The Autoloading Action

After rattling on about pumpguns last time, now it’s the autoloader’s turn. To me, shotguns are like puppies: I love them all but would have to agree that some are just not as cute as others. Then again, sometimes the ugly dogs become the most accomplished. So when I say that the “auto” is a real dog, I say it with a smile.

There are basically two kinds of semi-auto actions: inertia and gas-operated. A good example of an inertia gun is the barrel-banging Browning A-5 humpback. The barrel actually moves slightly rearward on firing to produce the required inertia to cycle the gun. Beretta’s new break-open UGB25 Xcel also has a barrel that moves very slightly, so the theory has stood the test of time. Benellis are also inertia driven, but the barrel remains stationary as internal parts are moved rearward by the recoil. By the way, Franchi and Stoeger autoloaders also use the Benelli inertia action if you are looking for a price break. Beretta owns all three companies.

The two most well-known gas-operated autoloaders would be the Remington 1100 and probably the current Beretta 391. These guns operate from gas pressure bled from holes halfway up the barrel. The practical resulting differences between gas and inertia autos are that the inertia guns shoot cleaner than the gas guns, but the gas guns have less perceived recoil because they stretch the recoil pulse out a bit longer. With a gas gun, you get more of a push and less of a poke.

One of the softest gas guns I’ve ever shot was the Remington 1100. The half-dozen I’ve had were delightful in every respect except one: When they got a little age on them, they ate parts the way I eat peanuts when my wife isn’t looking. I was convinced that the soft recoil was due to the crushing of said parts. My equally soft-shooting Ithaca Model 51 was like that too—soft shooting but hungry for rehab. The new Beretta 391s are extraordinarily reliable, but they kick a bit more. Hint: If I had been smart enough to replace the mainspring in my 1100s every 5,000 to 10,000 rounds, I would have avoided much of the breakage. As the mainspring weakened, the action cycled too quickly and pounded itself to death. A fresh mainspring is a few dollars and five minutes of work. Like changing the oil in your car, a little maintenance here will prolong the life your gun.

Inertia autoloaders like Benellis are popular among waterfowlers and mid-American pheasant hunters. Both like them because they are reliable in even the foulest wet weather. My gas guns tended to go belly-up when fully soaked. On the other hand gas guns like the Beretta 391 are wildly popular in sporting clays. In my area of Florida about a third of the really good guys use a Beretta gas auto or similar and two-thirds use some sort of over/under. Your ratio may vary. The low-recoiling 391 20-gauge is also fabulous for volume Argentine doves.

Inertia-auto maintenance is pretty simple. Pull the gun apart once a year, wipe it down lightly with any handy oil and you are good for another year. Gas guns require more attention, because the gas that operates the action is loaded with carbon from the burning powder. That carbon gets deposited everywhere. When it builds up too much, the gun grinds to a halt. Some gas guns are more susceptible than others. I had to clean my Remington 1100s, Winchester Super X-1s and Ithaca Model 51 quite often—i.e. every time or two that I shot them. My early Beretta 302 and 303 gas guns required medium maintenance every 500 rounds or so. The newer Beretta 390 and 391 can go much longer without attention.

I do have one maintenance secret for gas guns: Break Free CLP. When my gas guns get really awful, I just slobber them up with this synthetic oil. I’d like to say I use Break Free CLP to clean the guns, which it does nicely, but, to be frank, I usually just pour the stuff on top of the carbon-crusted parts and go shoot. This synthetic oil does a great job of loosening the carbon and then keeping it in solution. WD-40 loosens things up nicely, but then it evaporates, leaving the crud even more stubborn than before.

One huge advantage to modern autoloaders other than the reduced recoil of the gas-operated ones is the ability to adjust their stocks. Today many autos (Beretta, Benelli and Browning come to mind) come with stock-adjustment shims that fit between the head of the stock and the rear of the receiver. With these you can adjust stock height and cast instantly. Try doing that on an O/U or side-by-side.

It is also easy to add weight front and back to an autoloader to get it to balance the way you want it to. This is harder to do on an O/U. Between the low recoil, adjustable stock and “tunable” balance, you can see why gas guns are so popular in clay shooting.

Autoloaders don’t cost a ton, but they aren’t cheap either. If you are serious about your shooting, a good auto will cost around $2,000. “But wait,” you say. “Autos cost only around $1,000 or so. You could buy two for $2K.” Yes, you could, and you should. Remember the following Technoid truism: “Gas guns are like sheep. They know when they’re alone and they don’t like it.”

And with that bit of animal-husbandry wisdom, it’s time to sign off. Next time side-by-sides.

Boots off. Beer open.