It seems the 1301 and the Benelli M4 are the hive-mind's choice for shotgun. I shoot both and completely agree these are pretty tough to beat. The M4 is a bit heavy, the 1301 quite a bit lighter, and both are softer to shoot than the old M2 of course.
However, if you want really light weight the M2 Benelli is kind of nice. Have I missed something where the M2 is no longer a first class choice?
My minimalist M2 (ComforTech/standard mag tube/no optics) runs low recoil loads reliably and is within my felt recoil tolerance levels. Within those limits what factor am I missing here? Maybe the M2 is just last decades news?