Beretta A300 Ultima 12ga Shotgun Review

In June, Beretta announced the A300 Ultima and I was fortunate to get my hands on one from Reeds for a review. 

Earlier this summer I reviewed the Beretta A300 Outlander and while it was a good gun for the money, it was just missing the mark in certain areas. When I first saw the A300 Ultima at DUX, where Beretta announced the Ultima, it appeared to be a much nicer gun than the Outlander. In this review, I take an in-depth look at the Ultima and share my thoughts. You can watch the video for the review or if you prefer a quick read, see below.

The Beretta Ultima has an MSRP of $799 but I was able to get one from Reeds for $749. Shop the Ultima at Reeds. 

Quick Specs

• 12 gauge (also available in 20 gauge)
• 3" chamber
• 28" Barrell
• 7 lbs 10 oz
• Length of Pull 14 1/4" Out of the Box (Adjustable with included spacers)

Ergonomics/Look & Feel

• Feels decent in the hands, a little bulkier than I prefer
• Oversized charging handle and bolt release for easy operating - huge improvement over the A300 Outlander
• Milled out loading port - love this
• Kickoff stock - helps reduce felt recoil
• Rubber comb - nice feel
• The forearm and pistol grip leave something to be desired in the feel

Trigger 

•  5 lbs 2.7 oz Average
• The trigger is light be not as crisp as I would prefer

Quality of Build

• I always look at the quality of the build relative to the price. The Ultima is a big upgrade from the A300 Outlander and it is at the same price point. For the money, the Ultima is going to be hard to beat as far as quality.

Ease of Breakdown

• Very simple to break down for a gas gun. 
• There are a few tricky parts but after breaking it down a few times, it becomes easier.
• Love the one pin design to take of the trigger group

Recoil

• This gun sports the Kick-Off recoil reduction system and claims 70% reduction
• No problems whatsoever when shooting 3" Target loads from the shoulder, recoil is among the lightest shotguns I have shot.

Reliability

• From the shoulder, this gun handled pretty much everything I threw at it. When I shot over the head I had some issues but in all fairness, this was a brand new gun and needed a break-in period. 

Speed Shooting

• I love to shoot fast and this gun does that extremely well, matching my fastest time shooting three hand-thrown clays in 1.12 seconds.

In summary, the A300 Ultima kicks the pants off the A300 outlander and is a great gun for the money. I am looking forward to putting the Ultima head to head to some other shotguns around the same price point. What shotgun would you like to see head to head with the Ultima?

Whether in the field or in life, we will only hit what we are focused on, so live the #targetfocusedlife

Stay Target Focused,

Steve