Beretta 1301 questions

[Schwarf]

I am very likely to purchase a Beretta 1301 for home defense in the next few weeks, and had a few questions:

I'm debating between the 1301 tactical and the 21" competition.

I like the 18" barrel on the tactical, but prefer the vent rib and fiber optic bead on the competition. Any thoughts which way to go?

If I got the tactical, I'd likely change out the sights and get the Nordic extension kit they make for this model. Is it easy to remove the rear ghost ring and add on a fiber optic front bead? What threading do I need to look for?

If I got the 21" competition, what length magazine extension would get me closest to flush without going over?

Thanks,
Schwarf

[SamuelBLong]

Either will work fine for HD. I prefer the comp as it allows me to have 10 rounds in the gun, with another 8 on the sidesaddle. The tac does make a bit more sense if you're going to be getting in and out of vehicles (LE) with the shotgun since it is very compact for a full 18" barreled gun.

Putting a true bead sight on the tactical would defeat the purpose. You would need to have the front sight of the tactical de soldiered completely.

+3 Nordic tube, nut & spring will get you just slightly further than flush with the barrel on the Comp. It will only go past about 1/2"... If you wanted to make it really look even and add some functionality, just get an extended knurled choke and it will be flush... But it's really a non issue.

[Haraise]

Watch out for the shell release jam. Try the TX4 button.

[Schwarf]

Samuel, that was just the information I was looking for, thanks.

Now I just have to get rid of this nagging thought that a Colt 6920 would be cheaper...

[SamuelBLong]

Watch out for the shell release jam. Try the TX4 button.

While I think this is a problem in general, on mine, I have not found a way to trigger it without intentionally rotating the button rearward to trigger it. In other words, with the gun loaded up, bumping and dropping the gun on surfaces intentionally trying to get the bolt release to lift away from the receiver was pretty much impossible to have happen on my gun.

JodyH took a look at mine last weekend during a lunch break at ECQC. He said while his functions the same way as mine, on his it is very easy to trigger it, while mine had much more resistance.

There are a lot of factors at play regarding the issue with the 1301 release. There is not only the spring in the button mechanism and its rotational allowances, but also resistance (drag) provided by the magazine spring tension.

I have a TX4 button on the way to experiment with to see if it is more solid and still retains all the functionality of the stock button.