Description
The Beretta A400 Xplor Action in 20 gauge, part number J40AA26, is the lighter side of Beretta’s bronze-receiver field autoloader. A 20 gauge on an aluminum alloy frame is a genuinely easy gun to carry all day, and with a 26 inch barrel it comes up fast on a bird that flushes underfoot.
Chamber is 3 inches, capacity is four plus one, the barrel is blued with a ventilated rib, and the stock is walnut against the bronze anodized receiver.
Why a 20 gauge on this action makes sense
A gas-operated 20 gauge is close to the ideal upland gun. The bore produces less recoil than a 12 to begin with, the gas system absorbs a further share of what is left, and the aluminum receiver keeps the whole package light enough that the last mile of a walk-up day feels the same as the first.
The tradeoff against a 12 gauge is payload, and it is smaller than most people assume. Inside forty yards, where nearly every upland bird is actually killed, a 20 gauge load patterns perfectly adequately. What you notice is the carry weight and how quickly the gun comes on target.
Blink gas system, receiver, and furniture
The Blink gas system is shared with Beretta’s competition guns: fast cycling, a self-cleaning piston, and pressure venting that lets light 2 3/4 inch loads and 3 inch shells run without adjustment. On a light gun the gas action matters even more than on a heavy one, because there is less mass to soak up recoil on its own.
The receiver is anodized bronze over aluminum alloy, paired with walnut and a checkered forend. A chrome-plated trigger, a two-position crossbolt safety, and a Micro-Core recoil pad round out the fittings, and the front sight is fiber optic, which pays off in the low light at either end of a hunting day.
Specifications
- Model: Beretta A400 Xplor Action, part number J40AA26
- Gauge: 20
- Chamber: 3 inches
- Capacity: 4+1 rounds
- Barrel length: 26 inches, ventilated rib, blued
- Chokes: Optima HP
- Action: semi-automatic, Blink gas system with a self-cleaning piston
- Receiver: bronze anodized aluminum alloy
- Stock: walnut with a checkered forend
- Recoil pad: Micro-Core
- Trigger: chrome plated
- Safety: two-position crossbolt
- Sights: fiber optic front
Why it is worth considering
- Light enough to carry all day without thinking about it.
- Gas operation plus a smaller bore, which together make recoil close to a non-issue.
- Twenty-six inches of barrel, which is quick in cover and still smooth on a going-away bird.
- Bronze anodizing over aluminum, so the weight saving does not cost you the looks.
- A fiber optic front sight for dawn and dusk, when the birds actually move.
Who it suits
This suits the walking hunter above all: grouse, woodcock, quail, and early-season doves in cover. It is also the right first autoloader for a smaller-framed or younger shooter, because a light gun with soft recoil builds good habits instead of a flinch. Hunters who need reach on late-season roosters in open country will want a 12 gauge, and clay shooters should be looking at the Xcel line. If you like this configuration but want a little more barrel for open fields, the 28 inch 20 gauge is the companion build.
Shells, chokes, and transfer notes
Shotshell dimensions and pressures are standardized by SAAMI, and the 3 inch chamber accepts both 2 3/4 and 3 inch 20 gauge shells. For upland hunting we stock 1 ounce number 5 pheasant loads, and for practice the 7/8 ounce 7.5 shot target load is inexpensive and clean. Steel shot is fine through improved cylinder and modified Optima HP tubes; never run it through a full choke.
Hunters working open fields should compare the 28 inch 12 gauge for more reach, and anyone who prefers a nickel engraved receiver with figured walnut should look at the A400 Upland in 20 gauge. 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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