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Mind boggling how people continue to make comparisons with the Beretta 1301 & A300U vs. the Benelli M4. IMMEDIATELY, people point out the Berettas are noticeably lighter and handle/swing easier..OF COURSE..because the Berettas are not platforms designed to meet the request proposed in 1998 by the United Sates DOD/USMC for a COMBAT 12 ga. semi-auto system proven effective & reliable in the harshest of any conditions..which is precisely what the M4 did-won-proved superior and functioned reliably for 20,000+ rounds before needing to be cleaned. The M4 was/is purpose built for the rigors of combat..so 25 years later & counting newer semi auto platforms are brought to market but without one tiny exception, go through/meet the requirements in place by the US Military that the Benelli M4 was built for. The Genius of the M4 is it’s ARGO system, a total of just 4 moving pieces to minimize fouling & maximize going boom when it matters most. Beretta owns Benelli, and the piston systems of the 1301 & A300U are similar to the M4 ARGO system..BUT NOT identical & the Beretta piston systems absolutely have more moving parts to cause fouling. So ya the Benelli M4 is heavier & slightly cumbersome(to some)..because it was not designed to go bird hunting, or for sporting clays/skeet/trap, or paper targets or put in a glass display case..although it can do ALL those things just fine and shoot any load made. The Benelli M4 was purpose built for combat, people always conveniently forget/dismiss that fact..yet at the same time all these years later every 12 gauge semi-auto “tactical” platform made gets compared to the M4, which is the ultimate validation. Of course the M4 always loses two feel-good categories; it’s overly expensive and not light enough, meanwhile the cost for a new 1301 tactical is approx. $1,600 & counting.

Umm..ya you missed my points of reference and facts regarding what the intent of the Benelli M4 was envisioned & built for. Compare objectively with intent, apples-to-apples. I never suggested the Benelli M4 is suitably built for a wide variety of users and different types of shooters, therefore making it versatile. Precisely as you mentioned, that WAS the intended audience for which the Beretta 1301 was envisioned & built for. When designing the 1301, Beretta did not have to adhere to guidelines/meet the absolute requirements set forth by the U.S. DOD combat shotgun proposed back in 1998. Regarding cost, to be clear the 1301 tactical model went into production for purchase in 2014(its predecessor was the 1201 model) and initially the 1301 tactical was ONLY available for purchase to the US market and the MSRP??..approx. $1,000..and as demand increased so has it’s price to date. Identically, the same market demand drove the price up after the Benelli M4 went into market 25 years ago. I own two M4 LE models(11715) and purchased both new several years ago, legally as a civilian thru an established FFL dealer..paid $1600 for one and $1700 for the other..so the LE models are difficult to acquire but they can be found. I also have an array of others shotties, including a 1301 tactical I like very much, but it’s objectively & intentionally different from my M4’s.