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Beretta is starting to give Benelli a run for their money in 3-gun and "tactical" weaponry with the introduction of their 1301 Competition and 1301 Tactical 12 ga semi-auto shotguns. I recently purchased one of their 1301 Tactical models after being a Rem 870 fan boy for years.
I took my 1301 to Creekside Range last week to see how it ran and what it would do with various ammo types I had laying around. I ran 106 rounds through it consisting of high & low brass, low & high velocity and buck, shot & slug. Specifically, Fed LE1324B #4 buckshot, Fed 13200 00 buckshot, Fed Target Load 1 1/8 oz 7 1/2 shot, Rem 00 buckshot, Rem Game Load 1 oz 6 shot, Rem STS Light Handicap 1 1/8 oz 7 1/2 shot and Brenneke SL-122KO 1 oz slugs. They were all 2 3/4" shells. Depending on the shell, I was able to load 5 in the mag but most of them would only load 4 (no extension yet).
Joe Harris, the range owner, let me set up on the 25 yard pistol range and just use the berm without a target stand and gave me a pass on the "time between shots" rule. I wasn't concerned with patterning at this point. I wanted to see how well it fed, fired, extracted and ejected. I used only the ghost ring sights after mechanically centering the rear sight. A very small bush half way up the berm was my POA.
The 1301 Tactical has an 18.5" barrel and weighs about 6.7 lbs which is almost a pound lighter than my old Rem 870 Express Magnum. It shoulders and points easily. The lower weight is noticeable when shooting higher velocity rounds and especially the Brenneke slug which is a screamer at 1,600 fps. I only shot one of them!
The trigger breaks around 5 lbs according to my old pull gauge and has a nice crisp feel to it. All my shooting was done off hand and the ghost ring sights appear to be quite accurate, at least at 25 yards.
Recoil is very manageable when using low recoil shells like the Fed LE 00 buck and Fed Target Loads. The sights come back on target quickly even when shooting quickly. The unshrouded barrel heats up quite quickly when shooting in a constant mode and forced me to put on my gloves. Getting back on target when shooting higher velocity rounds wasnât much more difficult as long as you use a correct stance and donât blade yourself too much. Beretta claims their rotating bolt BLINK gas system cycles faster than other gas systems. I had nothing to time it with or compare it to but it does empty a full mag (plus the one in the chamber) real quick.
I didnât experience any failures to feed, extract or eject with any load or at any shooting speed and it went "bang" with every trigger pull. Iâd like to try some real low velocity rounds to see if it will cycle them consistently even though my normal use round will be the Fed LE13200 buck and Fed Target Load for practice. Iâve read where some shooters have had their bolt releases come off the gun but mine stayed tight and in place.
Next trip out Iâll see how the 1301 patterns but I donât expect any surprises. I'll be changing out the recoil pad for something a bit more substantial and possibly even Beretta's Kick Off recoil reduction system. Another mod will be to add a +2 magazine extention from Nordic Components. Overall, Iâm really happy with my decision to go with the 1301.
Beretta is starting to give Benelli a run for their money in 3-gun and "tactical" weaponry with the introduction of their 1301 Competition and 1301 Tactical 12 ga semi-auto shotguns. I recently purchased one of their 1301 Tactical models after being a Rem 870 fan boy for years.
I took my 1301 to Creekside Range last week to see how it ran and what it would do with various ammo types I had laying around. I ran 106 rounds through it consisting of high & low brass, low & high velocity and buck, shot & slug. Specifically, Fed LE1324B #4 buckshot, Fed 13200 00 buckshot, Fed Target Load 1 1/8 oz 7 1/2 shot, Rem 00 buckshot, Rem Game Load 1 oz 6 shot, Rem STS Light Handicap 1 1/8 oz 7 1/2 shot and Brenneke SL-122KO 1 oz slugs. They were all 2 3/4" shells. Depending on the shell, I was able to load 5 in the mag but most of them would only load 4 (no extension yet).
Joe Harris, the range owner, let me set up on the 25 yard pistol range and just use the berm without a target stand and gave me a pass on the "time between shots" rule. I wasn't concerned with patterning at this point. I wanted to see how well it fed, fired, extracted and ejected. I used only the ghost ring sights after mechanically centering the rear sight. A very small bush half way up the berm was my POA.
The 1301 Tactical has an 18.5" barrel and weighs about 6.7 lbs which is almost a pound lighter than my old Rem 870 Express Magnum. It shoulders and points easily. The lower weight is noticeable when shooting higher velocity rounds and especially the Brenneke slug which is a screamer at 1,600 fps. I only shot one of them!
The trigger breaks around 5 lbs according to my old pull gauge and has a nice crisp feel to it. All my shooting was done off hand and the ghost ring sights appear to be quite accurate, at least at 25 yards. Recoil is very manageable when using low recoil shells like the Fed LE 00 buck and Fed Target Loads. The sights come back on target quickly even when shooting quickly. The unshrouded barrel heats up quite quickly when shooting in a constant mode and forced me to put on my gloves. Getting back on target when shooting higher velocity rounds wasnât much more difficult as long as you use a correct stance and donât blade yourself too much. Beretta claims their rotating bolt BLINK gas system cycles faster than other gas systems. I had nothing to time it with or compare it to but it does empty a full mag (plus the one in the chamber) real quick.
I didnât experience any failures to feed, extract or eject with any load or at any shooting speed and it went "bang" with every trigger pull. Iâd like to try some real low velocity rounds to see if it will cycle them consistently even though my normal use round will be the Fed LE13200 buck and Fed Target Load for practice. Iâve read where some shooters have had their bolt releases come off the gun but mine stayed tight and in place.
Next trip out Iâll see how the 1301 patterns but I donât expect any surprises. I'll be changing out the recoil pad for something a bit more substantial and possibly even Beretta's Kick Off recoil reduction system. Another mod will be to add a +2 magazine extention from Nordic Components. Overall, Iâm really happy with my decision to go with the 1301.
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