Beretta A400 Xtreme......

[Dave McCracken]

Fascast, I took the Black Cloud back to Gunz R Us and swapped it for the highly effective and horribly priced Hevi shot 2s in 3.5". The 3" version has worked very well for me.

Tom, that's the kind of story that chokes me up. A hunter taking his or her first game with a classic shotgun owned by three generations of ancestors. Thanks, you made my day better.

Dunno much about the 50, but have shot a few 59s and liked them. Odd balance, but doable.

As soon as things gell here, I'll take the Beretta out for doves. Late season's on till the 25th.

 

[Tom Held]

59s

Well it's not a hand down Parker like the old days but he will appreciate it.

if I remember correctly the 59s had the fiberglas wrapped barrel. Balance was way off. Winchester took a good gun and tried to "improve" it with what they advertised as a fiberglas barrel. It made for a much lighter field gun but very whippy on the front end. The Model 50 was machine made, not stamped and simple to take apart. Tom

 

[Dave McCracken]

Correct, Tom. The 59 platform went less than 6.25 lbs, and people like Frank Woolner shaved down the stock and got them even lighter. Whippy is a kind way of saying "If you stop swingin' it like a %^&* it stops right there".

Still, some grouse hunters love them. More love the 20 gauge Al 48, which doesn't have the balance point behind the trigger....

 

[Milkmaster]

Anything new to report on the A400 Dave? Bonus time is a comin'!

 

[Tom Held]

A 400

The A 400 that remington sent me to try out was one hell of a lot better than the one I shot in September. This one is really a quality shotgun. Better fit and handled 3 1/2 inch shells this past fall perfectly. I think they have it right now. One of my sons had it for a couple of days and shot it 5 times and killed 5 canadas. No complaints here. Hardly any recoil. Tom

 

[oneounceload]

***? How did Remington send you a Beretta gun? guess I am missing something there Tom

 

[oneounceload]

Never mind

 

[Tom Held]

Just another senior moment, had my shotguns mixed up. Remington sent me one of their Versamax's earlier this year to play around with. I had a chance to shoot a waterfowl version of the A400 in Virginia on pheasant. The stock had been adjusted to drop the comb slightly and it shot like a house on fire. Maybe it was the optional camo finish but I was impressed with it as I was with the Remington. If I was in the market for a new autoloader it would be a toss up between the two.

Sorry for mixup. Been a long day on airplanes. Tom

 

[Dave McCracken]

Not much new. Missed out on goose season, they didn't come down in time.

Did do some patterning. The pattern was ALL above POA at 30 yards. It took some fumbling, but we got it down some.

Unless Beretta insists on getting it back before then, I'll use it on Turkey in a couple months. Meanwhile I'll run a case or two of RWBs through it at SC and Wobble.

Overall, it's a good shotgun IMO. I find the length a trifle ungainly, but I've little personal experience with autos in general and 3.5" howitzers in particular.

IOW, I've little love for it but considerable respect....