I am in the market for a Beretta semi-auto 12ga. It will be used for the skeet/trap and SC range recreationally as well as pheasant and other upland birds. Thoughts on a duel purposes A400 and barrel length? Been looking at the Xcel black but not sure if another version would suit me better?

A400 is a great soft shooting gun. I bought my son a 28" Xtrema. Very soft shooting so great for target and waterfowl. Part of the reason it's softer shooting is the kick-off ststem, the gas action and the weight. For lots of upland, it might be a little heavy and I personally would go with a 26" barrel

The A400 Xplor or the Upland would be a good choice.

A400 30” black sporting is a big gun to lug around for upland. Depends on what type of hunting and hiking you are going to do (preserve vs. wild bird).

What is your primary use? Clays 30 times or more a year / hunting preserves 5 times a year, get an a400 or AL391, or even an A300 sporting. Barrel length your choice (28” or 30”).

If you are going to shoot hardcore, eg clays every weekend, , hunting fields in the Midwest all season, then you should get 2 dedicated guns, a sporting 30” and a lighter field 28”.

390/391/400

I am wanting to get into recreational skeet, trap and SC after a 20 year break but in case I don’t have the time to keep with it I wanted to be able to use the shotgun for hunting as well. I am thinking I need to buy a hunting gun to use on the range vs a range gun for the field. If I stick with it get a dedicated range gun then. For the range guys is there a gun that screams novice? Thinking of a black with kickoff in 28”. Possibly a extreme plus or xplor or should I stick with 3” vs go 3.5”.

Hard to beat the A400 20 gauge.30"bbl and 6lb weight.

I’ve been drooling over an A400 for clays after shooting my son’s a400 plus he uses for waterfowl. It felt very nice and handled my light 1oz loads easily. I’d like to get a Coles a490 with their upgrades.
As an aside I’ve been a huge Benelli fan having put thousands of rounds through a SBEII but after shooting the super soft shooting a400, the excellent feel I’ll be buying a a400 next.

Have a a400 lite in 20ga already and love it. I am really thinking of a Extreme Plus in 12ga/28” barrel the more I think about it. Now just need to wait for one to arrive at my distributor.

From what I’ve been told, Beretta production was slow due to Covid.
Should start showing up again this spring.

My wife uses the green 3.5" Xplor Unico for sporting clays. It has their Kick Off recoil system and functions perfectly with my 3/4oz reloads. It also weighs a mere 7#. If I was going to go with one gun for field and club, that would be it.

Love the KO on my other Beretta! I will get a Extrema Plus and play the skeet/trap/sc by ear. If push comes to shove I also have other shotguns which can will the role until I can find a dedicated gun. Appreciate the replies.

I’m getting an A400 Xcel sporting 12 gauge with 30” barrel in the next week. Just trying to decide between kickoff and no kickoff.

Without a doubt go KO.

My Xcel weighs 8# plus I added some Briley 2oz weights so I did not feel the KO was necessary, as it is not a cheap option.

I used to shoot a AL391 sporting and I never thought of it as having a lot of recoil. Of course anything we can do to eliminate as much recoil as possible and stay on the target is ideal but I am wondering if the extra $$ is worth it as well.

I recommend the a400 xtreme plus in black with 28in barrel. Meets all your needs.

Absolutely get the KO.

I hate the kick off. The A400 is very light recoiling so really don’t need. I don’t like guns that give when I shoot them. It also limits your ability to modify the stock if you need to.

I purchased the A400 with KO. I tried both and the KO didn't bother me in regards to feeling springy or anything like that. It absolutely helps with felt recoil even though these are very soft shooting shotguns.