Beretta 1301 Tactical

[delphidoc]

With annotated images:

Normal. Note alignment of lifter:


Malfunction. Lifter has rotated down, and edge is stuck behind bolt release:

@Clusterfrack,

I picked up a new 1301 Tactical Friday. I shot it yesterday and today. Both days the gun eventually started doing what yours did in the photos. When the lifter gets stuck it lies skewed like your second pic. When this happens all controls are locked up. A shell is partially on the lifter, partially still in the tube.

Today before taking it to the range I confirmed I still had the problem with some dummy shells. I was about to disassemble the gun at home to start working on it. As I began unscrewing the Nordic +2 mag extension I heard the mag spring go sproing so I tested it again with dummy shells and it seemed to be fixed.

Today after firing about twenty full-power 00 buck shells it started doing it again. Most times when the lifter got locked up I could push the shell back in the lifter and start over. The last time today I could push the shell back into the tube but the shell catch would not keep the shell from popping back out partially onto the lifter. I finally had to disassemble the gun to clear the jam.

This was discussed a while back on the Enos forum: https://forums.brianenos.com/topic/2...oblem-loading/

They discussed polishing the end of the shell latch. I haven't tried this but to me it doesn't explain the lifter getting wedged stuck.

Somebody else had the same problem here: http://www.practical-shotgun.com/ber...rrier-lock-ups

He claims the problem happens because the trigger group is only held in place with one pin. This allows the trigger group to rotate around the pin. He tried shimming the back of the trigger group with some cardboard as a test. Once he was satisified this fixed his problem he put some epoxy on the shelf on the back of his trigger group to permanently shim it.


Do either of these fixes seem plausible to you?

[ECVMatt]

I got a chance to run another 100 rounds of Walmart Value Pack through with no problems. Sorry to hear about the lifter problems.

[delphidoc]

This was discussed a while back on the Enos forum: https://forums.brianenos.com/topic/2...oblem-loading/

They discussed polishing the end of the shell latch. I haven't tried this but to me it doesn't explain the lifter getting wedged stuck.

I looked into this tonight and I'm not convinced this will fix the problem of the lifter binding the shell catch. I did a little exploratory surgery this evening. I tried taking out the cartridge latch and ran into a little problem. I apparently have a variant Gen 1 gun. It has the Gen 2 cartridge latch but has the Gen 1 barrel without removable choke. I didn't know such a beast existed. Anywho, it appears the only way to remove the cartridge latch would have been to remove the pin shown in the picture below, while the latch is still in the receiver. I couldn't easily get that pin out, which is probably a good thing. Putting it back together while holding a spring in place inside the receiver might have been very difficult.




Even if I had been able to remove the cartridge latch I'm not sure polishing the forward edge of it would have done much good. In the two pictures below I don't see that forward edge causing a problem with the shell releasing from the mag, and wouldn't cause the carrier to bind the cartridge latch.






I'm looking into two other possible fixes which I'll get to in a different post- I'm new here and want to be sure I don't screw up this post with picture attachments.

[delphidoc]

Somebody else had the same problem here: http://www.practical-shotgun.com/ber...rrier-lock-ups

He claims the problem happens because the trigger group is only held in place with one pin. This allows the trigger group to rotate around the pin. He tried shimming the back of the trigger group with some cardboard as a test. Once he was satisified this fixed his problem he put some epoxy on the shelf on the back of his trigger group to permanently shim it.

I'm thinking this fix has promise, because it addresses the lifter getting out of place and interfering with the cartridge latch. Plus, it's an easier fix than the other one I'm looking into. Below is a screen shot from the video linked above. At the 1:55 mark it shows the blob of epoxy he put on the shelf on the back of the trigger group. He had tested his fix with a cardboard shim before applying the epoxy. This fix is pretty easy to test.




I'm looking for pics and links for another proposed fix I found tonight. I'll show it in another post. Be patient, this is only my second post on PF and my posts have to be approved by a mod before they show up.

[delphidoc]

Here's fixes #3 and #4, which accomplish the same thing. They both hold the carrier up a little higher at rest so that it can't slip down and allow the shell latch to bind it.

I found this video tonight with the same lockup problem we're having: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qh6DHMQUC8

He found that the carrier latch plunger slopes down on its upper edge and lets the lifter ride too low. He fabricated a new one without a slope and fixed his problem. Below is a screen shot from his video at 1:49 that shows his work. The original is on the right:





The picture below is a side shot that shows how the original sloped plunger can let the carrier sit too low:





Another way to fix this beside fabricating a new plunger would be to build up the carrier where it contacts the plunger. Below is a pic from our very own @Tom_Jones in his post #442 on page 45 of this very thread.





And another pic of it in post #451 on page 46:






The YouTube guy said he thought the plunger is too thin to be welded. He shows a view of the plunger from above that shows that it is hollow:

Attachment 31360


My thought is that JB Weld can be applied into that hollowed area high enough to accomplish the same effect as the welding on the carrier that Tom_Jones did. If the JB Weld ended up being too high it could be filed down easier than making adjustments to the amount of welded material on the carrier.




Either of these fixes accomplish the same basic thing that the epoxy shim does that I posted earlier. I think the epoxy shim would be easier to do, if it works. I'm going to try shimming with cardboard tomorrow and see if that fix seems to work. I may not be able to test fire with it at the range this weekend because of my job so I probably won't try shimming with epoxy right away if the carboard shim works.

[OldRunner/CSAT Neighbor]

re. the most recent issues above, anyone seen Eric w/ Beretta lately?

[OldRunner/CSAT Neighbor]

He responded directly to CF a couple of weeks ago:

Sí señor, I recall dragging his name into that melee as well.

[Clusterfrack]

Erik sent me a ups tag to send the gun in.

He was traveling and still found time to deal with my issue.

So far, great customer service!

[OldRunner/CSAT Neighbor]

Erik sent me a ups tag to send the gun in.

He was traveling and still found time to deal with my issue.

So far, great customer service!

Your experience’s Cluster, Erik’s TIMELY replies here, the 1301 itself & the blow out prices last year are why I now have two 1301s w/ both wearing some of Adam’s quality products as well.

[GuanoLoco]

Your experience’s Cluster, Erik’s TIMELY replies here, the 1301 itself & the blow out prices last year are why I now have two 1301s w/ both wearing some of Adam’s quality products as well.

Just discovering this - late to the party.