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New Turkey Gun: Beretta A300 Ultima Turkey

By Chris Berens

Whenever hunters think of the top shotguns in the world, the name Beretta is arguably always on the podium of that list. Sleek, beautiful works of craftsmanship that have graced the hands of competition shooters, hunters, soldiers, law enforcement officers and discerning citizens around the world. And now after five centuries of creating masterful firearms renowned for their fit, finish, accuracy and dependability, Beretta has added another to its stable of thoroughbreds — this time in the form of a hard-core turkey gun — the A300 Ultima Turkey.

The new A300 Ultima Turkey is available in RealTree Edge® or Mossy Oak® DNA camouflage. Photo courtesy Beretta.

The A300 Ultima Turkey is a workhorse in the Beretta lineup, and it happily does its job well. I was fortunate enough to carry one this past spring during the last days of Wisconsin’s turkey season. My public-land spots had already taken a beating, and I couldn’t sweet talk a gobbler within range of the new Beretta, unfortunately. It did give me plenty of time in the woods with the semiauto, though. Here’s how it stacks up.

The latest iteration of the value-minded A300 series of shotguns, the A300 Ultima Turkey contains the same internals as its predecessors. Its gas-operated action features a self-cleaning piston, which allows it to handle many different loads, including heavy 3-inch magnum turkey rounds, with ease and reliability. There are only four major components to disassemble, so it’s simple to keep clean and functioning even at turkey camp or on a tailgate between hunts.

Speaking of hard-hitting magnum turkey loads, the gas-operated, semiauto action softens quite a bit of the punch from those rounds. In addition, a soft-touch comb and the Beretta Kick-Off recoil reduction system — a combination of hydraulic and spring dampeners — work together to tame the heaviest recoil for more comfortable shooting and faster target acquisition on follow-up shots.

Available in 3-inch 12 or 20 gauge, the A300 Ultima Turkey is built with a maneuverable 24-inch barrel topped by a 7x7mm stepped rib, mid-bead and high-visibility 4mm fiber-optic front bead. Plus, each shotgun comes optic ready and includes a 7-slot Picatinny rail and hardware to mount your favorite scope or red-dot sight to its low-profile receiver. To keep pellet patterns turkey tight at longer ranges, the gun also includes a Beretta Extended Full Mobile Choke, which is interchangeable with other options in the Mobile Choke lineup.

An enlarged loading port, extended bolt release and bolt handle allow smooth and fast reloading, and its oversized and reversible safety button provides easy manipulation through any hunting conditions, especially when you’re wearing gloves.

The Beretta’s enlarged loading port, extended bolt release and bolt handle, in addition to its oversize safety button, combine to make manipulation of the controls a cinch. Photo credit Chris Berens.

Be careful not to lean it up against a tree and step away, because the two camo pattern options, Mossy Oak® DNA and RealTree Edge®, make it darn near invisible in any habitat from the sharpest eyes in the woods — not to mention our own.

With a box or so of rounds through the A300 Ultima Turkey to check patterns at hunting ranges and get a good feel for the gun, there were absolutely zero malfunctions. The 12-gauge, 3-inch, #4 Winchester XR Longbeard shotshells patterned very well at 20, 30 and out to 40 yards with confidence-inspiring consistency. The Beretta’s gas-operated action and Kick-Off recoil reducer kept the pounding to a minimum during those paper tests, and for that I was certainly thankful.

With its Beretta Extended Full Mobile Choke, the A300 Ultima Turkey shotgun patterned extremely well at hunting distances. Photo credit Chris Berens.

Again, unfortunately the turkey gods weren’t smiling down during my spring hunt with the gun. But overall, I found the Beretta to be a joy to carry on several multi-mile walk-and-call circuits around some large public properties, and I didn’t even utilize the gun’s sling mounts. The tough coating of Realtree EDGE® protected the gun’s exterior from the brush and branches I had to bushwhack through at times, too.

Fast-forward to Wisconsin’s fall turkey season, which runs from mid-September until the first Sunday of January, and I was able to find a large flock of turkeys in early December. After a friendly conversation with the landowner, a couple of quick glassing sessions from the road and some time with an aerial photo of the property, I was back in business with the A300. 

My first morning setup worked like a charm, and the gobbler group followed the same pattern I had scouted, casually strolling through the woods an hour after sunrise from their roost out to a field to feed. A single Primos Lil Gobstopper Jake Decoy had their attention once they came into view, the first three rushing it. The fourth gobbler was more cautious, and gave me a perfect 25-yard shot. One round of Winchester Long Beard XR #4s dropped him to the scattered snowy ground.

The A300 Ultima Turkey performed flawlessly on a cold, clear December morning and anchored this Wisconsin gobbler for the author. Photo credit Chris Berens.

Beretta’s A300 Ultima Turkey has performed flawlessly, and it’s going to have a busy spring as I put it through its paces during another Wisconsin turkey season.

The new A300 Ultima Turkey is the perfect turkey medicine — no matter the weather. Photo credit Chris Berens.

Any turkey hunter searching for a solid, tight-shooting scattergun with the pedigree of craftsmanship that is Beretta, will find the A300 Ultima Turkey able to handle everything they need it to. As a bonus, it’s a shotgun that could pull triple duty and hold its own not only in the turkey woods, but would also make a great partner in a duck blind and on upland hikes chasing pheasants and grouse. 

MSRP: $ 1,079.00

For more information visit www.Beretta.com

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