How to Install the AL391 Recoil Reducer

Shooting skeet or hunting doves with a classic Italian-made shotgun like the Beretta AL391 will inspire an appreciation of European workmanship and gunsmithing. Unfortunately, as with any 12-gauge shotgun, shooting the Beretta AL391 may also be an encounter with cheek-slapping, shoulder-bruising recoil. One method of countering recoil kick is installing a mercury recoil reducer tube in the shotgun's stock. As the explosive recoil drives the wooden stock rapidly rearward, the dense mercury in the sealed steel tube remains stationary and acts as a liquid counterweight that generates a half-pound of weight in opposition to the recoil motion, reducing the recoil's velocity and damping the kick to your shoulder.

Things You'll Need

  • Socket wrench and extension
  • Metric sockets
  • Phillips screwdriver
  • Torque wrench
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Instructions

    • 1

      Make sure the shotgun is unloaded, and keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction.

    • 2

      Unscrew the two butt-pad screws in the end of the stock with a Phillips screwdriver.

    • 3

      Remove the stock retaining nut with a 13mm socket on an extension of suitable length. Note the orientation of the numbers and letters on the oval plate underneath the stock retaining nut before removing it to expose the recoil cavity.

    • 4

      Insert the recoil reducer into the recoil cavity with the large, blunt end facing toward the muzzle.

    • 5

      Reinstall the oval plate with the numbers and letters in correct orientation.

    • 6

      Install the lock washer and the stock retaining nut. Tighten the nut to 13 foot pounds of torque.

    • 7

      Replace the butt pad on the end of the stock and secure it with the two butt pad screws you removed earlier.