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Benelli M4 and Beretta 1301


Djack69

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The North Carolina State Highway Patrol recently traded in their first gen Beretta 1301's  The police supply sold them for $700 plus tax.  I bought two. They had seen very little use.  A couple of friends got lucky and got "spare" guns that had not been fired.  (They are all gone now).  They had the Mesa Tactical pistol grip stocks and two shot extensions.  I know some that were resold for as much as $1599.

I bought two, but have not had an opportunity to shoot it yet.  The only problem is that I bought a Benelli M3 the week before they became available.  What's interesting it the Beretta stock is too short for me and the Benelli is too long.  The only criticisms of the Beretta is the issue of the bolt carrier release being inadvertently pressed and locking up the gun.  This issue was fixed on the Gen 2 and has been fixed on my guns by addition of at $5 part from Beretta.  The other (and its nothing but a personal preference) is the safety in the Beretta is forward of the trigger. I'm used to the safety being behind the trigger.   The Beretta is noticeably lighter than the Benelli.

Edited by WCCPHD
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1 hour ago, RJHUB said:

WCCPHD,

     My 1301 has the Magpul stock which has seperate inserts for customizing the length of pull.

Might want to try one out.  It is actually the mossberg magpul stock with adapter for the beretta.

Thanks. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 7/4/2021 at 8:11 PM, Unobtanium said:

The 1301 is a great shotgun. It is, however, a hunting gun steered toward tactical use, and the elements of design when you take it apart show this. It will not run for as long as an M4, but it will run very very very very long, indeed!

Thanks for taking the time to post this. I am very tempted by the LTT Beretta 1301 every time someone posts pictures / information about it but I’ve promised myself I won’t buy another shotgun that isn’t better than a Benelli M4. The Beretta might be very, very good but I have yet to see anyone post any reason why it’s better. I keep a Benelli M4 beside my bed for the bumps in the night because I want the most durable and reliable semi-auto shotgun available for protecting me and my family.

And I keep coming back to that quote you posted from the owner of Battlefield Vegas - “If I ever had to have one shotgun for the rest of my life, it would be the Benelli M4.”

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On 7/12/2021 at 5:13 PM, RJHUB said:

WCCPHD,

     My 1301 has the Magpul stock which has seperate inserts for customizing the length of pull.

Might want to try one out.  It is actually the mossberg magpul stock with adapter for the beretta.

I’m a huge fan of the Magpul stock. I prefer it over a pistol grip stock.

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21 hours ago, Milspec said:

I'm really digging that 1301.  The OD green is looking sweet.  Thinking about selling my REAL H20 NP3'd M4 and starting over with the 1301 and a bare bones M4.

I don't want to tell you how to live your life, but I can't help but feel like you'd regret that decision. Is it irreversibly modified?

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  • 2 weeks later...

I see Nordic sells the mag extension and clamp.  I'm just trying to figure out what everyone is adding for 922r compliance.  I don't see a lot of options out there and as far as I know the tube extension doesn't count. 

I suppose you could find a follower and a Mesa stock.  Still need a 3rd part I believe.  Trying to figure it out for future reference.  The 1301 is on my short to medium term list.

Edited by Milspec
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15 hours ago, RJHUB said:

My 1301 LTT has magpul butt stock and handguard and a US made follower.

I think thats the three that was changed out to US made with mag extension.

Cool, thx.  I knew about the Magpul stocks but didn't know they made hand guards.  I'd like to know how they fit it.  That HG is for an AK.

The only thing I don't like about the extension clamp is you have to unscrew everything just to take the shotty apart.  I think the extension being small would probably be fine without the clamp.  However, then you lose the sling mount and rail for a light.

Edited by Milspec
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  • 2 months later...

The fundamental difference between Benelli M4 and Beretta 1301 is "short stroke vs long stroke" piston systems. After the shotgun is fired, the gas piston strikes the bolt carrier group back to start the cycling process. Benelli M4 uses a simpler short stroke design. There are fewer parts in the bolt carrier group. It means "less weight to move". Beretta 1301 is a long stroke design. If you take it apart, you can see that the bolt carrier group has many parts to move together. It means "more weight to move". Fewer and lighter moving parts usually translate to better accuracy. In addition, the more moving parts, the higher chance something could go wrong. It has an impact on the long-term reliability. Therefore, Benelli M4 is intrinsically a better design. Well, in theory at least. In practical usages, it probably doesn't matter to most users. 

If you are worried about Benelli M4 not cycling lighter loads, you just need to change the buffer tube spring to a softer one (or cut off a small portion of the stock spring). Benelli intentionally uses a stronger spring in the buffer tube for long-term reliability on firing hot defense shells. In other word, it's not a defect in Benelli M4. It's a design tradeoff. If you fire A LOT of hot shells, you would need to replace the buffer spring more often on Beretta 1301 than on Benelli M4. If you uses a softer spring on Benelli M4, you'd also need to replace it more often than using the stronger stock spring. That's it. 

For hot shells, you feel softer recoil on Benelli M4. For lighter loads, you feel less recoil on Beretta 1301. Depending on what loads you use, it has different impacts on the accuracy of your following shots. 

In short, Benelli M4 is designed for combat. Beretta 1301 is designed for hunting and competition, and is being repositioned to "one shotgun for all purposes". Which is right to you? It's really up to you. For me, I don't hunt nor go for competitions. So, I have Benelli M4 as my primary shotgun and Mossberg 590A1 for apocalypse. But, I am also considering to get a Beretta 1301 Comp Pro and modify it into a tactical shotgun. That'd be a sweet shotgun! 

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