Description
The Beretta A400 Xplor Action in this build, part number J40AK16, is the 12 gauge 26 inch gun fitted with Beretta’s Kick-Off recoil reduction stock. It is the configuration to look at if you shoot heavy loads, shoot a lot of them, or simply do not enjoy being hit by your own shotgun.
Chamber is 3 inches, capacity is four plus one, the barrel is blued with a ventilated rib, and the walnut Kick-Off stock sits behind a bronze anodized aluminum receiver.
What Kick-Off does on a hunting gun
Kick-Off places hydraulic dampers inside the buttstock. Rather than absorbing the recoil impulse in a single compression the way a rubber pad does, the dampers spread it across a longer moment. The peak force your shoulder feels drops substantially, and the difference is most obvious with 3 inch loads in a relatively light gun, which is exactly this gun.
Hunters tend to underestimate how much this matters because they only fire a handful of shells in the field. The place it shows up is practice. A shooter who can run a full box of heavy loads without wincing will actually practice with their hunting gun, and that is worth more than any other feature on the spec sheet.
Blink gas system and the rest of the build
The Blink gas system comes straight from Beretta’s competition line: fast cycling, a self-cleaning piston, and pressure venting that lets light 2 3/4 inch loads and 3 inch magnums run interchangeably. The gas action is itself a recoil reducer, so between it and the Kick-Off dampers there is very little impulse left to reach the shooter.
Twenty-six inches of barrel makes this the quicker of the two 12 gauge Xplor lengths, well suited to brush and to birds that flush close. The bronze anodized aluminum receiver keeps weight down, and the gun carries a chrome-plated trigger, a two-position crossbolt safety, Optima HP choke tubes, and a fiber optic front sight.
Specifications
- Model: Beretta A400 Xplor Action, part number J40AK16
- Gauge: 12
- Chamber: 3 inches
- Capacity: 4+1 rounds
- Barrel length: 26 inches, ventilated rib, blued
- Chokes: Optima HP
- Action: semi-automatic, Blink gas system with a self-cleaning piston
- Receiver: bronze anodized aluminum alloy
- Stock: walnut with Kick-Off recoil reduction
- Trigger: chrome plated
- Safety: two-position crossbolt
- Sights: fiber optic front
Why it is worth considering
- Hydraulic recoil dampers, which turn practice with heavy loads into something you will actually do.
- A gas action that cuts recoil further before the Kick-Off system even gets involved.
- Twenty-six inches of barrel for quick handling in cover.
- Aluminum alloy construction under bronze anodizing, so it stays light to carry.
- A fiber optic front sight that earns its keep at dawn and dusk.
Who it suits
This suits the hunter who is recoil sensitive, coming back from a shoulder injury, or simply shooting enough 3 inch ammunition that the cumulative effect matters. It is a natural brush and cover gun at 26 inches, good on grouse, woodcock, and close-flushing pheasants, and entirely capable on decoying ducks. Hunters in open country will swing better with the 28 inch version, and a shooter who wants a smaller bore should look at the 20 gauge builds in the same line.
Shells, chokes, and transfer notes
Shotshell dimensions and pressures are standardized by SAAMI, and the 3 inch chamber accepts both 2 3/4 and 3 inch 12 gauge shells without adjustment. For upland birds we stock 1 3/8 ounce number 5 loads, and for practice the 1 1/8 ounce target load is cheap enough to shoot in volume, which is the whole point of buying a gun with recoil reduction. Steel shot runs safely through improved cylinder and modified Optima HP tubes, never through a full choke.
Hunters in open country should compare the 28 inch build, and anyone who does not need the hydraulic stock can save money on the standard 26 inch gun. 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.
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