When I bought my 1301 from the NYC Beretta store, I specifically asked the gunsmith if it was drop safe.
He poked around inside with dental picks for a while and declared that he thought it was.
I am not sure if this is considered a "reliable test" so I am waiting for other opinions.
That sounds like a definitive test! Sheesh.Originally Posted by nycnoob
Not sure if my thoughts are needed at this point, but... here I am.
The examples posted by nycnoob are also consistent with what I've heard from a couple of instructors, as well as a handful of word of mouth stories over the years, mostly from hunters. It's quite possible this issue has been addressed with some of the newer models, but considering how many old 12 gauge pumps are out there in people's closets, it seemed best to offer the more cautious advice to the masses.
I called Beretta about this a few weeks back and talked to one of their technical customer service reps. He told me the 1301's safety is a simple trigger block like most shotguns, but that the gun would have to be dropped from "a very great height" in order to discharge. He seemed comfortable suggesting the 1301 is functionally drop safe even though it may not fit the strict technical definition of the term. I don't know if that's a whole lot better than the "dental pick test", but take it for what it's worth.
The guy from Lucky Gunner
ok thanks! I didn't know that
I'll wager you a PF dollar™ 😎
The lunatics are running the asylum
I'm glad my post concerning a shotgun's discharge by dropping has generated some discussion and illumination on the subject. There was an incident of one going off through the roof of a Sheriff's cruiser while I was dating the Sheriff's daughter which I heard all about at the time it happened, so I've known about this possibility for decades.
So, if due to this issue, you keep the shotgun with a clear chamber just when do you rack it? Mine is kept proped against the nitestand and picking it up is accompanied by a quick pump to the floor and driving a round home when it's picked up. I suppose it is possible to do this quietly but I don't do that, preferring to aggressively chamber a round for a positive lock-up.
Digiroc
After he fired the second and third shot at you, did you get the idea it might not have been an accident?
Likes pretty much everything in every caliber.
I keep my home shotgun "cruiser ready" as well due to the way it's stored. I do this for two reasons.
1) Its stored in an in-wall safe and if it were to somehow fall out it would fall enough where I'm concerned about an inertia discharge. The in wall unit also stores other valuables and my wife accesses it fairly routinely. I'm more concerned with an AD from a fall then I am being killed in the streetz (hallway?) due to having to rack it to get it functional.
2) It's how I carry my shotgun in my patrol car and how I train with it at our range. I am used to racking the shotgun upon first preparing it for use. I'm probably going to rack it anyway if I'm under stress and revert to training.
My shotgun is not my HOLY SHIT I NEED IT RIGHT NOW gun. I've got time to rack it if it's what I went for.
With recent attacks on officer's homes I'm transitioning to a rifle for my home defense anyway as the liklihood of having to fire longer distances and having to then penetrate auto body panels or safety glass are becoming more of a concern.
Coming in for lunch the news is about another Police department under attack in Louisiana. This is terrible what those who protect and serve have to deal with now. I fear there will be more of these types of assaults against our men in blue.
I bought my Ruger SR762 as a cure for drive by shootings. The guys who I thought might try that out on me are thankfully back in jail now so for me that threat is lessened. They plea bargained out of the jail time they deserved and when I found that out I told the DA "now I've got to start carrying a gun when they get out." They weren't out long before they violated their parole and got sent back.
Digiroc
Regarding shotguns being drop safe -- I've always been pretty retentive when hunting to un-chamber a shotgun if it's not in my hands, and of course when traversing bad terrain.
I remember reading this article from Mas Ayoob (also a member here) back in 2003:
Remember that no shotguns have internal firing pin locks. This means that if a shell is in the chamber and the gun is struck sharply against a hard object at either muzzle or butt end, inertia can cause the firing pin to bounce forward against its spring and unintentionally fire the shotgun.
This is why shotguns in police cars are ALWAYS kept with loaded magazines but empty firing chambers. For the same reasons, a shotgun stored loaded in the home for family defense should be a magazine-type weapon kept with its firing chamber empty. It is customary to hunt with rounds in the guns’ chambers, and this is why the “Ten Commandments of Firearms Safety” for hunters includes admonitions to unload the gun and set it down before crossing fences, and to always keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction.
http://www.backwoodshome.com/firearm...g-refresher-2/
I thought that at least some of the Mossberg pumps were drop safe. The ones used as military weapons.
- It's not the odds, it's the stakes.
- If you aren't dry practicing every week, you're not serious.....
- "Tache-Psyche Effect - a polite way of saying 'You suck.' " - GG
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