Beretta A400 Xplor Action 12 Gauge 28in Bronze — Superb Field Shotgun

Description

The Beretta A400 Xplor Action in the 28 inch configuration, part number J40AW18, is the full-size field build of Beretta’s bronze-receiver hunting autoloader. Twenty-eight inches is the length most shooters land on when one gun has to cover doves, pheasants, and a decoying duck or two, because it swings smoothly without becoming a burden to carry.
Barrel is black with a ventilated rib, chamber is 3 inches, capacity is four plus one, and the stock is walnut against an anodized bronze aluminum receiver.

Two extra inches, and what they do

Barrel length changes momentum more than it changes ballistics. A 28 inch tube puts more weight ahead of the hands than a 26, and that weight resists the near-universal habit of slowing the swing at the moment of the shot. On crossing doves and on birds getting up at distance, it is the difference between a clean lead and a trailing shot.

The longer sighting plane helps as well, making alignment errors easier to see before the trigger breaks. What you give up is a little speed in thick cover, where a 26 inch gun comes to the shoulder marginally faster. For open fields, field edges, and any bird that gets up more than a few yards out, this is the better length.

Blink gas system and the rest of the gun

The Blink gas system is the same one Beretta fits to its competition guns. A self-cleaning piston keeps carbon out of the cylinder, and pressure venting means light 2 3/4 inch loads and 3 inch magnums both cycle without a part swap or an adjustment. For a hunter who shoots practice loads in the off season and heavy shells in November, that is the whole argument.

The bronze anodizing over an aluminum alloy receiver keeps weight down and looks like nothing else on a rack of black guns. Behind it sits a walnut stock with a checkered forend, a chrome-plated trigger, a two-position crossbolt safety, and a Micro-Core recoil pad. The front sight is fiber optic, which matters more at dawn than any spec sheet admits.

Specifications

• Model: Beretta A400 Xplor Action, part number J40AW18
• Gauge: 12
• Chamber: 3 inches
• Capacity: 4+1 rounds
• Barrel length: 28 inches, ventilated rib, black
• Chokes: Optima HP
• Action: semi-automatic, Blink gas system with a self-cleaning piston
• Receiver: bronze anodized aluminum
• Stock: walnut with a checkered forend
• Recoil pad: Micro-Core
• Trigger: chrome plated
• Safety: two-position crossbolt
• Sights: fiber optic front

Why it is worth considering

• The barrel length that most hunters end up preferring for mixed-bag seasons.
• Blink gas cycling, borrowed directly from Beretta’s competition guns.
• An aluminum alloy receiver that keeps the carry weight honest.
• A fiber optic front sight for the first and last half hour of legal light.
• A finish that stands out without looking like a novelty.

Who it suits

This is the one-gun answer for a hunter whose season runs across several species. It handles doves in September, pheasants through the fall, and decoying ducks with 3 inch loads, and it is comfortable enough to shoot a round of clays with in the off season. Hunters working thick grouse and woodcock cover will prefer the 26 inch build for the extra quickness, and a shooter whose primary interest is clay targets should be looking at the Xcel Sporting line instead of a field gun.

Shells, chokes, and transfer notes

Shotshell dimensions and pressures are standardized by SAAMI, and the 3 inch chamber takes both 2 3/4 and 3 inch 12 gauge shells. We stock 1 3/8 ounce number 5 pheasant loads for upland work and 1 1/8 ounce target loads for off-season practice. Steel shot is fine through improved cylinder and modified Optima HP tubes, never through a full choke, and waterfowlers should confirm state non-toxic shot rules before the season opens.

Hunters in thick cover should compare the quicker 26 inch build, and anyone who wants a nickel engraved receiver and figured walnut instead of bronze should look at the A400 Upland. Every long gun we sell ships to a licensed FFL for transfer and background check, and Pennsylvania buyers should plan on the state point of contact check at pickup.