Which Limbsaver pad for Beretta 1201FP

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Mylhouse

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I recently picked up a used Beretta 1201FP, with the 20" barrel/rifle sights/standard rifle stock. Shooting birdshot wasn't too bad, but shooting slugs from the bench to test for accuracy really beat me up. It made shooting more pain than fun. I hate to sound like a wuss, but I've shot the S&W 500 Mag with full bore loads, the Ruger .454 Alaskan, lightweight revolvers in .44mag, .50BMGs, etc....and this was the most painful shooting experience I've ever had.

I took off the stock buttpad, and it is simply a piece of hard plastic (which was cracked in several places, I might add), covered in a thin layer of rubber. Replacing the stock isn't feasible, so for any 1201fp owners out there that have tried the Limbsaver, which model did you use? Did it help?
 
Wow, another 1201FP owner. Part of owning one of these jewels is the hard recoil, it's not gas operated, it's recoil operated and kicks more because of it. My pad is stock, and is about 1 inch thick. I also have thought about a slip on pad, but because of the pistol grip stock, it does not fit correctly on mine. Bad news about putting ports on it to reduce the recoil, it would (according to my smith) cause the gun to not function on light and medium loads. Also you will find that the barrel is too thin at the end to add choke tubes. They are good guns that have some quarks.

Hope you enjoy yours like I do mine. You will get a tough shoulder from regular practice.
 
Porting does very little about recoil - save your money.

A gun that fits properly will minimize recoil to the shoulder and cheek

You will get a tough shoulder from regular practice
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Wrong, but you WILL get serious shoulder issues as you get older, mostly requiring surgery..........
 
Charles Daly is making a pistol grip butt stock that's almost an exact copy of the Benelli pistol grip.

They use them on their Charles Daly Defense (CDD) line of shotguns.

I'm not sure it'll fit, it should, but it is head and shoulders above the look and feel of the Speedfeed. I own and use Speedfeed stocks but they Charles Daly just looks better and offers more surface area with a much softer butt pad.

Yes, you can order them serperately. You'd have to call Charles Daly customer service.
 
I've also got a 1201FP and it is a great shotgun. Well made and totally reliable. Recoil is, as everybody has said, no joke though.

I'm going to try the Speedfeed stock for the Benelli M1 as well. By the way, Midwayusa has them for about $80 in both long and short LOP.
 
Wrong, but you WILL get serious shoulder issues as you get older, mostly requiring surgery..........
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oneounceload are you saying don't practice regularity??


Come on pull up your big girl panties and grow a pair. Regular practice will help you manage the recoil and make you a better shooter. I don't bruise anymore from range sessions like I did when I first started, it does help.

Also there is very little fitting you can do with a 1201, it's not made for sporting purposes with all the fine adjustments.
 
I shoot between 100 and 250 a week.........12, 20 and 28 at clays.......NOT slugs or buckshot

recoil is a cumulative effect over time. A properly fitted and weighted gun will minimize that effect - it has nothing to do with "growing a pair", but rather wanting to avoid reconstructive shoulder surgery. As for managing recoil, all it will do eventually is help you to develop a flinch, which is why you see many older trap shooters using a release trigger......

There's no "manly" points for abusing your shoulder with recoil.
 
oneounceload do you know what gun he is talking about? It's a fighting gun, not a clays gun that has a lot of fitting options available. A pad is about the only thing you can do on this gun.
 
Yes, I understand that, that has nothing to do with your comment about growing a pair or getting toughened up. There are always fitting options available - depends on what you are willing to put into it. A good recoil pad, fitted properly to a stock so that the stock fits correctly, will minimize the recoil, especially needed when subjecting yourself to the type of punishment slugs and buckshot can dish out
 
So which pad will fit my gun and which one will make it most comfortable to shoot the heavy slugs?

I don't want to be toughened up. I want to be able to enjoy shooting it so I can put more rounds downrange and get better with it.
 
Fitting the 1200/1201 FP shotguns is NOT an option.:banghead: it is possible, like getting a man to the moon - will be very 'spensive.

Getting a new spring for the bolt helps, but not much.
"Bad news about putting ports on it to reduce the recoil, it would (according to my smith) cause the gun to not function on light and medium loads." They make those kinda self defense loads?:D

This model is abusive to the shoulder - period.

I have not put in proper effort to get the recoil pad problem corrected, but did take the stock off a 1200 field model and try it out, not very much help, although I had a Beretta thick Gel pad on it.

Oneounceload - I take it you have never shot one of the 1200 series of Berettas, have you ever shot any of the ES100 series? (Pintail or Vittoria) recoil/inertia gun but much nicer on the shoulder.
I strongly agree with you on fitting a shotgun (or rifle), but in the case of the 1200/1201 Beretta it is not gonna' happen.

As horrible looking as they are ( and I use them:rolleyes:) those slip on pads work pretty well.
 
berettashotgun wrote:
"Bad news about putting ports on it to reduce the recoil, it would (according to my smith) cause the gun to not function on light and medium loads." They make those kinda self defense loads?
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LMAO, yeah but they are pink, and not for use against really pissed off people..:neener:
 
Mylhouse posted:

I don't want to be toughened up. I want to be able to enjoy shooting it so I can put more rounds downrange and get better with it.
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I don't like telling you this, but you may not have the correct choice in shotguns for your situation. For the value of your 1201, you can make other choices that might benefit your shooting style better.


This model is abusive to the shoulder - period.
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berettashotgun knows of what he speaks.
 
I got a great deal on the shotgun, so I bought it. I want to like it. I love the reliability and the features, but it does punish me.

I have lifted weights for 20 years. I'm 6' and a lean 210 lbs. I can still bench almost 350 and do 225 on the seated barbell press. But I have had a few shoulder injuries (car accidents and overdoing it in the gym) in the past, and this shotgun, in present form (with heavy slugs especially) exacerbates my shoulder problems. Bird shot I can tolerate.

So berettashotgun or others: have any of you tried the Limbsaver on the 1201fp? Have any of you found anything that at least made a noticeable difference in decreasing felt recoil with this shotgun? I do appreciate all the feedback.
 
I might try putting a limbsaver on my 1201fp, but here is the rub.....I have NEVER had a recoil issue with any shotgun - I personally think it is something in the stock angle with the 1200/1201FP.
Heck, I shoot an O/U 10ga ( made in Italy:neener:) with a "old school" red rubber vented pad. Works excellent - kills geese, shotgun also has 32" phone pole barrels and is more than likely pushing 11 lbs.
That stated, you just gave me my project for the week.....been needing to get a pad for an Abolt rifle anyways.
 
There's no "manly" points for abusing your shoulder with recoil.
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Absolutely correct!!!!!


I might try putting a limbsaver on my 1201fp, but here is the rub.....I have NEVER had a recoil issue with any shotgun - I personally think it is something in the stock angle with the 1200/1201FP.
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Same here, a respectable quantity of slugs and buchshot downrange with my 870s, 870 clones, FN SLP, etc..... doesn't bother me and is downright fun.
Same quantity with my 1200 and I'm not enjoying it as much.
 
Well, I know nothing about 'fitting' a shotgun to me. I sent out an email to Limbsaver, but am still awaiting a reply.

The factory stock on my 1201FP feels long and somewhat awkward to me. So what some of you are saying is that is a major factor in why the gun is punishing me so badly? I always figured it solely a kinetic issue, not an ergonomic one....interesting.
 
I always figured it solely a kinetic issue, not an ergonomic one....interesting.
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Best guess is it is a combination of a lot of issues. Probably one of the reasons it did not become real popular.
 
If you add a recoil pad you may also want to cut the thickness of the recoil pad off the stock. Not a big deal with a chop saw and some basic carpenter skills. Contact limb saver and see if they have a model # for you or the next size larger as you can take it to most any shoe/boot repair shop and they can dress the sides of the pad down. You could also if you have the right stock design add a mercury recoil reducer to the shoulder stock. If plastic ?????I have drilled new holes to mount pads and been to the shoe shop several types through the years. I had a 11-48rem years ago that was recoil opperated and it also used 2 3/4" shells and could kill your shoulder but nothing can touch a old franchi with those light weight aluminum 5lb 12ga guns.
 
Well, I ended up contacting Choate, and they still have standard and pistol grip MK5 'adjustable' stocks available for the 1201FP. I ordered the pistol grip version, so hopefully it will all work out when it gets here.
 
I recently picked up a 1200FP Fish and Wild Life trade in for $100, thats right $100. Why so cheap? Well, the guy (very honest) told me no one would buy it after they shot it. Kicks like a mule, especially with slugs...ouch. I figured I could try a few things and learn about inertia driven shotguns as I go.

I ordered a Speed Feed PG stock for it, but there were some issues getting it to fit properly. There was about an inch of space in the stock tube, so I added several rubber washers to tighten it up. Took it to the range to test it out, the recoil was cut in half, however it would only fire 2 rounds at a time, then I had either a FTE, or FTF. After a few shots I took it home and noticed there was room for maybe one more rubber washer. I am going to see if that will fix things. If not I am going to have to put the old stock back on it.

The original stock works great, but it's so rough to shoot. In my opinion it feels way too long as well.

Does anyone know if the stock tube length (probably using the wrong nomenclature) is different in the 1200 compared to the 1201?
 
I'm wondering if a stronger recoil spring would help things. Of course there'd be a trade off on the cycling of lower powered rounds.
????
 
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