A300 Xtrema - Beretta New Zealand

Testfires
Pigeon shooting is a great
test of the pointabilty and
responsiveness of any
shotgun
The Remington
Versamax Sportsman and
the Beretta A300 Xtrema
New Affordable Shotguns for 2013
WRITTEN BY ~ GREG DULEY
Over the last couple of years we have seen the release of two
totally new shotguns from the world leaders in waterfowl
shotguns – the Remington Versamax and the Beretta A400 Xtreme
Now this year both these manufacturers have released a more
economically priced version, so let’s have a look and see what
you’ve lost for the money you’ve saved.
» Versamax
Sportsman
We reviewed the Versamax
comprehensively back in issue
22, so other than a brief refresher
on the revolutionary gas system
we’ll only go over the differences
here. And basically, they are very
stock adjustments. The mag tube is
blued not chromed. You also don’t
get a case, and you only get one
choke - a quarter/ improved cylinder.
But everything else looks the same.
It has the same gas ports in the
chamber and twin mini gas cylinders
and pistons operating system.
This clever idea uses the length of
the shell to block off gas ports to
restrict the amount of gas entering
the system as you step up from the
2 ¾ to the 3 and 3.5 inch shells.
This is a very simple self-regulating
system requiring no valves etc to
stop the action hammering itself to
death with the large volume, high
pressure 3.5 inch loads. The Camo
Sportsman we received weighed 8.1
pounds/3.67kgs, so a tiny bit more
than the Versamax we reviewed back
in issue 22. It is available in Camo
for $2099 or Black for $1899.
few. The main variations concern
the stock. There are no soft grip
panels or cheek piece on the top
of the comb, and no shim kit for
Versamax Sportsman
April / May 2013 ~ NZ HUNTER MAGAZINE
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» A300 Xtrema
This new shotgun from Beretta
is an amalgamation of the
A400 and Xtrema as the name
suggests. Basically it is an A400
with an Xtrema2 butt on it. It does
not have the Kick-Off 3 - the extra
recoil piston in the pistol grip area,
and recoil wise does not separate
the whole butt stock from the gun
the way the A400 does. In other
words, the comb still recoils into
your cheek as the Xtrema 1’s and 2’s
did (not that it was very noticeable),
unlike the A400 which has the comb
attached to the non-recoiling rear of
the butt stock. The action and barrel
are A400 – the short receiver and
bolt throw including a magazine
cutoff, the same gas system and
18.6mm overbored barrel taking the
Optima HP chokes. The stock has
no soft grip panels, and in fact has
a very sharp checkering pattern that
certainly provides a lot of grip! It
also has a different magazine cap
– just a simple screw on type, not
the ¼ turn and lock version of the
A400. This last I liked as it is far
easier to swap a mag extension on
and off, which you need to do if you
want to pack it down into its hard
carry case for transport. The A300
does have the stock shim kit, but
not the adjustable length spacers.
It comes with a full five chokes,
and has a simplified version of the
hard carry case. The weight was 7.3
pounds/3.3kgs, so quite a bit lighter
than the 7.6 pounds of the A400, no
doubt due to the extra recoil piston
in the Kick-Off 3. The A300 Xtrema
is also only available in Black at
this stage, but no doubt we’ll see a
Camo sooner or later. RRP $2199.
» In the Field
Having both these guns in March
meant birds in the vineyards
and a bit of pest control around
the pheasant drives were the
initial targets for our testing.
With a drought throughout the
country we also found a few pigeons
congregating on areas where stock
were being fed whole crop silage.
Pigeons are wonderfully challenging
wing shooting targets, and really
test a shotgun’s pointability and
responsiveness.
Both shotguns got a reasonable
amount of work, mainly with lighter
bird and RC 1 1/8oz pigeon loads.
We also put a few heavier loads
including the 3.5 inch monsters
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NZ HUNTER MAGAZINE ~ April / May 2013
A300 Xtreme
A double on pigeons
with the Sportsman,
which is never a
given I can asure you!
through them just to test there was
nothing obviously wrong with their
cycling. As the actions off both
these guns are from already proven
models, there were no surprises
there. They both cycled reliably, but
had the very occasional glitch with
some of the cheap 65mm 1oz loads
as usual. Recoil wise they were both
pretty soft to shoot. I would have
said the Sportsman was softer, but
this would be largely due to the extra
.7 of a pound in weight. The A300
was a little more responsive, again
due to the weight difference.
» Conclusion
Whether or not the cheaper
versions of these waterfowling
greats are the gun for you will
largely depend on your wallet.
They do provide pretty good value
for money, with just a few of the
bells and whistles
missing. If you want
a little lighter quicker
pointing gun I’d look at
the A300. If a heavier
gun for soaking up
the recoil of serious
3.5 inch waterfowl
loads with a little more
weight forward, then
try the Sportsman.
I’m quite sure either
of these will make
Fiona with the A300
excellent waterfowling
from a layout blind
guns for years to come.
A good bag of over 400 pigeons,
a serious workout for
a couple of
shotguns!
“THE NEW STANDARD FOR
RELIABILITY IN AUTOLOADING
SHOTGUNS. VERSA MAX®
shatters convention and
all previous benchmarks for
realiability with an action unlike
any that have come before it.
Proven in the field and in extreme
test of endurance with thousands
of test rounds, it cycles all
12-gauge loads with ultimate
consistency, softer recoil and
less maintenance than you’ve
Any load.
Anywhere. Every time - the
new pinnacle of autoloader
technology.”
ever experienced.
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