Beretta problem

[gustav]

My Beretta S57el which appears to be in very good condition for its age, virtually unmarked with no apparent wear in the action & the forend being tight, has none the less developed a noticeable problem. The gun is very difficult to open once it has been fired.
Are there any knowledgeable PW members out there who know what the likely cause might be and what it is required to remedy it ?

Many thanks, Gustav.

[bruno22rf]

First step - try a totally different cartridge. If you already have then next on the list if it were me would be to make sure that the ejectors are moving freely.

[stu64]

I had an over/under with a similar problem, turned out to be slightly bent firing pin. replaced both pins and springs myself (£20) and the gun was like new. Some guns are really easy to inspect the firing pins, don't know about your Beretta.

[DUNKS]

Hi has the gun been OK in the past with cartridges you are now using?

[Guest cookoff013]

do you grease the hinge?

[JohnfromUK]

My thoughts.

I have an S57 EL.  It doesn't have this problem ............... but I also have a Merkel 203E - and that did have the problem.  It was quite easily corrected and can be caused by wear in the cocking mechanism and/or lockwork.  It applies mainly to the lower barrel because the top barrel has a more 'away' movement from the breech face rather than sliding past it.

What happened is this;

• When the gun is fired, the firing pins are forward against the caps.  The tumber (hammer) either virtually rests on the pin - or more likely is just clear (like a rebounding hammer gun)
• Because the cap has a small indent (from being hit by the striker and the end of the pin may be just in that indent.
• When you try and open the gun, the firing pin end drags on the cap as the cap slides past the breech face as the gun is opened (bottom barrel is almost a 'slide past' movement), making opening stiff as the cap edge has to push past the pin.
• This can often be seen as a bit of a gouge on the (bottom) edge of the fired cap when the gun is opened.

What should happen when all is adjusted 'just right' is;

• After firing, the pin is just clear of the surface of the cap by 'rebounding' of the tumbler (hammer) and firing pin spring (if fitted)
• As the gun just starts to open ..... the tumber is immediately lifted (in the very initial movement of the barrels opening) further off the firing pin
• This allows the gun to open freely

In my case the cure was to adjust the cocking lever (the Merkel is a sidelock) to ensure cocking started in the very first movements of opening the gun.  It was an easy adjustment for a gunsmith (while I waited I think).  On the Beretta the cocking is done by a slide (on the S57 series) that must push the tumblers back.  I suspect that - or the 'down position stop' of the tumber is in need of some adjustment.  Being a trigger plate action it is a little less easy to access than the sidelock Merkel (which has hand detachable locks).

Be a bit wary of people saying the pin may be a bit long and needs grinding down.  IF this has started happening over time, metal pins do not usually 'grow' and so removing metal isn't the right fix.

As someone has said, some cartridges are more prone to this than others, but my best guess is that the firing pins are dragging - and probably due to one of the reasons mentioned above.

NOTE: the S57 EL with it's sideplates has very fine slots in the screws/pins.  It is should have a screwdriver/turnscrew that exactly fits or the heads will get damaged.  Gunsmiths will understand this.  Mine caused my gunsmith great difficulty getting it opened as the screws were very tight or had possibly been locktited at some stage in the past.

Edited June 6, 2019 by JohnfromUK

[Wingman]

Take it to a gunsmith?

 

[gustav]

Many thanks for the helpful suggestions which have been made.I think that a dragging firing pin is the most likely cause. The gun had not been used for more than a year and the problem has become much less pronounced with use ,so my next step will be to strip and clean when time permits|.

 Regards to all ,  Alan.