The Marine Corps is celebrating its 250th Birthday on November 10th, and Beretta is celebrating in style. They are releasing a commemorative of the A300 Ultimate Patrol called the Raider Edition. The Raider Edition commemorates not just the Marine Corps but the Raiders of World War II. The Raiders were the Marine Corps’ first special operations force and conducted deep, behind-the-enemy-lines missions.
The A300 Commemorative Raider
Their missions were often dangerous and would last weeks if not months at a time. They conducted raids, long patrols, harassed the enemy, and introduced the Corps to new traditions. Raiders introduced the concept of “leaders eat last” to the Marine Corps, as well as a push to eliminate individuality for the sake of the team.
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The Raider namesake has been adopted by the current incarnation of Marine Special Operations, aka MARSOC. One of the more fascinating aspects of the Raider was its use of camouflage uniforms. These days, that’s the standard, but for American forces, the Raiders were the first to be issued the pattern.
The pattern being Frog Skin, aka duck hunter, was a five-color jungle camo with a reversible design for a three-color beach pattern. Frog Skin would be worn by Army forces in France, and around the world, but it’s tightly tied to Marine Corps history.
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The Beretta Raider Edition
This brings us back to the Beretta A300 Ultima Patrol Raider Edition. It features the famed Frog Skin pattern, giving it a unique look. To make it more distinct, Beretta even faded the camouflage to give it that used look, as if it stormed the beaches at Tarawa and went on the Long Patrol.
You can’t just use a camouflage pattern and call it Marine Corps-approved, even if it’s a sweet camo pattern associated with the Raiders of WWII. To make it truly Marine Corps approved, Beretta added a bayonet lug to the gun and included the Marine Corps-approved OKC 3S bayonet with the Raider Edition.
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The bayonet mount attaches around the magazine and handguard. It’s an interesting way to do things and certainly gives it that Marine Corps look and feel.
To package the whole system together, it’s being shipped in a limited wooden case with that ammo crate look. We got rope handles and everything. Inside the crate is lined with velvet that’s blue and red, invoking the Blood Stripe present on the Dress Blues of the Marines. The box has both a mount for the gun and a bayonet to make it an effective display case.
Outside of the fancy camouflage, the bayonet, and slick box, we have an A300 Ultima Patrol. The A300 Ultima Patrol is a gas-operated, semi-auto 12-gauge shotgun. It evolved from the standard A300, which was a sporting shotgun. Beretta gave it a tactical makeover and produced a sub-$1000, high-quality shotgun for the market that couldn’t afford the growing price of the 1301 series.
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Made In America
It’s also inherently 922R compliant since it’s made in the United States. This makes it easier for Beretta to release the gun with a seven-round capacity. The A300 series features an adjustable length of pull via a system of spacers, and it’s optics-ready with ghost ring iron sights.
I’ve tested one, and it was a fantastic shotgun, and I have no doubt the Raider Edition will be anything other than awesome. With that said, I don’t think these things will get shot a whole lot. This is a collector’s item, but I can’t own a gun and not shoot it once.
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The Raider Edition A300 looks absolutely fantastic. I’m not one for commemorative editions, often finding them gaudy and not all that tasteful. This Beretta is different—the camo pattern, the bayonet, the crate—it’s on a different level of awesome. It’s time to cash in those credit card points because I have to have one of these.
It’s a fantastic way to celebrate the Marine Corps, and oddly perfectly suited for the Marine Corps. The Marine Corps has a history of using shotguns in the Pacific to great effect, so the Frog Skin on a 12-gauge is a nice, niche throwback to the historical Marine Corps. These won’t be cheap; at $2,499, they will certainly price themselves out for a lot of people.
I still can’t wait to get my hands on one, even if it means departing with a good chunk of someone’s college fund. I mean, they can always join the Marine Corps, right?
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