Shotgun Life | The Best in Wing and Clays Shooting

Author: Irwin Greenstein

Beretta Introduces the New A400 L Field

Tuesday, June 16, 2026
Written by Irwin Greenstein
Categories: News
Tags: berettaa400
400

June 16, 2026 — Accokeek, MD – Beretta USA introduces the new Beretta A400 L Field, the latest evolution of the renowned A400 platform. Combining the competition-proven performance of the revolutionary A400 action with refined aesthetics and premium craftsmanship, the A400 L Field delivers an elevated shooting experience for discerning hunters and clay target enthusiasts alike.

Built for shooters who appreciate both beauty and performance, the A400 L Field features a striking nickel-plated receiver adorned with intricate scroll and floral engravings, paired with a highly figured Grade 2.5+ walnut stock and forend. Designed with enhanced ergonomics, enlarged checkering surfaces, and an ambidextrous palm swell, the new stock configuration provides superior comfort, control, and instinctive handling in the field or on the range.

“The A400 platform has become one of the most trusted and proven semi-automatic shotguns in the world,” said Caleb McMillen, Beretta USA Sr. Product Manager for Long Guns. “With the new A400 L Field, we wanted to create a shotgun that delivers the advanced performance shooters expect from the A400 while elevating the craftsmanship and visual appeal for those who appreciate a truly refined sporting firearm.”

At the heart of the A400 L Field is Beretta’s innovative B-LINK® gas operating system, engineered to deliver up to 36% faster follow-up shots while reducing recoil and enhancing overall shooting comfort and stability. The system is paired with a DLC-coated bolt assembly and enlarged operating controls, including an oversized bolt handle, extended bolt release, and enlarged loading port for fast, intuitive handling in all shooting conditions. The A400 L Field also incorporates Beretta’s exclusive Steelium® Plus barrel technology, designed to optimize shot patterns while significantly reducing felt recoil for smoother swings and decisive on-target performance.

Additional premium features include:

  • Full nickel-plated receiver engraving with intricate scroll and floral patterns
  • Grade 2.5+ walnut stock and forend with enhanced ergonomics
  • Steelium® Plus barrel technology for superior pattern performance
  • B-LINK® gas operating system for fast, reliable cycling
  • DLC-coated bolt assembly and enlarged operating controls
  • Aluminum trigger guard for added durability and refined styling

Already favored by competitive shooters worldwide, the Beretta A400 platform is known for its speed, reliability, and natural handling characteristics. The new A400 L Field builds on that legacy with refined styling and premium details that make it equally at home in the uplands or at the sporting clays course. For more information on the new Beretta A400 L Field, visit Beretta.com or contact your local authorized Beretta dealer.

Stay connected with Beretta USA. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram,X, YouTube and LinkedIn for the latest news, products, and updates.

About Beretta: Established in 1526, Beretta is the world’s longest-standing industrial dynasty, with a legacy spanning 16 generations of continuous family ownership. For 500 years, firearms bearing the Beretta name have been trusted and used around the world. Beretta USA Corp. was established in 1977 and quickly became the provider of the most widely deployed sidearm in the U.S. Armed Forces. Today, Beretta USA is part of Beretta Holding Group, which includes over 50 global subsidiaries and 20 renowned brands. Beretta manufactures, distributes, and markets a complete range of firearms, accessories, and apparel. The company also owns and operates six Beretta Gallery retail stores worldwide.

For more information, visit www.Beretta.com.

Delta Waterfowl Celebrates Introduction of the Great American Outdoors Act 250

Thursday, June 11, 2026
Written by Irwin Greenstein
Categories: News
Tags: deltawaterfowl, greatamericanoutdoorsact250, waterfowlhunting
250

June 11, 2026 — Delta Waterfowl today praised House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., and Ranking Member Jared Huffman, D-Calif., for introducing The Great American Outdoors Act 250 to reauthorize the Legacy Restoration Fund, a critical funding tool used to address deferred maintenance across federal public lands and waters. The investment in infrastructure would provide $95 million per year for five years.

Since its creation, the Legacy Restoration Fund has provided substantial funding for infrastructure improvements on lands managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, and U.S. Forest Service. These projects have enhanced habitat management, improved public access, and ensured sportsmen and women can continue to enjoy America’s public lands and waters.

“We’re grateful for Chairman Westerman and Ranking Member Huffman for their bipartisan leadership in taking steps to reauthorizing the Legacy Restoration Fund,” said John Devney, chief policy officer for Delta Waterfowl. “The Legacy Restoration Fund has delivered meaningful benefits for ducks and duck hunters by helping USFWS refuge managers and other federal land managers address long-overdue infrastructure needs which directly support enhanced wetland habitat management and public access. Reauthorizing the Legacy Restoration Fund will ensure that the backlog on infrastructure on refuges and other public lands can be addressed.”

Across the country, national wildlife refuges provide critical habitat for breeding, migrating, and wintering ducks and represent important access for waterfowl hunters. Yet, the National Wildlife Refuge System currently has a $2.6 billion deferred maintenance backlog, which means pumps, water-control structures, dikes, and other essential habitat management features need repair.

“A well-managed National Wildlife Refuge System is fundamental to a brighter future of ducks and duck hunters,” Devney said. “Reauthorization of the Legacy Restoration Fund has been one of Delta’s highest priorities for this Congress and has been a centerpiece of our Restore Our Refuges Initiative.”

In 2025, Delta formally launched Restoring Our Refuges, an impactful advocacy campaign to secure enhanced public funding to revitalize the health and waterfowl value of federal refuges and state-owned wildlife management areas throughout the United States.

Delta Waterfowl will continue to work closely with members of the House of Representatives and Senate toward reauthorization of the Legacy Restoration Fund.

Delta Waterfowl is The Duck Hunters Organization™, a leading conservation group founded in 1911 that uses science-based solutions to produce ducks, conserve prairie wetlands, and ensure the future of waterfowl hunting in North America. Visit their website.

The Perazzi MR57: First American Look at the New Italian Olympian

Monday, May 18, 2026
Written by Irwin Greenstein
Categories: Shotguns
Tags: featured, perazzimr57, pereazzishotguns

With the new Perazzi MR57, the Italian shotgun maker, which holds 62 Olympic medals, has taken an audacious leap into redefining the competition over/under as a work of art that turns clay targets into fairy dust.

Perazzi has always believed that even the most successful platforms must continue to evolve alongside the sport. As shooting disciplines progress and target presentations become increasingly complex – particularly in sporting clays – the demands placed on both shooter and shotgun continue to change. The MR57 was designed with this evolution in mind.

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10 Budget Sporters That Will Keep You in the Action for 2026

Wednesday, May 06, 2026
Written by Irwin Greenstein
Categories: Shotguns
Tags: #berettaa300, #pumpshotguns, czredhead, franchiaffinity, franchishotguns, mossberg500, Pointershotguns, pointersidebyside, retaygordion, retayshotguns, savagestevens555, stoegercondor, stoegershotguns, tristarshotguns, tristarviper, weatherbyorion

The prices of sporting guns have risen sharply over the past few years, most recently driven by a mix of higher manufacturing costs, supply chain disruptions and a wave of tariffs. 

For wing and clays shooters, the impact is already impossible to ignore. What were once  relatively accessible sports are now under financial pressure for both newcomers and longtime participants – even putting some of our cherished American traditions at risk for future generations.

For 2026 in particular, the whiplash originates from tariffs on raw materials used to manufacture sporting guns, components and ammunition; increased oil prices that impact manufacturing and transportation; and inventories being prioritized for conflicts worldwide. For the weekend clay shooter or upland hunter these market dynamics translate into a direct hit on our wallet. And at the bottom of the food chain (the cash register of your local firearms dealer), tariffs alone on the finished product can add anywhere from 10 to 30 percent on the retail price of an over/under, side by side, pump  or semi-auto made in Italy, Germany, the UK, Turkey or Japan.

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The Ultra-Rare Perazzi Sidelock Side by Side

Monday, April 20, 2026
Written by Irwin Greenstein
Categories: Shotguns

Before the Perazzi MX8 made its public debut at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, Daniele Perazzi had built a little-known sidelock side-by-side pigeon gun that established the “pre-MX” era for the premier Italian sporting gun maker, and established the standards of quality and artistry that would later become the ultra-premium SCO grade.

Today, these pre-MX sidelock side by sides from the 1960s are highly sought after by collectors. They were produced during a five-year collaboration between the legendary Ivo Fabbri and Daniele Perazzi before Fabbri left Perazzi’s company to start his own groundbreaking sporting gun firm in 1965 that concentrated on pigeon guns of “luxury functional art.”

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The Resurgence of England’s Frederick Beesley as a Maker of Modern Luxury Shotguns

Tuesday, March 17, 2026
Written by Irwin Greenstein
Categories: Shotguns
Tags: frederickbeesleyshotguns

When it comes to reviving the names of long-gone British gunmakers, entrepreneurs face two choices: the easy way or the Tom Ward way.

The easy way is to buy the rights to an extinct marque and laser-engrave its name on a Turkish sporting gun. Case in point: Webley & Scott, William Powell, E.J. Churchill, Cogswell & Harrison and Holloway & Naughton. 

But you’ll discover after spending 40 minutes with Tom that the easy way won’t produce a great sporting gun that also pays tribute to the English legends. It took a few years of experimentation and research, but as Director of the London Gun Company, Tom was able to probe a deep well of resources before resurrecting the U.K’s Frederick Beesley with a stable superb, high-performance over/unders.

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Longthorne’s Woodward-Inspired Foxcote Gets More Firepower

Tuesday, February 24, 2026
Written by Irwin Greenstein
Categories: Shotguns
Tags: 28gauge, featured, foxcoate, longthorne

First introduced by Longthorne Guns in 28 gauge, the Foxcote over/under pays tribute to Foxcote House, an 18th-century country estate in the village of Ilmington, England noted for the owner’s shooting parties dropping in by helicopter.

Now, the English gunmaker has upped the Foxcote’s firepower by adding a 12 gauge – certainly more apropos of us mere mortals for downing the plump high-flying pheasants of that lovely country manor. The 12 gauge continues the design and shooting principles of the growing Foxcote family.

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An American Matched Pair: Ernest Hemingway and his Winchester Model 21 Side by Sides

Wednesday, February 04, 2026
Written by Irwin Greenstein
Categories: Briefs

Writer Ernest Hemingway revolutionized modern literature through his distinctive American minimalist style, which has profoundly shaped how writers approach prose even today. Likewise, the legendary Winchester Model 21 side by side emphasized simplicity and strength in an understated design that, in effect, mirrored Hemingway’s own writing style in steel and wood. 

Peel away Hemingway’s subconscious and the question arises: was he infatuated with the Winchester Model 21 because he saw it as a symbol of himself?

American hunters would come to appreciate the svelte lines, structural integrity and masculine prowess of the new Model 21 as the same traits that drew readers to Hemingway’s fiction and journalism: authority through restraint.

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This Beretta-Webley & Scott Collaboration Opens Door to Collectors

Monday, January 19, 2026
Written by Irwin Greenstein
Categories: Shotguns
Tags: #beretta, #berettablshotguns, #shotguncollecting, #webleyandscott, #webleyandscott900

If you were the managing director of the Harris & Sheldon Group on Regent Street in London during the 1970s, you were probably suffering from financial heart burn directly related to your acquisition of the stalwart Birmingham gunmaker, Webley & Scott.

Yes, you were quite pleased with the other companies in your diversified portfolio that churned out office furniture, fishing tackle, luggage and consumer goods. But the 1970s saw an international influx of new-generation competitors to the British trade such as Beretta, AyA, Miroku, SKB and Browning who sold superior mid-market sporting guns at lower prices. For a an old-guard Brit who enjoyed a few gin and tonics over lunch at the club, it may have been a bitter pill to swallow. The U.S., Europe and Japan were leapfrogging British manufacturing by capitalizing on post-war industrial innovation, in particular when it pertained to that Harris & Sheldon financial black eye, the 180-year-old Webley & Scott.

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