A400 Xcel

Has anyone used one of these with a kick off recoil system or the A400 Xcel Parallel Target .

looking at buying one as having shoulder problems.

I've had one, with the kick off, I really liked it but the trigger pull was nearly 7ib and I kept pulling of the target.

I must of made 20 calls to beretta about it, and they said they shouldn't be adjusted and they weren't interested in trying either

Sold it after 5 weeks and took a £400 hit on it.

Shot in the same squad as a bloke who knows a bit about them the other day and he said, they can be altered but nobody will touch the job in this country,

My advise is, try one second hand if you can, apparently the triggers pulls vary a lot and can be as low as 4ib

I would have one again tomorrow if I could get one pulling at about 3.5ib

All the best

Take my advice and look for a good condition 303 Beretta. I too suffer neck/shoulder problems and at present I am unable to lift my 8 1/4lbs Miroku to my shoulder so I have been using my Beretta 303 with the 28" barrel fitted and Briley I/C choke. The trigger pull is 4lbs. and I use Hull Superfast in both felt and plastic without any problems. I also have a 391 but find it a pain to clean with all the fancy valve assembly, which I find unecessary. I have shot a 400 with the kick off bits, but did not notice any difference between that and my own guns. There is far less to go wrong in the 303 and it is far easier to clean afterwards, it also weighs in at around 71/4 lbs.

Thanks for the advice

Shot a friends nice gun but I hated the kick off system like shooting a pogo stick, try before you buy

I've had a kind offer to try one with the kick off system. They said that after shooting it for a while you don't notice the " pogo " effect. Hoping to shoot a 100 registered sporting with it so I can get a good feel for the gun.

Yeah you might get used to it, I know I never would

I tried an A400 and as a "target" gun the older 391 is a much better gun, they have a decent trigger pull weight too.

A 303 has a slightly different gas system compared to a 391.

Thank you for the info Mike

Basically the only difference between the 303 and the 391 is the chamber lengths. The 303 is 2 3/4" and has a very simple piston assembly and is a little more cartridge fussy. The 391 is 3" chambered and has a 'compensating' valve assembly fitted to the barrel port. This is a two ring and strong spring arrangement, which has to be removed for cleaning, using 2 stupid flat spanner things.  The front securing cap also needs regular cleaning and lubricating. On the plus side my 391 will handle down to 21 gram cartridges. I use the 391 as a pigeon gun and for a lot of my Instructional work. I use the 303 solely for clay birding and with Hull Superfasts have had no problems at all with either felt or plastic wads. I shot a 100 birder last weekend with just 2 misfires/jams, both with 'F'blacks that someone 'dumped' on me. That is the first time in some 500 cartridges that I have had a problem ( only had this gun a few months)  and the 303 takes half of the time to clean after use. Hope this helps in your choice.

Yes thanks

I only shoot 24grm so need something that will cycle them well.

billbadger said:

Yes thanks

I only shoot 24grm so need something that will cycle them well.

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65/67mm can be problematic for some autos rather than the weigt so check your favourite carts.

Ok thanks

Not seen the Trap version yet but my A400 has very little recoil really soft to shoot. Will cycle 24g no problem and i tried some 21grm as well seem to be OK  just the gun felt really slow. Think the kick off is over kill . You need to try one.

garry2749 said:

Not seen the Trap version yet but my A400 has very little recoil really soft to shoot. Will cycle 24g no problem and i tried some 21grm as well seem to be OK  just the gun felt really slow. Think the kick off is over kill . You need to try one.

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A bloody TRAP version??........Ye gods, whatever next. Must be made with the lone trap shooter in mind!!!  :laugh:

Has anyone else heard the rumours of an adjustable high rib and comb version of A400 Xcel due out this spring / summer ?

billbadger said:

Has anyone else heard the rumours of an adjustable high rib and comb version of A400 Xcel due out this spring / summer ?

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Not seen one yet but hope to be shooting a parallel Target tomorrow which has a mid height rib and a high comb. 

Hi Hamster

Have read a little about the parallel target but haven't seen one yet. Would be interested to hear what you think of it after you shoot it.

billbadger said:

Hi Hamster

Have read a little about the parallel target but haven't seen one yet. Would be interested to hear what you think of it after you shoot it.

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I saw a new one last week and luckily Scott from Greenfields owns one which he's lending me for a practice round. If I get any sort of score with it I'd be tempted to blag it for a comp round where it really matters. I'm really hoping the high comb will make a difference because up to now no semi auto has quite come up to O/U level for me and I've owned three from memory.