Beretta doesn’t just play in the semi-auto shotgun market—it owns the entire neighborhood, the HOA, and probably the community pool too. This is the company that literally owns Benelli, Stoeger, and Franchi—three names synonymous with shotguns. It’s like Beretta woke up one day, looked at the competition, and decided, “You know what? I’ll take those.” On top of that, Beretta still makes a healthy pile of shotguns under its own name because, well, why not?
Italian shotguns have a reputation for three things: stellar performance, an impressive list of features, and price tags that make your wallet break into a cold sweat. The Beretta 1301 and the Benelli M4 are prime examples. Both are fantastic shotguns, and both cost about two grand—give or take depending on how much you enjoy crying at the register.
But Beretta saw something the rest of us saw too: a glaring hole in the market. Not everyone wants to sell a kidney for a tactical shotgun. Enter the A300 Ultima Patrol—Beretta’s way of saying, “Hey, we can make something awesome without forcing you to start a GoFundMe.”
The A300 Ultima Patrol has an MSRP of $1,049, but you can easily find it retailing for under a thousand bucks. That sweet spot between “quality” and “financial regret.” The A300 isn’t a new line; it’s been Beretta’s reliable workhorse for sporting purposes. But the Ultima Patrol? That’s where Beretta took the A300, slapped on some tactical flair, and sent it into the world like the shotgun version of Rambo.
Here’s the kicker—the Ultima Patrol is made in the USA, but with that unmistakable Italian influence. Think of it like an Italian sports car assembled in Detroit. It borrows a few features from the pricier 1301 but skips some of the high-end, wallet-punching components. For example, the 1301 has a steelium barrel with an elongated forcing cone for tighter patterns. The A300? Not so much. The 1301 sports metal sights; the A300 rocks polymer.
Are these deal-breakers? Not really. Shotguns are, by nature, simple creatures. While dedicated shotgunners love to obsess over the tiniest details, the average user just wants something that goes “boom” reliably. And on that front, the A300 delivers.
The Ultima Patrol: Tactical Without the Tacticool Nonsense
First thing Beretta did? Chop the barrel down to 19.1 inches. Slightly longer than your typical “tactical” shotgun, but there’s method to the madness. This length allows the barrel to sit flush with the extended magazine tube, giving you a clean, balanced look. That tube holds seven rounds, and if you’re feeling frisky, you can ghost load it for an 8+1 setup. Not too shabby.
The magazine clamp has an M-LOK slot and a QD sling point because, well, it’s 2024 and that’s basically mandatory now. The handguard has M-LOK slots on three sides, and Beretta didn’t skimp on the texture. It’s aggressively grippy, like it owes you money and knows you’re coming to collect.
The receiver is home to oversized controls—a chunky charging handle, a bolt release you could find in the dark, and a safety that laughs at gloves. The stock is adjustable with spacers, letting you tweak the length of pull from 13 to 14.5 inches. Customization without needing a PhD in gunsmithing.
The front sight is a high-visibility orange post. Mine decided it wanted to live a free life and came loose after a few rounds. A dab of Loctite fixed it, but it was mildly annoying. Probably a one-off issue, but still worth mentioning. The rear sight is a fixed polymer ghost ring—simple, effective, and not designed to win any beauty contests. There’s an optics rail too, plastic but functional. I slapped a STNGR mini red dot on it, and it ran like a champ.
Running the A300: Reliability Check
Let’s talk reliability because that’s the whole point of a defensive shotgun. The A300 Ultima Patrol ran like a champ. Out of hundreds of rounds, I only had two malfunctions, both during port loading. I’d close the bolt, pull the trigger, hear a click… and nothing. Turns out the action didn’t fully go into battery, likely because my hand was interfering with the charging handle. Good news? The gun won’t fire out of battery. Bad news? My ego took a hit. But hey, it only happened twice out of dozens of port reloads.
Other than that, flawless. It cycled everything I fed it: birdshot, buckshot, slugs, you name it. Light loads? No problem. Cheap, dirty birdshot that smells like regret and bad decisions? Not an issue. The gas system gobbled it all up and kept on running.
Recoil? Manageable. The A300 weighs about seven pounds, so it’s light enough to carry but not so light it feels like it’s trying to rip your shoulder off. It doesn’t have the front-heavy feel of some gas guns, which is nice, but that means a bit more muzzle rise. Not obnoxious, but noticeable compared to something like a Mossberg 940 Pro Tactical.
Shooting Performance: Fast, Smooth, and Fun
The A300 Ultima Patrol chews through buckshot like a kid with Halloween candy. At 10 yards, I was landing double taps into the A-zone of an IPSC target in under a second. Ready-up drills at 15 yards? Half-second splits. The red dot helped, sure, but the gun’s low recoil played a big role.
The oversized controls are a dream. I never had to fumble or guess where anything was. Reloading is effortless thanks to the competition-style loading port. It’s wide, smooth, and doesn’t try to eat your fingers.
Accuracy? It’s a shotgun, not a sniper rifle, but let’s entertain the idea. The rear sight isn’t adjustable, which is fine for buckshot and Flitecontrol. Slugs? A bit trickier. But honestly, if I’m slinging slugs, I’m using the optic anyway. Iron sights are backup, not primary.
Final Thoughts: The Working-Class Hero of Tactical Shotguns
The Beretta A300 Ultima Patrol is like the blue-collar hero of tactical shotguns. It doesn’t have the glitz and glam of its pricier cousins, but it gets the job done—reliably, efficiently, and without draining your bank account. It’s tough, it’s fast, and it handles like a dream.
Beretta found the sweet spot between features, quality, and price. They created a shotgun that’s perfect for home defense, duty use, or just blasting clays on the weekend. It’s not trying to be the fanciest gun in the safe. It’s trying to be the one you actually reach for when it matters.
Would I trust it? Absolutely. Would I recommend it? Without hesitation. The A300 Ultima Patrol is proof that you don’t need to spend two grand to get a top-tier tactical shotgun. You just need to know where to look. And Beretta made that part easy.