Cz 912 ???

Toad

Active member
Went shotgun shopping with my buddy for a few hours on Saturday. We saw quite a few guns. Some were nice, some were.... rough...:eek: We saw quite a few gently used pumps that I thought were fair deals, but didn't see anything that totally tripped his trigger. (There was a used Wingmaster that I really liked, but I wasn't the one buying.)

One outfit was selling a semi-auto I have never heard of, a CZ 912. It felt really good in my hands, although I thought the receiver was kind of ugly with the stripe on it and a big "CZ 912" painted on it. It felt pretty light compared to the used autos we were handling, and the price was dirt cheap.

Just wondering, does anybody own one of these and what is your opinion of it? It felt good in my hands came up to my shoulder and pointed nice, but of course we were not allowed to shoot it.

We also found a used Beretta 303. I am not familiar with that particular model, but I've been shooting a Beretta Xtrema 2 for three years and had no problems. The used Beretta 303 was about the same price as the new CZ.

If it was your $500.00, how would you spend it? Would you buy either of these autoloaders, or buy a less expensive pump instead and keep saving your pennies for another autoloader in the future?
 
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My main gun is a Beretta 391. Love it.

Prior to it was the 390. Many say the 390 was better than the 391.

Prior to the 390 was the 303. Haven't researched them, but have read about guys that shot them and liked them. If it was in good shape, I wouldn't hesitate, after researching completed auctions on gunbroker to see what used ones are going for.

I dont' know anything about the CZ. When Benelli fired Tom Knapp he went to work for CZ and now uses their autoloaders (maybe same model???) in his shows.

If you're up for a trip to southeast Kansas, April 7th in Pittsburg there will be an exhibition shoot featuring Tom Knapp shooting his CZ as well as whoever the current guy is shooting for Benelli. This starts at 3, but from 10-2 they're doing a 'try-me' shoot, where you can go handle all the guns from the major manufacturers, shoulder them, shoot them. Location is the Four State Farm Show grounds (just south of Pittsburg). Put on annually by Johns Sports Center.
 
Sorry don't know anything about the CZ, but I'll weigh in on the Beretta A303.

I have a 20 ga A303 that I traded for a couple cords of firewood, previous owner said it would not shoot light loads.

Come to find out that the A303 is not load compensated, meaning that if you want to shoot light 2-3/4 load the barrel better say 2-3/4 and if you want to shoot 3" the barrel better say 3". same applies for the 12 gauge

Mechanical, you'll probably never find a better semi auto, excessively reliable and very easy to clean

fit and finish on mine is of average Beretta quality, but it is a shooter and will cycle in the dove field all day long

make sure it fits you well, because it has barrel bias (weight toward the front of the barrel) and takes some trial and error to figure out your leads, but once you do the A303 is a pleasure to shoot.

if it is a 20 gauge, let me know, I'd buy it in a heartbeat @ $500
 
A friend of mine has a CZ shotgun he bought about five years ago. I think this gun is made in Europe, maybe Poland.

He had problems with the gun not ejecting. I believe they took it off the market for a time, but am not sure.

You could google "CZ" and probably find more information about their guns.
 
Sorry don't know anything about the CZ, but I'll weigh in on the Beretta A303.

I have a 20 ga A303 that I traded for a couple cords of firewood, previous owner said it would not shoot light loads.

Come to find out that the A303 is not load compensated, meaning that if you want to shoot light 2-3/4 load the barrel better say 2-3/4 and if you want to shoot 3" the barrel better say 3". same applies for the 12 gauge

Mechanical, you'll probably never find a better semi auto, excessively reliable and very easy to clean

fit and finish on mine is of average Beretta quality, but it is a shooter and will cycle in the dove field all day long

make sure it fits you well, because it has barrel bias (weight toward the front of the barrel) and takes some trial and error to figure out your leads, but once you do the A303 is a pleasure to shoot.

if it is a 20 gauge, let me know, I'd buy it in a heartbeat @ $500

That is good info on the 303, thank you! I will let him know to check the barrel if he decides to go that way. Aside from a couple scratches on the barrel, the thing looked brand new. 12 ga.

Trap league starts on Sunday, thank goodness. My trigger finger was getting itchy!
 
Prior to it was the 390. Many say the 390 was better than the 391.
Whether it was better or not is debatable, what is not debatable is the more simplistic design and easier to maintain from a cleaning standpoint of the 390 and all 300 series models prior to the 391. That being said... the 391 requires less maintenance to keep functioning properly.

Prior to the 390 was the 303. Haven't researched them, but have read about guys that shot them and liked them. If it was in good shape, I wouldn't hesitate, after researching completed auctions on gunbroker to see what used ones are going for.
I have a 302 which was the predecessor to the 303. Had a 390 and an xtrema of which are gone now and currently have a 391 urika2. I love the 302 for it's minimal parts and ease of take down. I love the 391 for it's versatility with it's capability to handle a wide array of ammo choices.

I've seen 303's in 85-90% condition for 450-$550.
 
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Whether it was better or not is debatable, what is not debatable is the more simplistic design and easier to maintain from a cleaning standpoint of the 390 and all 300 series models prior to the 391. That being said... the 391 requires less maintenance to keep functioning properly.

I have a 302 which was the predecessor to the 303. Had a 390 and an xtrema of which are gone now and currently have a 391 urika2. I love the 302 for it's minimal parts and ease of take down. I love the 391 for it's versatility with it's capability to handle a wide array of ammo choices.

I've seen 303's in 85-90% condition for 450-$550.

My A391 Xtrema 2 was the first Beretta product I purchased. Prior to that I had a Browning Gold and a BPS.

Due to the "astounding" quail numbers this year, I hadn't fired a shot (or cleaned) my Xtrema 2 since probably some time in Late December, although I did carry it quite a few times after that and also the gun rode around in the truck for a few months and spent a couple weekends riding in the bed of a UTV...

Anyway, I pulled it out tonight to look it over before I take it out this weekend for trap. Boy, it was NASTY! I think it mostly was from riding around in the UTV, but it was full of dust and dirt. So I dug out my super-cleaning kit and broke the gun all the way down and got all the parts toothbrush clean.

Again, I have no experience with the previous Beretta models, but I sure thought it was awfully easy to break down and clean the A391. And the magazine tube stays 10X cleaner than my old Browning Gold. To me, I would say the Gold and the A391 are equally easy to assemble and disassemble, but like you said, the 391 doesn't need much maintenance.

If I ever hunt with somebody with a 302, I will definitely help them clean it at the end of the day so I can see the difference.
 
My A391 Xtrema 2 was the first Beretta product I purchased. Prior to that I had a Browning Gold and a BPS.

Due to the "astounding" quail numbers this year, I hadn't fired a shot (or cleaned) my Xtrema 2 since probably some time in Late December, although I did carry it quite a few times after that and also the gun rode around in the truck for a few months and spent a couple weekends riding in the bed of a UTV...

Anyway, I pulled it out tonight to look it over before I take it out this weekend for trap. Boy, it was NASTY! I think it mostly was from riding around in the UTV, but it was full of dust and dirt. So I dug out my super-cleaning kit and broke the gun all the way down and got all the parts toothbrush clean.

Again, I have no experience with the previous Beretta models, but I sure thought it was awfully easy to break down and clean the A391. And the magazine tube stays 10X cleaner than my old Browning Gold. To me, I would say the Gold and the A391 are equally easy to assemble and disassemble, but like you said, the 391 doesn't need much maintenance.

If I ever hunt with somebody with a 302, I will definitely help them clean it at the end of the day so I can see the difference.

The 300, 301, 302, 303 and 390 all are very similar in design with minor changes cosmetically with a more significant change to the gas system from 303 to the 390.

Technically an Xtrema has the 391 model attached to it. However, when most speak of a 391 they are referring to the A391 Urika which is a whole different animal. The Xtrema was actually a Franchi design. I had an Xtrema and will agree with you that they are easy to break down and clean and re-assemble. The Urika and Urika2 while very dependable and requiring less maintenance than their predecessors are much more complicated to fully disassemble. I think they are over engineered personally for what they are. The Urika2 is now history as far as manufacturing is concerned and now the new A400 takes it's place. I have no knowledge personally with this newest version, so I can't comment on it's design.

Finally I will just say that newer (model wise) isn't always associated with being better IMO.
 
Thanks for that information. I had no idea.:cheers:

My buddy has found a used 390, and I think he's ready to drop his $$$. We are going to try and make a trip to the clays range this weekend, and I am super excited for him!
 
If you like the 390 but prefer a new gun then you may want to check out the 3901. It's basically a 390 with a few minor changes but same simplistic design. It was re-introduced by popular demand for those that want a more affordable semi auto. Less than Half the price of the new A400 models.

Been around for a little while and used to come in wood stocks, but now I think they are synthetic only.

http://www.berettausa.com/products/...0a79e8496bc458c9ca2cb519d550997&Keywords=3901
 
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