Beretta A400 Xtreme Plus 12 Gauge 28in Optifade Marsh — Superb Waterfowl

Description

The Beretta A400 Xtreme Plus in 12 gauge, part number J42XM18, is the 28 inch build finished in Gore Optifade Marsh with a Kick-Off stock. The chamber is 3.5 inches, so the gun handles everything from light target loads to the heaviest waterfowl shells without adjustment. Twenty eight inches is the length most waterfowl hunters settle on. It carries enough weight forward to keep a swing moving through a crossing bird on open water, without becoming awkward in a layout blind. Optifade Marsh is a designed pattern rather than a photographic one.

It works on how a bird’s eye handles contrast at distance, which is why it reads as pale tan and brown vertical strokes rather than as identifiable grass.

What the 3.5 inch chamber and the gas system do together

A 3.5 inch chamber is only useful if the action cycles everything from a 2 3/4 inch target load to a 3.5 inch magnum without being adjusted. The Xtreme Plus gas system self regulates across that whole range.

That matters more than the maximum shell length. You can practise on cheap loads all summer and hunt on magnums in November with the same gun and no parts changes.

Beretta rates the action as the fastest cycling autoloader they build, and the practical version of that is a second shot arriving while the bird is still in the same piece of sky.

A cross tube gas piston and a self cleaning design mean the gun tolerates being fired wet, muddy and unattended for a season, which is what waterfowl guns actually endure.

Why 28 inches, and what Kick-Off adds

Longer barrels carry their weight further out, and that inertia keeps a swing moving through a crosser instead of stopping on it. On open water, where birds are moving and the shots are long, that is worth more than handiness.

Kick-Off is a pair of hydraulic dampers in the stock rather than a thicker recoil pad. Against 3.5 inch loads it is the difference between shooting a full box and stopping after twenty.

Every control is oversized and the safety is reversible, so the gun is usable in gloves with cold hands.

The fore-end has a rubberised grip panel and the stock comes with an adjustable shim system, so the gun holds on when wet and fits the shooter rather than the other way round.

Specifications

• Model: Beretta A400 Xtreme Plus, part number J42XM18
• Gauge: 12
• Chamber: 3.5 inches
• Capacity: 2+1 rounds
• Barrel length: 28 inches
• Finish: Gore Optifade Marsh
• Stock: Kick-Off synthetic with adjustable shim system
• Rib: stepped, with steel mid bead
• Chokes: extended Optima-Choke HP Black
• Safety: oversized and reversible
• Action: semi-automatic, gas operated

Shotshell dimensions and pressures are standardized by SAAMI, and the 3.5 inch chamber accepts 2 3/4, 3 and 3.5 inch shells. Most hunters find 3 inch loads do everything they need and punish them less; the 3.5 inch capability is there for the days it is not enough. Rinse the gun with fresh water after a day in salt marsh whatever the coating says. For practice 2 3/4 inch target loads cycle reliably and cost a fraction of hunting shells.

The 26 inch version of this same finish is the 26 inch Optifade Marsh, the Optifade Timber build is the 26 inch Optifade, the Max-7 guns are the 26 inch and 28 inch builds, and the plain synthetic version is the 28 inch black. Every long gun we sell ships to a licensed FFL for transfer.

Why it is worth considering

• Twenty eight inch barrels, which keep a swing moving through a crosser on open water.
• A gas system that cycles 2 3/4 inch target loads and 3.5 inch magnums without adjustment.
• Kick-Off hydraulic dampers, which is what makes a box of 3.5 inch shells survivable.
• Oversized, reversible controls that work in gloves.
• An adjustable shim system, so the stock is set to you rather than tolerated.

Who it suits

This suits a waterfowl hunter shooting heavy loads at birds on open water, who wants barrel length working for them on the long shots. Hunters in tight timber or small blinds will prefer the 26 inch, and a clays or upland shooter is paying for durability they will never call on. Every long gun we sell ships to a licensed FFL for transfer.