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Issue with new 1301 Comp


harleyfan

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Hello everyone, first post here. I have a brand new Beretta 1301 comp with a 5 round Nordic extension. When I fire the shotgun it ejects the spent shell fine, loads another round on top of the follower but closes on an empty chamber. You can look in the loading port and see the round sitting on top of the follower. If you cycle the bolt, the shell will load into the chamber and fire just fine and then just do the same thing again. I have tried a variety of 2 3/4 birdshot and I still have the same problem. If I hold the shotgun against my shoulder with all my strength (and I mean so hard that I can barely move the gun) it will cycle OK. If I do not hold it very tightly it will not cycle correctly. I shot a friends 1301 and it shot just fine, not matter how I held it. Not sure what is going on here. Any help would be much appreciated. I have cleaned and lubed it twice, still same problems.

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Harleyfan,

How many total rounds do you have through it? If only a few you might want to try some heavy loads and if they cycle fine, run a box or two of them through it to break it in. This can be a cheap and easy fix if it is just a little tight being new. If it will not cycle heavy loads then it would be time to look into it deeper.

Also, when you added the nordic extension do you have approximately 12 + inches of mag spring past the end of the extended mag tube? Some times similar problems can occur if the rounds are not coming out the mag tube fast enough or with enough force.

Hope this helps,

Jeff

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Thank you Jeff,

I will try your suggestion and see if that helps. I wondered if there might be a little too much pressure on the recoil spring, so some heavy loads might help to break that in. The gun has less than 100 rounds through it (most of those bolt action). I am also storing it with the bolt locked back, hoping that might soften that spring a little. I have tried it with a variety of magazine spring lengths (currently 12in past end of tube.

Thank you very much for you reply and suggestions!

Keith

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Harleyfan,

How many total rounds do you have through it? If only a few you might want to try some heavy loads and if they cycle fine, run a box or two of them through it to break it in. This can be a cheap and easy fix if it is just a little tight being new. If it will not cycle heavy loads then it would be time to look into it deeper.

Also, when you added the nordic extension do you have approximately 12 + inches of mag spring past the end of the extended mag tube? Some times similar problems can occur if the rounds are not coming out the mag tube fast enough or with enough force.

Hope this helps,

Jeff

This is good advice! My new 1301 Comp would not cycle lighter 1145 fps 7 1/2's at all. I ran a box of 7 1/2 1350 fps Estate loads through it with no issues. I switched back to the 1145's and it has run perfectly since. Probably 800 rounds since then with zero trouble. Not sure what it was because my friend was breaking in his 1301 at the same time and his had no issue from the first shell. I hope this does the trick for you as the 1301 is a wonderful gun, love mine. I also polished the nose of the shell stop before I fired it for the first time but I don't think that was necessary. I think I was just twitchy from trying to get a JM Pro to run properly before changing to the 1301.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Still shooting the Beretta 1301. The problem is getting better. Shot a couple of rounds of skeet yesterday and only had one fail to extract. I am lubricating it with a little white lithium grease on the frame rails and the lever that actuates the shell carrier. There is a lot of resistance when the bolt travels to the rear to activate the shell carrier. The grease seems to help this quite a bit. I think all will be fine after a little more break-in time. It is strange that some of these guns run fine out of the box and some need to be slapped around a little before they will cooperate!

One other thing; I added some weight inside the stock (rolled up nickels). I don't know if this helped, but it is running better.

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Where you able to run the goose loads through it before you shot the rounds of skeet? It sounds like it is getting better for and I hope it continues that way. I do run mine pretty wet but at this point it has had about 2K of birdshot through it, 2 cases of full power slugs and the assorted low velocity slugs and a few prairie storms and it will run low velocity 7/8 oz loads too.

Good Luck,

Jeff

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Make sure you lube the shaft that connects the bolt to the bolt carrier - you can't see it when the bolt is forward. That area got dry on mine and I had a single shot shotgun until I lubed it up. The spot I am referring to is in the pic below - its the smaller silver shaft just behind the bolt face that goes into the bolt carrier

Beretta-1301-Tactical-12-Gauge-Shotgun-_

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I've been running mine with just some rem oil spray and I have been able to easily run 1 oz 1180 fps sporting loads through it. And I just spray it with the bolt open around the inside, wipe a little excess. Rack it a few times. Close it and spray down the bolt carrier and bolt and then behind the carrier through the bold handle slot then rack it a few more times. And then it's good to go. I have about 2200 roads through mine this summer and it only coughs when I tried some 7/8 oz 1060 fps stuff for my over/under

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  • 2 weeks later...

Still shooting the 1301. If I run 1 1/8 ounce 3 1/4 dram #8 shot, I have no malfunctions. I shot a couple of boxes of Winchester AA 7 1/2 1290 feet per second and it will fail to cycle five or six times per box. Usually it will just fail to lock open on last shot. I wish someone made a reduced power recoil spring for light loads.

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All I run is 1oz 2-3/4dr 1145fps loads through my 1301. For the first few boxes, when new, I would get an occasional FTE. Since the original break-in, the gun has run flawlessly -- not a single issue. I'm not much for cleaning it either -- usually every 4-5 cases or so.

I actually take the bolt out of the carrier, wipe it down, and lube it. All you have to do is push out the firing pin retainer, pull the firing pin, and the cam pin will fall out. That lets you clean and lube the neck of the bolt and the camming surfaces.

Edited by ironeyes
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Sorry for a bit of thread hijacking. I've got a +5 Nordic & spring on an otherwise almost stock (polished the shell latch a bit) 1301. Haven't been doing much practice lately due to some outside circumstances and I noticed that the follower seems to be binding when there's 6-8 shells left in the tube. The spring's still pretty new, though it has sat for a few months. A good whack seems to un-bind the follower.

Is it an issue that needs to be solved via a new spring and/or a low drag follower? If it goes away under recoil, should I count it as "good enough" for now?

Edited by attakmint
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After playing around with it a bit last night, I've noticed that the follower does drag a bit right where the threads on the tube right past the forearm are. Does anybody else's do this? Should I put some graphite here or hit it with some 1000 grit or something?

Edited by attakmint
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After playing around with it a bit last night, I've noticed that the follower does drag a bit right where the threads on the tube right past the forearm are. Does anybody else's do this? Should I put some graphite here or hit it with some 1000 grit or something?

Take the tubes apart and look, more like feel for any slight burrs. I bet there is a slight burr you need to polish out with some 400-600 sand paper. I use a shot of PB Blaster Dry Lube in the tube, just a quick blast in the tube.

I have the stock follower with 2 5 rd tubes together and the Shooter's source HD spring. Never gives me a bit of trouble.

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After playing around with it a bit last night, I've noticed that the follower does drag a bit right where the threads on the tube right past the forearm are. Does anybody else's do this? Should I put some graphite here or hit it with some 1000 grit or something?

Take the tubes apart and look, more like feel for any slight burrs. I bet there is a slight burr you need to polish out with some 400-600 sand paper. I use a shot of PB Blaster Dry Lube in the tube, just a quick blast in the tube.

I have the stock follower with 2 5 rd tubes together and the Shooter's source HD spring. Never gives me a bit of trouble.

Feels more like it's just a narrower diameter, kind of like a forcing cone or something. I took it apart and both with my fingers and visually there's no burrs. The follower slides down the tube, both the extension and the factory, with no drag until it gets to the threaded section.

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After playing around with it a bit last night, I've noticed that the follower does drag a bit right where the threads on the tube right past the forearm are. Does anybody else's do this? Should I put some graphite here or hit it with some 1000 grit or something?

Take the tubes apart and look, more like feel for any slight burrs. I bet there is a slight burr you need to polish out with some 400-600 sand paper. I use a shot of PB Blaster Dry Lube in the tube, just a quick blast in the tube.

I have the stock follower with 2 5 rd tubes together and the Shooter's source HD spring. Never gives me a bit of trouble.

Feels more like it's just a narrower diameter, kind of like a forcing cone or something. I took it apart and both with my fingers and visually there's no burrs. The follower slides down the tube, both the extension and the factory, with no drag until it gets to the threaded section.

Try a flapper wheel or ball hone in the threaded areas, use a fine paper. The threads look like cut thread, not a rolled thread. Rolled threads would cause a slight shrink of the I.D.

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