New Beretta competition shotgun...

[Hmac]

Beretta 1301 Competition. At $1240, looks like a very nice competition shotgun, especially compared to the $1150 that a Benelli M2 costs before the mods. Any of you guys have experience shooting this gun?

http://www.berettausa.com/products/bere ... mpetition/

[Scratch]

I know Fabb has one, maybe he'll chime in. I found a few threads he had about it:

http://www.mnguntalk.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=46308&p=486786#p486786
http://www.mnguntalk.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=46575&p=488623#p488623

[Mn01r6]

I plan on buying one of the 24" variety when I can find one for under a grand. It will be used for 3gun and hunting hopefully.

Is that barrel too short for ducks and pheasants? I would like to replace all my other shotguns with this one except for my goose gun.

[purektm]

My 24" has run like a champ so far after about 400 rounds. I'm very pleased.

Also you can probably do better on the price, I paid 1025 shipped from firearmsforyou.com

[67camaro]

My 24" has run like a champ so far after about 400 rounds. I'm very pleased.

Also you can probably do better on the price, I paid 1025 shipped from firearmsforyou.com

Have seen his run on multiple occasions, not a hiccup. You won't be disappointed.

[Special Projects]

What magazine extension are people using?

[purektm]

What magazine extension are people using?

Nordic Components MXT. I'm running a +5, had to cut the spring down to 10" past the tube for 10 rounds.

[PRS]

Arnzen Arms has a 21'' on the wall right now... looks like a pretty sharp gun.

[Jack's My dog]

Is that barrel too short for ducks and pheasants? I would like to replace all my other shotguns with this one except for my goose gun.

Maybe an extended choke would help for this? Only other potential drawback I could see is the extended bolt handle catching on things, but I doubt it would rarely be an issue considering all the others things that will get stuck when your busting through the cattails or dogwood thickets.

[Mn01r6]

I was thinking I would need to change that handle out for ducks when I hunt with a lot of camo netting. I am more concerned about the velocity out of a 24" barrel compared to a 28-30 that I normally hunt with. Extended chokes might buy me another inch though...that's a good thought.

Can you chrono bird shot? I suppose I could test it and see what I get for velocity.

[smurfman]

You will see more variation from shot to shot than you will see with 4" less barrel. The general rule of thumb regarding barrel length and velocity is about 5 fps change per inch going downward from 30" in 12 ga with a full choke. Change just the choke and one will see another 5 fps difference from Full to Modified and another 5 FPS going from Modified to Improved Cylinder.

In other words, don't worry about it.

As for extended chokes, that is another non-issue in regards to velocity. It is the same for sighting plane and balance (for the most part) as the bed is still at the end of the barrel rather than the end of the tube and most choke tubes tend to weigh less than an equal length of barrel.

One can run a shot charge over a chronograph but one may get odd readings due to the amount of gas and the length of the shot column. I have a load which the book says should be around 1180 fps but my chrono says its going 1400+ fps. I look for consistency in my loads rather than the final velocity. Top of the line factory loads generally are within a 40 fps range so that is what I look for.

[shooter115]

I see very little value in going less than 26" barrel length for 3gun since most guys are running 10 round or longer tubes anyhow. A 10 round mag will be about the same length as the barrel on most 26" shotguns. The barrels on most shotguns (Berreta and Benneli in particular) are so thin that there is very little weight advantage to be gained with 5" less barrel.

[MNGunGuy]

Beretta 1301 Competition. At $1240, looks like a very nice competition shotgun, especially compared to the $1150 that a Benelli M2 costs before the mods. Any of you guys have experience shooting this gun?

http://www.berettausa.com/products/bere ... mpetition/

Andy has one that I got to play around with for a while. Extremely nice shotgun that needs very little to be competitive out of that gate. The loading port is a bit deep but it's large and smooth enough that I can twin load 8 rounds shoulder to shoulder in about 3 seconds flat. My only gripe about it is the lifter button system they use to put shells on the lifter. If I had my choice I'd rather not have to mess with something like that on the clock. That and the lifter spring is a bit too strong.

Pics to show what I'm talking about when I say the loading port is deep. It makes loading quads a little tricky.

1301


SLP for reference

I see very little value in going less than 26" barrel length for 3gun since most guys are running 10 round or longer tubes anyhow. A 10 round mag will be about the same length as the barrel on most 26" shotguns. The barrels on most shotguns (Berreta and Benneli in particular) are so thin that there is very little weight advantage to be gained with 5" less barrel.

On the 1301 and my SLP a 10rd tube puts you even with a 24" barrel w/o extended chokes. The two advantages I see from running a shorter barrel are weight and reduced workspace. A barrel change on the SLP shaves about 8 ounces and makes a night and day difference on how it points. I haven't seen weight figures on the 21" but the 24" 1301 weighs about 8 ounces less than my SLP with a 24" barrel and feels it. To me 22-24" seems to be the sweet spot on length vs weight and that's where I'd pick from if possible.