Fitting Beretta 686 shotgun stocks

[Patrick L]

Hi Guys!

How much actual fitting is involved in changing stocks on Beretta 686 series guns. I see some very nice upgrade wood sets frome Coles. etc. These are finished sets. I can't imagine there's very much actual fitting involved.

I should mention I'm pretty handy. I checker, install recoil pads, I stocked my own .30-06 from a semi finished blank, restocked my father in law's old sxs from a semi finished blank, refinished about a gazillion stocks, etc. I'm thinking this is within my abilities.

Anyone with any actual experience doing this?

[Snakeoil]

I believe that the 686 is similar to the 682. I shoot left handed and went to Beretta in MD and picked out a nice LH replacement stock for my 682X trap gun. I wanted to take it with me. But they said that they had to fit it in order for the warranty to stay in effect. So, I shipped the gun to them. I shot that gun competitively and in practice that summer. I used to shoot 5 to 7 days a week. At the end of the season, I tore the gun apart as the last shoot was in the driving rain. When I removed the stock, the right side, just behind the receiver, fell off. Long story short, they never relieved the area behind the lug for the mainspring plunger. It dug into the wood with every round fired. It was only the tonque that goes under the receiver at the front and the finish that kept that piece of wood in place.

Beretta said the gun was out of warranty by then. I told them they insisted that THEY fit the stock and I proved to them that they did it poorly. They replaced the stock for free.

So, is it hard. I doubt it. I saw the stock when I bought it and I could tell it would take very little effort to properly fit. But, make sure you relieve the wood around that mainspring plunger lug or you may suffer the same fate I did.

[porthos]

i used to "stocksmith" for a beretta (and others) target shotgun dealer. fitted a few stocks in 20 years. the stock "should "fit right on. HOWEVER. since you are handy with wood; doublecheck these areas. the radius at the top and bottom of the reciever where the back of the reciever bottom out; should not touch the reciever. the best/only bearing surface should be the flat area where the stock bolt protrudes. scrape out and scuff up a .032 or so for the epoxy to flatten out. the 2 areas that i mentioned earlier; 1 layer of masking tape, to keep them from bottoming out on the stock. th area that i mentioned to bed is the rrecoil absorbing area. oh, ad a little dab to the top and bottom where i said to tape. scrape a little wood from both of those areas for the bedding. hope this helps . ask if you have more questions