Description
The Beretta A400 Xtreme Plus is the company flagship waterfowl gun, and this one is the left handed build in Gore Optifade Timber with a 28 inch barrel and a 3.5 inch chamber. Left handed waterfowl guns are genuinely hard to find at this level, which is most of the reason this listing matters to the shooter it is meant for.
Why the Beretta A400 Xtreme Plus Sits at the Top
The Beretta A400 Xtreme Plus barrel is Steelium Plus, a three part construction that Beretta brought over from its competition guns. The practical effect is a longer forcing cone and a bore profile that spreads the pressure spike over more of the barrel, which shows up as softer recoil with heavy 3.5 inch loads and more consistent patterns across different shells. It is the single most expensive thing about the gun and the reason the price sits where it does.
On top of the Beretta A400 Xtreme Plus barrel is a step rib with an integral mid bead and a fiber optic front. The step raises your eye slightly and gives you a faster, flatter sight picture, which is the arrangement competition shooters settled on years ago. Bore diameter is 18.6mm with OptimaChoke HP tubes, so the choke library is deep and easy to source.
Controls on the Beretta A400 Xtreme Plus are sized for the job. An extended charging handle, an extended bolt release and an enlarged loading port all come from the factory, and every one of them is there because the gun is expected to be run with cold, wet, gloved hands in December. Beretta also coats the metalwork for corrosion resistance, which matters in a salt marsh.
The Left Hand Build and Recoil
This Beretta A400 Xtreme Plus is a true left handed gun, not a right handed gun with a cast off stock. The ejection port, the bolt handle and the safety are all set up for a left handed shooter, which means empties clear away from your face and you are not reaching across the receiver to work the action. If you shoot left handed, you already know how short that list of options is.
One honest note on the Beretta A400 Xtreme Plus photos. Beretta publishes product photography of the standard right handed configuration, so the images on this listing show the same model and the same Optifade Timber pattern with the controls on the opposite side. The gun you receive is the left handed build.
Recoil is handled by Kick-Off, which puts hydraulic dampers in the stock, and a 20mm MicroCore pad. A Beretta A400 Xtreme Plus firing 3.5 inch steel loads is still a 12 gauge and it still moves, but the difference against an unassisted gun over a long morning in a layout blind is not subtle.
Specifications
- UPC: 082442029986
- Gauge: 12, 3.5 in chamber
- Configuration: Left hand
- Barrel: 28 in Steelium Plus, Optima Bore HP, 18.6mm bore
- Rib: 7×7 step rib with integral mid bead and fiber optic front
- Chokes: OptimaChoke HP
- Action: Gas operated, rotating bolt head
- Recoil reduction: Beretta Kick-Off with MicroCore 20mm pad
- Stock: Pistol grip synthetic, Gore Optifade Timber camouflage
- Controls: Extended charging handle, extended bolt release, enlarged loading port
- Finish: Coated camo synthetic frame, corrosion resistant metalwork
- Segment: Waterfowl
Who Should Buy It
Left handed waterfowl hunters first, obviously. A Beretta A400 Xtreme Plus in this configuration solves a problem that most manufacturers simply ignore, and if you have spent years shooting right handed guns because nothing else was available, this is the upgrade that actually changes your season.
It also suits the high volume hunter regardless of handedness. The gas system and the coatings are built for hundreds of rounds in bad weather, and the Steelium Plus barrel earns its keep when you are shooting the heaviest loads legal for the bird. A Beretta A400 Xtreme Plus is not a gun you baby.
Where it is overkill is casual use. If you shoot two or three duck hunts a year and never load anything past 3 inches, a Beretta A300 Ultima covers that ground for less than half the money. Buy this gun for the shooting you actually do, not the shooting you plan to do.
A few practical notes before ordering a Beretta A400 Xtreme Plus. Confirm you want the left hand build, because returns on a configuration this specific are a hassle for everyone. Pattern the gun with your intended load before the season, since the OptimaChoke HP library is large and the right tube changes results more than the shell does. Rinse and dry the gun after salt water hunts even though the coatings are good, because no finish is permanent. And budget for a case, since one is not always included.
Full factory specifications are published on the Beretta product page, and you can compare it against the A300 Ultima Snow Goose or browse the rest of our shotguns.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.