Buyer’s regret with the LTT upgrades for 1301…?

[dogcaller]

I have a Gen 2 1301. I would have purchased the whole thing from LTT but they weren’t available at the time and I was impatient.

I love the gun and recently purchased the LTT Upgrade Kit: Kit

I’m really surprised by the weight of the Magpul stock—it seems heavy, and I’m guessing it is considerably heavier than the factory stock. My understanding is that the virtue of the Magpul is the ability to shorten the LOP. Do I have that right? I love the weight and the way the stock gun handles. Compared to my Benelli M1 S90 that the Beretta will be replacing, the stock feels short—and great.

As with the M1, this gun will be used for the occasional coyote hunt, hopefully a shotgun class, hung on a tree for bear duty when (remote) camping, and the long-predicted zombie apocalypse, of course.

I recently read a post from @TCinVA saying that it’s best to stick with the stock follower. I’d like to plus up the mag tube and another post said that the tube clamps probably aren’t even needed…. It’s too late for me to return the kit, but I might be better off selling the LTT kit to someone here and just buying a tube extension—or am I missing something? What say the shotgun cognoscenti?


Edited to fix typo.

[TCinVA]

The Magpul stock is likely a little heavier than the factory stock. The primary virtue is getting a shorter length of pull and a little bit better wrist angle on the stock. The shorter LOP seems minor until you handle it, then the virtues scream at you. I thought it was nice but not necessary until I got some time on one, then I installed the Aridus adapter and SGA on both my 1301 shotguns ASAP. If you're taller than the average person the shorter LOP might not matter very much to you. The GG&G stock adapter robs you of some of the LOP shortening benefit versus the Aridus.

Stick with the factory follower. The Aridus follower is working great so far, but factory is a known quantity.

Personally I can't stand the GG&G side saddle. I find it to be a hateful contraption, but I also shoot a lot from the left shoulder. That hard corner on the thing drives right into my left trigger finger's knuckle. What I do isn't necessarily what everybody does. But the only side saddles I use are either the Vang Comp shell cards or the Aridus QDC.

I don't use the magazine clamp on my shotguns because I disassemble them frequently for demo and for lubrication. (I also didn't care for the finish wear on the barrel.) The clamp gets in the way of that. My guns live in a safe, then go into a case, then go on the range where they are shot a bunch, then back to the case and back to the safe. Absent something spectacularly unusual, my guns aren't encountering a situation where the magazine tube is likely to be bent. If you intend to go out into the woods with your shotgun that calculus might need to be different. You have a much higher chance of snagging the magazine on something when you're carrying it around in the woods. You may want to consider using the magazine tube clamp, just put some compressible high temp rubber or something between the tube and the barrel if you want to avoid wear marks from the clamp on the barrel.

I have specific reasons why I have my guns set up the way that I do. Those reasons may not translate to your circumstances or situation automatically, so set your gun up for your most likely use cases.

If you don't want what's in the kit, moving it to someone who does is a good idea. But that's not something I can determine for you.

[RevolverRob]

For mag tube clamp - I like heat shrink wrap - like you'd use on wires. It is highly heat resistant and you can slide it over the tines of a clamp and clamp it down.

SGA is awesome once you feel how it works. It drops the primary hand down in a way that you're better able to keep the gun upright with less strength when doing weak hand reloads.

[Dorsai]

For me, the LOP on the Magpul stock is not significantly better than the OEM stock. I like both for LOP. There are a couple of advantages to the Magpul. AD sling swivels (at additional cost), and fixed sling loops on both sides. The OEM stock has a QD swivel on the bottom (not a QD socket) and if you want a QD socket on the side for a tactical sling, there is some work involved. There is another advantage and that's the angle of the wrist. No chance you'll smack yourself in the lip under recoil. You need to make your own choice whether it is worth the weight and cost.

[Pnut]

Another advantage with the SGA is the adjustable cheek weld if your running any sort of optic.

[Centerfire]

I have a Gen 2 1301. I would have purchased the whole thing from LTT but they weren’t available at the time and I was impatient.

I love the gun and recently purchased the LTT Upgrade Kit: Kit

I’m really surprised by the weight of the Magpul stock—it seems heavy, and I’m guessing it is considerably heavier than the factory stock. My understanding is that the virtue of the Magpul is the ability to shorten the LOP. Do I have that right? I love the weight and the way the stock gun handles. Compared to my Benelli M1 S90 that the Beretta will be replacing, the stock feels short—and great.

As with the M1, this gun will be used for the occasional coyote hunt, hopefully a shotgun class, hung on a tree for bear duty when (remote) camping, and the long-predicted zombie apocalypse, of course.

I recently read a post from @TCinVA saying that it’s best to stick with the stock follower. I’d like to plus up the mag tube and another post said that the tube clamps probably aren’t even needed…. It’s too late for me to return the kit, but I might be better off selling the LTT kit to someone here and just buying a tube extension—or am I missing something? What say the shotgun cognoscenti?


Edited to fix typo.

My vote is to sell off the parts you don't want. At this point I have bought every aftermarket part available for the 2nd+ Gen 1301T with a couple of exceptions. I like the Aridus/GGG Zukov handguard and Magpul stock, the rest of what comes in the kit is in my spare parts bin.