Tested and Reviewed: The Beretta A300 Ultima Turkey Shotgun

The flock was late flying down from the roost. At 6:35 a.m. they were still talking to each other 300 yards away, atop their perch in the old sycamores lining the creek. I didn’t do a thing, but waited silently and patiently for them to make up their minds as to which direction they would head once they were on the ground. I cradled a new shotgun in my lap. A freshly minted Beretta A300 Turkey gun, aptly covered from butt to muzzle in Mossy Oak’s Bottomland camo. A gas-piston driven semi-auto, the A300 is Beretta’s value-packed model, yet possesses custom features not often found at its price point.

Two big, old longbeards had hooked up with four hens. Four jakes tagged along as well, just hangers-on hoping that at some point karma would catch up with the alpha males and those four hot hens would fall into their laps. The gobblers had been henned-up for several weeks and had become totally call resistant. I discovered that if I did try to entice them to come to me, the dominant hens would immediately lead the boys in the opposite direction out of spite.

Beretta A300 Ultima Turkey Details and Specifications

The Beretta A300 Turkey shotgun is available in 12 or 20 gauge. I went with the 20 as I had committed myself to shooting only sub-gauges this season. I had already taken a nice gobbler with my .410 and the 20-bore was next up. I was using Apex Ammunition’s TSS load of 1 5/8 ounces of No. 9/10 shot with a muzzle velocity of 1,175 fps. Patterned at 30 yards, the tiny pellets had obliterated the head of the turkey target along with knocking over a big cottonwood stump to which I had stapled the target. Pattern density and violent energy transfer add up to a whole lot of turkey medicine despite the smaller bore and pellet size.

In addition to the expertly coated camo finish, the A300 Ultima is fitted with an extended bolt handle, bolt release and safety button. All of these extras assist the user in the rapid acquisition of, and engagement with, the controls, especially when wearing camo gloves. Yet another benefit is Beretta’s exclusive Kick-Off recoil reduction system. This helps the shooter get back on target faster should a follow-up shot be called for, and the Soft-Touch comb is gentle on the jaw when shooting heavy loads.

Since turkey hunters are looking to minimize their movement and shoot from tight or enclosed positions, a short barrel is an asset. The A300 is fitted with a 24-inch tube topped with a ventilated rib. A large, bright red fiber optic bead is fitted just behind the muzzle. In addition, the top of the receiver is drilled and tapped to accept a Weaver-style sight base. The base is cut out in the center, allowing the use of the front bead, if the shooter elects to remove their optical sight. I topped the base with a Holosun 510c reflex sight using a green, dot-in-a-circle reticle. The reticle subtends a turkey’s head perfectly at 30 yards. Three, Beretta screw-in Mobil-Chokes come standard. These include an Extended Full choke intended for lead and tungsten shot only, along with a Modified and an Improved Cylinder, both of which are steel shot safe.

Tested Tough on Turkeys

When the flock finally made the decision to light down from their roost it seemed lady luck had smiled upon me. Their clucks, yelps and gobbles indicated they were headed in my direction.

I still resisted calling. Taking a guess as to the flock’s direction of march I set up an ambush. They had about two hundred more yards to cover, and they took their time. Forty minutes elapsed from fly down to when I made eye contact with the group. The feeding hens lead the way, with the two longbeards trailing forty yards behind and the jakes even further back, keeping their distance from the alpha males.

The waiting was agonizing as the toms held just out of range, strutting their stuff and chasing off a jake or two when they’d venture too close. The hens continued to move and feed, unconcerned with the male’s jaunty display.

Finally, the two big toms decided to follow.

These two longbeards were pretty close in age and size, but one had a longer, thicker beard and that’s the one that tripped my trigger. When the duo reached my kill zone, I had to wait as the two walked side by side. In a matter of seconds, a bush would block my view and shot if they didn’t separate.

At the last possible moment, the big boy allowed his smaller partner to pull ahead. That’s all I needed. I quickly mounted the gun and placed his head in the sights bright green circle and pressed the trigger.

I watched as the big boy got smacked with the Apex load, slapping him to the ground. All hell broke loose among the flock, which quickly scattered amid a cacophony of putts, yelps, squawks and other terrified sounds. The second gobbler began to flee, then looked back over his shoulder to see his rival wing flapping while the rest of the tom was unable to move. Showing his true colors, the younger bird ran back to his fallen comrade and began to wind beat and spur him mercilessly even though by now he was stone dead. I finally had to move in and scare the bully off.

Yeah, I like the Beretta A300 Ultima Turkey shotgun a lot. If you are looking for a new shotgun this turkey season, give this one a look. I think you’ll be as impressed as I am.

$1,079 | beretta.com

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