Beretta A-300 - thoughts?

I have a Beretta A300 In black I used to shoot “Beer League” clay pigeons with and it’s been a flawless gun for well over a few thousand rounds and less than a handful of cleanings.

I am now shooting a CZ712 now only because I wanted a 4 round magazine. But when I start shooting poorly, I put the CZ up and break out the Beretta to get my mojo back.

I have a friend who also shoots an identical gun and his too has been flawless, and I’ve personally witnessed him shoot several thousand rounds through his with zero failures.

All shooting we do is with #8 low brass target rounds.

only issue I have with it is the magazine is only 3 rounds...(3+1), and no extension available. If that works for you, get it.

Good guns. There aren't a lot of accessories available, so if you are in to switching barrels and stocks it probably isn't the gun for you. They are very reliable, handle nicely, and have low recoil for birds and casual clays.

It's a great gun and an exceptional buy. Heck, even the roughly $650 new price is a bargain. I bought one a couple of years ago, shot it much more than you are planning, gave it to my daughter and bought another one for me. Both have been flawless since the beginning. Very soft shooting with any ammo you find, even with 1 1/8 oz loads I can shoot 100-150 in an afternoon and not feel beat up. Get it before someone beats you to it.

I can certainly vouch for the gun as well, I have put well over a thousand rounds through one without a single malfunction in the field or while competing (notwithstanding experiments with different ammunition at the range). These are an excellent choice for a hunting or target shooting shotgun (mine has had a good bit of service in both) and do indeed point instinctively. That was a good choice making that score while you could.

Mine is somewhere in the 8-9k round count now and dead nuts reliable with all ammo with the exception of 1 oz loads below 1100 fps.
It's mostly my beater loaner gun now. One impressive gun. Mine has/ had the black synthetic stock which I didnt care for. Now its orange.

Sappyg2.0 said:

Mine is somewhere in the 8-9k round count now and dead nuts reliable with all ammo with the exception of 1 oz loads below 1100 fps.
It's mostly my beater loaner gun now. One impressive gun. Mine has/ had the black synthetic stock which I didnt care for. Now its orange.View attachment 893244

Click to expand...

That round count is impressive! Mine wouldn't run really low powered shells well either, though it seems to like the cheap 1150 fps 1oz Winchester white box I run through it the most. And no, the black synthetic stocks (though practical) are not exactly the most attractive.

MJD said:

I took it down tonight, wiped it off, and put it back together. Only a few false starts, but I called in the YouTube reinforcement at one point. The action spring going into the buttstock, I didn't put the metal thingamajig attached to the bolt in the "bowl".

Some good experience here on this thread. What lube are you all using on these things? Grease, oil, both?

Click to expand...

I've been using both. Grease on the bolt and action bar and a light oil on the firing pin and the rest of the action. Is seems to work well, though if it gets much below thirty degrees Fahrenheit where you are I would recommend going a little bit lighter on the grease during the colder months as it becomes a good deal more thick in the colder temperatures which causes the action to grow rather stiff.

I second kudu's post above, #2.

MJD said:

I always lean towards wood myself....but I also lean opportunistically towards a great deal

If the black just gets too unbearable, I'll take a page out of @Sappyg2.0 's playbook!

@A C , I live in the Northeast and hunting/clays can get a bit....nippy in the fall and winter. I think I'll use a dab of white lithium on the sliding parts.....I already have a ton of it for my Garand.

Click to expand...

Actually, I don't mind the plain black. And positively love it when it comes in a deal like this ;-)

MJD said:

What lube are you all using on these things? Grease, oil, both?

Click to expand...

I havent used any grease. About every 500 rounds i clean the piston and run a patch through the bore. Its usually not that dirty. Hoppes #9 takes care of that. Sometimes I take out the bolt and wipe that down along with the recoil rod with CLP.

Mine has/ had a few changes over time. The Briely weights and extended bolt are now gone and its back to original weight. Shot the bead off after ~2k rounds and dont miss it.

Locally that gun is known as 'THE Orange Crush'. No kidding. The gun has become a kind of legend all by itself for smashing clays into dust.

A wood stock woulf be nice but, i just dont baby my 300. If it gets too ratty looking ill just repaint. Orange of course.

In their price range I believe the A300 and Remington V3 are easily the best. Which one to buy is dependent on fit.

I've heard great things about the A300. I had a an AL391 for a couple of years and it was great. My brother-in-law is still shooting it. I would go for it.