Description
The Beretta A300 Ultima Patrol in 20 gauge, part number J32CT21, is the small bore version of Beretta’s defensive semi-automatic. The barrel is 19.10 inches, capacity is seven plus one, the receiver is black Cerakoted aluminium with a Picatinny rail, and the stock is fixed black synthetic. A 20 gauge defensive shotgun is an underrated thing.
The recoil is meaningfully lower than a 12, the gun is lighter to hold up and swing in a hallway, and inside a house the difference in terminal effect between the two gauges is far smaller than the difference on paper suggests. This is the same platform as the 12 gauge Patrol, scaled down rather than cut down.
Why a 20 gauge for defensive use
Recoil is the reason most people shoot a defensive shotgun badly. A 20 gauge cuts it substantially, and a shooter who can actually run the gun beats one who flinches at every round.
At the distances inside a house, a 20 gauge buckshot load puts enough pellets on target to do what is asked of it. The gap between gauges opens up at range, not in a hallway.
The gun is lighter and shorter in the hand, which matters for a smaller framed shooter or anyone who will be holding it up while doing something else.
It is also a gun the rest of the household is more likely to be able to shoot, which is worth more than a theoretical pattern advantage.
What the Beretta A300 Ultima Patrol brings
The gas action bleeds off part of the shot’s energy to work the bolt, and what it bleeds off does not reach your shoulder. On an already mild 20 gauge that is close to nothing.
The receiver rail takes a red dot without a gunsmith, which suits a defensive gun better than a bead.
Seven plus one means the magazine tube runs nearly to the muzzle, so the gun is as compact as that capacity allows.
Nineteen point one inches of barrel is handy indoors and still well clear of the federal minimum, so no special paperwork applies.
Specifications
- Model: Beretta A300 Ultima Patrol, part number J32CT21
- Gauge: 20
- Chamber: 3 inches
- Capacity: 7+1 rounds
- Barrel length: 19.10 inches, black
- Receiver: black Cerakote aluminium with Picatinny rail
- Stock: fixed black synthetic
- Action: semi-automatic, gas operated
Shotshell dimensions and pressures are standardized by SAAMI, and the 3 inch chamber accepts both 2 3/4 and 3 inch twenty gauge shells. Because the barrel is 19.10 inches and the stock is fixed, this is an ordinary shotgun under federal law and needs no special paperwork. Pattern whichever defensive load you intend to keep in the gun at the distances inside your own home; 20 gauge buckshot varies more between makers than 12 gauge does, so this matters more here than usual. For practice Federal Top Gun 7/8 ounce is the inexpensive load.
The gray receiver version of this same gun is listed separately, the 12 gauge Patrols are the black and gray builds, and the faster cycling 12 gauge alternative is the 1301 Tactical Mod 2. Every long gun we sell ships to a licensed FFL for transfer.
Why it is worth considering
- A 20 gauge, which most shooters run better than a 12 under pressure.
- Seven plus one on a 19.10 inch barrel.
- A gas action, which takes what little sting a 20 gauge has out of it.
- A receiver rail for a red dot, fitted at the factory.
- A fixed stock with nothing to loosen, latch or deploy wrong.
Who it suits
This suits a household where more than one person might have to pick the gun up, a smaller framed shooter, or anyone who has decided that hitting with a 20 beats missing with a 12. A shooter who wants maximum pattern density at distance should buy the 12 gauge. Every long gun we sell ships to a licensed FFL for transfer.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.