Ando Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 I have one of the first Versamax synthetics that came out. It came with the original Remington quality bent barrel. Remington sent me a free replacement and let me keep the bent one. I chopped the bendy barrel down to the straight part at 22" and sent it out to Carlson for thread in choke install. Got the Carbon full length tube and Nordic extension. Taran Tact Lifter, Redneck Tact bolt release extension, Benelli hammer, cam pin, and springs to replace the battered originals. I even installed a Fast Fire Speed Bead. I love how reliable this gun is. I've shot about 2500 shells through this thing without a single failure. RIo, Estate, Cheepo Win, Roll crimp, star crimp, shells that have jammed and deformed in other guns, it shoots them all. I know that is not very many, but my peers all shoot 930JMs, SLPs, and SX3s. So the VM's reliability has been a real point of pride for me. I treat it just like my ARs. No cleaning, just shoot some more oil on occasionally. I only shoot in local club matches, and we are not real shotgun heavy, usually only a shotgun pistol stage with 5 or 6 steels to knock down then transition to a lot more pistol targets. I recently got an MKA 1919, and I have come to find out I really enjoy shooting this gun way more then the VM. It is so light, it is very easy for me to get on target and, more important, to transition between targets rapidly. How I use the gun, the 1919 is just way faster and more intuitive for me then the VM. This is especially pronounced with clay shooting. With red dots on both guns I am much better getting on target and tracking clays with the lighter gun. So, I will probably sell the VM and all its cool extras and have to find a traditional pattern, tube mag, light shotgun. I really like the looks of the Benelli tactical 18". I don't need a lot of capacity, so the 5-6 +1 is enough. Is the M2 really as light as it says? What other good, light, fast handling, reliable choices are out there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billdozer Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 Beretta 1301 tactical, all the Benelli reliability, none of the recoil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ando Posted April 23, 2015 Author Share Posted April 23, 2015 Does anybody know what the 21" 1301 weighs? The 1919 is about 6.75 and the recoil for me is very nice on that gun, I think due to the straight line AR style stock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhill Posted April 24, 2015 Share Posted April 24, 2015 If you want the best, most reliable shotgun in the sport you cant beat the M2. Inertia driven and no gas system to worry about keeping clean. The 1301 is a close second. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wild Gene Posted April 26, 2015 Share Posted April 26, 2015 Holy Smokes Derek, your dad just told me it was the Versa Max two weeks and $1,700 ago! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonytheTiger Posted April 26, 2015 Share Posted April 26, 2015 Does anybody know what the 21" 1301 weighs? The 1919 is about 6.75 and the recoil for me is very nice on that gun, I think due to the straight line AR style stock. Just weighed mine, 7lbs even with a Nordic +5 tube on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonytheTiger Posted April 26, 2015 Share Posted April 26, 2015 If you want the best, most reliable shotgun in the sport you cant beat the M2. Inertia driven and no gas system to worry about keeping clean. The 1301 is a close second.Agreed 100%. In my opinion there's only two shotgun's to even consider for this sport. Do they recoil a bit harder than all the competitors? Yup. Do they both run and run and run? Yes sir. Does that reliability require a bunch of part swapping and tweaking and filing and bending right out of the box? No it does not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhill Posted April 26, 2015 Share Posted April 26, 2015 (edited) Im a M2 fan. Hes a Versamax fan. The VM can be a great reliable gun if you swap out the hammer, cam pin, extractor with M2 parts. The Remington parts are soft and wear quickly. I was speaking from a reliability stand point. The M2 and 1301 need no parts swapped to be very reliable. The VM has to be upgraded to achieve the same reliability. It all comes down to personal preference and budget. The M2 is a little more expensive than the Versamax. I actually own both the VM and the M2 and enjoy shooting them both. Edited April 26, 2015 by dhill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hgr2 Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 Derek, The V-max you did for me works great, the operator seems to be the weakest link in the system so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wild Gene Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 Well Derek, I don't know exactly what all you guys did to my Versa Max, but I love it! Had its first real match today and it was flawless. It was a joy to shoot compared to my FN. Bigger safety, bolt release, trigger guard. Good trigger, WAY easier to load, and a better center of balance. That said, Ando, if you want a Benelli, get it. Hell, I admit, even with this great VM, I get M2 envy. They are very light, and very dependable. You can't go wrong! wg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhill Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 Worked a little magic on it. Im glad you are happy with it. Most of the shooters who get a VM are happy with them. If you shoot a lot, I would suggest swapping out the parts I mentioned above. If you have any questions feel free to call. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ando Posted April 27, 2015 Author Share Posted April 27, 2015 That's what I had to do to mine after only 2000 rds. Cam pin and hammer were definitely getting battered. I wonder where the failure is..... The Benelli design is obviously solid, with years of production and a history of high round count guns. Did Remington specify a softer part and fail to test or consider the repercussions? Or is there just a lack of QC that allows softer parts into guns? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willz Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 I have both a VM worked by a local smith and a TTI M2. I wanted to like the VM since it shoots soft but it is heavy and does not shoot POA. The M2 is much lighter, handles much quicker and it dead on with slugs out to 100 yards. I haven't shot the VM enough to break anything but the complaint I hear as stated above certain parts just aren't as durable as the M2. It says a lot when the weakest parts in the VM are recommended to be changed out with Benelli parts. I'm waiting for TTI to perfect their VM mods and then I'll sent it in to get the works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gng4life Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 I had two M2's and I had problems with them so the reliability is not 100% like most claim it to be. They were small problems but always seemed to crop up at a match. I sold them and got the VM and sent them to Benny. They both run great but slug POI is off (but it was off with the M2s also just not as bad), even with the XS rear sight and Dawson front sight. The recoil feels like about half of what the M2 was so it feels like successive shots are faster for me. I just need to get the slugs shooting better and it will be great. These did have the hammer, cam, extractor changed out also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ando Posted April 28, 2015 Author Share Posted April 28, 2015 Forgot about the extractor.... Guess I should get one of those ordered up.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billdozer Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 I'll throw the Browning a5 hat into the ring. I've got about 400 rounds through mine so far and have been nothing but impressed. They don't need much work out of the box and the auto load is awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkCO Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 If you want a lighter shotgun, M2 is the one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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