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MOA Stoeger vs Beretta 1301 Comp


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I’m just getting into 3gun and so far have been using either my basic Mossberg 500 or a borrowed TTI M2 (I know - complete opposite ends of the spectrum).  It’s time I got a decent semi-auto shotgun of my own.  Obviously the TTI M2 is sweet and pretty much satisfies all of my criteria, but I would prefer to not spend that much.  For similar money, it looks like one could buy a Stoeger M3000 / M3K and have it worked over my MOA precision or a stock Beretta 1301 Comp with a magazine extension. 

 

The MOA Stoeger would have all the modifications needed for competition and I’m already used to the manual of arms, however, the “M3000 Scattergun” thread has quite a few posts about various issues that worry me.  To be fair, I don’t know if any of the problem guns were tuned by MOA.  One of my biggest requirements is reliability, and ideally, the ability to run even cheap Walmart Winchester or Federal ammo without drama - I’m concerned about the Stoeger being able to do this.  And I should add that I don't have much time or interest in tinkering and chasing issues myself.  

 

From my research, the 1301 has a great reputation for reliability and as a bonus is known to be softer shooting.  My concern is how deep the magazine tube sits in the loading port and how that would hinder the ability to quad load.  There is also a minor concern about 922r compliance with the addition of a magazine tube.  

 

So what do you guys think: MOA Stoeger or 1301 Comp?     

Edited by TalkingMonkey
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I can't speak to the Beretta, since I have no direct experience with it. The only thing I'll say about a direct comparison is a reminder that being "known to be softer shooting" is likely a more generic feature of gas- vs. inertia-operated shotguns in general than anything specific to either the 1301 or the M3K.

 

This is purely anecdotal, but I've been using an M3K for about 4 years now and haven't had any substantial issues in quite some time. I'm not going to lie, it was a little rough when I got it, but after about an afternoon's worth of work, it ran almost 100%. The only issues I saw with it after a bit of judicious filing and polishing were:

1. Failures to extract because I was a moron and mounted a match saver too close to the ejection port, so the spent hull would get hung up on the back of the spare shell. Moved the match saver and no issues since.

2. Failures to extract when using absolute bottom-tier shells that are known to have out-of-spec rims that I've seen plenty of different guns choke on. Any ammo equal to or better than Federal bulk-pack birdshot has run fine.

 

Given that every single thing that I changed on my M3K was something that MOA Precision recommends, I'm certain that they'd be able to turn out a a good gun - certainly much better than the one that I messed with myself. My personal experience is that no gun is going to be 100% ready to go out of the box, and even given that I'm relatively handy and enjoy tinkering with things, I'm not as good at tuning a gun for competition as an actual gunsmith would be.

 

A few months ago, I wound up some extra cash in my pocket and decided to upgrade my shotgun - my budget would allow me to buy a stock Benelli or another M3K and have it worked over by a professional smith. I went with the latter option, and it's been working out for me well enough so far.... So my preference would be to buy a less-nice gun that's been tuned by someone who knows what they're doing over a nicer gun that I'm going to have to do more work on myself.

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Had an opportunity to borrow another friend’s MOA M3K.  The gun seems to run well but recoil is noticeably more firm than the M2 with the Comfortech stock – no surprise there.  What is really annoying, however, is how the Stoeger punches me in the face.  It seems that to correctly align my eye, I need to bury my face into the stock a bit more than the M2 - it definitely doesn’t seem to fit me as well.  I know the Stoeger comes with shims for the stock – would these fix this issue if I decide to buy one?

Edited by TalkingMonkey
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I mean... I guess?

 

The M3K does come with a set of shims that gives you a pretty good range of adjustments for stock drop. I can't say for sure that it'll be sufficient to eliminate the face-punching for you, because I've never had any issues with it myself. Other people I've loaned the gun out to have complained about it, but I've always chalked that up to the short LOP stock that I have on there to accommodate my T-Rex arms making it hard for them to keep it tucked into their shoulder properly, but it's possible that there was an issue with the stock drop as well.

 

Using the shims to fit the stock properly will certainly help, though without knowing the exact skeletal structure of your face, kinda hard to say whether it'll solve the problem completely. Tossing an upgraded recoil pad and/or a cheek pad onto the stock might help a bit, also.

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Kentucky Gun Co currently has a pretty good deal on the M3K Freedom Series so I ended up ordering one.  I figure I can theoretically run it right out of the box for the remainder of the season and then have it worked on this Winter once I determine exactly what I would like done to it.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I have both shotguns.

 

I have had no issues running any but super-light ammo through the M3K, the kind of light ammo that I would not expect any auto gun to function with.  I had some initial issues with the 1301 running fiocci when I first purchased it but after disassembling and lubing the bolt group it has had no issues running said ammo.

 

Regarding feel, the 1301 recoil impulse is sharper (quicker).  I don't know if either one feels stronger/lighter, but something about the 1301's quicker recoil impulse feels a little less comfortable then the M3k.  By no means is this a big thing and I have since gotten used to it, but I too had read all of the reviews and was expecting the 1301 to be "softer" but want to set the stage that it is basically the same.

 

The Beretta, of course, is much nicer overall.  Fit and finish and just the feel of it is nicer as you would expect for a shotgun that costs almost twice as much.  The stock loading port on the 1301 is fine if you load 2, I opened mine up since I quadload.  I don't recall what the stock M3K loading port was like, but I also opened it up and it is nicer for both load 2 and quadloading.

 

I have no need for my M3k now and will probably sell it, but overall I would say that the main difference between the Beretta and it is just the nicer feel of the Beretta.  The M3k has always performed and I would not hesitate to recommend it for someone looking for an inexpensive 3 gun shotgun.  

 

 

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The OP wrote:

 

"My concern is how deep the magazine tube sits in the loading port and how that would hinder the ability to quad load. "

 

With opening the loading port, there is no problem with quad loading. 

 

Roberto Vezzoli has won the world shotgun championship using the 1301. Here is a YouTube link showing him teaching loading, including quads:

 

 

 

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