**The Action: Beretta A400 XPLOR
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Beretta's latest version of its new flagship semiauto, the A400 XPLOR, now comes in a field version with a copper-bronze colored receiver. Dubbed, the "Action," it weighs around 6 ¾ pounds and is chambered for 2 ¾ and 3-inch loads. Based on what I have seen from other Beretta A400s I've shot, this gun will cycle everything you feed it, down to the lightest sub-one ounce reloads and it will run for a few thousand rounds (or more) between cleanings. The walnut has Beretta's enhanced Xtra wood grain with an oil finish. The Action offers the option of the very effective Kick-Off recoil reducer and Beretta's Grip Pod, a counter that keeps track of the rounds you fire, relative recoil, and temperature. The Grip Pod counter will come in handy for high volume South American dove shooting, but for those of us who don't jet off to Argentina every weekend, non-grip pod versions will be available soon. $1825 with Kick-Off $1620 without Kick-Off. --Phil Bourjaily.
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Beretta's latest version of its new flagship semiauto, the A400 XPLOR, now comes in a field version with a copper-bronze colored receiver. Dubbed, the "Action," it weighs around 6 ¾ pounds and is chambered for 2 ¾ and 3-inch loads. Based on what I have seen from other Beretta A400s I've shot, this gun will cycle everything you feed it, down to the lightest sub-one ounce reloads and it will run for a few thousand rounds (or more) between cleanings. The walnut has Beretta's enhanced Xtra wood grain with an oil finish. The Action offers the option of the very effective Kick-Off recoil reducer and Beretta's Grip Pod, a counter that keeps track of the rounds you fire, relative recoil, and temperature. The Grip Pod counter will come in handy for high volume South American dove shooting, but for those of us who don't jet off to Argentina every weekend, non-grip pod versions will be available soon. $1825 with Kick-Off $1620 without Kick-Off. --Phil Bourjaily.
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The Benelli Ultra Light may be the greatest upland semiauto ever. For this year, Benelli adds a 28 gauge version to the existing 12 and 20, an announcement that will thrill the small but devoted cult that loves the 28. The new 28 UltraLight is listed at a mere 4.9 to 5 pounds. Like its bigger 12 and 20 gauge siblings, it has a magazine tube shortened to 2-shot capacity and a carbon fiber rib on its 26-inch barrel to save weight. The stock is walnut with Benelli’s tough Weathercoat finish. The gun comes with three choke tubes and promises to figure prominently in the nightmares of grouse and woodcock everywhere. MSRP: $1799. _ –PB_
