Beretta A300 Outlander Synthetic 12GA 28" MC3

No problems at all. Very fast. I wish there was more info about disassembly and maintenance.

After years of shooting 12 gauge pumps (A Remington 870 Wingmaster purchased new in 1973 and a 2009 Benelli Nova which was a good substitute for the Wingmaster) I decided to move to a semiautomatic for some duck hunting situations. My first look was the new Browning A5 then a couple of the Benelli's which are sweet aoto-loaders. They were balanced smooth..... but the $1200.00 + price tags were hard to justify.
I narrowed my search to more modestly priced semi autos and used guns. From there, It became a decision between a Weatherby SA 08 and a newly introduced Beretta A300 Outlander or no new gun at all. The guns looked similar but the Beretta just felt better. It was more balanced and the trigger pull was smoother. I shouldered well and the Weatherby was a bit front heavy. I decided to take a chance on the new Beretta.
On the following morning I headed to a friend's hunting camp along the Mississippi river to test drive my new prize on some skeet. It took a few shots to get calibrated to the new gun but this a nimble, accurate and quick weapon. I was well pleased with what I saw and felt after 75 rounds of 2 3/4" and 3" lead and steel shot went through the A-300 with no malfunctions. I handed over the gun to an acquaintance who shoots a Benelli. He immediately turned three skeet into dust. His comment was that he liked the feel of the gun and its' nimbleness but that the 3" duck loads had a little more kick than he was accustom to but not an issue.
My take on the A300 is that it's a keeper and only time will tell how it holds up. It's well built, versatile, balanced and nimble in the hand. With a $649 price tag it seems like a good purchase for the price. When it has some more shells run through it or if a problem develops I'll update this review. It might be a five. I'm just reluctant to rate that high without more use.