Description
The Beretta A400 Xcel Multitarget is built for the shooter who competes in more than one clay discipline. Trap, skeet, and sporting clays each want a slightly different point of impact and a slightly different stock fit, and rather than making three guns Beretta made one that adjusts. This is the 30 inch build, part number J40CT10, with a blued barrel, a silver anodized receiver, and grade 2.5 oiled walnut.
Capacity is four rounds plus one in a 3 inch chamber, and the gun weighs 7.69 pounds, which is target-gun weight rather than field-gun weight, and deliberately so.
Everything that matters is adjustable
The B-Fast comb raises and lowers to set eye position, which is the single most important fit dimension on a target gun. Change coats between summer sporting and winter trap and the comb comes back to where your eye needs it, no gunsmith involved. Vision changes over the years work the same way.
The rib is adjustable too, which moves point of impact up or down. Trap shooters generally want the pattern above the bead so a rising bird can be held in view; skeet and sporting shooters usually want it flatter. A balance cap in the stock lets you shift weight fore and aft to tune the swing. Between the three, the gun can be set up properly for each discipline instead of compromised across all of them.
Gas system, barrel, and recoil control
The Blink gas system cycles fast, runs a self-cleaning piston, and vents surplus pressure so light 24 gram target loads and heavier shells both function. On a competition gun that matters because most shooters practice with the cheapest ammunition they can find and compete with something better.
Kick-Off hydraulic dampers sit in the buttstock. Over a hundred-target round, and then another, and then a shoot-off, the cumulative recoil of a 12 gauge is what wears a shooter down and starts the flinch. This is where that system earns its cost. The gun ships with extended OptimaChoke HP tubes in improved cylinder, modified, and improved modified, and the oversized bolt handle is easier to find without breaking the mount.
Specifications
- Model: Beretta A400 Xcel Multitarget, part number J40CT10
- Gauge: 12
- Chamber: 3 inches
- Capacity: 4+1 rounds
- Barrel length: 30 inches, blued
- Rib: adjustable
- Chokes: extended OptimaChoke HP in improved cylinder, modified, and improved modified
- Sights: front bead
- Action: semi-automatic, Blink gas system
- Receiver: silver anodized
- Stock and forend: grade 2.5 oiled walnut
- Stock features: B-Fast adjustable comb, Kick-Off recoil reduction, balance cap
- Bolt handle: oversized
- Weight: 7.69 pounds
Why it is worth considering
- An adjustable comb and an adjustable rib, so one gun can be set up correctly for trap, skeet, and sporting.
- Kick-Off dampers, which matter most over the second and third hundred targets of a long day.
- A balance cap for tuning swing weight to your own preference.
- Blink gas cycling that runs light practice loads and competition ammunition alike.
- Three extended choke tubes included, covering the range most clay shooters actually use.
Who it suits
This is a competition gun for the shooter who does not want to own three. If you shoot registered trap on Saturday and sporting clays on Sunday, the ability to move the comb and the rib between events is worth real money. It is also a good choice for a shooter whose fit is unusual, because nearly everything can be dialed in without a stock bend.
It is heavier than a field gun and a 30 inch barrel is a lot to carry in the uplands, so this is not the one-gun answer for a hunter. Someone who shoots only trap, and shoots it seriously, may still prefer a dedicated trap gun with a higher comb and a longer barrel.
Shells, setup, and transfer notes
Target shotshells are standardized by SAAMI, and the 3 inch chamber accepts anything from light 7/8 ounce practice loads up to 3 inch shells, though there is no reason to put the latter through a clays gun. We stock 1 1/8 ounce heavy target loads for volume practice. Set the comb first with a pattern board at forty yards, then adjust the rib until the pattern sits where your discipline wants it, and only then start blaming the gun.
Hunters who want the same Blink action in a lighter field package should look at the A400 Upland, and shooters who want a less expensive autoloader for general use should compare the A300 Ultima. 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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