A400 vs SBEIII

doc1059 · **Joined:** Sun Feb 10, 2008 8:08 am **Posts:** 44

Looking for opinions on an all around shotgun (waterfowl, turkey, dove, skeet) between the SBEIII and A400. I have shouldered both guns and like the feel and weight of the SBEIII. However, have seen some critical reviews of the SBEIII shooting high. Also, like that the A400 is drilled/tapped and the kickoff though understand the SBEIII may be easier to clean/maintain. Looking for opinions by those that have one or both of these guns.

Virginian · **Posted:** Sat Jan 09, 2021 8:14 am

A400. For versatility gas beats inertia every time.

drawdc · **Joined:** Thu May 13, 2010 4:08 pm **Posts:** 2693

The A400 is a much better choice for an all-around gun.

MNGunner · **Joined:** Fri Dec 02, 2011 8:05 pm **Posts:** 324

I have a left hand 12ga A400 being shipped to me as we speak for my son. He currently has a Benelli M2 20ga.

El_flasko · **Posted:** Sat Jan 09, 2021 11:13 am

Another for for the A400. I own three for clays, hunting, whatever really. The adjustment shims are nice. I throw in the biggest drop shim and the platform fits me like a glove. Have a Cole’s for my main clays gun, smurf gun with kickoff for my son, and an Xtreme Unico for hunting. Great all around shotguns imho.

Jiggskid · **Joined:** Sun Aug 14, 2016 5:08 pm **Posts:** 298

The a400 is a snap to clean and maintain. Certainly no more trouble than my Benellis. And it’s much more versatile.

EricB · **Posted:** Sun Jan 10, 2021 11:40 am

I really like my Benelli but it’s not a SBEIII. Of the two you mentioned, I think Beretta is the way to go.

jbc247 · **Posted:** Sun Jan 10, 2021 1:51 pm

I’ve used a 12 ga left handed Montefeltro for 16 years. Just picked up a 12 ga left handed A400 and couldn’t be happier.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

loneranger · **Joined:** Fri Jun 19, 2020 9:21 pm **Posts:** 75

I’ve had a SBEII and used it a lot. They DO shoot high and if you “limp shoulder” it you will jam. I gave mine to my son when he started shooting ducks and geese and he had a chance to trade up for a SBEIII which he did but then he made the mistake of shooting a A400 plus. Game over. He bought one and sold the SBEIII and never looked back. The gun eats anything including my light 1oz loads and never jams. Recoil is noticeably lighter over the SBE. I’ve always have been fond of Benelli but the A400 is a much better way to go and rarely needs cleaning.

Woollymonster · **Joined:** Mon Dec 12, 2016 7:32 am **Posts:** 73

loneranger wrote:

I’ve had a SBEII and used it a lot. They DO shoot high and if you “limp shoulder” it you will jam. I gave mine to my son when he started shooting ducks and geese and he had a chance to trade up for a SBEIII which he did but then he made the mistake of shooting a A400 plus. Game over. He bought one and sold the SBEIII and never looked back. The gun eats anything including my light 1oz loads and never jams. Recoil is noticeably lighter over the SBE. I’ve always have been fond of Benelli but the A400 is a much better way to go and rarely needs cleaning.

I have been shooting a SBEII now for about 14 years. It has never jammed on me or failed to go bang after a press check. It stays cleaner than gas guns. Benelli has online videos that let you easily take every piece apart for deep cleaning. I have done this once in 14 years and the gun was hardly dirty.

I have hunted with it and competed with it in sporting clays matches when my DT11 was getting stock work. My scores were just as good. It has been impervious to the saltwater marsh.

On a coastal Texas duck hunt last week, my SBEII performed flawlessly downing a good portion of the 33 quackers we harvested over two mornings. Everyone else in this photo was shooting A400's which also performed flawlessly.

My SBEII has never given me any trouble of any kind so I have never had a reason to "upgrade".

gunner76 · **Joined:** Fri Mar 02, 2007 2:26 pm **Posts:** 345

I'm a benelli guy but I'd choose the A400 over the SBEIII if it fits you. I had a LH A400 for about a year and I really liked the gun but I couldn't get it to fit me as good as the M2 I was shooting and got rid of it. The issue for me was I couldn't get used to the low rib and the factory shims didn't give me enough drop(didn't know I could get custom shims made before I got rid of it).

The gas system required a little more maintenance than the Benelli but it wasn't that bad. Recoil was very light even with how light the gun was and the 3" A400 would cycle loads down to 3/4oz with no issues. If it would've had a stepped rib like the SBE/M2 series I'd still have it.

MNGunner · **Joined:** Fri Dec 02, 2011 8:05 pm **Posts:** 324

Woollymonster wrote:

loneranger wrote:

I’ve had a SBEII and used it a lot. They DO shoot high and if you “limp shoulder” it you will jam. I gave mine to my son when he started shooting ducks and geese and he had a chance to trade up for a SBEIII which he did but then he made the mistake of shooting a A400 plus. Game over. He bought one and sold the SBEIII and never looked back. The gun eats anything including my light 1oz loads and never jams. Recoil is noticeably lighter over the SBE. I’ve always have been fond of Benelli but the A400 is a much better way to go and rarely needs cleaning.

I have been shooting a SBEII now for about 14 years. It has never jammed on me or failed to go bang after a press check. It stays cleaner than gas guns. Benelli has online videos that let you easily take every piece apart for deep cleaning. I have done this once in 14 years and the gun was hardly dirty.

I have hunted with it and competed with it in sporting clays matches when my DT11 was getting stock work. My scores were just as good. It has been impervious to the saltwater marsh.

On a coastal Texas duck hunt last week, my SBEII performed flawlessly downing a good portion of the 33 quackers we harvested over two mornings. Everyone else in this photo was shooting A400's which also performed flawlessly.

My SBEII has never given me any trouble of any kind so I have never had a reason to "upgrade".

That's a great looking lab!

DesertMuleDeer · **Joined:** Sun Oct 08, 2017 6:51 pm **Posts:** 27

I have a lot of rounds through various Benelli and Berettas auto models (though much less so for the exact models mentioned). I like both but my preference for a gun that would does more hunting than clays is Benelli and by a large margin. I personally like the way the Benelli handles better. If shooting more clays, I might look at the Beretta, though I have a close friend that was a serious sporting shooter until having some health issues. He has probably put 100,000 rounds through his Benelli Super Sport shooting clays and was a really good shot at one point and is better than most even now though he has no peripheral vision.

I think I may personally shoot Benellis and many over unders a little better than Beretta autos but my real beef is cleaning them. I hated cleaning my 391s when shooting a lot of clays. Not sure if A400s are better in that mine has mainly sat in the safe for a few years so I've never shot it enough to warrant a serious deep cleaning of that gun.

Your mileage may vary but my vote would be Benelli.

A400 vs SBEIII

Who is online