God bless you guys for wringing all this out. Still seems to me that the 1301 is like the M&P of shotguns: lots going for it on the surface, but snatching defeat from the jaws of victory on execution.
God bless you guys for wringing all this out. Still seems to me that the 1301 is like the M&P of shotguns: lots going for it on the surface, but snatching defeat from the jaws of victory on execution.
Food Court Apprentice
Semper Paratus certified AR15 armorer
This didn't work for me. I could only put one thickness of a notecard on the trigger group shelf and still get the trigger group's pin in place. That didn't eliminate the problem. I couldn't insert the pin when using two thicknesses of notecard or a single thickness of an old driver's license.
I did trim my mag tube spring. I have had a Nordic +2 extension on the gun from the git-go. The spring stuck out 16" so I cut it down to 12" extending.
The lockup is happening less frequently tonight with Fiocchi dummy shells. You can see the bolt release pop out and back in when everything is working correctly. If I don't see that happening I know it has locked up. The best way I have found to clear the jam is to reach into the ejection port with a finger and pull the shell out all the way onto the lifter, rather than trying to push it back into the tube. I hold the charging handle with my other hand to avoid trapping my finger.
Maybe this problem will work its way out with some more time. I'm going to hold off for now on adding metal to the lifter or the plunger because I don't want to lose the ability to pull out on the cartridge latch and eject shells out of the tube. Even though it's a Gen 2 latch I can still pull it outward and eject shells.
Given the number of 1301 owners represented just in this thread you're seeing a small percentage of them with issues.
Out of the dozens of 1301 shotguns I'm familiar with in real life due to their appearance in classes or through verified purchases, I've seen maybe a dozen guns that had problems that required correction including in this thread. (Not that I've kept careful tabulation) About half of that dozen have needed a trip back to the mothership and they've been fine after that. I don't think CF is going to find that his gun still has issues when it gets back from HQ.
The 1301 is the only semi-auto shotgun I have no hesitation to recommend as a defensive use shotgun. It's not to say none of them ever have or ever will have an issue, but the only issues I'm aware of have been relatively minor and fixable with some competent attention.
3/15/2016
+1 on this. It's a great gun. I'm beginning to consider this problem as the shotgun equivalent of a FTF problem with a new pistol. Most of them don't have these problems but some do. They tend to grow out of it after a "break-in" period. I don't think there's anything wrong with my 1301 that a case of shells can't fix. I'm not planning on trying any additional "fixes" and I'm not planning on sending it back to the mother ship. Now I just need to find somebody to shoot a bunch of magnum shells for me.
Hey delphdoc,
If you take a look at the pics in this thread, you'll see how the bolt release sleeves comes off to facilitate removing the cartridge catch assy through the receiver.
https://pistol-forum.com/showthread....T-bolt-release
Last edited by paulw; 10-17-2018 at 11:10 AM.
“There is no growth in the comfort zone.”--Jocko Willink
"You can never have too many knives." --Joe Ambercrombie
I was sifting through the 300+ pages on the 1301. I was out of $ early in the year so I missed the blow outs... but am now coming back with the same question - any sources for discounted Gen. 1's?
Also - have we already verified the "Viper" is simply a 1301T with a paint job?
** Sidenote: I wish PF had better tools for reading through threads... when you get to multiple hundred pages it is VERY TIME CONSUMING! Other forums allow download to PDF or view with a responses in one mega long thread... are there any tools to help make this valuable information more accessible?
JDP
Best deal I found came from Arms Unlimited. It's not as cheap as the $750 deals going on at the first of the year but it's hundreds of dollars less than a Gen 2. If you don't need the ability to change chokes it's a good deal. Note that their webpages for the Tactical and LE versions have the SKUs and URLs switched. If you order the cheaper model you are not getting a mag extension or pistol-grip stock (Use your common sense). I emailed them to advise them of the errors but they haven't been corrected as of today. No connection to the company,
Turns out my gun is kind of a hybrid. Bolt release is the Gen 2 type. I can still puke shells out of the tube by pulling the front of the release out but it's a very deliberate act to do it. It's got a Gen 1 barrel without choke threads. Ghost ring sights.
I added a Nordic +2 extension and Mesa Tactical pistol-grip stock (bad wrist) so I basically converted mine into an LE version. It was easier wife-wise to get the cheaper gun and buy the upgrade parts later.