Beretta 1301 Shotgun Tips and Tricks

This article is a summary of some of the tips and tricks that I have learned in using the Beretta 1301. The 1301 is my home defense shotgun and the weapon I would choose in a short range fight. My 1301 is fast, reliable, extremely accurate, and with Federal LE133 buckshot it has an effective buckshot range of 30 yards with all pellets striking within an eight-inch circle.

The Pins

One of the most important tips I have learned concerning using a Beretta 1301 is courtesy of George A Curry, II who I met at a SymTac Advanced Shotgun course. George and I discussed a malfunction that he had with his Beretta 1301 during a different class. The Magazine Cutoff Spring Pin on his Beretta 1301 shotgun began to work its way out of the receiver. This tiny but crucial roll pin is horizontally oriented and serves to hold the Cartridge Latch/Magazine Cutoff Pin in place, 90° vertically above it. The Cartridge Latch/Magazine Cutoff Pin secures the cartridge latch and the magazine cut-off in place in the shotgun receiver. When the Magazine Cutoff Spring Pin slipped out far enough, the Cartridge Latch/Magazine Cutoff Pin came out. This allowed the Cartridge Latch Assembly to move inward and jam against the Shell Carrier (preventing it from moving upward) thereby rendering the shotgun inoperable. George suspected that the Magazine Cutoff Spring Pin diameter was undersized causing it to slip out.

I personally have not had this happen with my 1301 shotguns; however, now I always check this pin to ensure it is not protruding from the receiver. The pins are cheap and Midwest Gunworks sells them (part numbers C97038 and C92168 respectively). The shipping costs more than the pins.

A Light and Laser

I have been teaching low light classes and running low light competitive matches (as the Match Director) since 2014 and have learned a few things. Having a light and laser on your home defense shotgun is very helpful. The light helps you identify targets (you can point the muzzle down and still get enough light for identification without violating firearms rule #3). The laser allows you to engage targets with your head held a bit higher on the stock rather than looking at a dot or fixed sights on the gun. You look at the target and the laser on the target. This improves your visual awareness concerning what the target is doing as well as what is around and behind the target. If you look closely at the target in the picture below, you can see the green laser dot on the target at thirty yards--even with the light on. The sun had just gone down when this picture was taken.

Zeroing a laser is not as straight forward as zeroing a scope or red dot. Rather than elevation and windage, lasers (at least in my experience) tend to move on an “X” and “Y” axis. This is somewhat counter intuitive for most of us and is exacerbated if the laser sight is mounted on the side or under the shotgun’s forearm—sometimes a bit of tinkering is involved. Zero with slugs and then check the zero with your buckshot.

My first light/laser combo was the Olight Baldr Pro R rechargeable light with a green laser. I needed a light for my home defense shotgun to replace a SureFire® light that was on the gun that had a fragile plastic latch that frequently failed due to (I suspect) the light’s inability to handle the shotgun’s recoil. Although SureFire® replaced the plastic latch, they only sent one at a time so no spares on hand. The light was down until it arrived.

The Baldr Pro R had a remote switch and worked great until it didn’t. The light failed and would not take a charge after several sessions with the shotgun. I then tried the Fenix GL23R which worked just fine; however, it does not have a remote switch. Activating/deactivating this light with my thumb while engaging targets during training or a competition proved very problematic. I finally settled on a SureFire® X400UH with a green laser. A much more expensive option; however, my experience with SureFire® products is that they generally are very rugged and reliable.

Cable Management

Cable management with the Baldr Pro R was easy since it was a flat cable and, due to the design, the switch did not come off the light during firing. When I installed the SureFire® X400UH, cable management became more of an issue due to its design. The remote cable was too long for my application, so I purchased a pressure switch cable management kit for the M-LOK/Picatinny Rail on Amazon.* I installed it and was satisfied with the result until I went to the range. The small M-LOK cable guide shifted under recoil and literally pulled the remote switch connector from the X400UH. Not good. I adjusted the cable routing and moved the cable guide fully forward in the M-LOK slot so when the shotgun recoils, the M-LOK cannot move.

 

The 1301 Gas Valve

The 1301’s gas system diverts some of the propellant gases to cycle the action and the ingenious design bleeds excess gas out of the gas cylinder which compresses the gas valve spring, thereby dissipating excess energy. The Beretta gas system spreads part of the recoil impulse over a longer period instead of delivering it all at once. Compared with pump or semi-automatic inertia-operated shotguns, many shooters perceive the Beretta as having a smoother recoil pulse. Beretta's gas system cycles very quickly and reliably and functions across a wide range of ammunition. The only load that I have personally encountered that does not function in the 1301 is the Winchester AA Low Recoil/Low Noise target round at 980 feet per second with a 0.917 ounce shot payload—this is an extremely light load.

The 1301 Gas System

Beretta’s position on the 1301’s gas cylinder is that it is self-cleaning—mine are not. I noticed that some of the exhaust holes in my 1301’s gas cylinder were blocked (see red arrows below) and set out to clean them. Scraping the holes with a dental pick did remove some of the lead buildup, but by no means all of it.

I did some research and discovered a video on the practical-shotgun.com website demonstrating how to strip and clean the gas valve assembly. I tried to replicate the device the practical-shotgun video demonstrated. My device compressed the spring; however, I realized that recompressing the spring was going to be very challenging if not impossible with the tools I have so I did not remove the spring. The practical-shotgun video shows disassembly, but it does not show how to put it back together. It turns out that the gas valve spring is extremely heavy and very difficult to recompress as you reassemble the gas valve system.

I had my device modified (see picture above) and with some extreme care I was able to disassemble, clean, and reassemble the gas valve. Feel free to comment if you have thoughts about cleaning the gas valve assembly.  

 

Safety note: As stated above, this spring is extremely heavy. My first disassembly attempt resulting in the spring departing the gas valve assembly in an uncontrolled manner. I strongly suggest you do not try this. If you do, you do so at your own risk. Do not allow ANY part of your body to be in front of the spring during disassembly or reassembly. Always wear eye protection. If this spring hits you in the eye it WILL result in serious injury.

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* Cable management: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FVFSPYZL?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_dt_b_product_details