Description
The Beretta A400 Xtreme Plus in Realtree Max-7 with a 28 inch barrel, part number J42XS18, is the open-water and field configuration of Beretta’s waterfowl autoloader. Max-7 blends marsh grass, cattail, and timber elements into one pattern, and the longer barrel is what you want when birds are working at distance rather than dropping into a hole.
Chamber is 3.5 inches, capacity is two plus one, the barrel is Steelium with a ventilated rib, and the gun ships with five extended chokes and a fixed Kick-Off stock.
Why 28 inches on a waterfowl gun
Most duck hunting misses are the same miss: the shooter stops the gun. It happens more on crossing and passing birds than on anything decoying straight in, and it happens more with a light, short-barreled gun than a long one. Two extra inches of barrel put weight ahead of the hands, and that weight carries the swing through the shot without conscious effort.
The longer sighting plane between the fiber optic front bead and your eye helps too, particularly in the flat light of a heavily overcast morning. The tradeoff is handling inside a tight blind, which is the argument for the 26 inch build.
Recoil systems and cold weather controls
A 3.5 inch magnum needs managing, and this gun does it three ways at once: the Blink gas action spreads the impulse as it cycles, the Kick-Off stock adds hydraulic dampers between action and shoulder, and a soft comb keeps the stock from slapping your cheekbone. Between them, a full morning of magnum loads is something you can do without paying for it.
The controls are sized for gloves and numb fingers: an enlarged loading port, an extended charging handle, an oversized bolt release, and a rubberized panel on the fore-end. Five extended choke tubes come with the gun rather than the usual three.
Specifications
- Model: Beretta A400 Xtreme Plus, Realtree Max-7, part number J42XS18
- Gauge: 12
- Chamber: 3.5 inches
- Capacity: 2+1 rounds
- Barrel length: 28 inches, Steelium with a ventilated rib
- Sights: fiber optic front with a steel mid-bead
- Action: semi-automatic, Blink gas system
- Chokes: five extended tubes included
- Stock: fixed Kick-Off with a soft comb and black grip panels
- Controls: enlarged loading port, extended charging handle, oversized bolt release
- Finish: Realtree Max-7
Why it is worth considering
- Barrel length that keeps the swing moving on crossing and passing birds.
- Max-7 covers open marsh, flooded grass, and timber in a single pattern.
- Three recoil systems on a gun chambered for 3.5 inch magnums.
- Five extended chokes included, which covers decoying ducks through pass-shot geese.
- Controls sized for gloved hands in freezing weather.
Who it suits
This is the choice for open-water and field waterfowling: divers crossing a point, geese over decoys in a cut field, ducks working the edge of a big marsh. It doubles as a turkey gun. In a tight cane hole or a small boat blind the 26 inch Max-7 build handles better, and hunters who spend their season in flooded timber may prefer Bottomland. It is not a gun to carry upland or to shoot clays with.
Shells, chokes, and transfer notes
Shotshell dimensions and pressures are standardized by SAAMI, and the 3.5 inch chamber accepts 2 3/4, 3, and 3.5 inch shells without adjustment. Federal law requires non-toxic shot for waterfowl, so steel, bismuth, or tungsten alloy is what goes in the field. Steel is safe through the improved cylinder and modified extended tubes supplied with the gun, and not through a tighter tube that is not rated for it. For practice, ordinary 2 3/4 inch lead target loads cycle fine at a fraction of the cost.
Hunters working tight cover will handle the 26 inch Max-7 build better, timber hunters may prefer Mossy Oak Bottomland, and anyone who does not need camouflage can save money on the black synthetic gun. 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.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.