Description
The Beretta A400 Xtreme Plus in Mossy Oak Bottomland, part number J42XU16, is the flooded-timber configuration of Beretta’s waterfowl autoloader. Bottomland is the old-growth pattern built around wet bark and mud, and it hides a gun better in a green-timber hole or a beaver swamp than any modern digital scheme.
This is the 26 inch build with a 3.5 inch chamber and two plus one capacity. The barrel is Steelium Plus with a 7×7 stepped rib, a steel mid-bead, and a fiber optic front sight.
Recoil management for 3.5 inch magnums
Three systems share the work. The Blink gas action spreads the impulse out as it cycles the bolt. The Kick-Off Mega stock puts hydraulic dampers between the action and your shoulder. And a soft comb cushions your cheekbone against the vertical slap that heavy loads send up through the stock.
That third one deserves attention because most shooters do not connect it to their flinch. On a 3.5 inch load it is often the comb, not the buttpad, that does the damage over a morning of pass shooting. Beretta built the fix into the stock rather than leaving it to an aftermarket pad.
Controls built for gloves and cold
Everything you touch on this gun is oversized. The loading port is enlarged, the charging handle is extended, the bolt release is oversized, and the fore-end carries a rubberized grip panel. None of that matters on a warm range day and all of it matters at legal light in January with wet gloves on.
The safety is reversible and the stock includes an adjustable shim system, so drop and cast can be set for the individual shooter rather than accepted as delivered. Five extended Optima HP Black choke tubes come with the gun, which covers everything from decoying birds to pass shooting without a separate purchase.
Specifications
- Model: Beretta A400 Xtreme Plus, Mossy Oak Bottomland, part number J42XU16
- Gauge: 12
- Chamber: 3.5 inches
- Capacity: 2+1 rounds
- Barrel length: 26 inches, Steelium Plus
- Rib: 7×7 stepped with a steel mid-bead
- Sights: fiber optic front
- Action: semi-automatic, Blink gas system with a cross-tube piston
- Chokes: five extended Optima HP Black tubes included
- Stock: Kick-Off Mega with a soft comb and an adjustable shim system
- Fore-end: rubberized grip panel
- Controls: enlarged loading port, extended charging handle, oversized bolt release, reversible safety
- Finish: Mossy Oak Bottomland
Why it is worth considering
- Bottomland camouflage, which still hides a gun in flooded timber better than anything newer.
- Three recoil systems working together on a gun chambered for 3.5 inch magnums.
- Oversized controls that stay operable with cold, wet gloves.
- Five extended choke tubes in the box rather than three and a shopping list.
- An adjustable shim system, so the stock can be fitted to the shooter.
Who it suits
This is a duck hunter’s gun, specifically a timber and swamp hunter’s gun. The Bottomland pattern belongs against tree trunks and mud rather than open water or a cut field, and the 26 inch barrel is easy to handle in a tight hole or from a boat. It also works well on turkeys. It is heavy for upland walking and the camouflage is wasted on a clays course, so buy it for the water. Hunters who pass shoot over open marsh should compare the 28 inch build for the longer sighting plane.
Shells, chokes, and transfer notes
Shotshell dimensions and pressures are standardized by SAAMI, and the 3.5 inch chamber takes 2 3/4, 3, and 3.5 inch shells without any adjustment. Federal law requires non-toxic shot for waterfowl, so steel, bismuth, or a tungsten alloy is what this gun will see in the field. Steel is safe through the improved cylinder and modified extended tubes supplied with it; do not put steel through a tight choke that is not rated for it. For practice, ordinary 2 3/4 inch lead target loads cycle fine and cost a fraction of magnum non-toxic.
Hunters pass shooting over open water should compare the 28 inch build for the longer sighting plane, and anyone who wants the same gun without camouflage should look at the black synthetic version. Upland hunters are better served by the lighter A400 Xplor Action. 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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