doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Barrel Bulge - How much is unsafe?

A customer of mine called me yesterday. He had purchased a new Beretta SO-5 a few years ago from one of Beretta's Premium dealers. Not long after receiving the gun he noticed that the mid rib was a little loose in the area under the forearm. He was told that it was not a safety issue and not to worry about it.

A week or so ago he sent the gun to a gunsmith at one of Beretta's Gallery's to have a leaf spring replaced. As this Premium Gallery is authorized to provide warranty service he asked them to re-solder the loose mid-rib while it was there.

The gunsmith called back and replied that the gun couldn't be fixed under warranty because, as he advises, the loose mid-rib was caused by a bulge in the barrel. This bulge was measured by the gunsmith to be 1/1000" (.001). He advised that this rendered the gun unsafe, and before he could return the gun to him my customer would be required to sign and return a waiver advising that he acknowledged that the gun was being returned in an unsafe condition and any continued shooting would be done at the customers own risk and Beretta would absolved of any liability in the event of an accident.

They advised the customer that the barrel bulge was most likely caused by shooting a popular brand of imported shells which was known for problems with cocked wads. (This customer has never reloaded a shell in his life).

My primary experience is with wood, and I do not profess any expertise or knowledge on safety issues on barrels. However, having said that, I am struggling to understand how a bulge of .001 renders a gun unsafe, and how this obviously becomes the customers fault because he may have shot factory shells that had a cocked wad.

I also have an extreme dissapointment with Beretta in the level of support they have provided to a customer who spent $20k on a premium gun.

I would appreciate hearing anything the members could contribute.

Thanks,

Hack

Beretta goes to extreme lengths to avoid lawsuits. I would give them $1000 for that unsafe wall hanger.How did the smith measure .001 ??
bill

Beretta goes to extreme lengths to avoid lawsuits. I would give them $1000 for that unsafe wall hanger.How did the smith measure .001 ??
bill

You said that the owner noticed the mid rib was loose not long after he purchased the gun and was told it was not a safety issue. I am wondering who told him that and I would have sent it back to the manufacturer right then........ Also, you said that it was caused by shooting a certain brand of shells that are known to have cocked wads. That part is bull. I have a brand new Remington Gun Club (on display), in my basement that has a cocked wad. I noticed it was cocked during a round of trap when it wouldn't go into my gun because the wad is pushed so badly out the side of the shell. One of the guys I shoot with had a AA with the wad cocked just a few weeks ago and couldn't get it into his gun far enough to get the gun to close. So, any manufacturer can produce a shell that has a cocked wad as far as I am concerned. Plus, I have NEVER had a cocked wad in all the thousands of rounds I have loaded over the past ten years. Just my opinion. Good luck.

i think the question needs to be framed more in the context of a person buying a NEW top of the line Beretta from one of their uatorized dealers shortly afterwards noticing a problem. He was then told (by the same factory authorized dealer?) that it was not a problem and when one of the factory's specialty dealers checks it out he is told that the barrel is bulged/unsafe as well as the rib problem and instead of things being put right he is told to sign a waiver that it it trashed and they can't be held responsible.

He should have immediatley escalated the issue to Beretta headquarters and provided them with details and receipts. This should have been covered by warranty.
I hope he didn't sign the waiver.

From what you say it has now been a "few years" since he paid over $20k for this thing and followed up on this unresolved problem and poor service. I would still try and get some service from Beretta headquarters (in italy). he might try contacting Rich Cole in Maine to get an opinion and see if he would be able to fix it properly (hopefully on warranty) and possibly provide a name/address to contact at Beretta.

The fact that there is a 'bulge' no matter how much or little means that the barrel steel has undergone 'inelastic' deformation as opposed to 'elastic deformation'. Steel can and does undergo elastic deformation and returns to original dimensions with it proerties of tensile strength unchanged.
When steel undergoes inelastic deformation, the tensile strenght decreases and may fail subsequently catastrophically.-Dick

It's not clear if he had shot the gun before or after he noticed the loose rib. If it was after, then it is a clear new gun warranty issue. He should contact Beretta in Italy.
Joe

"Also, you said that it was caused by shooting a certain brand of shells that are known to have cocked wads. "

Jimmy:

I did not say the problem was caused by shooting shells with cocked wads. That was the explanation from the Beretta Gallery gunsmith. I agree that his explanation is "Bull".

I also agree with everyone that said the problem with the loose mid-rib should have been dealt with immediately, but that's not the hand of cards we are playing with.

I also have already advised him to send the gun to Rick Cole and ask him to intercede with Beretta in Italy.

Thanks,

Gary

Dick:

Thanks for that explanation.

Hack

Sounds to me like Beretta is trying to cloud the issue and not pay for an expensive repair. I would love to hear how the gunsmith determined the bulge was .001" Even if it is true, it is not enought to affect the barrel's strength. I hate to hear this kind of BS from a quality manuf. like Beretta. It makes me think the bean counters have gained too much influence in an old and otherwise revered gun maker.

OB