Current Variations
AL391 variations grow in number like weeds in a vegetable garden. The original field gun with its blued-steel barrel, gold lettering on its receiver, and wood stock is still with us and is probably still the number one seller in the line.

Available in 12 and 20 gauges, it comes with several barrel-length options, including 24 inches for the AL391 Youth. The AL391 is also available with camo finishes from butt to muzzle, and unlike some manufacturers that charge an arm and a leg for that option, it runs anywhere from no charge to four bucks on the AL391.

The field gun is also available with a black synthetic stock, and of all the synthetic shotgun stocks available today, I like this one best because the rubber inserts at its wrist and forearm offer a no-slip grip to slippery hands. Beretta also offers target versions of the wood-stocked gun in sporting and trap configurations, the latter with or without a Monte Carlo-style stock and both available with a 28- or 30-inch barrel.

The big news in 2003 was the AL391 Teknys, a real crowd-stopper at any gun club. I know this to be true because I have been shooting skeet and sporting clays with the 20-gauge version and everybody who sees it wants to shoot it.

The AL391 comes in 12 or 20 gauge with blued, nickel, or camo receiver and wood or synthetic stock.

The distinctive shape of its nickeled frame gives it a serious look, and anyone who is not familiar with Beretta's X-TRA Wood finish is easily convinced that the stock and forearm on the gun I am shooting started out as AAA-grade walnut blanks costing about twice as much as the price of the gun.

Then when I confess to the eye-popping figure being on the wood rather than in it, nobody believes me. The 20-gauge Teknys weighs around six pounds compared to about a pound more for the 12-gauge version. The interchangeable ventilated rib system of the Teknys Gold clay target gun allows clay target shooters to switch back and forth until they decide which rib makes them break the most targets.

SPECS BERETTA AL391 SEMIAUTOMATIC SHOTGUN
Distributor:	Beretta
Model:	AL 391
Operation:	Gas Operated autoloader
Gauge:	12 or 20
Barrel Length:	24. 26. 28, 30, 32 in.
Overall Length:	51 in. (28-inch barrel)
Weight:	5.9 punds (20 gauge); 7.8 (12 gauge Xtrema2)
Safety:	Crossbolt
Sights:	Vent rib with TruGlo
Stock:	Walnut, synthetic, or X-tra Wood
Length of Pull:	14.7 inches
Magazine Capacity:	2 (plugged), 3 (unplugged) rounds
Finish:	Blued, matte black, camo metal; black, camo, semigloss, oil stock
Price:	$1095 - $1895

Regardless of which variation or grade you decide to buy, the Beretta you take home will come in a durable plastic storage case along with accessories such as four extra chokes and wrench, quick-detachable sling swivels, a bottle of Beretta oil, and, depending on the model, a spare buttplate or recoil pad. The stocks of all Beretta autoloaders have a cavity for housing an extra-cost, "spring-mass-type" recoil reducer, which adds 8 1/2 ounces to the weight of the gun.

Beretta has most of the lineup covered, but there are three slots I would like to see filled. One is a 20-gauge AL391 turkey gun. Believe it or not, Beretta has never built a 28-gauge autoloader so that option in the AL391 is No. 2 on my list. My third item is a 20-gauge gun built on the 12-gauge AL391 receiver; skeet shooters and the hundreds of sportsmen who venture to Argentina and other places each year for high-volume dove shooting would welcome it with open pocketbooks.

The present 20-gauge AL391 is comfortable to shoot, but the one I am proposing would have it beat. Considering how aggressive Beretta has been in autoloading shotgun development during the past half-century, I won't be surprised to see more than one of the items on my wish list happen before many more hunting seasons have passed.