I've got both a 21" and 24" 1301. I don't feel like either of them kick very much at all, but I did put LimbSavers on them prior to ever shooting them with the factory pad on. This past weekend, I shot the same course of fire with my 21", a Taran Tactical Benelli M2, and a Mossberg 930JM Pro. By far my 1301 kicked the least of all of them. The TTI M2 cycled the fastest, but it kicked like a mule compared to my 1301. It kicked so much more that it took me off target for follow up shots on the next target. All 3 runs were shot using the same WalMart Federal value pack.