Beretta A400 Solo: one semi-auto for the foreshore, hide and peg

At this point in 2026, one could be forgiven for rolling one’s eyes on hearing that there is yet another new Beretta. The company is celebrating its 500th anniversary this year and it has rather pushed the boat out on new releases. I recently tested the AX800, a completely new concept – a polymer-framed shotgun – and, beyond its polymer receiver and unusual skeleton stock, that gun carries a good many fresh ideas. Beretta, never one to miss a trick, has raided the AX parts bin and sprinkled several of those innovations on a gun far more likely to end up in a keeper’s truck or a wildfowler’s bag: the A400 Solo.

Solo means ‘only’ in Italian, and the idea is that this is the only gun you need to take out for whatever kind of shooting the day holds. It will sell well in the US, where the range of quarry and the styles of hunting that suit a gas-operated semi-auto are far greater than here. Eyebrows might well fly right up into some hairlines if you were to whip out a camo semi-auto on a driven day, but wildfowlers on the foreshore and anyone who protects crops from a pigeon hide should take note: this might well be your next favourite tool.

I have had a great deal of feedback on the AX800 and most of the negative comments related to the skeleton stock, chiefly the practical business of getting mud and dirt out of its nooks and crannies. That is no concern for those who spend their time away from wetlands, but clearly an issue for anyone who spends the season getting damp on the marsh. Worry not. The A400 Solo is a much more traditional design and, almost a grand cheaper than the plastic fantastic AX800, it is a good deal friendlier to the wallet too.

Where the A400 Solo sits in Beretta’s semi-auto line-up

The gun is based on the proven A400 platform, which has been around since the A400 Xplor Unico of 2009. The A400 evolved from the 300 series and the line has spawned a huge number of variants over the years, with clay-focused models and practical shotguns as well as guns aimed squarely at the hunting market. The Solo is very much one of the latter, and I found it extremely capable on clays during testing. More on that later; first, a walk through the design and what each feature means once the gun is out in the field.

Beretta A400 Solo: the specification at a glance

Prices are RRP at the time of publication and may since have changed.

Finish, barrel and chokes on the A400 Solo

The test gun I was sent is in Realtree; the gun is also available in black and, while these look to be the only two options for now, I am sure other camo patterns will follow in time to suit more specific ground. For the moment, the ubiquitous and ever-popular Realtree MAX-7, a pattern designed with wildfowlers in mind, will, I am sure, be exactly right for the foreshore and the hide.

The barrel on this gun is 30in, with 28in and 26in variants also available. The rib is 7mm x 7mm with a gentle ramp, a steel mid-bead and a high-vis red front bead. It is topped with an extended Optima Plus choke, while at the other end there is a 3in chamber and the gun is, of course, superior steel proof, which is the detail that matters most as steel shot takes over. The barrel is Steelium with the older 80mm double forcing cone rather than the new Steelium Pro fitted to the AX800, but that is one of several reasons for the lower price tag and, in my view, performance is more than adequate for the money.

What does the B-LINK Pro gas system mean in the field?

The fore-end is chunky and carries new, quite aggressive, deep, square-cut chequering moulded into the polymer. It is plainly designed with gloves in mind, though I found it positive and no trouble at all when shooting bare-handed. Under the fore-end, secured by the B-Lok magazine cap, sits the new B-LINK Pro gas piston. Beretta claims the system cycles 36% faster than other shotguns in its category and 46% cleaner than any gas system released before. The speed we will probably have to take Beretta’s word for; what I can say is that, in testing this and the AX800 it is borrowed from, the piston looked noticeably less ‘coked up’ after a slab of cartridges than those of other guns I have tested. That is great news for anyone who, like me, hates cleaning gas guns, and better news still for whoever comes off the marsh or out of the hide at dusk with a dog to see to before the gun. The working parts are coated in a clever material borrowed from motorsport to shed fouling more effectively, so more time shooting and less time on maintenance.

Receiver, trigger group and safety: the AX800 parts that carry over

The receiver is aluminium and pretty standard for the A400 line-up, with oversized controls that will be familiar to anyone who has spent time with the many variants already out there. The top of the receiver is drilled and tapped and has inlets for mounting optics, should you want a sight on it.

The trigger group is lifted straight out of the AX800, with the flat trigger blade, large angled trigger guard, competition lifter and oversized loading port. In plain terms, this gun is a doddle to operate and I found it very easy to get on with straight out of the box. No need for any aftermarket gubbins; it just works. The trigger itself is good for a standard semi-auto and, while there is a little travel if, like me, you are used to ultra-crisp triggers, it is light enough and has a nice short reset. For a gun that will be loaded with cold hands in poor light, the large port and lifter are the details that count.

The safety on Beretta semi-autos has always felt dead right to me – directly under the tip of the forefinger, rather than awkwardly under the second joint as on my Benelli M2 – and the Solo does not tamper with that formula.

Grip, stock spacers and Kick-Off Plus: making the Solo fit

The grip module is, as on the AX800, interchangeable, mated to the stock with a Torx screw, and it continues the large, deep, square-cut chequering of the fore-end. Again, I found it quite comfortable without gloves, but I would expect it to come into its own in the wet, cold conditions the gun is designed for.

The stock is, as is usual with semi-autos, too short for me at 14in length of pull; however, joy of joys, the gun comes with ½in and 1in spacers, so you can make it actually fit without digging out more readies, which is marvellous. The Kick-Off Plus system is not new but offers excellent recoil absorption, and with the shock absorber positioned behind the grip rather than at the butt, as on older designs, felt recoil at the face is far more pleasant, because the movement is isolated away from the sensitive points of contact. That matters on a big day in the hide or on the marsh. The B-Steady comb is soft-touch and will, I am sure, be a boon on cold days.

Finishing off the tail of the gun is the new B-uffer recoil pad, which again comes from the AX800. The new pad is pleasantly squishy and is said to be more resistant to wear and tear than older designs, which should save a bit of money by replacing worn-out pads less often.

The gun ships in a cardboard box and, frankly, I rather like that. I have owned several semi-autos that came cased and, honestly, the case only got used when taking the gun to and from the shop. To me a semi-auto is a tool, and tools rarely live in a special case that needs assembling and disassembling before and after every outing.

How does the Beretta A400 Solo shoot and handle?

All in, the test gun weighed 8lb and, with the 30in barrel, was very, very easy to pick up and shoot. I have not shot a 30in semi-auto in many years and I was pleasantly surprised by how well this gun handled. It balances well and was handy without being too whippy or too pendulous; ‘just right’, even though I could not fit it in any of my gun slips. It does, of course, come with the usual sling mounts, which is how it will be carried out to the marsh in any case. I tried the Solo on Skeet and Sporting over several weeks of regular testing with a variety of presentations and was really impressed by how easy it was to shoot well. Not only that, but I tried a variety of loads from 24g fibre upwards and the gun never failed to cycle anything I put through it, which is the reassurance anyone relying on one gun for every job will want.

Verdict: an easy gun to own

The dimensions and ergonomics suited me very well and I genuinely think most shooters, whatever their quarry, will find the same: this will be an easy gun to own.

The Solo feels honest and purposeful: a distillation of all the bits that work, plus some new bits that improve function and performance, at a price that puts it right in among many of its competitors while carrying features that set it above and apart. For the wildfowler or the pigeon shooter after one gun for every job, that is a strong case.