Gun Review: Beretta A300 Ultima Patrol

Beretta owns the semi-auto shotgun market. Beretta actually owns Benelli, Stoeger and Franchi, three firms whose bread and butter is shotguns. Beretta additionally produces a good variety of shotguns. Italian shotguns have a number of frequent themes: excessive ranges of efficiency, feature-filled and a excessive worth level. The 1301 and Benelli M4 price two grand. Seeing a spot available in the market, Beretta launched the A300 Ultima Patrol.

The A300 Ultima Patrol has an MSRP of $1,049 however retails for lower than a thousand {dollars}. It hits this snug zone for high-quality semi-autos that don’t worth themselves out of most individuals’s fingers. The A300 sequence isn’t new, however the Ultima Patrol takes what’s normally a sporting gun and makes it tactical. 

The Ultima Patrol sequence is an American-made shotgun owned and influenced by the Italians. It takes a number of options from the 1301 however doesn’t have a few of the extra important and costly options. For instance, the 1301 makes use of a steelium barrel with an elongated forcing cone for tighter patterns; the A300 doesn’t. The A300 makes use of polymer sights; the 1301 makes use of metallic. 

Though there are a number of small variations, shotguns are usually easy weapons. Whereas devoted shotgunners respect fancy options, most customers are prone to ignore them. 

The Ultima Patrol – Tactical is as Tactical Does 

The very first thing Beretta did to the A300 was trim the barrel to 19.1 inches. That’s a bit of longer than most, but it surely permits the barrel to sit down flush with the journal tube. That tube holds seven rounds. You too can ghost load the gun, which supplies you 8+1. Not unhealthy for a shotgun. 

The journal clamp encompasses a single M-LOK slot and a QD level for a sling. The handguard has M-LOK slots for equipment on three sides. Beretta added a really aggressive texture to the handguard. It bites into the hand fairly nicely and permits for a fantastic grip. 

The receiver homes our large controls, together with the charging deal with, bolt launch and security, that are enormous and straightforward to control. The inventory encompasses a sequence of spacers that mean you can regulate the LOP from 13 to 14.5 inches. 

The entrance sight is a high-visibility orange design. Mine got here unfastened early in my taking pictures, and it flopped round. It was straightforward to repair, however form of annoying. It wanted some Loctite. This was in all probability a one-off or uncommon state of affairs given the standard Beretta’s are recognized for, so I’ll write that one as much as a producing glitch and never the norm. The rear sight encompasses a nonadjustable polymer ghost ring. We get an optics rail; it’s quick and plastic, but it surely works. I hooked up a STNGR mini pink dot to the gun, which works nicely. 

Chucking Shells With the A300 Ultima Patrol

Let’s speak about reliability because it is without doubt one of the most essential capabilities of a defensive firearm. The A300 Ultima Patrol ran fairly nicely. I solely had two malfunctions, they usually have been associated to port loading the gun. Once I closed the bolt and pulled the set off, the set off broke, and I heard the clicking, however the gun didn’t fireplace. 

The primer lacked an indent, and if I needed to guess, the motion didn’t totally shut and go into battery. The excellent news is that it gained’t fireplace out of battery. This was seemingly attributable to my hand getting in the way in which of the charging deal with, and it solely occurred twice in a number of dozen completely different port reloads. 

Aside from that, the gun ran with out a problem. It cycled birdshot, buckshot and slugs. The A300 chewed by light-loaded rounds like an 1145 FPS Flitecontrol load. It ate a number of uber-cheap birdshot hundreds and didn’t decelerate. 

The fuel system labored to cycle the gun minimize recoil. The A300 Ultima Patrol is pretty gentle at solely seven kilos, so it’s good it doesn’t hit your shoulder like Rosie O’Donnell hits buffets. The gun additionally lacks the front-heavy nature of most gas-operated weapons. The upside is a balanced gun; the draw back is a gun that desires to leap a bit.

It has extra muzzle rise than some opponents. You will need to dig into your push/pull to maintain the gun heading in the right direction. It’s not exceptionally unhealthy, but it surely’s noticeable in comparison with my bedside gun, the Mossberg 940 Professional Tactical. 

Slamming Shells 

The A300 Ultima Patrol rips by buckshot properly and rapidly. I can land two photographs into the A-zone of an IPSC goal in lower than one second at 10 yards. I did some ready-up drills at 15 yards and landed rounds in .54 seconds. That’s quick, and the pink dot helps a bit, but it surely’s a testomony to the gun’s lack of recoil. 

The massive controls make the gun straightforward to control. I by no means discovered myself misplaced whereas making an attempt to hit the bolt launch or rack the charging deal with. The loading port comes immediately out of a contest gun. It’s deburred and large. It doesn’t pinch, and shoving rounds into the gun could be very straightforward. 

Let’s speak about accuracy, a topic we hardly ever talk about in depth with shotguns. The rear ghost ring sight just isn’t adjustable. With regular buckshot, it’s not an issue. With Flitecontrol, it’s additionally not an enormous deal, however with slugs, it’s tougher. Nonetheless, it’s not a giant deal. I exploit shotguns for buckshot, and as an optic-ready gun, I’m not utilizing irons anyway. 

The First Gen Immigrant 

Total, I feel Beretta struck a wonderful steadiness between options, high quality and worth. They developed a dependable, low-recoiling and easy-to-use shotgun with many trendy options. It’s nicely suited to dwelling protection and even in a patrol automobile. It’s a stable semi-auto shotgun, and I wouldn’t hesitate to hold one. 

The place To Purchase

Specs

Barrel Size: 19.1 in.Total Size: 38 in.Weight: 7 lbs.Caliber: 12 gaugeCapacity: 7+1MSRP: $1,050

Scores (Out of 5 Stars)

Reliability – **** (and a half) I’m taking a half level for the entrance sight getting unfastened and the 2 bizarre port load failures. Aside from that, the gun runs like a beast. 

Accuracy – ****With buckshot, it’s good, however the nonadjustable sights make slug photographs more durable at longer ranges. With a pink dot, it’s 5 stars, however it’s important to pay for a pink dot. 

Ergonomics *****It has all the fashionable options I need in a shotgun. Massive controls, an adjustable LOP and aggressive grip textures. 

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