1301 Comp vs Tactical for M2 Tactical Replacement

[Toonces]

I'm looking to purchase a replacement for a Benelli M2 Tactical. The primary purpose will be a home defense shotgun. Going through the living room and down a hallway through the bathroom, the longest shot inside my house is about 18 yards. I'm trying to balance the indoor HD aspect with something I could potentially get my wife to practice with.

At this stage, I'm pretty much set on a Beretta. The question is 1301 Comp or 1301 Tactical? Regardless of which one I get, it's going to have an Aimpoint mounted. My heart is telling me Comp, but my head is telling me Tactical. I am thoroughly in the paralysis by analysis stage. While the cost of the shotgun is not a showstopper, it is high enough that I'm trying to make the right choice the second time around. The current Benelli will get sold after I have the Beretta in my hands.

To give some idea of my shotgun experience, I have many thousands of rounds through my O/U Skeet gun. I have a lot of rounds (thousands) through various pump and auto "hunting" shotguns. I have about 25 rounds through my Benelli M2 Tactical (18.5", pistol grip, rifle sights, https://www.benelliusa.com/shotguns/...tical-shotguns).

Just looking the M2 and working the action, or in a disassembled state, I am thoroughly impressed with the build quality. However, with regard to shooting, I HATE that gun with a passion, (mainly) due to outsize recoil, pistol grip, and the raised rifle sights. I developed all that HATE in 25 rounds... I WANT to like the M2, it's the "Glock 19" of the semi-auto shotgun world. But I don't like it. I thoroughly dislike it. I would NEVER hand that shotgun to my wife to shoot. I enjoy a marriage that many would envy, and I'm not going to jeopardize it by handing her a shotgun that I feel kicks like a mule. A replacement short "normal" stock is over $400, which is serious money compared to what the gun is worth. I think that stock would make me happier, but it's still a recoil operated shotgun with sights I dislike. That makes me very leery to experiment with a gun that I'm currently in the HATE portion of the relationship. I'm worried that I'm throwing good money after bad. I know many very smart people are going to tell me to "take a class" to learn some recoil control methods and love the M2. I could take the class. My petite 5' 0" wife won't. That's a huge issue for me.

Enter the 1301 Tactical. Massive thread known to anybody on PF that's spent any time in the shotgun forum: https://pistol-forum.com/showthread....-1301-Tactical. If you don't want to read the 3,622 posts in that thread, it's the other "Glock 19" of the shotgun world. It's gas operated and known to have WAY less felt recoil than an M2. And it comes with a "normal" stock (https://www.beretta.com/en-us/1301-tactical/) that GJM considers one of the best. Here is the easy button: https://www.langdontactical.com/ltt-...-2-base-model/ . But either Tactical has the same damn sights as the M2 that I hate. That fixes 2 of my 3 main gripes. But the 1301 Comp (https://www.beretta.com/en-us/1301-comp/) fixes all three of my gripes (recoil, stock, and sights). But, it is longer by 2.5".

There is also the Comp-Pro: https://www.beretta.com/en-us/1301-comp-pro/. I'll gladly pay the $400 price differential between the Comp and Comp-Pro if my wife is more willing to shoot it...but then replacing the stock with a Magpul/Aridus to reduce the LOP defeats the purpose of the Kick-Off system found on the Comp-Pro.

So round and round I go. It's time to make a decision: 1301 Comp, 1301 Comp-Pro, 1301 Tactical, or something else?

Thanks in advance,

Toonces

[GearFondler]

1301 Tactical plus the CROM mount with T1, RMR, or Holosun... That fixes the sights and keeps it as short as possible. The reach might still be too long for your wife, necessitating the Aridus adapter for the Magpul SGA.
If you can afford it, go for the LTT 1301 or build it yourself as budget permits... There's not an accessory on there that doesn't add benefits.
It won't be cheap but it will be worth it.

[farscott]

My experience with my wife and I having only a three-inch height difference is we need different shotgun stocks. The Benelli stock sounds too long for you, so it is likely much too long for your wife. Too long is bad for recoil as your body is set up to be punished by the recoil. While it is easier to deal with a stock that is too short, it is best if each shooter has a gun fit to their body. I transitioned from the 870 to the Benelli M1 with no recoil issues, but I modified the stock to fit me. That change also made the Benelli sights much more comfortable and easy to use.

No doubt a 1301 will shoot "softer" due to the gas operation, but your wife will likely still need a shorter stock than you.

[rob_s]

Are you expecting your wife to shoot it in practice, for games, in training (you kinda already said she won’t take a class) or in a pinch?

If the latter, and she truly shares your belief in a need for a shotgun for defense, she really just needs to know how to Jack a round into the chamber and start pulling the trigger at bad guys, no?

Only somewhat related to your question, but I tangential suggestion...

My wife shot my 870 and thought it was “fun” but I know she’d never go for it in a pinch. However, we’ve been shooting sporting clays and she loves her A390 and has even suggested I replace the 870 with a “home defense” version of her 390 so she would already be familiar with how to use it. This was all her idea, in-printed by me.

So my “all about me” story’s purpose is to suggest that maybe if you can get your wife shooting bird games, the associated low-recoil shells, Togetherness time, and fun factor maybe your quest for a home defense gun will sort itself out. Just buy the ninja version of whatever she’s shooting on the field.

[Toonces]

1301 Tactical plus the CROM mount with T1, RMR, or Holosun... That fixes the sights and keeps it as short as possible. The reach might still be too long for your wife, necessitating the Aridus adapter for the Magpul SGA.
If you can afford it, go for the LTT 1301 or build it yourself as budget permits... There's not an accessory on there that doesn't add benefits.
It won't be cheap but it will be worth it.

Yes, the LTT is the easy button. It’s the front runner in my head. My heart is still pulling for the Comp.

My experience with my wife and I having only a three-inch height difference is we need different shotgun stocks. The Benelli stock sounds too long for you, so it is likely much too long for your wife. Too long is bad for recoil as your body is set up to be punished by the recoil. While it is easier to deal with a stock that is too short, it is best if each shooter has a gun fit to their body. I transitioned from the 870 to the Benelli M1 with no recoil issues, but I modified the stock to fit me. That change also made the Benelli sights much more comfortable and easy to use.

No doubt a 1301 will shoot "softer" due to the gas operation, but your wife will likely still need a shorter stock than you.

I’m 7” taller than my wife. She definitely needs a shorter stock. The adjustability of the Magpup stock wins in this category.

Are you expecting your wife to shoot it in practice, for games, in training (you kinda already said she won’t take a class) or in a pinch?

If the latter, and she truly shares your belief in a need for a shotgun for defense, she really just needs to know how to Jack a round into the chamber and start pulling the trigger at bad guys, no?

Only somewhat related to your question, but I tangential suggestion...

My wife shot my 870 and thought it was “fun” but I know she’d never go for it in a pinch. However, we’ve been shooting sporting clays and she loves her A390 and has even suggested I replace the 870 with a “home defense” version of her 390 so she would already be familiar with how to use it. This was all her idea, in-printed by me.

So my “all about me” story’s purpose is to suggest that maybe if you can get your wife shooting bird games, the associated low-recoil shells, Togetherness time, and fun factor maybe your quest for a home defense gun will sort itself out. Just buy the ninja version of whatever she’s shooting on the field.

My wife shoots 3-4 rounds of sporting clays a year with her 20 Ga Beretta O/U, which she loves. She’s an Engineer, but she isn’t into screwing around with different guns. If I could prove to her that a light load in an auto kicks less than her O/U, MAYBE I could get her to shoot the 1301 occasionally. She’s not taking a class. She wouldn’t be amused if I brought my timer out when she is shooting. I doubt she spends 5 seconds a week thinking about HD. I’d be happy with any willingness to shoot a different shotgun for a start. And that auto has to be light enough for her to easily handle. My O/U for clays is too long and heavy for her to handle properly, even though she acknowledges it kicks less than hers.

[GJM]

For literally decades, I have seen guys obsessing over the details of what gun is right for their girl friend or wife. Despite hours of deliberation, crazy custom projects, and many thousands of dollars, I have yet to see said girl friend or wife actually shoot in a meaningful way, any of these guns. I would say buy whatever YOU want, and they won’t notice the difference. Right now, I am very interested in a 21 inch 1301 Pro Comp, and they are available at reasonable prices on GB.

[Toonces]

For literally decades, I have seen guys obsessing over the details of what gun is right for their girl friend or wife. Despite hours of deliberation, crazy custom projects, and many thousands of dollars, I have yet to see said girl friend or wife actually shoot in a meaningful way, any of these guns. I would say buy whatever YOU want, and they won’t notice the difference. Right now, I am very interested in a 21 inch 1301 Pro Comp, and they are available at reasonable prices on GB.

Good point. Are you going to put a dot on it? If yes, which one?

However, I still don’t know which one I want for me. I’ve never even touched a 1301, as they are not stocked at Cabelas or Scheels. It looks like the Comp and Tactical have the same stock, and the rib on the Comp and sights on the Tactical are very different in height. I would think that would create a cheek weld deficiency with the sights/dots vs the rib.

[GJM]

Good point. Are you going to put a dot on it? If yes, which one?

However, I still don’t know which one I want for me. I’ve never even touched a 1301, as they are not stocked at Cabelas or Scheels. It looks like the Comp and Tactical have the same stock, and the rib on the Comp and sights on the Tactical are very different in height. I would think that would create a cheek weld deficiency with the sights/dots vs the rib.

I would likely mount an aimpoint S1, which places the dot quite low.

[rob_s]

For literally decades, I have seen guys obsessing over the details of what gun is right for their girl friend or wife. Despite hours of deliberation, crazy custom projects, and many thousands of dollars, I have yet to see said girl friend or wife actually shoot in a meaningful way, any of these guns. I would say buy whatever YOU want, and they won’t notice the difference. Right now, I am very interested in a 21 inch 1301 Pro Comp, and they are available at reasonable prices on GB.

that's kind of where I was heading, I just wanted a little more context first.

if she was already shooting then that would be an advantage, which there may be some ability to take advantage of in this case. Perhaps have her try a semi-auto for SC and if she prefers it that could provide some input into the SA ninja shotgun that he buys.

[Super77]

This may or may not be relevant, but supposedly the newer 1301Ts do not come threaded for a choke. This may or may not be the case, I haven't confirmed personally, just something to consider.