Is Beretta Customer Service & Quality Really Bad? My Recent Experience w/ an a400 Xtreme Plus 20ga

This video covers my recent experience with Beretta customer service and a defective a400 xtreme plus shotgun.
Have you ever had similar experiences in the firearms industry?
The new replacement gun finally made it to my FFL Dec 16 where neither us were expecting it.
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[@justinmoses6447]

Glad I found this video. I am having similar issues with Beretta a400 extreme plus. Called numerous times and after a week, I finally received a call back. Instead of assisting me with my issue, I gave examples in comparison to my Browning A5 and Benelli SBE3 and the customer service rep just went on about how I owned the worst inertia firearms and that they can’t be compared to their gas system. The chokes are out of spec and have a ton of play in the threading. I’ve purchased Jebs, Patternmaster, Muller and even cycled the chokes it comes with. Depending on how you thread it, the shot or POi shows the offset from being out of spec. I removed the barrel, threaded multiple chokes mentioned above and you could see a distinct offset when looking though. Ran a few measurements and the threading doesn’t allow chokes to sit flush, therefore my shot is pulled hard in the direction the choke sits. I will definitely not ever purchase another.

[@avidwaterfowler7522]

I just can’t understand how they would over it the choke threads and have no QC check to confirm quality of cut. They are marketed as a premium products and they have worse Quality than Turkish shotguns at 1/3 price or less. I have also had bad luck with Benelli products. I bought a supernova years ago as a Turkey gun but couldn’t be sighted in with iron sight because the rib was out of spec… in 2018 I bought an sbe3 and had the ever so common high and left issue. I sent it back three times until they finally got it. At th point, I had lost confidence in the gun and I sold it.

[@justinmoses6447]

Couldn’t agree more with you.

[@justinmoses6447]

@@avidwaterfowler7522 out of curiosity, what choke do you use in the A5? I’ve always had great patterns with the Jebs High Voltage .690 and Hevi Hammer. I typically shoot waterfowl between 30-50 yards. Sometimes in timber and some over open water on the east coast and it’s been a great all around for me. Any insight to what you may see in the A5.

[@avidwaterfowler7522]

@@justinmoses6447 I do not have an a5. The gun that you saw is the browning silver which has a slight humpback so to speak. I run the Carlson waterfowl choke tube set. I generally run the MR and occasionally the LR.

[@hamblinhomestead4046]

This isn't about a Beretta, but of Winchester. Many years ago, I worked Kmart. We received 5 Winchester 1300 combos, having a 28" barrel with interchangeable chokes and a 22" full rifled barrel. All sold within 2 weeks, and returned just as fast. The rear sight fell/flew off after a few rounds. One customer had a bad gash on his forehead. I had owned a 1200 for many years and had no problems except the receiver was splitting like wet plywood. Happy with my H&R.

[@avidwaterfowler7522]

The 1300’s were getting close to the end of Winchester, unfortunately. The newer FN made stuff is pretty good overall.

[@mattryan9805]

I sure hope I don't have these issues. I'm left handed and wanted a true left handed semi auto. I hope I don't regret it. SBE3s have some of the same terrible reviews. Hopefully i get lucky. 2000 dollars for a shotgun, you wouldn't expect ANY issues. Mines in transit now for initial pick up.

[@avidwaterfowler7522]

Well, I bought an sbe3 about 4-5 years ago and had the high and left issue…. Sent it back 2 times for adjustment. Sold that thing for a huge loss just like this a400. Appears as though people know what you get nowadays with Beretta and Benelli. Btw, I believe they make sx4 in a lefty.

[@andresjohnson2149]

I just had to trade mine in where I originally purchased it and got a SB3. They never called me back or told me what they fixed. Sent it in September. Got it back January 11. Had the exact same issues today just 2 days later! They didn’t fix the issue at all and I found this out while I’m trying to shoot ducks in the blind! After that hunt took it back. Lost money because they couldn’t give me what I paid for it. Had to pay the difference which was a little over 300. I will never buy a gun from them again. I had the exact same issues as this gentleman with the customer service. I explained the issue over and over in detail. All they did was change a part that was messed up because of the actual issues the gun was having.

[@avidwaterfowler7522]

I had one of the pieces of crap as well. Mine shot high and left like many other people. Google the sbe3 debacle….

[@deputyja1]

I'm ready......just sat down with my beer

[@avidwaterfowler7522]

Hope it didn’t disappoint!

[@alextheis1970]

I’ve shot a Beretta Xtrema 2 since 2005 and I can honestly say I’ve never had any issues with it. No jams, no mechanical issues, nothing. With that being said I’ve never owned any of the new Xplor, A400 models. I also owned several of the Browning Golds and earlier Winchesters back in the 90’s/early 2000’s along with the newer A5. I do not own any of those guns anymore because they simply would not run. I notified customer service numerous times on those guns and was told to send them in and got them back with the letter your gun is fine. Piss poor customer service and I finally sold them and told myself i will never buy another browning/Winchester auto again. I honestly don’t think anyone is putting out that good of a product anymore. The one Beretta I’ve owned has been nothing but great. I can’t speak for everyone else. To each their own I guess.

[@deputyja1]

@@alextheis1970 the Xtrema 2 is the best gun they ever made. The newer ones aren't the same

[@alextheis1970]

@@deputyja1I agree. It replaced all the Brownings that wouldn’t work for me. I haven’t owned any of the newer Beretta’s. I’ve seen great reviews on the A400 Xtreme Plus until I watched this video. I’ve been shooting the Xtrema 2 and an old SBE2 for years. I just can’t bring myself to buy another Browning/Winchester after the bad luck I had with them.

[@zacharyfelkel7924]

Berettas coatings suck as well. My dad has an A300 and scratched it taking it out the box. Shoots okay but I’d never buy one after hearing this. Might actually recommend my dad to go to the sx4. Actually did today but might let him see this.

[@avidwaterfowler7522]

You are absolutely right. What I have personally noticed is that the edges wear the ouch the coating easily and the camo finish gets shiny after about a year or two. My browning gold 10 is on its fourth season as a primary waterfowl gun and it’s still a matte finish.

[@zacharyfelkel7924]

Browning makes quality guns and Winchester is made by browning now as well. I have a cheap impala plus and it’s a shooter but lately it hasn’t wanted to eject reliably. So I bought an sx4 as well and it feels just like my 11-87 that I have put up. Can’t wait to try it out next season!

[@tripplebeards3427]

The old ones are great, I have a silver mallard I won around 00’ and a H&K pintail from 86/87’. Oth awesome with 1000’s of rounds through them. Guess they don’t make them like they use to. Browning customer service has been piss poor for me on my 10 gauge. It just depends who answers the phone there.

[@avidwaterfowler7522]

I can agree. I was a beretta buff starting about 20 years ago. I only own right now which is a silver pigeon sporting 20ga.

[@tripplebeards3427]

@@avidwaterfowler7522 the pintail is basically a 3” chambered Benelli. I use my silver mallard 99.9% of the time because it hits to POA. The pintail is a little low left POA at 25 yards for some reason. Need to figure out why. Both have never jammed and I’ve shot thousands of rounds through my silver mallard. Finally took it apart a few years ago for a deep clean after a predator hunt out of state. I had sand packed in the action and it still was running.

[@tripplebeards3427]

@@avidwaterfowler7522 best part is there is no plastic parts…no plastic buffers or followers in them.

[@sanangelo7926]

Never send a gun back to Beretta. Always use Coles for warranty work.

[@avidwaterfowler7522]

Too late now. I’m done with the brand overall. Why would I want to support a company this despicable? I’m happy to own functional brownings over beretta at this point.

[@GG_BEATS]

What is coles? Do they work with beretta?

[@avidwaterfowler7522]

@@GG_BEATS coles is an authorized warranty repair for beretta. Beretta sucks so much they need coles to absorb all of the warranty tickets.

[@GG_BEATS]

@avidwaterfowler7522 so my barrel extension on my 1301 just spins freely and I sent them a video. They emailed me and said that I have to pay for shipping and they don't k ow if it covered under warranty until a smith looks at it. I really don't want to Send it in if I have to pay. Had it for 14 months

[@avidwaterfowler7522]

@@GG_BEATS unfortunately they make absolute garbage nowadays. Is every gun junk? No, but with the Quality issues coupled with the worst customer service in the firearms industry, they will continue to lose market share.

[@DarnThatDragon]

Love my 391,a400,1301 and 686. Bad luck I guess.

[@avidwaterfowler7522]

Not so sure I’d chalk it up to bad luck. Being in manufacturing my entire career, this screams QA issues. Also, how can anyone accept this level of customer service? If it were my employees, they’d be filing for unemployment.

[@coltonb5091]

​@avidwaterfowler7522 I understand your unfortunate experience with beretta customer service and Fortunately I've had zero issues with my a400 xtreme plus for the 5 years I've owned it. Been an amazing gun. However, my dad purchased a maxus 2 from browning and had a multitude of issues with the gun straight from the start. Mag tube issues, cycling issues, finish peeling off the receiver in the first season, and browning customer service was also awful, sent the gun in mainly for the finish figuring that it would be covered under warranty. It was not. Their shitty finish not bonding to the receiver still costed him 200 dollars to fix and by the time it came back, the finish did not even match, not to mention it took 6+ months to get the gun back. Frankly I don't think there is much for quality control in general anymore, especially since covid. But just as you'll probably never own another beretta, I'm damn sure I'll never buy a browning. Interesting video though, I would have never assumed that from beretta. Sorry for the paragraph, hope your browning isn't trash like my dad's gun was.

[@avidwaterfowler7522]

@@coltonb5091 I can respect your comment. The fact is, there is obviously a switch going on between the two manufacturers. Browning use to suck as customer support, and now they are stepping up their game while beretta is working as hard as possible to lose customers. In fact, I made a thread on FB clay shooting about beretta asking if I’m doing something wrong. The industry insiders said that beretta has dropped off significantly over the years and appears to be spiraling out of control. I was a beretta diehard over the years and their customer service was amazing 10 years ago! My dad has had issues with berettas he has owned so it’s not just me. In fact, I use to stick up for beretta because I didn’t have issues when he did. Now I’m having the issues…. Regardless, my family has owned Winchester sx2’s, sx3’s, sx4’s and multiple browning autos without any major hiccups. The last two FN products I got to replace my berettas run 100% without and issues. I’m not stating that any manufacturer never has issues, my video is more how the manufacturer chooses to take care of the problem. Beretta is bar none the worst customer service in the firearms industry today.

[@coltonb5091]

@@avidwaterfowler7522 I totally get it, and I don't blame you whatsoever for your opinion and respect your decision to ditch beretta. I don't doubt a bit that the problems you've encountered with both the gun and the customer service are real and when you're talking a 2000 dollar gun, that's really just inexcusable. We had a similar experience with browning and that was what kinda formed my opinion on them. Though problems with your gun were a bit more extreme I must say. It's just sad that my dad's 1700 dollar browning just sits in the safe because we just can't count on it to be reliable. He went out and bought a 400 dollar impala plus in a pinch right before a snow goose trip and it has ran great but clearly you just never know what you're going to get these days, even buying from a big manufacturer that's been in the game for centuries. Real bummer.

[@wizardofahhhs759]

These are all operator error/damage, Beretta isn't responsible for damages caused by owner modifications.

[@avidwaterfowler7522]

What are you talking about? This was a brand new gun out of the box? Did you even watch the video? Gun was bought new, not used. There were no modifications!!!! Tell me you’re a fanboy, without telling me you’re a fan boy. Just face it, Beretta quality is garbage.

[@wizardofahhhs759]

@@avidwaterfowler7522 I don't nor have I ever owned a Beretta firearm, Benelli is my bread and butter.

[@avidwaterfowler7522]

@@wizardofahhhs759 then why comment about user error?! FYI, Benelli is owned by Beretta. The sbe3 is one of Benelli’s biggest flops, if not the biggest. Can you say, high and left?

[@wizardofahhhs759]

I don't own an SBE3 so I can't really say for sure but just because they're owned by Beretta doesn't mean they're MADE by Beretta.Benelli is still manufactured by the Benelli factory. Entirely different group of people making them. I think you're just the complaining type and want Beretta to send you a free gun, your "issues" weren't from the factory, it looks like you were trying to modify the gun and screwed it up and now want Beretta to replace it.

[@GG_BEATS]

@wizardofahhhs759 🤦‍♂️