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Thread: Benelli M1/M2 vs Beretta 1301

  1. #1
    S.L.O.W. ASH556's Avatar
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    Benelli M1/M2 vs Beretta 1301

    Ok guys, I've read and even posted some thoughts in the 1301 thread. I think I understand the platforms and pros/cons. I've had multiple M1's and really like them. I still have an un-used full set of chokes for an M1. I sold my last 21" M1a couple months back to cover cash flow during a job transition. Ready to get back into a shotgun now and stuck. It may come down to availability. Finding a clean used 21" M1 is proving difficult. A new 21" M2 is available on Gunbroker for about $1,200. A new 21" 1301 is $950. I'm gonna have to buy new chokes with either.

    Reasons you can think of to go M2 over 1301?
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  2. #2
    Quote Originally Posted by ASH556 View Post
    Ok guys, I've read and even posted some thoughts in the 1301 thread. I think I understand the platforms and pros/cons. I've had multiple M1's and really like them. I still have an un-used full set of chokes for an M1. I sold my last 21" M1a couple months back to cover cash flow during a job transition. Ready to get back into a shotgun now and stuck. It may come down to availability. Finding a clean used 21" M1 is proving difficult. A new 21" M2 is available on Gunbroker for about $1,200. A new 21" 1301 is $950. I'm gonna have to buy new chokes with either.

    Reasons you can think of to go M2 over 1301?
    Benelli advantages are ability to go 14 inch, easier to mount a light, tons of accessories and custom smiths. Beretta shoots heavier loads softer, and otherwise if still a work in process in many respects.

    I think their prices reflect the market's assessment of their relative value.
    Likes pretty much everything in every caliber.

  3. #3
    Decide if you want a gas gun or an inertia gun. Beretta vs. Benelli comes up nearly daily on the duck hunting forums I frequent. I prefer a gas gun, so I'd choose the 1301. Save a couple hundred and put that towards accessories. Inertia guns are fine as well, but they have more felt recoil. Less maintenance intensive and they "theoretically" tolerate abuse more. I know multiple guys who clean their Benelli's at the beginning of season and then at the end of the season. They get used hard and hold up.

    One of the main reasons I moved to Beretta besides the gas system is the recoil spring on the Beretta is around the magazine tube, where on the M1/2 SBE 1/2/3 the recoil spring is inside the stock. Not a big deal on a HD/3-Gun shotgun, but on a duck hunting gun that *will* get dropped in the water at some point, I wanted something I could easily maintain without having to break the stock apart to swap the spring. I know more than a few guys who neglected to care for their recoil springs that had issues over a 2-3 year period with failures to feed and such; broke the guns down and the recoil springs were rusted and broken into pieces but you couldn't tell that from a standard field strip. I also hunt brackish/salt marsh nearly every hunt, so I wanted something I could easily break down and rinse with fresh water. Hence why I'm a Beretta guy now.

    Hope this helps.
    Last edited by MSparks909; 04-27-2017 at 05:39 PM.
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  4. #4

    Benelli M1/M2 vs Beretta 1301

    Quote Originally Posted by MSparks909 View Post

    One of the main reasons I moved to Beretta besides the gas system is the recoil spring on the Beretta is around the magazine tube, where on the M1/2 SBE 1/2/3 the recoil spring is inside the stock. Not a big deal on a HD/3-Gun shotgun, but on a duck hunting gun that *will* get dropped in the water at some point, I wanted something I could easily maintain without having to break the stock apart to swap the spring. I know more than a few guys who neglected to care for their recoil springs that had issues over a 2-3 year period with failures to feed and such; broke the guns down and the recoil springs were rusted and broken into pieces but you couldn't tell that from a standard field strip. I also hunt brackish/salt marsh nearly every hunt, so I wanted something I could easily break down and rinse with fresh water. Hence why I'm a Beretta guy now.

    Hope this helps.
    This x10! The bolt return spring wrapped around the mag tube instead of in the stock is an excellent feature. It's one of the features that made the old 391 Extremas the most dependable and robust of all hunting guns.

    With that being said, I don't think the new Berettas quite measure up to the old 391 series. I am not a fan of how the bolt is welded to the carrier flat bar thingy that slides back and forth in the receiver grooves. 2 cases of 3" steel shot last season and one of the welds already broke. Plus many of the things that were steel parts on the 391 are now El Plastico.

    Still a fine gun, but if you're accustomed to shooting a Benelli, I'd buy another Benelli.




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    Last edited by Crews; 04-28-2017 at 07:52 AM.

  5. #5
    Member Buckshot's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MSparks909 View Post
    One of the main reasons I moved to Beretta besides the gas system is the recoil spring on the Beretta is around the magazine tube, where on the M1/2 SBE 1/2/3 the recoil spring is inside the stock. Not a big deal on a HD/3-Gun shotgun, but on a duck hunting gun that *will* get dropped in the water at some point, I wanted something I could easily maintain without having to break the stock apart to swap the spring. I know more than a few guys who neglected to care for their recoil springs that had issues over a 2-3 year period with failures to feed and such; broke the guns down and the recoil springs were rusted and broken into pieces but you couldn't tell that from a standard field strip. I also hunt brackish/salt marsh nearly every hunt, so I wanted something I could easily break down and rinse with fresh water. Hence why I'm a Beretta guy now.
    Truth! - I get 1 or 2 Benellis in every Duck season with rotten innards needing R&R. There are improved aftermarket recoil assemblies rendered in stainless available for the Benelli, but my duck hunting clientele never seems to want to spring for "improved".

    The Beretta is also much easier on the shoulder if that matters to you.

  6. #6
    Member JHC's Avatar
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    Odd that this was such a short thread given the intense forum traffic around shotties now. So I am bumping it because I've been scouring hundreds of pages of other awesome threads for this head to head match up.
    “Remember, being healthy is basically just dying as slowly as possible,” Ricky Gervais

  7. #7
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    Ive shot a 1301 and an M2 SP pretty heavily. My primary interest is gaming so that of course colours my impressions.

    The 1301 is softer shooting, it shoots a touch faster ( I couldn't outrun the action like I can a M2) and they shoot slugs particularly well.

    The M2 mounts faster and reloads quicker. It also transitions better for me, and in a game where we very rarely shoot the same target twice that's more important to me than the slightly quicker shot to shot speed of the 1301. I
    My M2 has proven slightly more reliable than my 1301 but honestly they're both Glock reliable. That said I feed them decent ammo which helps I am sure.

    The biggest reason I sold my 1301 was a lack of local support and an inability to get spares. If that wasn't part of the pictureIi would still have it. If I lived somewhere I could have a semi auto shotgun for home defense it would likely be a 21" 1301 comp, for IPSC shotgun I prefer the M2SP, but they're close enough that I could swap the purposes around and be a happy boy.
    Welcome to Africa, bring a hardhat.

  8. #8
    I'd flip the question and ask; Reasons you can think of to go 1301 over M1/M2?

    In my opinion the Beretta semi-auto's have a few characteristics that negatively impact how the gun handles out of the box. I do like the Benelli form factor / handling characteristics and consider the M1/M2 my favorite semi-auto shotgun platform.

  9. #9
    The R in F.A.R.T RevolverRob's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by 36trap View Post
    I'd flip the question and ask; Reasons you can think of to go 1301 over M1/M2?

    In my opinion the Beretta semi-auto's have a few characteristics that negatively impact how the gun handles out of the box. I do like the Benelli form factor / handling characteristics and consider the M1/M2 my favorite semi-auto shotgun platform.
    Just curious, what are those characteristics?



    I have no horse in this fight, I still use an 870. But at some point in the next 6-months or so, I’ll probably buy a semi-auto 12. And the choice for me is basically an LTT 1301, Benelli M2, or Benelli M4. And I lean towards the gas guns because of reduced recoil.

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by RevolverRob View Post
    Just curious, what are those characteristics?
    Beretta semi-auto's have a tall, bulky receiver, and place the gas / recoil system between the shooters hands. It results in a gun that lacks a quick or snappy feel when shouldering the gun or transitioning between targets.

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