Home Forums Birds & Dogs Upland Game Hungarian Partridge - Beretta XPlor 28 Gauge

Myself and two Hunting friends went after Hungarian Partridge yesterday here in the high valleys of SW Montana.
What a wonderful experience it was. The weather was perfect and no wind - not even any smoke in the air (which has been the case for the last 3 months!).
I had not been after Huns for at least 5 years - and that won't happen again.
To say it was a fun/great Hunt would be an understatement even though only 6 Huns were brought to bag.
Two dogs were along - a Black Lab and an English Cocker Spaniel.
I had never had anything to do with this English Cocker Spaniel breed but this beautiful, tiny (maybe 13 pounds?) female was an all day bundle of energy and obedience. This 3 years old Spaniel NEVER got further out in front of its owner than 18 - 20 yards!
It found and flushed birds 5 different times and retrieved four of the six Huns we bagged.
She was the second place star of the day/Hunt though.
The first place winner was my friends new Beretta A-400 XPlor semi-auto shotgun in 28 gauge!
This shotgun was an absolute thing of beauty with perfect balance and perfect shoulder/eye alignment for me.
This Beretta accounted for 4 of the 6 Huns brought to bag.
AND.... I have seen 28 gauge shotshells available just about everywhere over the last year - I don't know why.
Last night when I got home I checked on the Beretta site and the 28 gauge XPlor is priced at (MSRP) $1,500.00.
I have never paid over $500.00 for a shotgun in my life but I am sorely tempted to buy one of these before I cross the great divide.
All is well in Big Sky Country.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy
P.S.: Link to Beretta = https://www.beretta.com/en-us/a400-xplor-action/

A three year old 13 pound English Cocker would be eating Birds instead of retrieving them....

That gun looks like a worthwhile purchase. However, I think I would pay more for that dog!

Great times. Wish I had been there with you.

Yea...how much for the dog?

Great story VG.. We have been hunting sage grouse.. Not great but a few..

Great story VG.. We have been hunting sage grouse.. Not great but a few..

The Beretta Xplor is an elegant shotgun if on the heavier side due to the complex (for me) gas action. And I’ve seen 28’s around here too; more than the 16’s and almost rivaling the 20’s. As to the
Beretta — You should get one. 😉

Nice hunt. We used to have Hungarians and I’m sure still due but I doubt they are in numbers enough to purposely hunt here.

That particular 28 gauge is a hard find here....Have read a couple reviews on it and they are universally positive...

Last year a Bud bought the Xplor in a 20 Gauge....It was easy to like.

I had one in 12. It was a big gun but a handsome one and it got pretty dirty under the forend from gases much quicker than I expected.

I think I’d like a 28 though if it weren’t for their safeties.

A major problem for lefties — the complex trigger/safety mechanism is reversible but only by certified Beretta ‘smith.

The web site says the 12 gauge weighs 6.7 pounds, and that there is a left-handed version. I couldn't find any weights on the sub-gauge versions. Sounds like a pretty attractive gun.

George,

I just bought another A400 for sporting...After around 2000 rounds this is what the inside of the forend looks like...Nothing major. I have shot some older Berettas that did soot up a lot worse. Anyway, I ran a paper towel down the inside and this is what I came up with. Nothing excessive after that many rounds.






The 28 is listed as 5.5 pounds which is pretty light....The trigger pulls on the one in the video is 5+ which isn't the best....However, send the trigger by itself to Cole gunsmithing in Florida or Maine, and you will most likely have it back in 7-10 days with a much lighter pull and he will switch the safety...All done for very little..However, since it was mentioned there is a left handed version, the safety would come correct for a lefty.

I think they are very fine guns but my experience with lefty guns, now much exacerbated by Covid complications, is 1) first find a dealer who can get one, and 2), if you later want to sell to a gun store, or trade later, it quickly becomes the red-headed step cousin to get rid of which lefties always are.

As to safeties, sending the mechanism off for a week or two when contrasted with the ten minute switch-out in the basement of the Benelli’s/many Rem’s just makes it seem like their engineers made it a “Rubik’s Cube” instead of a “Lego”.

Maybe these issues just seem like “get off my lawn” types to some but after a lifetime of ‘em as the mostly ignored 10%, they leave a mark.

And Battue, mine carboned up much worse much quicker; unless the dealer spent the summer shooting clays with it, wiped it down, and put it back on the rack before I bought it. 😉

I understand your resale issue….
Gas guns run dirty….goes with the territory….and Beretta has a rep of being more reliable dirty than clean. As far as their mechanics.

We look at some of the other issues differently, which is normal. You know what you like, and in this case there is little reason to compromise.


If the thread wasn’t about a 28 gauge, I most likely would have left it be. Thought about buying one myself, but already have the Ithaca 37 28 gauge. However, I think the Beretta is better balanced.

Now if a special SxS 28 crosses my path….temptation my win. 👍🏻

Yeah, 28’s really have appeal. And there is no doubt B XPlor’s are good guns.

VG, apologize if I went down the ditch here.

George,

Friends 20 gauge did hiccup perhaps 5 or 6 times in the first 25 shells....And you can imagine how he reacted when it occurred on a couple easy shots on Pheasants...And the look I got, because I recommended that particular shotgun...I even said, I'll buy it off you if you want out of it. Then it settled in and has been perfect...

George De Vries 3rd: Not a problem at all - get off on all the tangents you want.
I enjoy hearing from knowledgeable "Birders" - I consider myself an amateur bird Hunter - if not a long time Grouse & Pheasant neophyte Hunter.
I started at age 12 and that was 62 years ago.
Probably have only harvested 100 Pheasants and maybe a few more Grouse - along with VERY few Chukars!
Maybe taken 20 Huns in the last 24 years of Montana living along with a handful of Sage Grouse and Sharptails.
When we cooked and ate the Huns we added a bit of commercial Montana Huckleberry "Sauce" to them and it was WONDERFUL.
I got a pair of Sandhill Crane "tags" for here in SW Montana but have not worked up the nerve to bonk one as yet - I have eaten them before and they are great table fare though.

WyoCoyoteHunter: Another friend of mine from Arizona was here for 11 days recently and he wants a Badger rug in the worst way - so we have to bag a Badger.
We Hunted them for 9 of the 11 days he was here and fished the other two.
NO Badgers but we got a Coyote and several other small Varmints in our travels/Hunts.
We did see two medium flocks of Sage Grouse but no shotguns along at the time.
Good luck with the "Bombers".
Its an unseasonably warm 82 degrees here in SW Montana today.
Keep after'em and be safe.

Battue & Dukxdog: That little dog was the finest mannered dog that I have seen in decades!
It was just a treasure to be around and to watch Hunt.
The owner lives in Florida 9 months of the year and recreates/lives the rest of the time in Montana.
I am certain he would not sell said Spaniel


All: I have THE most wonderful picture of my Hunting partners and the tiny English Cocker Spaniel and my other friends Black Lab along with some Huns, some scenery and a bit of guns if anyone would like to see it just privately provide me with your cell number and I will have the VarmintWife text it to you from my cell phone (maybe even for posting it here if you have the expertise?).

Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

The Beretta Xplor 28 ga w/28" barrel I own weighs 5# 8oz with the factory magazine cap. I chose to use a 4 oz heavier cap to bring the weight up to 5# 12 oz...it is the black steel cap that comes stock on a Beretta Xcel A400 Black Sporting. It was available at Beretta Canada (Stoeger) and I'd already tried the one off my Xcel Black Sporting so knew I liked the balance.

I also put on the medium (.59" thick) Beretta Microcore recoil pad to lengthen the LOP a bit to around 14.5". Those Microcore pads are great, as they don't hang up on your clothes like many rubber pads do. Easy to grind to but not applicable as the pad fits perfect.

No birds to bag yet but have shot 25 at skeet with the little gun. Dandy little gun! Only complaint is it throws AA empty cases a long ways....12'-15' so be warned if you reload!

Duplicate

I will say, remembering back to shooting my Beretta Xplor 12 and my current Benelli UL 12, the whole micro-second shooting process in the former was like going over a rumble-strip in a Mercedes compared to an old F150 with the Ben UL.

But such are the benefits of a good gas gun compared to an inertia-driven, and thus, very light gun.

Kurt52: I did notice that my friends Beretta had a sling attached to the magazine tube end and near the heal of the stock.
He and his dog cover a lot of ground and the sling was used during some of his trekkings.
I am going back to the Beretta site to see if those factory attachments are stock - or maybe one of you's guys can answer that?
I was at a medium large gunshop last week and I noticed that they had 7 (seven) different brands/styles of 28 gauge Hunting shells but nothing much else in any other gauge!
I wonder why?
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Those are factory, bone stock. I have sold a bunch of those guns over the years and they are factory.

Where I hunt chukars they are a very nice feature.

Yes, the light factory magazine cap has a sling swivel attachment at the end, as does the butt stock. If I hunt chukars with it, I may use the stock cap and try a sling....I usually hunt with a 16 ga AYA #2 round body or a 20 ga Grulla round body, but may give the Beretta autoloader a go at least once this fall! Its a fine shooting little gun! And I failed to mention that the Beretta A400 autoloaders come with stock shims, allowing you to change the drop at heel from 50mm to 55, 60 or 65 mm. (2" to 2-9/16") and to set it for cast-off or cast-on (right or left handed). Great feature to get the fit you like to enhance your shooting!

GF1 & Kurt52: Thank you both for the insights and additional info on the Beretta.
Maybe I should treat myself to a nifty Beretta - there are a LOT of Chukars just over the Continental Divide from where I live in SW Montana.
I guess Beretta (IIRC) is "the worlds oldest gunmaker" for a reason?
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

VG, you can also get slip-on slings for carrying your shotgun when you are not actively hunting. If you haven’t seen them, a small loop slips over the barrel and a larger loop slips over the stock. Both pull tight and the weight of the gun keeps them tight as you shoulder it and carry it.

I measured the trigger pull on the A400 28 ga today....4# on the head after about 500 shots. It started at 4# 10oz if I remember right. Nice trigger, smooth now as well....better than the two 12 ga A400s I've owned by a bit.

George De Vries 3rd: Thats right I had forgotten about them.
I have only bought "lotto tickets" once in my life maybe I better give that a try to freshen up my mad money?
I was driving home from Denver, Colorado a couple days ago and heard the national "LOTTO" was at 525 MILLION dollars!
I could get me some guns with that jackpot.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

We don't have many in our country, but they're good eating. Like little pheasants.

Just carried the Beretta A400 28 ga w/28" barrel chukar hunting. What a great carrying shotgun! The balance is good in that the bolt handle doesn't jab you in the palm....it carries a bit front heavy when loaded and my hand is in front of the bolt. The empty weight of 5-1/2# in stock form, 3 oz more with 3 shells is a joy in the mountains. It was also up to the task at hand too..finished the hunt with a double off a nice point after picking up a single earlier! Modified choke in it with some 7/8 oz #6 reloads.