Gun Care

by Adam Brassfield - Pro Staff Contributor

Every hunting season, most hunters clean their gun once or twice. Some hunters only hunt on weekends, due to work schedules, some only hunt vacations, due to family obligations and, if you are like me, you hunt day in and day out seeking that thrill of smokin’ a greenhead.

I put my Beretta A400 Xtreme through hell, rain, sleet, snow, hurricane or just flat outflipping my boat over due to a village idiot in the front who can’t sit still. I can say that about one of my best friends who is on my pro staff. Great guy, but when God said “brains” he thought he said “Trains” and begin to scream “All Aboard!” He is about as useless as a pocket in your underwear. Anyway, that is why I love Beretta: because I can put those guns through anything and they will never let me down. Never!

There is, however, a pattern of events that I perform every morning before I go to thed uck blind. Prevention is the key here. I would advise you not to wait until your gun starts jamming to break it down, clean it or lube it. Again, prevention is the key. I never break down or clean my gun during the season. Some of you may disagree with that, but it is the truth. Every morning I open my action and spray it with TruRecoil. It makes it slicker than deer guts on a door knob.

Seriously, though, I put it on my Beretta every morning as a preventative. This gives me the confidence, no matter the conditions, that my gun is going to perform day in and day out without ever jamming, sticking or breaking down. This oil separates the moisture from the metal to give you that upper edge. Most other oils lie on top of the moisture and give the hardcore duck and goose hunter no protection. I use my Beretta Xtreme for everything… boat paddle, ice breaker,cattle prod and anything else you could imagine. It works!

Now: the next time you go hunting don’t go like a blind man in a dark room looking for a black cat. Spray that gun down with the lubricant of your choice, and do it right. Success is often defined by 14 inches: the distance from your brain to your heart. For more information please visit my website www.hunters247waterfowl.com and find us on Facebook.

A Texas-Coastal-Bend-Kind of Weekend

By Brad Wilson - Guest contributor

Finally the wait was over, and the anxiety that had been building up for some time could be alleviated with a 3 hour drive south of my home in Baytown, Texas, to what many hunters have come to know as one of the waterfowl meccas of this country. My crew, along with 60+ other men and boys, would be attending our annual Blast and Cast Men’s Ministries duck hunting weekend down in Rockport, Texas.

We arrived at the beautiful Pelican Bay Resort to be greeted by some of the nicest staff that I have ever had the pleasure of meeting at a resort. Accommodations were inhabited and a few cold beverages were consumed by a small group of us that had made the trip down a day early to do some scouting for the days to come. After spending some time on the back porch and chowing down on some awesome stuffed pork chops, we decided it was time to turn in and get a good nights rest before the early morning wake up that was just a few hours away.

Thursday morning was extremely slow for the area. The weather man was actually right for once with his forecast of absolutely no wind. We knew that this would have all the divers rafted up out in the middle of the bays so we decided to hit some back lakes in the shallow running jet drive in search of some puddlers that have become a little more prevalent in the area in the recent years. A few runs back into some coves on the south side of the bay and we finally hit pay dirt. We found about 500 pintails sitting up in a protected cove so we decided to set up on a point that the cove shared with the bay front in hopes of picking up a few flights of divers as well as some pintail or wigeon. Time passed by, and we finally had a small group of redheads swing around the point and commit to the decoys. Shots rang out from the group and after the smoke cleared 2 ducks laid dead in the decoys. Of course the smooth operating Beretta A400 Xtreme performed flawlessly, once again staking claim to one of the birds. That was the only group that would finish into shooting range. The lack of wind proved to be the culprit of birds that were committed but wouldn’t finish. We decided to call the hunt and head in for some lunch in hopes that the wind would pick up for the afternoon hunt.

That afternoon, I and a great friend of mine, whom I have known since we played Little League Baseball together, decided to make a run to the same shoreline but a little further south. We set up on the bay front on a shallow flat that was holding some divers. 20 minutes and 6 shotgun blasts later 3 redheads and 1 bluebill were on the strap. About that time, the sea fog started to roll in, so we decided it was time to start making the trek back across the bay to the boat ramp.

The birds were definitely not around as much as they normally are, partly due to the drought conditions that we have experienced and the warm winter up north, but throughout the weekend plenty ended up on numerous straps of our hunters. There were many memories made, quite a few first ducks shot, and some men and boys that were introduced to this sport that we love so much. It was obvious that the fruits of our labor prevailed and the event was a success. I can’t wait until the next event!

The Future of Duck Hunting

by Adam Brassfield - Pro Staff Contributor

By all estimates, the duck population is at an all-time high. Mallards are up 9%, Gadwall up 9%, and Pintail up 26%. Prairie breedinggrounds are soaked up north, with all signs pointing to a long-term up-rise inthe total population of waterfowl.

Statisticslike those are great for hunting, but let me give you the bad news. From 1996 to 2006 the number of duck hunters has dropped 25%! You do not hear that every day. This makes me hotter than a billygoat with a blow torch. That ispretty mad. Think about it: while mostof us are enjoying tons of ducks, our sport is slowly dying. We can change that!

Honestly,when is the last time you took a kid duck hunting, or hunting period? When isthe last time you got your wife involved in hunting? I know most of them do asmuch good as a screen door in a submarine, but that is not the point. We areall guilty of letting another season pass us by without taking the time to takeyoungsters waterfowl hunting or a family member to the duck blind. Success issometimes defined by 14 inches… the distance from your brain to your heart. Believe it!

I involve my whole family in duck hunting, as well as other families, every season. Tashaand I enjoy duck hunting together all the time. I am going to have to cut herloose though. I am afraid she has become a better shot! After the first timeshe picked up that Beretta shotgun, she had the fever. Now she has become apart of my Pro Staff. I have her battingher eyes at me like a toad frog in a hail storm.

Ethan, our10 year old, went this year for the first time, and has gotten to go duck hunting with me and my staffseveral more times. I let him shoot my new Beretta A400 Xtreme, got him a pairof Lacrosse waders, and realized that I had created a monster. I thought he wasgoing to flip the boat over after bagging the first greenhead he ever shot.Seeing the excitement in his eyes when a group of Mallards lock up over ourdecoys is priceless.

The point is,if I can do this so can you. None of us want to wake up one day and discoverthat our sport is missing the sparkle that it once had. Do what you can, withwhat you have, right where you are, then watch and see the difference it makesfor the future of our sport.

Continue reading our blog here at Beretta.Together we all can help each other and make a difference. You can visit mywebsite at www.hunters247waterfowl.com or follow me on Facebook.

Shell Selection for Waterfowl

by Adam Brassfield - Pro Staff Contributor

When I wake up at 3 a.m. to go hunting the first thing I do is grab my Beretta A400 Xtreme and make my way over to the equipment corner.Now, I try to keep everything organized but for me that is a task that is flatout impossible. My mother once told me that if my head was not attached to myshoulders then I would find a way to lose it. Let’s face it I am a redneck. Notall rednecks lose everything but I mowed my yard last summer and found my boat.

I find a way, half asleep, to get my feet in my Lacrosse waders and put my Realtree Max-4 on so that I can check out my blind bag andwhat is in it. Most of the time is empty nutty buddy wrappers and crackers.There should be however my duck or goose call and a box of shells that I amgoing to use.

Did you know that over 80 percent of all waterfowl hunters pickthe wrong shells for the bird they are hunting? For instance I went earlyseason teal hunting with a man that used 2 shot and every time my dog broughtit back to me he would have to go back again to get the other half of the duck.Back in the day the old timers did not even know what non-toxic or steel shotwas. Today we have many selections.

Picking a shot size on a shell has many factors. Am Ihunting in a field or timber? What size ducks am I shooting? How far will myshot be? This is why most shell boxes have selection guides on the box to helpyou. But if you are like me reading directions has never been a strong quality.That is why my kitchen table leans slightly to the front left and I had fourscrews and two brackets left over after putting it together.

When I hunt small ducks like teal and wood ducks I liketo use 4 or 6 shot in my Beretta Xtreme. If I am hunting the “fat daddy” greenheads and similarsized ducks my favorite size is 3 shot. However, if I am hunting in a largefield unit I will occasionally use 2. Goose hunting, no question BB shot andeven then I have seen some Canadian Geese up north that I wish I had a deerslug in the chamber.

In the coming days we will be talking a lot about duckhunting but until then feel free to contact me at my website www.hunters247waterfowl.com or follow me on Facebook.

Again, if you have not shot the new Beretta A400 Xtreme you are simply missing out. It is the best waterfowl shotgun EVER made!

Field Hunting Mallards

Field Hunting Mallards
by Adam Brassfield - Pro Staff Contributor

WhenI was a kid, I hunted with old timers who did not believe in spending money ondecoys, opting instead to save three dozen 2-liter bottles and paint them blackand green. Nowadays there are so many good decoy companies with good color andshape that it is a job just picking one out that you like best. I like a decoythat is at least 17 inches long with bright backs and dark heads, especially ifI am hunting mallards. Also, the length of the anchor line should be at least 20 inches above the water level that you are hunting. This insures propermovement of the decoy in breezy winds.

Duckhunting in a field unit can be tricky, especially if your decoy placement isincorrect. Wind, sunlight and other factors come into play. Most duck huntersare in a hurry and do not take these things into consideration. Hopefully thiswill help.

WhenI hunt a field, the first thing I think about for set-up is that I want my backor left shoulder to the sun. A duck’s eyesight is very keen and the last thingthat I need is to get busted on final approach because I can’t see to make thecorrect judgment with my Beretta Xtreme shotgun. Once this is accomplished, mydecoy set-up is important. Again, if you process this before the hunt begins itwill reduce multiple movements, which can be a disaster. If you do not hunt fora living, you are limited to mainly weekends or a few days here and there,which is exactly why this is even more important.

Ido not believe in leaving decoys in the same pattern every day. Your decoyplacement should take into consideration both where you want ducks to land andwind direction. I have heard and read stories about aerial patterns on decoys,but I have to be honest and tell you that I have had no luck with this. Notbecause it does not work, but that I am not interested in trying to workmallards that are so high they are wearing oxygen masks. However, in a fieldunit, there is one set-up that has never failed me… if the ducks are there.Then I unleash the Beretta Xtreme!

Ilike to hunt with the wind off my left shoulder, blowing out in front of me, ifat all possible. I never want the wind in my face. This allows the ducks tosail over my head and I take a high risk of my blind or my boat being pickedoff. So, with the wind right, the decoys are placed like so: I use around fiveto seven dozen decoys in a broken “J” style set-up. The longest side of the “J”is determined by the wind direction. What I feel this does is give me atargeted landing zone with a back stop to prevent over-flight. This normallykeeps the ducks from passing up my shooting lane. See the picture for anexample. Good luck and smoke those mallards with your Beretta!

For more information on the new Beretta A400 Xtreme please feel free to contact me anytimeat my website or on Facebook.

Four Folks who Changed History and Chose Beretta

by Guns.com - guest contributor

This is a guest post from Guns.com. Check out Guns.com for news, original content, product reviews and editorials with a focus on objective journalism, quality and, above all else, guns.

A lot can get done on a name alone and when you’ve been making guns (or doing anything) as long as Beretta has, you tend to realize the value of this. That’s why we’re looking at a couple big names that changed the world but when it came to shooting, chose Berettas:

READ THE REST OFTHE STORY IN OUR NEW BLOG HOME. CLICK HERE.

A trap-shooting adventure

by Josh Leonard - Guest contributor

Hello Beretta Nation! My name is Josh Leonard, and I have been given the opportunity to write about Trapshooting for Beretta.

First a little bit about me. I am fourth generation shooter from a small town in southeast Indiana. I am in communication technology sales by trade, but my spare time is dedicated to my passions: my family, trapshooting, and motorsports. Some of my fondest memories growing up were at a local gun club with my father and grandfather, and each time I smell the burnt powder in a spent hull it takes me back to those moments. Here I am twenty-some years later shooting with some of those guys I remember from when I was shorter than a trap gun. I started shooting when I was around 14 with a field gun that I had gotten as a gift. I learned about the basics of the sport and shot as much as I could on a 14 year old boy’s budget. Then I turned 16, got my driver’s license, and my focus was directed to what seemed important as a teenager. Just over two years ago after my grandfather, who used to take me to the gun club, passed away I was going through some old things at my house and found a bag of hulls… oh there was that smell. Over ten years had gone by and it was still just a strong as it was when they came out of the gun. I told my now wife, “I am going to start trapshooting again” and she has been completely supportive since that statement. I went and picked up a Beretta 390, drug out my old single stage loader, bought some loading components, and here I am today. Well kind of. I still am shooting the 390, but I have upgraded a hydraulic loader to keep up with my shooting. I even got my dad to start shooting again, so it gives us something to enjoy together.

Over the course of my blog, there are several things I hope to cover. First of all, being only two years into registered shooting, I am a short yardage shooter (21.5 yds). However, I want to move closer to the back fence, so hopefully readers can follow me on my trek to get to the coveted 27 yard line. I am also in the process of shopping for a new Beretta. I am planning to pick up a 680 series gun that I can utilize to shoot all disciplines of American Trapshooting. I have yet to tackle doubles, and look forward to that challenge. So readers can follow me, as I adjust and adapt to a new gun while trying to improve my scores. (If I actually am able to learn anything worth passing along, I promise to share it) I hope to give some coverage to some of the shoots I attend such as State Shoots, The Cardinal Classic, The Grand American, and so on. I also want to touch on the state of the sport: not the political aspects, but rather the future. I think it is incredibly important to get the youth involved, and ATA’s AIM program is an excellent step in that direction, but I think we, as shooters, need to be activists for the insurance of the future of trapshooting. Finally, I hope to do some research into the mental and physical aspects of the game. Preparation and practice are two of the most important things to shooting. I am by far no expert on the mental part, and I am built like a typical trap shooter. So I have a lot to learn, but anything that I find helpful I intend to pass along.

I want to thank Beretta for this opportunity, and also want to thank all of the readers who follow each of my entries. If there is anything the readers want to hear about feel free to comment and I will do the best I can. Till next time…

Live, Eat, Breath to Duck Hunt

by Adam Brassfield – Pro Staff Contributor

When I think about watching a group of mallards falling into my decoys on a cool, cloudy day, it absolutely sends chills on places of my body that I did not even know existed! I raise my Beretta A400 Xtreme and look down the barrel with butterflies in my stomach when my finger touches the trigger. It happens, the moment that nothing else matters. There are no phones ringing, no bill collectors interfering and no worries distracting. It is me and Mr. Greenhead in a moment of complete reflection of everything I have learned and taught as a professional hunter.

As I travel across the country in 22 states every year, speaking to nearly 180,000 people in person at my seminars, I have found thousands who feel exactly the same way. My group is called H.U.N.T.E.R.S. 24/7 WATERFOWL and we are dedicated to Beretta Shotguns. I duck hunt every day along the Mississippi flyway. I hunt flooded fields and flooded timber in multiple states and find that every experience has its teaching attributes. From decoy placement, gun care, calling tactics, dog training, shell selection and travel preparation. Together we will talk and learn over the course of these entries.

I am a full-blooded redneck that is very passionate about what I do and sometimes different articles leave people as confused as a one-legged cat trying to bury a mouse in a frozen pond. That will not happen here. I will always be straight forward and brutally honest. I was raised in Northeast Arkansas and started duck hunting when I was 9 years old with a bunch of old men who had no room for error… and no teeth, for that matter. I now live in Southeast Missouri where in the last few years duck hunting has excelled.

Just the other day I was in a duck boat in a flooded field while it was raining ice and spitting snow. Most people would not stay very long in these conditions, but I was wearing my Beretta Xtrema Jacket holding out for a familiar sight. In the last 30 minutes of the hunt it was as though the Mallards were being sucked in like a vacuum cleaner. In that time period Tasha, my gorgeous lady, and I limited out. It was a source of dedication that comes from way down deep and the confidence in our set-up that made it all happen. I am proud to be a part of this blog and I promise this will be fun for you and me.

I will be sharing pictures and video on occasion, but we are always updating this style of content on my website. Remember, tough hunts do not last, but tough guns do. The Beretta A400 Xtreme is the best waterfowl shotgun in the world. You can take that to the bank.