Painless removal of the 391 valve nuts

[jdb]

I wanted to pass along a tip to my Beretta brethren that, had I known about
it earlier, would have saved me some bruised knuckles and a lot of frustration.

I recently purchased a used Urika Trap 12-gauge, and have had a grand time knocking clay targets out of the sky. Even cleaning the gun has been fun -- all except the dreaded gas cylinder assembly.

As 391 owners know too well, there are two valve nuts which need to be
removed before one can gain access to the cylinder innards and gas ports.
The first one is a locking nut, and can be very difficult to remove with those
silly faux wrenches Beretta supplies. And the second one is very deeply
threaded, so using the wrenches means many, many repositionings of those
tiny tools. A complete pain in the neck.

I'm happy to say life changed for the better for me when I was guided to a
product called WonderSocket, a machine-milled steel socket designed for
one purpose only: to remove those two nuts, using either a socket wrench
or power drill. I purchased one immediately, and cannot say enough nice
things about it.

So impressed and appreciative was I that I decided to post the pertinent
information at the bottom of my Beretta page...

http://jdallas.home.att.net/beretta.html

...for other 391 owners to consider.

My understanding from the guy who invented, patented, produced, and has
been marketing this tool is that his inventory is near its end -- and that he
will not be going back into production. So if you want one, I suggest you act
sooner than later. In fact, now that I'm thinking about it, I may even get
myself a spare before they run out.

Stay safe out there.

jdb

 

[bigcim]

I have never taken this apart is it necessary. I didn't touch it because I was worried it was torqued down to a certain spec

 

[Seamus O' Caiside]

bigcim, at some point it will become necessary to take the valve apart to clean the gas ports. How many shots you can fire before you start getting some plugging depends on what kind of ammo you shoot. With Federals, just a few hundred, with Rios there is no telling - a long time.

There is no adjustment on those nuts, and no need to worry aobut exactly how tight they need to be. Just screw the one that compresses the spring as far as it will go and snug it down a bit, then put the lock nut on and snug it down. No need to use a torque wrench.

 

[Seamus O' Caiside]

I'm haveing trouble getting my signature to show up. Maybe now....

 

[JNewell]

Not sure that isn't a solution in search of a problem but I ordered one and will be interested to see how it works.

Personally, I still prefer the 390 gas system because of its simplicity...