Beretta 1301 Tactical

[GyroF-16]

Making that out of 4140 when it's screwed onto (probably) 6061 aluminum is silly. Just sayin'.

Can you elaborate?
Because steel is so much harder than Al, so there the risk of damaging the Al component through over-tightening?
Is there a risk of chemical interaction/ corrosion that would cause the interface to seize?
Something else?

If nothing else, is seems like steel would be tougher (more resistant to bending and denting). Or is the concern related to a “hierarchy of failure” where the force of an impact would be transmitted to a more fragile (and more difficult / expensive to replace) component of the gun?

You have me curious now.

[HCM]

Because OVER-PENETRATION!!!!!!

I was actually thinking over pressure, concussion and hearing damage.

[OlongJohnson]

Can you elaborate?
Because steel is so much harder than Al, so there the risk of damaging the Al component through over-tightening?
Is there a risk of chemical interaction/ corrosion that would cause the interface to seize?
Something else?

If nothing else, is seems like steel would be tougher (more resistant to bending and denting). Or is the concern related to a “hierarchy of failure” where the force of an impact would be transmitted to a more fragile (and more difficult / expensive to replace) component of the gun?

You have me curious now.

4140 is chromoly steel. Kinda expensive, and way more difficult and time-consuming to machine than aluminum. You just can't hit it with similar speeds and feeds, tool life is shorter, etc. It's heavier 'cause it's steel. The yield strength of 4140 is about 50 percent greater than 6061-T6 and the ultimate tensile strength is about double the aluminum, so it's way the hell stronger than the part it's attached to for no apparent reason.

Wouldn't be worried about corrosion, since the gas piston is stainless and the tube ends up with raw carbon all over it. Both of those are much more aggressive galvanically than carbon steels. The tube is only about $50, so not the end of the world if it needs replacing. Wasn't even thinking about Torquo the Clown screwing it up.

I said silly because the extension is adding a lot more weight than needed to a gun that's kinda sweet because of its lightness, and it's adding a lot more cost than would be needed to make a perfectly good and effectively bombproof part.

[SpyderMan2k4]

Making that out of 4140 when it's screwed onto (probably) 6061 aluminum is silly. Just sayin'.

I've got one coming that's going on a test gun so we'll see!

Sent from my SM-G986U using Tapatalk

[Centerfire]

4140 is chromoly steel. Kinda expensive, and way more difficult and time-consuming to machine than aluminum. You just can't hit it with similar speeds and feeds, tool life is shorter, etc. It's heavier 'cause it's steel. The yield strength of 4140 is about 50 percent greater than 6061-T6 and the ultimate tensile strength is about double the aluminum, so it's way the hell stronger than the part it's attached to for no apparent reason.

Wouldn't be worried about corrosion, since the gas piston is stainless and the tube ends up with raw carbon all over it. Both of those are much more aggressive galvanically than carbon steels. The tube is only about $50, so not the end of the world if it needs replacing. Wasn't even thinking about Torquo the Clown screwing it up.

I said silly because the extension is adding a lot more weight than needed to a gun that's kinda sweet because of its lightness, and it's adding a lot more cost than would be needed to make a perfectly good and effectively bombproof part.

Theoretically they can use a much thinner wall tube and have the same strength. That may be important to magazine capacity.

[OlongJohnson]

Anything past "strong enough" is "too damn heavy."

The density of aluminum is ~1/3 that of steel. Given the difference in yield strength (the point where it starts to fail by permanent deformation), you'll hit the same strength with 50 percent more aluminum, and it will still weigh ~1/2 as much as the steel part. And the steel will likely cost a lot more to manufacture, at least in part because it's "made from a solid block of 4140 steel." That's a lot of machining to put the big hole in the middle.

The tube is getting filled up with shot shells, which are full of lead. It will be plenty heavy, enough to affect handling noticeably, without a mag tube extension that doubles as ballast.

[Centerfire]

Anything past "strong enough" is "too damn heavy."

The density of aluminum is ~1/3 that of steel. Given the difference in yield strength (the point where it starts to fail by permanent deformation), you'll hit the same strength with 50 percent more aluminum, and it will still weigh ~1/2 as much as the steel part. And the steel will likely cost a lot more to manufacture, at least in part because it's "made from a solid block of 4140 steel." That's a lot of machining to put the big hole in the middle.

The tube is getting filled up with shot shells, which are full of lead. It will be plenty heavy, enough to affect handling noticeably, without a mag tube extension that doubles as ballast.

I'm not disagreeing with you, just pointing out the potential benefit of steel. I have a Nordic extension that has three thread interfaces and is arguably too short for some types of shells when configured flush with the end of the barrel. I don't think 4140 is particularly well suited to the application but it does have some merits.

[Pnut]

I just wish someone would make an aluminum or steel sleeve to fit over the factory 7-round mag tube.

[Pnut]

I just installed a new Blitzkrieg front sight on my 1301 and thought I’d share a few tips. It wasn’t that difficult, but it takes a steady hand because there is very little room to move and the parts are tiny!

Before removing the factory post, I drew witness marks on the front and back of the eared plate that the post sits in. This will assist in centering the new post.

Remove the post’s nut with a 5.5mm thin profile wrench. I found the wrench on Amazon. Be careful with the nut because it’s tiny. I had to reuse mine because the new post didn’t come with one. I put a small magnet on the barrel under the front sight just in case.

Once the nut is removed, lift the old post and plate off. Insert the new post into the plate and place it onto the mounting hole. There is very little room to start the nut with your fingers so work carefully. I placed the magnet on top of the post so the nut stuck to post’s threads. I was able to start the nut by hand and loosely tightened with the wrench. I then lined up witness marks and tightened everything down. The Blitzkrieg sits a little higher, so I’ll need to adjust at the range.

[Lon]

Stopped at the range for a quick visit to see how some different ammo worked and to pattern some 8 pellet FC loads.

My particular 1301 loved the Federal target loads below. Didn’t really care for the Winchester pictured and flat out wouldn’t run with the 1060fps Herter’s, which I figured was gonna happen. But figured I’d give it a shot.



With the understanding that I hadn’t confirmed zero on this 1301, here’s the result from the 8 pellet FC loads. The 20 yard shot was weird. Super tight but felt different and actually was an FTE. Had a Cyl choke in. Gotta get back out and re-zero this and run some more 8 pellet through it.