The 26" models are starting to pop up online today

Great folks, I'm in there often

Yes sir great service. Called and they held gun for me just on my word I was coming.

Just buy a Beretta A400. Amazing shotguns and by far the cleanest firing gas guns I have ever seen. By the way the bolt reciprocates I think it's a hybrid inertia/gas design.

Beretta makes a great shotgun. I just prefer browning.

I shoot one as well, and I approve this message.....

I saw a 20ga Browning B80 for sale locally. That's a Beretta sold by Browning. That said, you have to buy what suits you.

If Beretta suits you better, then you're better off in my opinion. But I'm not gonna suffer with a gun that doesn't work for me no matter what my brand prejudices may be.

I just broke down and bought an older Auto 5 Light 20. Been wanting to do it for a while, and finally found the right deal.

This is the right decision IMO.

ALMODUX is right with all of this.

My friend who is a Browning dealer has had 6 of the new A5 20 gauge shotguns on order from Browning for a long time, but he has received zero of them. As others have said, they're popping up on GunBroker and selling for $1,700 to $2,000.

The new A5 receiver being *painted black* instead of actually being *properly blued* is a big cause of concern for me -- especially at this price point.

That gun is a great shotgun but for my 5’7” self, it was the most awkward handling shotgun I’ve ever shouldered. Felt like I needed to be 6’4” with ogre hands. Now that Benelli SBE3 and M2 20ga were verrrry sweet!

Benji, I have three Berettas. If you remove the kick-off system from the stock and just reinstall the butt pad, it’s perfect lop for a compact gentleman like myself lol.

An aluminum receiver can't be blued

The aluminum stuff is likely anodized and then coated or parkerized. Benelli and Berettas have always been this way. That’s a non-issue. Personally, I’ll take my chances with FN/Browning/Winchester/Herstal/Portugal, etc on a higher end shotgun, vs crooked, mis-threaded, out of tolerance Turkish barrels and other parts, ‘assembled’ in Italy. I have no issues with there being some good Turkish firearms and manufacturers. However, if they’re gonna be referred to and priced as ‘Italian’, as some sign of superiority? If their advertising budgets are larger than some automakers? What ARE you paying for? They all can have issues or undesirable traits. You pick your own compromises and shine the turds.

26 inch gun at dekalb sportsman in Fort payne

Well heck. I didn't think about the receiver being aluminum. I'm now down to just two shotguns, and both have steel receivers so I guess that was my mindset. (I do understand the major action and operation difference between the new A5 and the older Auto 5 shotguns.)

Nothing bad about an aluminum receiver. My H&K SBE has handled thousands of 3.5 turkey loads. Many cases of nitros while patterning different loads and chokes. Thousands of 3.5 duck and goose loads and still cycles light quail loads. I did have the forcing cone lengthened by which helps with pressures and recoil. The only issue was a steel ejector on the steel bolt head.

To say that gun has been used is an understatement.

I’m very curious about the 20ga A5. However as I’m approaching 60 something weird for me is happening. Recoil is starting to affect my shooting. I’m not far from stepping away from 12 gauges. I just have so many hulls in 12 ga it’s hard to quit them.

Those Beretta A300 and 400s just aren’t my cup of tea. I’m 5’11” and they seem like shooting a log it feels to me. I don’t like a long long gun feel. My SBEs have always been 24” barrels. I duck hunted back in the late 80s and early 90s with a Browning A500 30” barrel. It was recoil operated and they later added a G model. That thing got hung up in pit doors etc… I finally had it when the wooden stock broke in the Arkansas mud on a wet goose hunt.

Berettas are good guns but I still recall several O/U that both barrels poi was way different and beretta said it met factory standards. I was done with them. I think they had issues with QC for a short period during that time.

You serious, Clark?

The poi on beretta/benelli guns is way different than browning/remington, and American shotguns. It's a different pattern % and once you grow up shooting one pattern it's extremely hard to change in my experience. I'm a browning/ rem guy and have tried to change but cannot hit targets consistently.