Beretta A400 20 gauge shotgun data

[rc]

Thank you for sharing your experiences with the A400. You definitely tested the low end of performance to see when it would stop working. I know some people said that because of the weight difference in the guns that your 20 could kick as much as a 12 but there are so many subjective factors in how a gun feels under recoil and weight of the gun is one of them, velocity of the load is another, but when you boil it all down, fit of the gun and softness of the recoil pad seems to be the two most important factors. I am sure even 1 OZ "high brass" at around 1200fps will be very pleasant in that gun. A 12 tends to punch out 1 oz loads closer to 1350fps. Even 3" magnums in 20 gauge tend to be a bit slower when pushing the same amount of shot as a high base 12 gauge so even having the same amount of shot in your shells is not quite an apples to apples comparison due to other factors. Now that you have a nice O/U and Auto in 20 gauge, it's time to find a nice classic pump like a Browning BPS to round out your collection

[FITASC]

Absolutely sure it's Cylinder - five notches on the rim.

But how does it pattern with the ammo you intend to shoot through it?

[stinkeypete]

I shoot 1.25 ounces of #5 shot at pheasants. In 20 gauge or 12 gauge, both going 1200 fps.

The size of the bore makes absolutely no difference to pattern. This is a proven fact.

The quality of the choke construction and the quality and load of the shell DO make a difference to the pattern. But unless a top level competition shooter, determining pattern quality is a very difficult thing to measure.

I don't care for the Beretta gas recoil system as it's not as soft as other systems. So they resort to putting moving parts in the stock. I don't like that, I like plain simple wood.

Despite that, if looking for a 20 gauge semi auto, an A400 would be near top of my list. With a nice wood stock.