01-2011 at 12:13 PM.
    PauL H. - Shotgoon
    Brownings: 1999 Ultra XS; 2004 B525 Field; 2010 Maxus Hunter: Air Arms 1998 Mk.2 Pro-Target, 2001 Mk.2 Pro-Sport & 2003 S400C

  4. #4
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    As far as I remember, the A303 lacked the valve spring which was fitted to these, otherwise they are quite similar. I doubt they are any more reliable from my experience of using them which didn't show any evidence of it. The chap I bought it from uses 3" inch chambered autos very successfully for competitive use; I understand the theory about them, but the practical difference seems very low.

  5. #5
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    Is the valve spring behind the piston, 'helping' to return it to the cylinder after firing? If so, this seems a logical addition. I just wondered. Regards ... Geek
    PauL H. - Shotgoon
    Brownings: 1999 Ultra XS; 2004 B525 Field; 2010 Maxus Hunter: Air Arms 1998 Mk.2 Pro-Target, 2001 Mk.2 Pro-Sport & 2003 S400C

  6. #6
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    No, they go just in front of the gas block.
    I think the current AL391 has the for-end cap spring loaded instead.

  7. #7
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    The main and perhaps only difference between the 390 and 303 is the inclusion of a 'excess' gas vent valve which is, as you say, in front of the cylinder - that's pretty much it. Regards ... Geek
    PauL H. - Shotgoon
    Brownings: 1999 Ultra XS; 2004 B525 Field; 2010 Maxus Hunter: Air Arms 1998 Mk.2 Pro-Target, 2001 Mk.2 Pro-Sport & 2003 S400C

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
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    Lowestoft Suffolk
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    29

    A 390

    Hi i have a AL390 Lioness ltd edition, one problem is the rod thats connected to the sliding block breaks every now and then, which is a bit of a pain when your out in the field, but its easy to change just push the pin out replace it with new one, five minutes job done, thanks for looking.

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