40 S&W beretta model 96

Question
I recently own this gun and it has now started to jam up,. What can I do, or what would cause this to happen?

Answer
While the Berettas have some features that make them less-than-ideal fighting handguns, unreliable feeding is generally not one of their weaknesses.

I am assuming the gun has been thoroughly cleaned and properly lubricated. If not, this would be the place to start. Beyond that, things to look at in order of probability are:

1) Magazines. Weak magazine springs, improperly shaped followers, or deformed feed-lips can cause malfunctions. Mark your magazines and see if the problems happen with any particular magazine. If it is a magazine, you can try changing the spring, but if that doesn't work, get rid of it. Magazines are cheap comparatively, and are not worth the hassle of keeping them if they do not work properly.

2) Next I would have a COMPETENT gunsmith polish the feedramp and throat of the barrel (done properly, this should remove NO metal, but simply burnish the surface to a mirror shine). This should be relatively cheap and can work wonders. Years ago I had a colleague who had a Glock 19 (9mm) that would not feed hollowpoints. He asked me to polish the feedramp for him. Since Glock is a highly reliable gun, I hold him I would be glad to, but doubted that such a little thing would make the difference. I was wrong. After polishing it, he never had a feeding problem again. This is a cheap procedure (probably around $20), and would be the next thing I would look at after magazines.

3) The .40 has a straight-walled case, and so inherently does not feed as reliably as the 9mm (which has a tapered case), the cartridge for which the Beretta was originally designed. It is possible that the chamber is too tight or that the barrel is in some way out of spec (or some other part of the gun is out of spec). If that is the case, it will require a trip back to Beretta to diagnose and correct.

Good luck with your diagnosis and fix.