Edit: this thread is from 4 years ago, but I have added a post on the end. I was finally able to make it a DT gun, and explained how that happened.



I have an Oklahoma duck and quail hunt coming up week after next, and have been planning all along to use my 626 Onyx. The gun fits me really well and had never given me any sort of problem until yesterday. I shot a few clays and suddenly the inertial triggers would not reset. I didn't notice anything different about the gun until I just didn't have a second shot. Either barrel will shoot if I manually move the selector, but it will not reset itself no matter which barrel I shoot first.

I pulled the action and soaked it in kerosene, blew out using the air compressor, and then added a light coating of CLP. That changed nothing. So I found a couple of videos of o/u guns that use inertial triggers and tried to better understand how it's supposed to work, then pulled the stock and pulled the trigger several times.

Homeless Joe will be glad to tell you that I am dumb, but I will admit I don't understand how this thing is supposed to work. And that I can't see it work is not giving me any clues as to what is wrong with it. I was going on a trip this morning that took me right by my gunsmith, so I tried to drop it off there. He was closed and it looked like he's been closed for several days.

So my only hope of being able to carry my favorite gun on my hunt is if some kind soul here can spot what is wrong and tell me how to fix it. I've done a good bit of amateur gunsmithing, but I can't understand how this thing works. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Also, is there anyone on earth that could convert this to a DT gun? I suspect it would take fabricating some parts, but I'd be willing to pay a lot more than what most people would think reasonable. This would be the perfect shotgun for me if it only had 2 triggers.

This is a picture after the right barrel would have fired.

I have converted them to double trigger in the past with parts from Cole Gunsmithing. I am not sure but seem to remember they no longer offer the parts or the conversion option. Might be worth a call though. Fabricating parts becomes costly very quick.

Thanks, but I already checked with them. They said they didn't have any parts to convert a sxs; only o/u guns. But if you were able to get a 626 converted, then that's very helpful to know that it's possible. There must be parts somewhere.

Does it look even remotely like this trigger group?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j80PBu1X__M

My mistake.....I did not look or read close enough. The Beretta I converted was an O/U. I apologize for mis-leading you.
Steve

I guarantee it can be fixed easily by Rich Cole. He doesn't like working on 62X series guns, but if you beg, he will.
JR

Yea but he's going on a hunt in 2 weeks and he'll probably never get it back in time.

There's a lot of differences, but also a lot of similarities. That video was very helpful and gives me confidence that I could fix it if I could just understand what is wrong with it. It has to be something fairly simple associated with the inertial block, but I can't figure out what it could be. My gun has springs similar to the ones they changed in the video, but they aren't broken. They said that one of those springs being broken was a common cause of a 686 having the same problem I am, but I've got a different issue.

SKB, no problem on the DT issue. I kinda suspected that you misunderstood me because I don't think Beretta ever made a 626 with DT. Someone please correct me if that is wrong.

And thanks for the recommendation on Cole's, though I hate to hear he doesn't like to work on the 626. I think my local guy can fix it if I can catch up with him, but it's good to know I can ship it to Cole if I have to do it.

Philip can fix it no sweat and if he will let you visit the time will be less than 30 m. If you are in TX he is north of Tyler about 30 miles. Call him at 210-313-5988. He ias the best I have ever seen!

Bill

Thanks for the info. What is his last name, or the name of the business?

Philip's Gunsmithing 210-313-5988

Philip Crenwelge, and I agree with Bill. He's the man for triggers. Wish I lived closer so I didn't have to ship stuff to him.

SRH

He's going on a hunt in Oklahoma so he must live out west somewhere. Hopefully close to Texas.

Good luck Coosa.

I'm far from knowing much about Beretta triggers, from the picture , the pendulum moves back the block moves back and allows the block that goes under the sear tails to move side to side. If both hammers are cocked , and you move the barrel selector back and forth it kind of does the same thing without the pendulum moving. Pull the trigger, then pull back on the pendulum. That should shift the block over. Whether that makes sense or not , that;s my story and I'm stickin' to it!

It's an expensive way to get parts, but I wonder if the double triggers from something like a GR2 or 425 could be made to work in a 626? Then put the 626 single trigger into the donor gun as a backup.

I have wondered if something like that could work. So does Beretta not sell parts for guns as old as a GR2 or a 425? My hope was that parts could still be bought for these guns and someone could adapt a trigger assembly from one of them to my gun. I have a 425 and I would sacrifice it to convert the 626. Unfortunately, the only thing that would possibly work would be the triggers themselves; the trigger guard is totally different.

I thought my best chance might be a DT assembly from something like a 686. If Beretta ever made any DT gun with a trigger guard the same size as my gun I would think it's possible. If they never made one the same size, it may be hopeless.

Mark II, your explanation makes sense and I have already tried that repeatedly. Nothing let's the block move over unless I manually move the barrel selector.

By the way, I live in AL, so I can't just drop by a gun shop in TX; it will have to be shipped somewhere unless my local guy can fix it. And I suppose I can give up on taking a sxs to OK. I have a Super Black Eagle that is very functional, but it has no soul.

Thanks for all the replies.

In Europe most 626s are double triggers, so there should be parts for the conversion at some dealers or Beretta itself.

Seeing that the system is not resetting itself, yet it can be manually changed to the second barrel, it seems that something is blocking the inertia block from moving back under recoil. Check if you can freely move the inertia block back. A worn pin, or some debris trapped somewhere under the block might be the problem.

The inertia system is so simple that it cannot be anything major.

Can you get the trigger to reset if you pull the trigger and then thump the butt of the gun on the floor to simulate recoil? Given that we're now into colder weather and that you were shooting clay targets, I'm wondering whether maybe a combination of heavier than normal clothing and loads lighter than you'd use when hunting ducks means that the trigger isn't getting enough of a recoil bump to make it work. Or did you try the gun with heavier hunting loads to see if that makes a difference?

Philip's Gunsmithing
Philip Crenwelge
210-313-5988

Thanks for the really great info that a DT 626 does indeed exist. You have just given me a quest. The block will freely move back, but it doesn't do anything that I can see to pick up the other barrel. I got a return call from my local gunsmith this morning and carried the gun to him. He said he would do his best to fix it before my hunt, but parts might keep him from being able to get it done by then.

No, nothing will reset it except moving the barrel selector. Bumping it on the floor was the first thing I tried, but no luck with that. I then fired a couple of 3" turkey shells, but it didn't help.

Hopefully it can get repaired in time for my hunt, but I'm also now hopeful that it will be a DT gun before next season.

Thanks for all the replies. I'll report back on what happens.

Bummer.

I've not run across a Beretta single trigger that couldn't be made to work by the time honored soak and air blast that you've already done, but my experience is only with O/U types.

Beretta is infamous for wood chips from their machine inletting process floating around and jamming things up. I've had this happen with 3 Beretta O/U's that I've owned and heard about many others.

Did you try it for function (trip left, bounce the back of the frame on a piece of carpet, trip right) with the stock off?

That's all I can suggest without having the gun in my hand. Look for inletting residue.

You could hunt with it. The barrel selector is pretty handy to your thumb... just get your thumb out from behind the top lever before you shoot the second barrel.

I never did try bumping it with the stock off. Since I could push the block back with my fingers and that didn't change anything, I thought something I couldn't see must be broken. But as I said, my local gunsmith has it now and I will just have to wait until he examines it before I can do anything now. He seemed very confident that he could fix it, and has never let me down yet. He has done 5 or 6 trigger jobs on shotguns for me and did a superb job every time.

I am so glad to get the information here that there are 626 guns in Europe that have DT. That makes me think that somewhere in the world the parts that I need do exist. Am I wrong in assuming that a trigger assembly would not require all of the legal issues associated with importing a gun? It wouldn't be called a gun in the USA, but I don't know if that's the case in Europe.

I was finally able to talk to Rich Cole, and he told me Beretta had no parts at all for 626 guns, much less a DT assembly. I guess the only way to get a DT 626 into the USA is to buy one in Europe and import it. I have enough hassles in life without going through that.

Does anyone know of a similar gun that is available here? I learned to shoot with a Spanish gun that was set up like a 626, except it had DT. That gun bit the dust long ago, and I have never been able to find another like it. The 626 fits me better than any other gun I've tried, but I do not like a ST. I have a long face, and the high rib on the 626 helps it shoot where I am looking. I also have long fingers and have no problem shooting DT with a pistol grip. I have a Fausti with an English stock and I don't feel like I have control of the gun the way I do with a PG. I realize that my preference is not what most people want.

So what I want is a modern gun capable of shooting steel shot and high pressure loads, DT, pistol grip, BTFE, 28" barrels, a high rib, screw in chokes, and weight around 7 pounds. I don't want to spend over $5k for a gun I'm going to scratch up in the field.

Stan asked in one of his threads what is the barrier to people buying a new sxs gun, and this is mine- nobody seems to make the gun I want. I would leave today to go get it if a gun like this existed. Thanks for any suggestions.

For those who were wondering what could be wrong with my 626, I picked it up from my gunsmith today. Harvey King of H&K Guns in Selma, AL fixed it for me and got it done in time for my hunt next week.

Harvey has worked on several sxs guns for me, but I'm not sure if he had ever worked on a 626. He said he spent a few minutes looking at it like I did to try to figure out what was going on. Harvey is a lot more mechanical minded than I am and figured it out. There was a small pin sticking out about 1/8" at the rear of the inertial block and it was preventing the block from moving back far enough to reset the trigger. I had noticed the pin, but assumed it was the part that was supposed to hit in the rear.

He pulled out the pin and put it back in from the rear and braded it so that it can't do that again. Thanks to all for the help. I suppose I will just have to live with the single trigger, but at least it works now.

Good deal!! Glad to hear you got it back and in time for your hunt.

I think there are a few guns available for what you want. Possibly a Parker Repro or a BSS.

Check into an RBL also to see if they can shoot steel.

I have owned a 20 ga Beretta 626 Onyx for 20 years and like it very much. A couple of months ago I was able to buy a 627EL 12 ga with double triggers and straight grip. It is my new favorite gun. They both are from the same model years 1986 thru 1993 and the 627EL offers a double trigger solution.

Put two light mod choke tubes in your 626 Onyx and quit worrying with barrel selectors or double triggers. Enjoy.
JR

Glad you're all fixed up!

[/quote]


I am so glad to get the information here that there are 626 guns in Europe that have DT. That makes me think that somewhere in the world the parts that I need do exist. Am I wrong in assuming that a trigger assembly would not require all of the legal issues associated with importing a gun? It wouldn't be called a gun in the USA, but I don't know if that's the case in Europe. [/quote]




Expensive labor in USA makes SST to DT on inexpensive knockabout guns non-worthwhile project. Here is used 626 with DT in Florida.....
Bush ready Beretta ejector double....

It has carry wear plus some superficial oxidation form condensation on the barrels which means you can take into rainy bush and keep it in a barn w/o much worry. If chokes are opened up one can even use Winchester X-pert steel w/o much worry. That is good because we do not know what future regulation will bring upon us.

For the DT set up try Omps in Italy, they might have the parts and they would know what can and cannot be sent to the US.

I am so glad to get the information here that there are 626 guns in Europe that have DT. That makes me think that somewhere in the world the parts that I need do exist. Am I wrong in assuming that a trigger assembly would not require all of the legal issues associated with importing a gun? It wouldn't be called a gun in the USA, but I don't know if that's the case in Europe. [/quote]




Expensive labor in USA makes SST to DT on inexpensive knockabout guns non-worthwhile project. Here is used 626 with DT in Florida.....
Bush ready Beretta ejector double....

It has carry wear plus some superficial oxidation form condensation on the barrels which means you can take into rainy bush and keep it in a barn w/o much worry. If chokes are opened up one can even use Winchester X-pert steel w/o much worry. That is good because we do not know what future regulation will bring upon us.


[/quote]

Thanks for the information; I had already looked that gun over and even compared the pictures to my gun to see if I might be able to swap the triggers. It looked like the trigger guard was not gonna work, so I decided not to buy it. My gun is in much better shape than that one.

The single trigger would not be so bad if it was easier to operate the selector. I'm thinking of trying to fabricate some sort of extension for it to raise it up above the safety. I will have one barrel choked IC loaded with light steel loads for close shots at decoying ducks, and one barrel choked C for longer shots with tungsten loads. Moving the selector with gloves on is very difficult.

Thanks for the info. I looked at their online catalog and they show they have parts for a 625 with a single trigger, but didn't show anything with DT. I sent them an email anyway

Is it me being hypercritical ?
But what an amateur, farcical , video that is .
I would have thought they would have rehearsed it and it would have been a slick presentation, the re-assembly is far worse .

I actually had this conversion done a few years ago; parts are readily available, and where they are offshore, bringing them stateside is not an issue. My project (I also had the manual trigger converted to automatic) involved a favorite pet 626 I'd bought new at Beretta Gallery in 1996, so I didn't mind lavishing some money on it. Parts required are below, as well as sources; numbers correspond to Beretta's schematic:
Single trigger to double trigger:
35 Non-selective safety
64 DT spacer
65 DT connector/stock bolt block
66 DT screw
67 DT plate
68 DT screw
69 Left trigger
70 DT screw
71 DT articulated plate
72 Articulated trigger
73 DT trigger guard
76 DT pin
77 DT spring
78 DT pin
Manual safety to automatic safety:
38 Safety spring
39 Screw
88 Auto safety cartridge latch
89 Auto safety washer

The 626 has a reputation for reliability, but should replacement parts ever be needed, there are several good sources:

http://www.omps2.it/en/firearm-spare-par...-cal-ga-12.html

http://www.brignoliarmi.com/web_eng/shop2.asp?id=6&id_1=3

http://www.midwestgunworks.com/page/mgwi/ctgy/beretta-625-626-627-parts

https://www.gunpartscorp.com/Categories/Beretta-33152/Shotguns-35390/626-43018.htm?page=2

Many thanks, Jim! I will look into those parts, though a gunsmith on here has already told me he would do the job for me. It may be that he already knew about the availability of those parts, but I will discuss it with him soon. I am actually at the OK City airport now waiting to get home. We got a few quail and ducks, but the weather wasn't great and the hunt was kinda disappointing.

There were several times that I sure wished for DT on my gun. I'm just not good enough to switch barrels with the selector while the bird is in the air. But the gun worked just fine; my local guy fixed the issue with the inertial block.

What???? Disappointing as in no or hardly any birds?

coosa...if you come up a part or two short, let me know - I might have a spare. A few years ago, that parts list was $440, though no single source had everything I needed. If you email italy, the key to success is small words and short sentences. Aside from that its as simple as Amazon. Good Luck.

Yeah, very few birds of any kind. I got 4 quail and was the high man in our group of 5. I didn't get a mallard, but some of the other guys got a few. I did get a limit of ringnecks one morning.

Thanks again, Jim. I had already emailed the place in Italy, but they said they didn't have any 626 parts. They seemed to be in stock at a couple of your other links, but I haven't had a chance to really look. I still haven't gotten home. The power went out at the Atlanta airport and they sent our flight to Memphis and it isn't leaving until tomorrow. We rented a car and are driving. I already had my shift as the driver and decided to check the forum.

I am sitting in a hospital waiting room waiting for my wife to have a routine test, so I thought I would add an update to this thread from 4 years ago. I doubt that there are many people in the world interested in converting a Beretta 626 from single trigger to double trigger, but I will post my experience in case anyone runs across it in a search. There is not whole lot of information like this available, or at least I couldn't find it if it is.

After Jim Bode posted the excellent info above, I set about trying to get all of the parts together to do the job. I had to use all 4 of the companies that Jim linked above, but I thought I could buy everything he listed. I decided I should start with the parts that were only available in Italy, so I placed an order and paid with a CC. The next day I got an email from them saying that nearly all of the parts I had ordered were out of stock, even though their website said they had them. I cancelled the order and gave up on the idea.

Jim also sent me a copy of a 1997 article from Gun Digest where the writer said that he completely disassembled a 626 with nothing but a few screwdrivers and a punch. He explained that the 62x series was made for all the parts to be interchangeable from model to model. By the way, does anyone know if Jim is still around? I haven't seen a post from him in quite a while. Anyway, the article praised the 626 for it's high quality as a mass produced SXS, and lamented the fact that Beretta stopped producing them.

A couple of years ago, a DT 625 came up on GunBroker and I put in what I thought was a very low bid and wound up owning it. It's in decent shape, and the cost was not a lot more than the parts would have been for the DT assembly. It has a different style rib and different dimensions from the 626, plus it's choked a very tight F/M and I found i couldn't shoot it as well as my 626. I put it in the safe and seldom used it.

I got to go on a number of good dove hunts this past fall and used the 626 on all of them. I had several occasions when the inertial trigger failed to reset for the second shot. I never could determine what was causing the problem. It wasn't the problem that started this thread, and it was intermittent and unpredictable. It was aggravating enough that I came up with the idea of switching the triggers in the 2 guns.

I am purely an amateur as a gunsmith and I wasn't sure that this would be within my skill level, but the Gun Digest article gave me a little confidence that maybe I could do it. I started with the 625, and I only had to remove 3 or 4 screws to take out the trigger assembly and the safety. Since the barrel selector of the 626 is on the safety, I had to switch the safety's too.

The 626 was slightly more complicated, but it still was just a matter of removing screws and driving out the safety pin. It turned out, there was really nothing to the job and it could be done in 30 minutes by someone familiar with the process. The parts all interchanged perfectly, the safety's slide normally, and the trigger pulls are exactly the same.

The coin finished triggers don't look quite right in the 626 Onyx, but I never thought that the gold trigger looked right either. I have seen 625 models with the single gold trigger on auction sites, but I might have the only Onyx with coin triggers. I could have them gold plated if it bothered me, but it doesn't. I got to use it with the DT on our latest hunt, and enjoyed being able to select the barrel the way one should on a SXS.

I have told my family to make sure these 2 guns stay together after I am gone. I don't expect that to be a problem. Thanks for all the help here, and I hope someone will find this info useful.

Interesting story, Coosa. Glad it turned out so well for you. May your misses be forgotten and your great shots be remembered.

And, like you, I haven't heard anything from Jim for quite some time. Hope he, and your wife, are well.

SRH

Glad you liked he article.

Maybe now you can understand why I keep posting that from the engineering point of view the 626 is a superior action to the Anson-Deeley. In addition to being easy to work on, its parts are hardened properly, and it also has secondary safety notches on its hammers to prevent accidental discharges.

Did your 625 come with an articulated front trigger? Most of the ones I came across have them, as do the 626 DTs.

So that was your article? If so, let me say it was one of the best gun articles I've ever read on any type of gun. It made it very clear to the reader exactly what the 626 was, and what it wasn't.
What a shame it is that they are no longer made. If Beretta doesn't want to make SXS shotguns themselves any longer, I wish they would let one of the Turkey companies make the 626 for them.

Yes, it has an articulated front trigger. All the right triggers I found available as parts were as well. But though I could find them in coin finish, I never saw one gold finished. And all of the left triggers I found were gold. If I had bought the parts, I was planning to send the right trigger somewhere to be gold plated. I can live with them being coin finished, but I couldn't handle them being different.

Yes, it was one of mine. I wrote it after it stopped production and after speaking with the late Giovanni Metelli, Beretta's head of their custom department. He loved the 626 even though it was never part of the custom line. The interview was supposed to cover the custom and competition guns, yet he spent most of the time cradling a 626 and extolling its virtues.

You can brush off the gold finish on any of the rear triggers and thus have two identical coin finished triggers. You could have the articulated trigger gold plated, but I do not know how the plating would affect the free movement of the articulated trigger. It is interesting that as a spare the 626 articulate trigger costs a few dollars when a custom articulated trigger can cost thousands.

There are plenty of used 626, 625 and 624s out there to satisfy the low demand for SXSs. Few people understand how they differ from the basic Anson-Deeley action, and this keeps the prices reasonable. Their basic engineering quality makes them easily repairable, they are virtually everlasting unless bitten by rust. Parts are available, including stocks, at least here in Europe. Beretta used to make the stocking of spares mandatory for their dealers. Our local importer has a case full of 626 parts. The only 626 parts they ever sold were two hammers I bough to convert a 625 to an ejector.

Again, it was a great article, and you were correct in predicting back then that the prices would go up. I haven't seen a 626 with 28" barrels at any of the USA auction sites in a couple of years, and that one brought $2550. I'm sure it would be much higher now if anyone wanted to sell one.

I wish that I could buy a set of 30" barrels for mine, but I guess that will never happen.

coosa, did you ever get that DT conversion done? I was just cleaning my 626 & took a peek at this thread