Tag Archives: new shotgun

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

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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 have extensively reviewed the most popular model, the A400 Xtreme Plus. They are good guns.

But now we have the new A400 Solo, which has a much lower starting price ($1,549 MSRP in black synthetic) while keeping the same Steelium, B-Link, and Kick-Off trinity that has made the series a success.

The gun is designed as a sort of do-all “only sporting shotgun you need,” covering target and hunting uses, hence the “Solo” moniker. Even though it is a magnum (3-inch) chamber and not a bigger 3.5-inch super magnum, the Solo should have no issue with most waterfowl hunts, especially considering improvements in modern shotshell technology.

Meet the new Beretta A400 Solo in its most basic form: black synthetic, 28-inch barrel, 12 gauge. (All photos except noted: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

The Solo is engineered to thrive in the toughest hunting environments.  

Quick summary:

Beretta has nothing further to prove on the A400 series when it comes to high-value and soft-recoiling hunting shotguns. Yet, the Italian-made A400 Solo was just introduced and includes some nice updates to the platform like the cleaner-running B-Link Pro gas system and improved trigger pack. What can you say, the company makes good shotguns.

Head on over to my column at Guns.com for the full 1,800-word review. 

SHOT Show hits and misses

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Made it back alive (though the flight back from Vegas was full of walking wounded) so you neither have to avenge me nor get the opportunity to split up my gear.

Here are some of the more interesting developments, though I will circle back around later in the week with a couple of tales of interesting people I met on the way.

Franklin Armory’s BFS III-equipped Revelation “firearm” seems like it would be an SBR, but it only seems that way. (Photos: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

So I got to check out the Reformation by Franklin Armory, and like I called it, it uses a non-rifled barrel (straight lands and grooves) with rifle ammo (.300BLK/5.56mm) to give you a non-NFA short barreled rifle (because, duh, it’s not legally a rifle!). I made contact on the range with it at close distances and it shot well but is billed with an accuracy of just 4 MOA at 100 yards, which is better than the old Brown Bess– or your typical SKS for that matter– but sill is generating a lot of hate as something as a Stormtrooper rifle. More on that in my column at Guns.com here.

Would you like to know more? (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

Then there was the new Tavor TS12 shotgun, which looks like low-effort Starship Troopers cosplay but brings 15 shells of 12 to the party in a bullpup design that is just 29-inches overall (and 10 high!). Recoil impulse was…different. Meh, bullpups. More here.

Mossberg points out that their new 590M series, shown with a 20-round mag inserted above, allows for quick reloading in a smaller package than the other guys’ single-stacks. A pair of 10-round mags, standard to the shotgun, is seen to the left (Photos: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

The surprise of the party was Mossberg’s HUGE double stack 12 gauge mags for a dedicated series of 590 shotguns. Sure they are expensive ($100) and giant (like a loaf of french bread for the 20-rounder big) but they are still smaller than comparable single stacks from Remington and Black Aces while being similar in price to Saiga mags. More on that here.

So I’m in Las Vegas for SHOT Show

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Found this on the range and, despite it’s odd recoil impulse and sometimes confusing weapon manipulation, is very interesting in a 1960s High Standard HS10 kinda way. I give you the IWI Tavor TS12, a bullpup semi-auto shotgun with a 15-shot capacity.

The Israeli shotgun uses a trio of 5-shot (using 2.75-inch shells) tubular magazines that automatically loads the next round in the 3-inch chamber when the mag is rotated into place. When using 3-inch shells, the capacity drops by one shell in each mag. The 18.5-inch barrel is threaded for Benelli or Beretta chokes and one is included. Weight empty is advertised as being 8 pounds. The shotgun includes a one-piece Picatinny top rail and M-Lok slots on the forward handguard. The ambi design allows the user to swap out for left or right controls and ejection.

And there is also this thing, which shoots very well, but they still aren’t letting on how it is done. I am still on record that it uses a form of rifling that isn’t considered such by BATFE. We shall see.

Franklin Armory promises 11.5-inch barreled non-NFA firearm, with a stock

Also, no Warship Wednesday tomorrow. Sorry gang. Will rejoin WW already in progress next week. The past two weeks have been swamped. If I don’t make it back alive, you know the drill: avenge my death.