Beretta USA recently announced that a major metropolitan police department in Tennessee has approved, and begun to field, the A300 Ultima Patrol. The initial delivery has already been made and will be followed by others in the coming months.
The department requested a special variant—a reduced length, 16-inch barrel rather than the standard, commercial offering that wears a 19.1-inch version. The change makes the shotgun more compact for movement in confined quarters for the officers and improves accessibility from police cruisers.
“We are honored to have yet another win in our home state of Tennessee, supporting our law enforcement customers with our shotguns,” said Stefano Itri, vice president of sales for Beretta Defense Technologies sales. “I am confident that they will be well served by our A300 and look forward to a long-lasting relationship with the department. We take a great deal of pride in serving law enforcement personnel with our products all over the US.”
The shotgun, made in the company’s Gallatin, Tenn.-factory, is designed to meet the needs of the modern law enforcement officer. With the special 16-inch barrel and a compact overall length, the lightweight shotgun is fast handling yet controllable. This field-proven, semi-automatic shotgun features an oversized charging handle, large textured bolt release and an oversized reversible safety button. The decision to go with a shorter barrel reduced magazine capacity to 5+1. The longer, standard version available commercially is 7+1.
The A300 Ultima Patrol was introduced in early 2023 and wears a variety of enhancements. They include M-Lok slots on the fore-end, three QD sling-attachment points and more.
“Throughout our testing, the A300 Ultima Patrol performed admirably,” according to an American Rifleman review of the shotgun a few months after it was unveiled. “Its self-cleaning, gas-operated action is robust and functions reliably with even the heaviest 3” shells. Its seven-round tubular magazine is ideal for defensive use, and this particular model is also built with an aluminum receiver that is anodized and coated with a gray Cerakote finish.”
