Lazarus

A brown color on your cleaning rag? Remember that you have your porting holes in the barrel that spew burned powder and wad fouling all over the place. I think you will find that the ports are the source of most of the extra goop you are seeing. Also, when bluing is brand new, there is often a residue that is left behind and will wipe off with gun oil on a rag. May take a while to get it all. My question to you is - do you load one round at a time? If so, exactly how to you drop in the round? Any difficulties getting that single round chambered? Thanks, Lazarus

As the saga continues...There are 3 obstructions that stand in the way of the shell mouth being lifted into the chamber by the carrier. The first has already been pointed out and that is the receiver chamfering just where the mag tube threads into the lower receiver. The upper receiver encircles the barrel just at this point as well, and stands in the way of the shell mouth. Finally the barrel ramp itself forms a sharp ledge over the mag tube area. All 3 items must be recontoured, not just the lower receiver. Interestingly, the owner's manual page 34 states: "Open the bolt and at the same time insert a cartridge into the BARREL through the case ejection port." I had not noticed this statement before, but they are actually instructing you to load directly into the barrel. My experience with Beretta autos led me to simply drop the shell into the ejection port, not directly into the barrel. Is everyone else loading directly into the barrel? That would certainly avoid any operating problems with the carrier, wouldn't it? Is it reasonable to expect to load into the barrel like this? Thanks! -Lazarus

Here is a better explanation of the jam problem. If the gun is held slightly canted (ejection port up) to drop in the shell, occasionally the mouth of the shell positions itself angled downwards against the magazine follower. The rim of the shell is angled upward at about a 30 degree angle, resting on the bolt release arm. If you press the bolt release at this point, the shell cannot move upward, because its mouth is trapped by the shape of the beveling on the receiver, right where the magazine tube ends. The beveling is actually shaped to trap the round and not allow it to rise. This situation does not arise if a round is fed from the magazine tube. Magazine fed rounds shoot directly backwards and the rim is caught by a notch in the bolt release arm, keeping the shell horizontal in the receiver. Conclusion: this is not a tolerance stack problem or parts problem. The actual design is not friendly to loading one round through the ejection port. Modified receiver is required in my opinion. -Lazarus

The forend cap on the Sport II is designed to look rakish, but with the massive spring you must compress, it is not designed correctly to allow a good purchase on the cap. Initial improvements: Remove forend. Gently snap out the front plastic ring that contains the detent spring and plunger. Unscrew the detent retaining plug, chuck the detent plunger in a drill press or drill. While spinning the detent, use 220 wet/dry paper to recontour the sharp point to a much larger ball point. Finish smooth with 600 paper while still spinning the detent. Either install a lighter detent spring, or turn down the original to about 1/2 its former weight. Apply choke tube lube to the bottom of the forend cap and mag tube threads. Next I think we have to replace the forend cap with the standard round one from an SBE model. -Lazarus

We're slowly getting the bugs worked out. Range tested the Sport II and chambering single rounds worked fine as long as the gun was mounted normally. The second part of the problem is jamming if you chamber the round when the ejection port faces upward. This situation may occur if you cant the gun slightly while dropping the shell into the receiver, and press the bolt release in the same position. There are other sharp edges inside the receiver that will catch a round if it is chambered that way. Stay tuned... -Lazarus

Geno, the fix (after I discovered the problem) took me 30 minutes. Sending the gun back into the Bermuda Triangle is something I will not do for a "minor" problem. Now, on to the next issue of the forend cap (see new post). -Lazarus

Working out the "little bugs" in the Sport II. The forend cap on this Sport II literally shaves metal filings from the magazine bolt, forend and forend cap. Since it has to be taken off for gun cleaning I can see that I'll be replacing these parts quite often unless I can re-design the cap a little. Part of the problem is the click stop device that is supposed to keep the cap from unscrewing. It is cutting away at the metal cap and the threads in the mag tube are also wearing away after just a few disassemblies. Perhaps there is a forend cap from another model that will work better....suggestions? -Lazarus

The gun is new. I suppose you could call it a defect, but I think of it as a tolerance problem. No time to check or fit up the guns properly at the factory. We can do that if they send them back to us! The repair is to drop the trigger group and remove the carrier from the trigger assembly. Re-contour the right front fork just at the point that it rubs against the bolt release arm. Remove all the sharp edges, etc. and range test. -Lazarus

Discovered cause of malfunction. Carrier right front fork interferes with the bolt release lever when the latter is pushed inwards. The result is that the carrier cannot rise until the bolt handle is jiggled a little. -Lazarus

Ok, I got that the Fiocci shells didn't work. What exactly was happening that made them unsuitable? Is the shell diameter too large for the chamber and the round can't be ejected after firing? Loading too wimpy to cycle the action? Rims slip out of the extractor? What do your USA shells have that the Fiocci does not? -Lazrus

Since this is a relatively simple problem, I might suggest that you disassemble the safety and examine the area that is used as a detent. It will be rather sharp, and that is the source of the problem, not the spring. Judiciously smooth the detent so the parts can work more freely. Personally I do not believe in the concept of "breaking in", especially a safety lever. This is something that should work perfectly from the start. -Lazarus

Looking for feedback from other Sport II owners. I am feeding one shell in from the side (trap use) with the bolt locked back, then pressing the bolt release button. 2-3/4" shells. No problem cycling the action once the shell is chambered. 50% of the time, however, the carrier cannot rise to lift the shell into the chamber. Note: the shell is not jamming while going into the chamber. Sometimes the shell falls into just the right angle and freezes up the carrier. Jiggling the bolt handle allows normal chambering. Has anyone else experienced this symptom? I'm going to load up some shells minus primer/powder and duplicate the problem in the shop so I can see exactly where the bind is. Thanks, Lazarus