Beretta A400 Xtreme Plus

Tom Sykes heads out with his dad’s new semi-auto to see how it performs on the foreshore

- Tom Sykes

I have been a big lover of Beretta semiautos for as long as I can remember. In fact, they are a family favourite. Over the years we have owned eight different versions, most of which are still in the cabinet and regularly see action.

Towards the end of last season, my dad decided he wanted to upgrade his old 3in AL391 Urika for a newer 3½in gun. The larger chamber would allow him to use a wider range of cartridges for coastal wildfowling. A scan of the racks in the local gun shop left him with his sights firmly set on the Beretta A400 Xtreme Plus in Mossy Oak Bottomland camouflage, resulting in him purchasing it that very day. These guns are designed with wildfowlers in mind and it wasn’t long until I convinced him to lend me the new gun for a field test.

Regular readers will recognise the A400 from the editor’s review back in the August edition of Sporting Gun. Matt had an in-depth look at the A400 in the controlled environment of the clay ground and rated the gun highly. It was now time to see how it performed in action on the foreshore.

First impressions