Well guys, I was going to save the new shotgun purchase until next year, but I decided to get it now being that it looks like I'll be able to get on a huge dairy farm with lots of corn a handful of times in the next month or two.
I bought a Beretta A300 Outlander (online), it's supposed to be delivered to a local FFL on Friday. I plan on getting out on Sunday to shoot it. I picked up two boxes of clay targets from Walmart today along with more ammo. To say I'm excited right now would be an understatement!!
-- Edited by Bob O on Wednesday 4th of October 2017 08:23:39 PM
Wow, nice!! There's a guy selling one local to me, it's looks pricey!
I put 130 rounds through the new gun this evening...it shoots like a dream! Fits me better too. Way more natural to mount and point. A few failures to eject in the first 10 rounds of Winchester Universal 7.5 shot. But after shooting other stuff, the rest of the box of 100 Winchester went just fine.
-- Edited by Bob O on Saturday 7th of October 2017 12:46:35 AM
At what yardage were you shooting to find out the POA was 6" to the right of where you were holding on the target? At close range it wouldn't matter all that much with a modified or improved cylinder choke. But that being said it's nice to have the shot hit right where you want it and a tad high.
The A-400 Xplor is also a very nice looking popper by Beretta.
Bob O. Is it you or the gun? When you patterned your gun was it fired from a gun vise or sandbagged so the gun could not move when you fired it? It's very easy to pull a shotgun off to one side when firing at the pattern board.
I patterned the pump at 35 yards from a stable kneeling position. The pattern was clearly off to the right, with the center of the concentration of pellets being six inches from POA. This translated right into shooting. If the bird was coming from the right, I had to lead more.....and lead less if the bird was coming from the left.
With the Beretta, I patterned while standing from 25 yards....this was the way Andy Crow did it. Still a stable and confident shot. My hit percentage on the clays was way higher than with the pump being I never had to factor in the POI shift.
-- Edited by Bob O on Saturday 7th of October 2017 09:46:12 AM
I am looking at the Beretta model A- 400 Xcel semi auto, it weighs 7 3/4 pounds as opposed to the Beretta model A-400 Xplor Unico weighing 7.1 pounds. I like a little extra weight if I am just sitting in a blind letting the birds come to me. The kick off system is something that I am very interested in wanting to try out to see if it really reduces recoil as much as they advertise. They are a nice looking firearm except for that light blue on the receiver, I am going to call Beretta to see if they can hot blue a receiver with a normal blue job for me. Plus if I don't like there mandatory 28 inch barrel I can have it cut off to 26 inches and re threaded for choke tubes. I will first try it for at least a half a season before rushing to judgement.
Really? You prefer a 26” barrel? I had you pegged for atleast a 28” standard length barrel kinda guy. I like my 32” barrel O/U or my 30”auto.
Im no expert on Beretta shotguns BUT, the one you are interested on is an aluminum reciever. The likely hood of it being “blued” otr a blackened color is slim in my opinion.
BUT, I wish you the best.
I have a pair of Beretta model 391 Urikas (semi autos) in 12 gauge, 26" barrels that have dark blue almost black in color on the receivers. They have aluminum receivers, and have served me very well the past ten to twelve years now. I think that they think the clay target shooters will like a lighter color receiver. We will see if Beretta made a wise business move or not in the years to come on this model. The model A - 400 Xcel.
I just got off the phone with customer service at Beretta and they now have a dark blued receiver (now we are talkin) and they call it the A - 400 Xcel Black ! I am headed for the gun shop tomorrow to see if they have a "Black Model" in stock. They are a very nice looking popper. I love the Berettas because you don't have to be cleaning them all the time. To save time when the action gets dirty I spray the action and trigger assembly with a spray can of carburetor cleaner, it gets all the crud out lickety split. Then I just point the firearms muzzle down to let it drain off and evaporate I also use steel wool to clean the carbon off the gas piston to make it nice and smooth and just stick it back in the barrel assembly and I am good to go for another one thousand rounds.
Yes I shoot a little clays with my 686. I really enjoy my Beretta. I hunt it and play a little clays. I still hunt my 11-87 and 870 when the conditions a less than ideal for my Beretta.
Id like the see that new colored receiver by Beretta.
Lefty, they look a hell of a lot better with the blue job on the "Black model" in my humble opinion I am going down to the gun store tomorrow to see if they have an A - 400 Xcel Black in stock. The recoil system and looks of the firearm are what makes me like it.
When I am on the road and staying in flea bag motels on crow safari's I just spray the inside of the receiver and trigger mechanism and point it muzzle down and stand my shotguns in the corner of the motel room to let the carburetor fluid evaporate. I keep the breach bolt open so it airs out nicely. When I get home that is when I actually field strip them when I am not worn out from hunting all day.
I just got off the phone with customer service at Beretta and they now have a dark blued receiver (now we are talkin) and they call it the A - 400 Xcel Black ! I am headed for the gun shop tomorrow to see if they have a "Black Model" in stock. They are a very nice looking popper. I love the Berettas because you don't have to be cleaning them all the time. To save time when the action gets dirty I spray the action and trigger assembly with a spray can of carburetor cleaner, it gets all the crud out lickety split. Then I just point the firearms muzzle down to let it drain off and evaporate I also use steel wool to clean the carbon off the gas piston to make it nice and smooth and just stick it back in the barrel assembly and I am good to go for another one thousand rounds.
OA, do I detect an Ithaca 37 Featherlight? Nice!!!
Nope. As "M12Shooter would say, "It's a canoe paddle." My 1926 Model 12, with a Poly-Choke. My crow gun, purchased from an old friend. I'm the 3rd owner.
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"Arms are the only true badges of liberty. The possession of arms is the distinction of a free man from a slave." -- Andrew Fletcher 1698
I just looked up the Beretta Excel. That bright blue receiver is ass ugly. I cannot see the thought process behind that. I do like the feel of the new Berettas but am too much of an old Browning fan to spend money on anything else.
Here is what my new shootin iron looks like. It has a 26 inch barrel with a white ivory bead. I bought is on Tuesday of this week and will put it in to action very soon.
Hi Lefty, I have been fondling that Beretta saying "oh baby are you going to have some fun real soon" I am very excited to see how much recoil reduction there is in that firearm.
Slow to start, hard to put a hunt together when you have to juggle 2-3 different peoples schedule. Haha, as soon as I nail one down, they call me in to work on my day off!
During my working years there was nothing more frustrating than looking forward to the week end and it would either rain or the wind was wrong! I know what you are going through, I've been there!
I also now have a coyote hunting partner/protege to tend to also. Its my daughter, I recently bought her a nice bolt action .223. So I am trying to get/call in her first coyote for a shot. It was music to my ears today when she said “are we going hunting this evening?”
Shes 9 1/2 now and I started her at 5yrs old. She can shoot! Shes turned heads at the range a few times with her .22lr. She was hitting clay pigeons on the berm (100yds) pretty regularly. A while back she shot my .223 and got bit by a sharp edge on the adjustable cheek piece. Completely my fault, I was paying complete attention. SO, I had to convince her that a .223 is nothing to be scared of and the soccer ball that we practice with hits her harder than any .223 ever will.
But, I had to promise her that we would start with some powder puff loads for her to start out with.
She moving along pretty quick. She knows she cant hunt coyotes with light loads so I make some “medium” loads. She also knows that for deer hunting she has to use “full power” stuff. I find it funny that we have to name the different loads based on there “power”.
I hope to get her out again tomorrow. She really wants a coyote in the scope!
