Description
The Beretta A400 Xplor Action in 28 gauge, part number J40AA86, is about as light as a gas-operated autoloading shotgun gets. A 28 gauge bore on an aluminum alloy receiver with a 26 inch barrel produces a gun that most shooters carry without ever noticing it, and that is the entire point.
Chamber is 2 3/4 inches, capacity is four plus one, the barrel is blued with a ventilated rib and a fiber optic front sight, and the walnut stock sits behind Beretta’s bronze anodized receiver.
The case for a 28 gauge autoloader
The 28 gauge has a reputation for shooting above its paper ballistics, and while some of that is folklore, the practical part is real: the gun is light, the recoil is mild, and shooters therefore mount it properly and swing it freely instead of bracing against it. Almost everyone shoots a 28 better than they expect on their first outing.
Adding a gas action to that makes it milder still. The Blink system bleeds off part of the recoil impulse before the stock ever reaches your shoulder, which means a full box of shells through a light gun is genuinely comfortable. For a shooter who has been avoiding autoloaders because they seemed like a lot of gun, this one is the counterexample.
Blink gas system and the fittings
Blink is the same fast-cycling system Beretta uses in its competition guns, with a self-cleaning piston that scrapes carbon forward each cycle rather than letting it accumulate in the cylinder. Optima HP choke tubes handle constriction, and the barrel is blued with a ventilated rib.
The receiver is anodized bronze over aluminum alloy, which keeps the weight low and gives the gun a look that stands out against a rack of black shotguns. Behind it sits a walnut stock with a checkered forend, a chrome-plated trigger, a two-position crossbolt safety, a Micro-Core pad, and a fiber optic front sight for low light.
Specifications
- Model: Beretta A400 Xplor Action, part number J40AA86
- Gauge: 28
- Chamber: 2 3/4 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
- About as light as a gas autoloader gets, which shows on the fifth mile.
- Recoil mild enough that almost nobody develops a flinch with one.
- Blink cycling and a self-cleaning piston, straight from the competition guns.
- Four rounds in the tube, which is two more than most 28 gauge doubles offer.
- Bronze anodizing over aluminum, distinctive without being loud about it.
Who it suits
This is a walking gun for quail, woodcock, grouse, and early doves, and a delight on a skeet field. It suits a shooter who has already owned a 12 and a 20 and now cares more about the day than the payload, and it is an excellent choice for a smaller-framed or younger shooter who needs something genuinely light. The practical limitations are range and ammunition: a 28 gauge thins out sooner than a 20 past forty yards, and shells cost more and are harder to find on short notice.
Buy a case when you see one.
Shells, chokes, and transfer notes
Shotshell dimensions and pressures are standardized by SAAMI. This is a 2 3/4 inch chamber, so do not try to feed it 3 inch 28 gauge magnum shells; standard 2 3/4 inch loads are what it is built for. We stock 1 ounce number 6 upland loads and 3/4 ounce 7.5 shot for quail and skeet. Buy 28 gauge ammunition when you find it rather than the week before a hunt.
Shooters who want a longer barrel in the same bore should compare the 28 inch build, and anyone who needs cheaper and more available ammunition should look at the 20 gauge version. 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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