Thread: Advice Please - Beretta A303

Hey fellas,

Thinking about buying this Beretta A303 semi auto 12g from a friend. It has the 4 original chokes + key, warranty cards, original box and seems to be in overall used but tidy condition. It was his old mans who unfortunately past quite a few years ago who used it solely for duck shooting so it has a few bumps and bruises but nothing major.
I just finished giving it a deep clean and freshly oiled it. Then did the rookie mistake of putting it on a fluffy blanket which is whats showing in the photos

Need advice if this would be a suitable gun for clay targets as a beginner?

How much should i offer him? whats the market rate?

Thanks

The A303 was a nice gun back in the day. As a field gun it is not really designed for clay shooting. Since it has been out of production for so long, if something breaks it may be difficult to find spare parts.
If you want to use it for hunting , check the barrel markings to see if it's 2 3/4" or 3" chambered.
Looks to be in good condition but I would pay no more than $400. The market is pretty dead right now, so even that may be too generous.

TBH if you are getting into clay shooting it would be better to put the money into a good secondhand over/under designed for the sport.

Yes as Rockland has said, it's probably not ideal as a clay target gun but it would work. I know plenty of guys who regularly shoot clays just for practice with their semis. One thing to be aware of is some guns have trouble cycling the lighter trap loads.

Thanks for the advice. The barrel is marked "Cam 70" which is 2 3/4 from what i can find online. I'll probably take it to the gun shop to measure the bore and grab it for duck hunting next year

It's 2 3/4 inch no worry there. It should be suitable for steel, and the chokes marked according eg steel shot

hunting yes
clay no
but buy it for rabbit, hare etc and its a bargain

why are you even asking the question mate they are awesome guns but need the right chokes for steel, have used my a303 for all shotgun shooting from field, clay, trap, feral dogs and geese not one issue in 25 years

Mate buy it and if you don't like it sell it to me...I remember reading an article by Michael Yardle who knows a thing or two about shotguns and he put a serious amount of ammo through his A303

Yardley

Originally Posted by rockland

The A303 was a nice gun back in the day. As a field gun it is not really designed for clay shooting. Since it has been out of production for so long, if something breaks it may be difficult to find spare parts.
If you want to use it for hunting , check the barrel markings to see if it's 2 3/4" or 3" chambered.
Looks to be in good condition but I would pay no more than $400. The market is pretty dead right now, so even that may be too generous.

TBH if you are getting into clay shooting it would be better to put the money into a good secondhand over/under designed for the sport.

market might be dead but more in the range of 800$ with the box even pretty rare these days and a shitload better made firearms then anything you can buy new for 1000$

I love my A303 I don't think I'll ever sell it. I do have a A391 Xtrema now which I use more often but I pull the A303 out for clays and upland game. Agree value is probably 800-1000.

$800 would be an honest price for a decent shotgun like the A303, possibly get $1000 if not in a hurry. It is perfectly adequate for claybird shooting, and many a claybird shooter has started busting clays with a "field" type gun. If you find you like busting clays and want to pursue it further you may want to change to a dedicated clay target gun. And at that point you will have immersed yourself into clay shooting and various gun clubs, you will be somewhat more knowledgeable about the type of gun you may want to buy, and there will be heaps of good buggers prepared to see you right.

Had a 302, then a 303 and now 391. Loved them all and used them for everything from game bird to pest control to clays and even managed a couple of 25 straight rounds of skeet when i had the reactions to do so - set the up right and they will work for most.

$800 for that gun in that condition is a very good price indeed.