Beretta A300 Outlander Disassembly / Assembly

[BLC]

After picking mine up last night I decided to take it apart to wipe it off and lube before shooting it next week. I had a couple issues...

First, I made the mistake of dry firing it before disassembly which made it impossible to take apart. It took me about 20 minutes to figure out where I went wrong before I stuck my finger through the ejection port and pushed the trigger back down out of the way so the rod would slip by it. The manual actually says it needs to be decocked prior to disassembly but I don't see how that is even possible. The rod has no way to get past what I guess is the hammer once it has been fired.

DISASSEMBLY
WARNING: Always check that the shotgun is unloaded (empty cartridge chamber, empty receiver, empty magazine). Inspect the firearm by looking through the ejection port, the loading gate and the chamber. If it is not empty, unload it as instructed in the relevant section. Check that the hammer is decocked.

At this point I should have put it down and walked away for a few minutes but noooo...

So at this point the bolt assembly and the operating rod / sleeve come out pretty easily. So I looked at the parts and figured I would assemble / disassemble a couple few times to get used to it, here is where the fun starts and this is what it says in the manual...

• Push the breech bolt operating rod all the way in to insert the breech bolt into the receiver.
• Slide the breech bolt operating rod downward, compressing the internal recoil
spring until the breech locks into the open position.

Sounds easy right? Took me at least 30 - 40 minutes to do this the first time and it pretty much happened by accident, I then immediately took it apart to do it again and it took me another 20 minutes! Worked up a dang sweat and thought I was going to break it at one point.

The part that caused me issue was when sliding the bolt in, the rod has to line up with a very small spot within the receiver to depress the recoil spring, and there is no way to see this because it is at the rear inside of the receiver, and at this point you cannot see what you are doing through the ejection port.

What is the trick? Is the only way to do this require removing the trigger assembly? I was king of hoping not to have to do that every time but may have to. The guy in the Beretta video did not remove the trigger assembly and of course had it together in 2 minutes.

Please help me out Beretta guys! Hopefully this makes sense. I know I am missing something stupid!

PS... it is currently assembled and seems to cycle shells OK. Locks open good and returns to battery when the button is depressed.

[ysr_racer]

What is the trick?

Remove the trigger assembly.

Is the only way to do this require removing the trigger assembly?

It is for me.

I was kind of hoping not to have to do that every time but may have to...

Good luck with that

[ysr_racer]

Oh, and make sure the trigger assembly stays cocked. And when you put it back in you may have to depress the bolt release button to get it all the way in.

[BLC]

Thanks Brad, I figured that was the only way.

I guess it would be a lot easier to line up the rod with the bottom wide open. It was like some cruel carnival game the way I was trying to do it!

For the trigger assembly you just push the pin out, then pull the trigger assembly out while depressing the bolt release correct?

Yep, you answered that too.

[ysr_racer]

Make sure it's cocked with the safety on. Drive out the pin with a punch.

I don't think you need to depress the bolt release to remove it, but you'll have to when you replace it.

[BLC]

Oh yeah, am I correct in my thinking it cant be disassembled while decocked as it says in the manual?

I don't see how you could, it looks like the hammer slides through the center of the op in the decocked position making it impossible to pull the rod from the receiver.

I also noticed when depressing the bolt release it will only slide halfway forward with just the slightest pressure on the handle to keep it from slamming shut. I am assuming that will loosen up a bit with some use.

[ysr_racer]

>>Oh yeah, am I correct in my thinking it cant be disassembled while decocked as it says in the manual?

Yes, you are correct. It has to be cocked.

>>I don't see how you could, it looks like the hammer slides through the center of the op in the decocked position making it impossible to pull the rod from the receiver.

Yep

>>I also noticed when depressing the bolt release it will only slide halfway forward with just the slightest pressure on the handle to keep it from slamming shut. I am assuming that will loosen up a bit with some use.

I'm not sure what you mean, depress the button and the bolt should slam closed into full battery.

[powderedtoastman]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-8t25ES-1g

Follow this to every detail step by step and you'll be fine. I had the exact same experience with you my first time stripping it down and cleaning. Not to worry, after you've done it a few times it'll be second nature.

[BLC]

Thanks toastman, I watched that video a few times and it was helpful, but that guy skips right over the part I had issues with.

They show him sliding the bolt / rod in and skip to the next part. He didn't remove the trigger assembly either. He got the magic one!

Brad, it does slam into battery when pushing the button, but with the slightest interference it will stop midway and needs a small nudge to send it home. I'm sure it will break in, heck, maybe its supposed to do that to gently close it. Its my first auto loader.

[ysr_racer]

How many rounds have you put thru it?

Buy a case of ammo and shoot the crap out of it.

[BLC]

Not a single one yet, just brought it home last night.

I was happy to get it back together with a little oil left on it. I will take out for some sporting clays this weekend for 150 rounds or so. Then attempt to disassemble, including the trigger guard this time, and clean it proper like.

[ysr_racer]

Don't bother cleaning it too much, just shoot the crap out of it.

I hunted ducks all last season, shot a few hundred rounds of sporting clays, haven't cleaned it yet.

[BLC]

OK, I appreciate the responses. Not so afraid to take it apart again.

I cheat when cleaning about half the time. I'm a big fan of synthetic safe gun scrubber, compressed air, and boresnakes.

[NATEWA]

Thanks toastman, I watched that video a few times and it was helpful, but that guy skips right over the part I had issues with.

They show him sliding the bolt / rod in and skip to the next part. He didn't remove the trigger assembly either. He got the magic one!

Brad, it does slam into battery when pushing the button, but with the slightest interference it will stop midway and needs a small nudge to send it home. I'm sure it will break in, heck, maybe its supposed to do that to gently close it. Its my first auto loader.

I watched the video and think I know what you're having a hard time with (yeah, they skip over that part). When you slide the bolt in, you are holding into the rod sleeve (sorry - can't remember all the technical terms). Behind the bolt is a rod that is supposed to slip over something, allowing you to push the bolt and rod towards the butt stock.

You have to put the stock on a workbench and have the gun facing up. As you slide the sleeve/rod down, try tilting the gun back a little. Keep going up and down until you feel it go down further. Difficult to explain but easy to show. Let me see if I can find another video to show what I'm trying to describe.

[BLC]

Thanks!