I just bought one, picking it up this week. I already own an 870-based AOW, which is a lousy HD firearm since you can't brace it against your shoulder, sight down the barrel easily, etc.
Shooting it at the range a lot though has shown me that short stroking is a thing. I can only imagine with the adrenaline boost in a life or death situation, that short stroking could become a hindrance
to staying alive. I was hot on the Mossberg 930 SPX for a while, seems like a great HD shotgun. But based upon the range testing, YT videos and threads I've read from owners, would I
stake my life on the reliability of that action? Not me, I see too many FTF and FTEs from 930 SPX users and it seems a bit pickier about the ammo that it likes.
And in these days of very limited availability of the exact ammo you want, I felt compelled so look for a more reliable 12ga semi auto that can digest whatever ammo I can get a hold of reliably.
The Benelli M4 is obviously a top notch semi-auto tactical shotgun but it's expensive ($2k and you'd possibly sink another $500 to $800 on outfitting it the way you want it), it's relatively heavy
too. The Beretta 1301 Tactical was the obvious place to go. I have not shot it yet and I like to shoot guns before I buy one, when possible but I didn't know anyone who owns one and my
local ranges don't have them in their rental stock.
I took the plunge, my local dealer had a Gen 2 in FDE on the wall. I have bought several of the Aridus Industries accessories, the Magpul SGA Mossberg stock, and I was lucky enough to score an Aridus RMR Rob Haught CROM yesterday
so I ordered a Holosun HE407K-GR X2 Green Dot Reflex Sight to put onto the Aridus CROM to co-witness with the irons. I also bought the NordicComp Magazine extension to give the 1301 Tactical 7 + 1 magazine capacity.
It remains to be seen until I shoot a few hundred rounds through it if I like it as much as I hope I will, but I am optimistic that it will be a good choice for an HD shotgun.
I'm an NRA Shotgun instructor so I don't anticipate recoil will be an issue for me and supposedly the 1301 T is fairly soft shooting with most loads other then 3" Magnums, which I wouldn't use for HD
as I don't think my physical layout and distances would benefit from heavy loads. The 1301 Tactical, at least on paper and handling it at my local shop, seems to check all of my boxes for what I was
looking for in an HD shotgun. Of course, lots of people are happy using a pump gun for HD. The reality is if you train a lot, you can make almost any shotgun work as a decent HD firearm but I
wanted to buy once, cry once so I bought the shotgun I really wanted rather than trying others that were pump or lower cost semi autos. I love semi autos, I've used them for clays, but I always had
concerns about feeding reliability. It remains to be seen if the Beretta Blink system will meet my expectations.
I'll report back here once I get it all accessorized and to the range. My firearms goal for 2022 is to take at least one multi-day tactical shotgun course so once I have it all up and running, I'll begin looking for
the best tactical shotgun course for my needs and budget.
