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feature2026-07-20 at 2.18.05 PM 1
My initial look at Beretta’s practical 20-gauge offering – the A300UP – is here.
Having two quality 20-gauge shotgun designs available for both end users and serious shotgun students is intriguing. Those are this A300 and Mossberg’s 590. As a traveling trainer, the ability to loan out a 20-gauge, whether semi-auto or pump-action, offers students an easier-to-use gun.
There will always be pros and cons, i.e., generally, lighter weight can mean more felt recoil.
I have enjoyed seeing how this compares to Mossberg’s 20-gauge 590 pump-action shotgun.
Without making a left-hand modification to the safety, I just keep my shooting hand wide open with my thumb under the receiver and on the safety.
Round Count
For this second article, I put about another 350 shells through the gun, 200 from Winchester birdshot and another 100 from Federal birdshot. There were 30 more slugs, consisting of both Federal TruBall and Sterling Foster slugs. Finally, there were at least thirty more #2 and #3 Buck defensive loads.
Re-Supply
The easiest way to reload any shotgun is with ammunition already on the gun. Time and again, we have learned that if it isn’t on the gun, you really aren’t likely to take extra time to grab it. While that “extra” time may or may not be there on an Active Killer call, it probably won’t be present in a home or business defense encounter.
The seven-shell card from my friends & great people at The Wilderness and VangCompSystems.
The easiest fix? Have a shell holder on the gun. Enter my friends at The Wilderness and Vang Comp. Rather than accept a card that holds six 12-gauge shells, they designed, sew, and sell a purpose-built 20-gauge card. Using their durable, thick proprietary elastic, the shell card holds seven rounds.
While I prefer shorter shell cards on the Berettas, the seven-shot model was quite tolerable. I had to think about why. When I did, I realized it was because I had not switched the safety to a left-hand version.
By not changing the operation, I had to manipulate the safety as I would with a stock 870. Which meant that the shell carrier did not interfere with my trigger placement before the shot.
Slug work back at 50 yards.
Weight
Before I get to the numbers, my initial impression of the gun’s light weight has been confirmed by other users over time.
One friend, a gentleman named George, travels extensively across North America to places where large, scary creatures are found. He recently shared a photo of himself in one of those environments, carrying the 20-gauge A300. It is loaded with seven Brenneke slugs. He is quite comfortable with the combination, handling most anything he would likely encounter.
The A300’s light weight makes it an easy gun to carry in remote settings, even when loaded to capacity with Brenneke slugs (PC – GJM).
Beretta lists the 20-gauge model as weighing 6.0 lbs. versus 7.9 lbs. for the 12-gauge version, which I also have and use. For the record, Mossberg’s 20-gauge 590 lists at 7.0 lbs. Maybe because of balance or the forearm’s weight, I felt the 590 weighed much more than this gun.
Velocity
Final pattern collection with Federal’s #2 Flite Control Buck. Two shots at 5 yards on the head, two more at 10 yards aimed in on the D, and the last two at 15 yards on the B-8. I’ll take it.
Watching me operate technical tools can be entertaining in and of itself. I put all the defensive loads I bought for this review through the Garmin chronograph. Unfortunately, not every shot was recorded. You can probably blame your author for that.
Winchester’s Defender #3 Buck, with 20 pellets, gave two readings of 1145.6 fps.
Federal’s #2 Buck Flite Control load delivered an average of 1228 feet per second (fps) with four recorded shots.
Their TruBall slug came in at 1541 fps and will be my choice until I can lay in a sleeve or two of Brenneke slugs. The TruBall is a Foster-style slug with a plastic ball inside the cup to minimize deformation while it remains in the barrel.
Sterling’s 7/8oz foster slug averaged 1338 fps from three recorded shots.
In addition to choosing the TruBall, I would go with Federal’s #2 Buck Flite Control load for defensive use, at this time.
Hopefully, with the continued development of high-quality, defense-oriented 20-gauge shotguns, we will see ammunition manufacturers bring better, more consistent loads to market.
A Glitch
Twice during my time with this 20-gauge, I experienced an intriguing failure. In both cases, the chambered round fired. The action cycled, and the spent shell was extracted and ejected. However, the next shell did not feed, never mind chamber. It happened once with a Winchester birdshot shell and again, once, with a load of Federal birdshot. One happened while using push-pull, the other while doing pull-pull.
In neither instance was I able to recreate that interruption in the cycle of function. I do not know if it was the gun, the ammunition, or my shooting platform.
Optic
Langdon Tactical has a red dot sight base that replaces the rear sight. I’ve only seen it; no experience with it (PC – GJM).
During my time with the A300 20-gauge, I have used a Vortex Defender XL on the gun. I mounted it with their factory Picatinny mount. The optic worked fine throughout my time with the gun. While not a complaint about the optic, I found that the mount made it sit higher than I prefer. As a result, I had to lift my face from the stock’s comb just a bit.
So?
Could we get the ammo manufacturers to use some color other than yellow for 20-ga hulls? That’s birdshot, slug, and #2 Buck.
Well, what do I think? I like the gun. Enough so that I’ll buy it. It is light, but not so much that it fails to mitigate felt recoil. That one to two fewer pounds makes it much easier to carry for longer periods. The design holds seven rounds, and the Vang Comp / Wilderness shell card gives you another seven shells on the gun.
I see a distinct benefit to this shotgun for those who can handle reasonable amounts of recoil but may not be able to handle muzzle-heavy shotguns.
