Beretta’s A300 Ultima Patrol 20-Gauge Revisited

In February 2026 I wrote about Beretta’s then-new A300 Ultima Patrol 20-gauge. I had the opportunity to test fire an A300 Ultima Patrol 20-gauge when a fellow student who also happened to be a Lipsey’s executive brought one of the new 20-Gauge A300s to a class we were both attending. The 20-gauge A300 weights only 6.0 pounds unloaded and the gun’s handiness was immediately apparent. I believe it will be a good choice for a home defense shotgun.

The new A300 has a new stock design with integrated quick detach sling attachments and users can shorten the length of pull to twelve inches. Beretta made additional design changes including an enlarged loading port, a reversible safety, and extended bolt handle. They also added very aggressive, pointed checkering to the stock’s fore end and pistol-grip area. When my local gun store was able to order one, I immediately bought it.

Out of the box, the bolt’s movement seemed extremely gritty, like it had sand in the action. Thinking that perhaps it was not lubricated, I disassembled it to apply lubricant—and—I could not reassemble it. There was clearly something out of spec with the bolt and the gun would not go back together.

I contacted Beretta and sent it off for warranty repair without firing a shot through it. Eight weeks later, Beretta returned the gun with a note that the bolt had a “burr” that their gunsmith had polished out.

With my new Beretta A300 back in hand, I did some pattern tests with three 20 gauge buckshot loads using the supplied improved cylinder choke and a cylinder choke I purchased separately.

I tested the Rio Ammunition Group 20 ga Game Load with nine pellets of #1 buckshot at 1345 feet per second (fps) and the Nobel Sport nine pellet #1 buckshot at 1300 fps. I also tested the Federal premium 20 gauge #2 buckshot loads with the FliteControl® wad at 1,325 fps. I fired five rounds of each manufacturer’s buckshot load at each distance.

At ten yards all loads demonstrated an acceptable pattern (see below) which I define as all pellets landing within an eight-inch circle (remember, even a single pellet can kill). The Rio load’s average pattern size at ten yards was seven inches, the Nobel load was 8.5 inches, and the Federal load was five inches.

At fifteen yards, the Rio load opened to an average of twelve inches, the Nobel load was 11.5 inches. Within normal urban house distances at ten yards and below, the Rio and Nobel loads throw an acceptable pattern. I did not test them beyond fifteen yards—no reason to waste ammunition. At fifteen yards the Federal load’s pattern was seven inches.

I subsequently tested the Federal load at twenty yards and it failed with a pattern of eleven inches. I switched out the improved cylinder choke for the cylinder choke and retested the Federal load at twenty yards and it did marginally better with a ten-inch pattern. I would not use the Federal FliteControl® load much beyond fifteen yards in a home defense scenario.

Every shotgun has its own preferences. As you can see from these results, you must test each load you are considering for home defense shotgun ammunition in your gun. Ideally, shoot five rounds at each distance until you determine the maximum acceptable range for your shotgun using a particular load. With the 20 gauge, I started at ten yards because in the past, I have seen failures at that distance. If you see a failure at a given distance, you do not need to test at greater distances.

Chokes might make a difference, however. With some manufacturers now including a choke system in new shotgun models you may want to try different choke/load combinations. For example, I retested the Nobel load at fifteen yards and it patterned over twenty-four inches with the cylinder choke.

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