Finished my Beretta 1301 Tactical build!

[Capybara]

Beretta 1301 Tactical in FDE
Nordic Comp Mag Extension
Aridus Rob Haught Mod CROM
Aridus Magpul Stock adapter
Aridus Zhukov Fore-end
SureCycle Bolt Handle
Benelli M4 Magazine Follower
Magpul SGA stock
Limbsaver Recoil Pad
Holosun 507 Green Dot

This thing is a dream to shoot. It's so light, easy to handle, it is definitely the culmination of my dream tactical shotgun. If you are on the fence about a defensive shotgun, A300 Patrol if you are budget, 1301 Tactical if you can spend more and want to customize it.

 

[ms6852]

She's a real beauty, love the color combination.

 

[Capybara]

Thanks ms6852. It's my first FDE gun I've ever owned. I have a tiny bit of buyers remorse though because it's my first Cerakote gun also.
It's funny people talk about the ruggedness and how hard it is to chip up Cerakote, but my experience with this gun so far is that the
paint is fairly fragile and not that tough. I like how it turned out and the two tone look, it's cool but I think once I run a couple of classes
with it and shoot it more, it'll get pretty chipped up, pretty quickly, Cerakote is just paint and it gouges and chips pretty easily.

Not the end of the world, I am okay with my guns looking well used, but I think black would have stayed looking newer, longer. Before I
had even shot it, I had to removed the Nordic Comp barrel braces and without shooting the gun, the braces had left shallow gouges in the
the barrel coating. Not a big deal but if someone is anal retentive about looks, I would stick with black over FDE or OD. With this one, I may
just run it till it looks ratty, then rattle can it desert camo. It would be fun freaking people out seeing a rattle canned 1301 Tactical, right?
"You spray painted your Beretta?!?!"

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

 

[DustyGmt]

Jealous. I'm thinking the M4 is more expense and trouble than it's worth to get it configured the way I want it and have been looking hard at the A300 Patrol and 1301, maybe M940. I'd be very happy with that setup though, nice 1301!

 

[Capybara]

Jealous. I'm thinking the M4 is more expense and trouble than it's worth to get it configured the way I want it and have been looking hard at the A300 Patrol and 1301, maybe M940. I'd be very happy with that setup though, nice 1301!

Thanks Dusty. All I can tell you is if you buy a 1301 Tactical and trick it out, you won't regret it. M4 is a great gun but not every consumer needs exactly what the Marines use. Not sure if you've watched Garand Thumbs video with both? Both are excellent but both are built for a slightly different task and purpose. A300 Patrol fixes a lot of what were little niggling issues with the 1301 Tactical at a killer price. But if you like to tinker and customize as I do, the 1301 Tactical is going to be more fun to setup.

 

[PistoleroWadcutterGANG]

Looking good! brother. (Had the lightweight predecessor fp1201) I am skinny boned, so it wasn't the most pleasant thing for me to shoot. Regards

 

[Capybara]

Looking good! brother. (Had the lightweight predecessor fp1201) I am skinny boned, so it wasn't the most pleasant thing for me to shoot. Regards

Thanks!

LimbSaver recoil pad, as seen above, is a miracle.

 

[DustyGmt]

Thanks Dusty. All I can tell you is if you buy a 1301 Tactical and trick it out, you won't regret it. M4 is a great gun but not every consumer needs exactly what the Marines use. Not sure if you've watched Garand Thumbs video with both? Both are excellent but both are built for a slightly different task and purpose. A300 Patrol fixes a lot of what were little niggling issues with the 1301 Tactical at a killer price. But if you like to tinker and customize as I do, the 1301 Tactical is going to be more fun to setup.

I have seen the GarandThumb videos I believe, most anybody with an M4 is very happy but I can't see spending 2x the cost on the gun initially and then at least a few hundred $$$ on accessories. I'd be very happy with a A300 but I like that the 1301 is a lil quicker cycling although it doesn't matter much, I'm also told the A300 is a lil easier to stuff shells into.

I wish I had the chance to compare the 1100, 940, 1301 and A300 all side by side.....

 

[Capybara]

If I didn't have a tactical shotgun and was buying today, I would be hard pressed to just not buy the A300 Patrol. It's an amazing value. That option wasn't out yet when I bought my 1301 T. All of these parts added up, this is not a medium priced shotgun anymore,
but it's exactly how I wanted it so that's cool. I love Mossberg pump guns but their semi-autos simply have a lot more FTF and FTEs than the Berettas. Watch all of the GunTuber videos on the 930/940 and I consistently saw reviewers struggling with FTEs in particular. Haven't experienced a single FTF/FTE since shooting the 1301 Tactical so I am happy.

A300 Patrol, I would add a Limbsaver and a CROM and that's it, that's all it needs.

 

[Spug]

I also got a 1301 Tactical not too long ago and like it, no regrets. It's really nice. But if I were buying today for my needs and budget I probably would also get the A300 Patrol although I haven't yet seen one in person. I'm not one to trade off guns much so I'm "stuck" with my 1301. It will take a few bucks to get it just the way I like whereas the A300 has addressed some of those issues out of the box and I haven't heard a bad word about it yet.

 

[Capybara]

I also got a 1301 Tactical not too long ago and like it, no regrets. It's really nice. But if I were buying today for my needs and budget I probably would also get the A300 Patrol although I haven't yet seen one in person. I'm not one to trade off guns much so I'm "stuck" with my 1301. It will take a few bucks to get it just the way I like whereas the A300 has addressed some of those issues out of the box and I haven't heard a bad word about it yet.

Totally.

I bought my 1301 Tactical in Fall 2021 when it was the hottest thing happening. If I was buying again today, I would buy the A300 Patrol as it's simply a better value. And the Tiger Stripe has grown on my now that I saw one in person.
1301 is a beast but adding up what I paid for the 1301 T and ALL of these accessories to make it look and function like I wanted it to, I could have bought two A300 Patrols and had money left over for more ammo. I don't regret it at all as this one is
customized by me to look how I wanted it to look and feel, but that A300 Patrol is such a good deal for the money.

As the saying goes, you'll never regret buying the best and I don't. I wouldn't mind having an M4 and an A300 Patrol, we shall see how my business goes for the rest of the year. I love shotguns, honestly I like them more than shooting rifles. Rifles are great and I have a pile of them but shotguns are somehow more fun to shoot. Especially busting clays at Trap, Skeet or SC is just more gratifying than making a little hole where you want it at 400 yards. That's gratifying too but not as fun for me.

 

[JCooperfan1911]

That length of pull must be around 15” with the recoil pad.

How tall are you? Are you sure a shorter length of pull wouldn’t work better for you? It does for most when it comes to tactical shotgun shooting.

 

[Spug]

the Tiger Stripe has grown on my now

Haven't seen it in person but when I saw it online I said wow. My 1301 is the first painted gun I've ever owned and I got the olive which is nice and understated. The tiger stripe is beyond gorgeous to my eye, as far as such things go.

 

[Capybara]

That length of pull must be around 15” with the recoil pad.

How tall are you? Are you sure a shorter length of pull wouldn’t work better for you? It does for most when it comes to tactical shotgun shooting.

LOP is 13.25"
I'm 6' 1" with long torso and very long arms.
I did a session where I shot it with a Blue Force Tactical sling from low ready position to properly mount it and tried that with LOPs from 12.25" (no spacers, no Limbsaver), to 14.5" (three spacers and Limbsaver)
If I wore a plate carrier, I would go as short as possible but I don't own a plate carrier, so for me, 13.25" was where my right thumb joint avoided smacking my nose when I had eye relief that felt good for the Holosun. That's the beauty of Magpul
stock and spacers, I can change it up in about three minutes but so far, this length feels the best and I perform the best split times from it. At less than 13", the base knuckle of my thumb joint is either touching or almost touching my nose,
not a good feel, if you've ever had recoil smack your nose with that joint. The vertical pistol grip angle of the SGA stock doesn't give you options about where you grip it compared to more gentle angle of the stock stock.

Of course, once I do some classes with it, tactical instructor may see it and tell me, no, no, no but I am an NRA shotgun instructor and I know a bit about shotgun fitment. I'm still playing with sight picture versus comb height, I have the Magpul kit to increase that.

 

[JCooperfan1911]

LOP is 13.25"
I'm 6' 1" with long torso and very long arms.
I did a session where I shot it with a Blue Force Tactical sling from low ready position to properly mount it and tried that with LOPs from 12.25" (no spacers, no Limbsaver), to 14.5" (three spacers and Limbsaver)
If I wore a plate carrier, I would go as short as possible but I don't own a plate carrier, so for me, 13.25" was where my right thumb joint avoided smacking my nose when I had eye relief that felt good for the Holosun. That's the beauty of Magpul
stock and spacers, I can change it up in about three minutes but so far, this length feels the best and I perform the best split times from it. At less than 13", the base knuckle of my thumb joint is either touching or almost touching my nose,
not a good feel, if you've ever had recoil smack your nose with that joint. The vertical pistol grip angle of the SGA stock doesn't give you options about where you grip it compared to more gentle angle of the stock stock.

Of course, once I do some classes with it, tactical instructor may see it and tell me, no, no, no but I am an NRA shotgun instructor and I know a bit about shotgun fitment. I'm still playing with sight picture versus comb height, I have the Magpul kit to increase that.

I’m an NRA Qualified Master Shotgun Instructor, so I think I know a little bit more.

Sounds like you’re on the right track. Nice gun (thought not as nice as my Benelli M4 that I have over 500 hours of instruction on and 25,000 rounds downrange).

 

[Capybara]

I’m an NRA Qualified Master Shotgun Instructor, so I think I know a little bit more.

Sounds like you’re on the right track. Nice gun (thought not as nice as my Benelli M4 that I have over 500 hours of instruction on and 25,000 rounds downrange).

Regardless of who is the more experienced instructor, I have enough hours in to know that I don't like getting my nose hit by my thumb joint so 13.25" is where it's at on LOP unless someone can show me new tricks about where to place my left hand around the pistol grip.
One can wrap their thumb all of the way around the grip or lay it out flat but that doesn't change the position of that bone in relation to my nose one centimeter. The 1301 isn't an especially hard recoiling gun but probably more than your M4 because it's lighter.
The Limbsaver mitigates recoil at the shoulder but not as much at the pistol grip

 

[SwampWolf]

Benelli M4 Magazine Follower

What is the advantage of the M4 mag follower over the one the 1301 came with? I really like the color combo on your Beretta.