A400 SOLO vs FRANCHI AFFINITY 3 ELITE vs MAXUS 2
UPDATE: I ended up buying the a400 solo in optifade marsh. See thread for pictures!
Posted on the old forum, reposting here!!
Hey all! Looking for some real-world guidance on my next (and likely "buy-it-for-life") 12-gauge.
My use case is an all-around crossover: primarily doves, waterfowl and turkey, plus regular clays. I’m stepping up from a Stoeger M3500 that I had years ago, so I’ve never owned or shot a dedicated gas gun before.
I've narrowed my list down to two:
Beretta A400 Solo
Franchi Affinity 3 Waterfowl Elite
Originally, I wanted to keep net cash around the $1,000 mark. But with stacked discounts, the new A400 Solo is only sitting about $200 above the Franchi Affinity 3 Elite for me, which makes it very tempting to make the jump to the B-Link gas system and Kick-Off Plus.
Two quick questions for the group:
Optifade Marsh on the A400 Solo: I love the genuine GORE OPTIFADE Marsh on the A400 Xtreme Plus in Steve’s review video, but Beretta’s stock website renders for the Solo look completely different (almost muddy/smeared). Does anyone have an A400 Solo in Optifade Marsh in hand who can post a real-world photo of the finish?
The "Last Shotgun" Verdict: Coming from an inertia gun like the Stoeger, is jumping to the A400 Solo worth the price bump over the A300 Ultima and Franchi Elite as a do-it-all shotgun for clays and hunting?
Appreciate any input or photos!
I ended up buying the a400 Solo! Hope I made the right choice, I haven't had a chance to really break it in yet, shot about a box and a half through it (half box of steel shot and full box of 1 1/8oz Winchester super target loads), shoots flawless and feels good! Supposedly the safety is reversible on the 400 lineup, however I found that my solo for some reason is not (the safety switch bottoms out too soon from the left side). Beretta is looking into it though, and I'll post an update when I hear back. In the meantime, check out this Solo in Optifade Marsh!!!
Justin Great choice on the A400 Solo. It looks awesome in the camo. Beretta sent me the black one and I wish I had the camo. Glad you're liking it so far. Let us know what you find out on the safety.
Justin, that is definitely the pick I would have gone with. I am thinking about buying one. Let me know if you think it is a one all, do all, be all. I have most of the A400 line up in all gauges except for a .410, but I was thinking about the Solo or the AX800 Suprema. I held the suprema in a store, and I am not sure I am sold on the stock... for the price, idk.
I won't lie, I really like the looks of that ax800. For the price point however, I just couldn't do it. I'm still awaiting on Beretta for a followup on that safety. I've only had one issue shooting, but I'm 99% certain it was a shell issue and not the gun, as the firing pin struck the primer and left a dent, but it didn't go off. I cycled it through again and it went off. So I'm betting it was the shell. Otherwise, I don't have too much to report as I still need to shoot more! I removed the 1/2" shim for a shorter length of pull, I'm still trying to dial the fit in as I have never messed with shimming a shotgun before personally.
Oh the take down and reassembly is super quick, I was nervous never owning a gas gun, but it's just as easy to me as an inertia.
I do love the grips, the gun feels well balanced and it shoots smooth! I'll update here as I get more shooting time in!
Justin, what made you pick the A400 Solo over the other options?
Nathan Phillips Honestly the price point is in the middle and I was curious about the kickoff plus system, as well as my curiosity of a gas gun. The xtreme plus I read a lot of good things about, but I didn't need 3.5", a 3" will still get the job done for anything I want. I wanted an overall universal gun that I can do whatever I want with, because I don't have a lot of money to throw at separate shotguns with different use-cases.
The gun was a little heavier than expected at first, but mind you I was holding inertia guns before. It really isn't bad, it's just me needing to get comfortable with it.
Justin, regarding "shimming" your new gun. The number and letter on each shim and the stock washer are very important. On the Berettas I have, the letter and number on the shims should be visible looking from the back of the stock toward the barrel. YouTube should have some videos on shimming the A400. Any misconfiguration of the shim and stock washer will make you wonder why the gun doesn't feel right, i.e., cast is wrong or stock is too high, etc. Get it dialed in right for you and you'll enjoy it for a long time....have fun.
Ed Ducote thank you for this! I did match the letters (SX) and numbers on both shims (receiver and in the kickoff), though I didn't notice a huge difference when changing them out. I assume the more I shoot, the more of a difference I'll notice. I always grew up shooting right handed guns without shimming for left, so it's an adjustment!
I think I'm maxed out, but I would love for the gun to sit higher so it lines up with my line of sight easier, so I don't fall into the habit of bringing my head to my gun. I'm sure I have work to do with the butt placement in my shoulder pocket though, this seems to be where I struggle the most.
Justin, I noticed in your post above that you removed a 1/2" spacer which would decrease your LOP. That in itself will cause your line of sight to be higher than the top of the barrel. Not sure what LOP you're looking for.
Also, consider this. Try mounting your gun to "cheek weld" instead of concerning yourself with shoulder pocket placement (for the moment). As you tweak your gun fit, hopefully you can get your gun to cheek weld and the shoulder fit will fall in place.
The cheek weld should become your rear sight anchor, not the shoulder pocket. Because one thing never changes, and that's the distance between your cheek weld and the center of your eye, it stays constant.
Update from Beretta: 3 weeks since initial contact, and a supervisor finally reached out. According to their official tech specs for the A400 Solo, this safety switch should be fully reversible. Since the triangular switch is hitting the left side of the housing on mine, they are having me send the gun in to their gunsmiths so engineering can figure out the issue.
I will post updates as soon as I hear back! Unfortunately, I’ll be without it for 3–4 weeks at minimum, but at least it's moving in the right direction.