A Semi-Auto 12 Gauge for all Seasons: Meet the Smooth new Beretta A400 Solo

I got a sneak peek to try out the newest A400 series autoloading shotgun before Beretta debuted it last week at the Ducks Unlimited Expo. Beretta has been an autoloading shotgun maker for over 70 years, having introduced the pioneering gas-operated system Model 60 in 1955. Fast forward to the 1990s, and the company’s superb AL390/391 series had picked up the mantle, but the company’s shotgun dev team thought it could do better. After three years of development, 8,000 hours of engineering, 2,000 hours of testing, and more than 100,000 shells fired through prototypes and production models, the A400 Xplor Unico debuted in November 2009. Incorporating Steelium barrels, the B-Link gas operating system, and a Kick-Off recoil reduction system that utilized hydraulic dampers inside the stock, the new shotgun was set up for success, and, by the start of 2026, Beretta had 19 different models in the A400 family, priced between $1,949 and $3,699. We’ve covered the A400 story for over a decade and…