Beretta 1301 Tactical

[trajiiic]

I have the GG&G magazine extension coming in soon. I'll post my install experience soon after I receive it. I don't know if it comes with a new magazine spring or not. This leads me to my next question...

I've read in this thread that the Nordic comes with a high quality extended spring but can also be used with the OEM Beretta spring. I don't know where Nordic's extended spring is sourced from. I'm wondering if I might like to use one of the XP Wolff magazine tube springs listed below to replace the OEM Beretta spring. I've used Wolff XP springs in all of my pistol magazines. In those cases, the OEM springs were toast; 9mm Shield springs which are known to bow and snap and USGI/shitty M9 Beretta magazines which some were okay others were shot. So, I felt vindicated upgrading them with a proper spring. I've read that OEM shotgun magazine springs, from all manufacturers, should be replaced at regular intervals. I've also read on this thread that storing the shotgun at maximum capacity will A) slowly deform the shells B) reduce the life of the magazine spring.

My 1301 sits in a closet for home defense with 5 FC in the tube and 1 on the carrier. It stays that way most the year until I go to the range and shoot the ammo that was in the gun, plus a few hundred mixed shells, gets cleaned, and stored for HD just like before. I'm wondering if using the Wolff XP spring, which I assume will have a longer service life than the Beretta OEM spring, will be a bad idea for someone who stores their shotgun fully loaded.

I'm stuck between using the OEM spring, Wolf XP spring, or Wolf XP Extended spring in this HD shotgun with a +2 extension. What are your thoughts? I default to the many shotgun experts available in this forum.

Thanks!

Wolff Springs:

TUBULAR XP SHOTGUN MAG SPRING 12 GAUGE (65165)
TUBULAR XP SHOTGUN MAG SPRING 12 GA 45 INCH (65167)
https://www.gunsprings.com/MAGAZINE%.../mID137/dID411

[Centerfire]

Have you had any function issues with the retention cap removed?

No, none. I knew about the capacity issue prior to even firing the gun and removed the retention cap day one. I have 1k+ rounds through it without the cap.

[dontshakepandas]

No, none. I knew about the capacity issue prior to even firing the gun and removed the retention cap day one. I have 1k+ rounds through it without the cap.

Awesome, thanks. I took mine out too but haven't had a chance to shoot it yet. I can't imagine it would cause any problems, but its nice to have some reassurance.

[TCinVA]

My Nordic clamp has been on and off as much as a hooker’s panties, but I’ve finally left in on as assurance the extension won’t spontaneously unscrew.

I had the clamp on at first, but I ditched it after a while to see if the mag tube would loosen with shooting the way so many magazine caps and extensions do. It never has. I never cinch it down tighter than I can loosen just by hand and it never loosens on me when I shoot. It also makes disassembly much easier when I don't have to worry about the magazine clamp and I tend to take my guns apart quite often to lubricate them...so for me ditching the clamp just made sense.

Edit - I'm also using my shotgun in a training environment fairly often. This past summer it meant using the gun in Oklahoma clay when we were caught in heavy downpours and everything was covered in thick red mud. The ability to quickly clean out the inside and outside of your magazine tube (since the gas piston rides on it) is useful, IMO. Far moreso than the rail space of the clamp. YMMV.

[TCinVA]

Have you had any function issues with the retention cap removed?

I lost the magazine retention cap almost immediately when I got my first 1301 because getting that bastard back into the gun is a bitch on stilts. I've fired thousands of shells without it. It is literally there just to make normal takedown of the gun a little easier since the magazine cap isn't under pressure.

Installing the magazine cap while holding spring pressure is way easier than futzing with the retention cap.

[GJM]

I had the clamp on at first, but I ditched it after a while to see if the mag tube would loosen with shooting the way so many magazine caps and extensions do. It never has. I never cinch it down tighter than I can loosen just by hand and it never loosens on me when I shoot. It also makes disassembly much easier when I don't have to worry about the magazine clamp and I tend to take my guns apart quite often to lubricate them...so for me ditching the clamp just made sense.

I have been pretty lazy about PM on the 1301 (and M2) figuring Brenneke slugs have enough oomph to make things work. Where are you lubricating the 1301 and at what schedule?

[TCinVA]

1301's are extremely forgiving of neglect. They don't need to be clean or very well lubricated to run even when dirty. Even so, they're going to be more reliable when you have lubrication to help encapsulate dirt, grit, and fouling and that will help flow that stuff away from the critical areas that make the gun work.

When I lube the gun while apart, I put a drop on each of the bolt's locking lugs. I put another drop in the recesses in the barrel where the locking lugs go. I put a couple of drops around the cam pin area in the top of the bolt and I work the face of the bolt back and forth a few times to distribute that lube over as much of the surface inside the bolt carrier as possible. Right before reassembly I'll put a few drops on the bolt carrier's rails. Every now and then I apply a little bit of lube to the recoil spring.

When I don't take the gun apart I just use my needle oiler to put a few drops on the tail of the bolt (where it will work into the same areas as lubing the cam pin area) and I run some on the bolt lugs so they'll move freely in the locking surfaces in the barrel.

The apart lubrication happens whenever I take the gun apart, which is usually after 3 or 4 training sessions or classes.

The non-disassembly lubrication I do every time I know I'm going to be shooting the gun, or after I've used the gun and I'm putting it back in home defense mode.

I do a proper cleaning of the gun about once a year.

I shoot the guns a lot so they get fairly dirty and they work just fine that way. But everyone should keep in mind that I'm actually shooting the guns regularly. That usually means the gun hasn't gone for more than a month since last having function verified with a round count. My gun can get really dirty, but I'm using it so frequently in a manner that I'll be able to tell just by how the gun behaves whether or not everything is functioning as it should. It's sort of the same with my carry gun. Right now my carry gun is dirty because I haven't cleaned it. But it is lubricated and I know it works because I just shot it last week.

If your shotgun is accompanying you out in the field more but being shot less, it would be wise to take some extra precautions to ensure it's working when you need it. Check it over for function and to make sure it's lubed once a week if it accompanies you out in the field daily during that week...or if it's been exposed to the rain, etc. If the gun has seen a lot of water it's a good idea to get the shells out of the magazine tube and make sure they are dry so they don't rust up (most shell heads are made of steel, not brass) inside the gun. Etc.

The more it's exposed to the elements or the rigors of bouncing around in a vehicle, the more proactive you'll want to be about maintenance.

I joke that being a 1301 armorer is like being the Maytag repair man. There ain't much to fix. But even a Maytag will need some attention if you roll it down a hill, drop it in the mud, drag it through thick brush, or drown it.

EDIT - And when I say "lube" I mean a good liquid lubricant that doesn't change viscosity when it's cold. I tend to use Amsoil's gun lube because it does really well at maintaining viscosity even at very cold temps. Slip 2000 would be just fine, too. (You don't need the EWL) I don't use grease because grease is just liquid lubricant suspended in a binder. The liquid component does all the normal things liquid oils do like migrate, evaporate, and burn off. But now you have the binder left behind that does decidedly non-lubricating things and doesn't help you or the gun. So skip grease unless you are regularly wading the gun through water.

[GearFondler]

Regarding the Nordic clamp, it's proper use requires the extension tube to be installed 1 - 2 turns loose when installing the clamp (this is in the installation instructions). This is because the clamp is made incorrectly (IMHO) and if the tube is fully screwed down the clamp will force the tube to bend upwards toward the barrel as the clamp is fully tightened. This puts pressure on the tube and the barrel. By leaving the tube a turn or two loose there is enough play to allow the tube to fit the angle the clamp requires without any pressure... But to my mind that means there now has to be some kind of gap at the seam where the extension tube interfaces with the magazine tube. That is unacceptable to my mind and is perhaps one of the reasons @TCinVA has seen aftermarket followers hang up in the magazine tube.
This is all my own speculation but I won't use a clamp that requires a half-ass installation to prevent an issue that could have been solved by just making a better clamp. Plus it's a pain in the ass extra step every time I want to break it all down. No thanks.

[Pnut]

Still haven’t picked up my 1301 yet, but I’m already making future plans! A question for those running the Magpul stock with a red dot… are the cheek risers needed? I have a Leupold Delta Point laying around that I plan on throwing on the factory rail. I know everyones setup will be different based on their size, build, shooting style, etc., but I was just curious what MOST of you guys are running. Thank!

[GearFondler]

Still haven’t picked up my 1301 yet, but I’m already making future plans! A question for those running the Magpul stock with a red dot… are the cheek risers needed? I have a Leupold Delta Point laying around that I plan on throwing on the factory rail. I know everyones setup will be different based on their size, build, shooting style, etc., but I was just curious what MOST of you guys are running. Thank!

With a CROM mount you won't need the riser but using anything on the Pic Rail will probably be easier with the riser.