The Beretta 1201FP Shotgun

by LF (6/97)

My local range has hosted several training courses conducted by Louis Awerbuck (Fighting Firearms, Soldier of Fortune). While I made it to his pistol class this year -- and it was a real eye-opener -- I missed his three-day shotgun class. I won't make that mistake again.

One of the more interesting bits of information I picked up from the graduates of the scattergun training was the sort of problems encountered by students who used pumps. The most common failure was caused when the shooter, flustered under pressure, simply forgot to cycle the action while scampering from one firing point to the next. The second was stoppages caused by failing to retract the slide fully and smartly to the rear before returning it to battery.

These tidbits helped me to the conclusion that I needed a semi-auto riot-type shotgun. But which one? The Benellis have of course gotten the best press, which helped their price skyrocket up to the $750-1000 range, where they stayed for years. You may have noticed that dealer pricing has recently begun to drop, but at least some of that can unfortunately be blamed on bad PR generated by some lapses in quality control.

I know a lot of folks who swear by the Remington 1100 series, but I have had the misfortune of cleaning several gas-operated shotguns owned by acquaintances who either found it too tough to completely follow the manufacturer's maintenance instructions, or blew the matter off entirely until the weapon totally froze up. Further, two different Remington owners told me of a "cheap fix" that they independently developed as a substitute for a critical (and expensive) gas system O-ring that apparently must be replaced every several hundred rounds. That did not sound good.

Of the remaining models the standout was the Beretta 1201FP, which several firearm distributors have recently started offering for anywhere from $390-449 (dealer price). I was ready to bite, but a quick scan of my pile of gun magazines revealed NOTHING about this particular model. Even a poll of my fellow gun nuts did not turn up anything of use beyond a vague recollection that the Beretta "loaded kinda weird." So I hemmed and hawed.

A few months ago I stopped in at a gun show to help one of my pro-Second Amendment groups get the apathetic slugs all riled up for the `96 elections -- an almost impossible task since there was nothing evil looming large in Washington other than Bubba himself. I did not plan on buying anything, but then I spotted one of the 1201FPs for $409.95. Of course the damned dealer took plastic. The total with tax was a relatively piddling $435.

After fulfilling my obligations, I took the gun home, busted it apart, gave it a wipedown, lubricated it with white lithium, and got my first real good look. Dig it:

• Rifle Sights
• 6 + 1 capacity
• 6.3 pounds (!)
• Chrome-lined bore
• Synthetic stock and forearm
• Method of operation appears to be identical to the Benelli Super 90 series

Here's the scoop on the "weird" loading: The bolt carrier is held back on the last round, which locks the loading gate/shell lifter into the "down" position until the carrier is returned to battery via the bolt release button, thus blocking access to the tube magazine. This is to ensure that the first round is loaded through the ejection port, directly into the chamber. This is necessary because there are only two ways to physically release subsequent rounds from the magazine onto the shell elevator:

• The first is to pull the trigger. The problem with this option is that it places undue stress on the long and thin firing pin if there is not a round in the chamber. In addition, the rear of the firing pin is knob-shaped, which allows it to be retained by a solid pin that passes horizontally through the bolt carrier. Repeated dry-firing will chew this knob up because it gets rammed up against the retaining pin. If you're in a serious hurry it's ignorable -- just remember that its a no-no when you're playing with the gun at home.

• The second is to push in on the small button that protrudes from the very front of the trigger guard. This drops down the loading gate and then releases a shell. The button is small, so practice with it before you need it. Using the release properly will also permit you to increase the capacity of the weapon by one round if you're fairly dexterous and have some spare time. Since I'd like to keep on the good side of the Beretta folks, I'll let you figure this one out for yourself while strongly recommending that you ONLY try it with dummy ammo!

If you simply hit the bolt release (the big button on the right-hand side of the receiver) to close on an empty chamber, load shells into the magazine, and cycle the action, you will NOT be ready to fire. Instead, your first trigger pull will produce a "click-thud" as the firing pin hits empty space, followed immediately by the first round hitting the front of the trigger guard assembly. Cycling the action a second time will then produce the desired result.

This is more than just annoying: if a feedway stoppage occurs, you must remember to pull the trigger to advance the next round after clearing the jam. For most of us, years of playing with a variety of semi-autos has ingrained the notion that working the action will always chamber another round. The procedure for transitioning to a slug is thus one of the following:

A) Slow and Complicated

1. Insert a slug into the magazine.
2. Work the action handle to remove the chambered buckshot round.
3. Pull the trigger to advance the slug onto the shell lifter.
4. Work the action handle a second time to load the slug into the chamber.

B) Quick and Dirty

1. Work the action handle with your right hand to remove the chambered buckshot round, and then hold the bolt carrier in the open position. (The handle is a knurled round knob that rotates freely. I started off using my thumb for this procedure, but found that it would occasionally slip. Crooking the forefinger tightly around the handle is much more positive.)
2. Use your left hand to roll a slug into the ejection port.

C) The Ultimate in Quick and Dirty

1. Stick a slug into the magazine.
2. Fire the chambered buckshot round in an appropriate direction to bring the slug into play.

Please note that option "B" is the only one that can be executed if the magazine is full, and the utility of the third will depend on how desperate you are. If you're in the middle of the woods with no worry of endangering innocent bystanders, then go for it.

Shown above: Author "going for it"
(note hull in air -- that's one fast action!)

Other problems, roughly in order of importance, are:

• Amazingly, pressing hard on the bolt release while the action is in battery will free up another round from the magazine. This binds up the bolt carrier because the shell lifter does not drop down a needed fraction of an inch to accept it - and you have to YANK on the bolt handle to clear it. I haven't tried shooting the gun in this condition, but it might prove interesting.
• The Beretta is susceptible to a major jam inherent to most tube-fed shotguns (with the exception of bottom ejectors like the Browning BPS). If you accidentally load a round base first - a simple mistake to make under pressure - the shell stop will fail to grab the head of the cartridge, and on most designs the rim of the cartridge will slip past the shell stop, bringing the next round in the magazine along with it. If the loading gate is down when this happens, you will totally lock up the action. This problem can be avoided if you initially pull your thumb straight back (rather than slipping it downward) after seating each shell. This will allow escaping rounds to be guided by the bottom of the loading gate onto the ground, rather than into the works.
• The safety is small, and only sticks a few millimeters out of the trigger guard. I just ordered a jumbo-head subsitute from the latest Brownell's flyer. But it was NOT cheap at 15 bucks for FFLs or C&Rs, $20 for everyone else!
• Due to the fact that the barrel attaches to the end of the six-round mag tube, it is impossible to fit a longer one. Shotguns with barrels that attach around the mag tube can accommodate a seven-round capacity in the same overall length. An advantage of this system, however, is that it offers a more solid mating with the barrel. Competing systems with extended mags which utilize figure-8 shaped clamps suffer from wandering elevation zeroes when the clamps (which must be removed when cleaning the gun) are not tightened to exactly the same degree. An apparently ideal solution can be found on the Mossberg 590 military pump gun, which utilizes two circumferential mag supports silver-soldered near the business end of the barrel.
• The gun is set up for a 1-inch sling, which isn't all that comfortable for carry. You can make a thin 1-1/4-inch nylon sling fit if you fold over the edges. More importantly, the front swivel is far enough forward that simply slapping the top of the buttstock with your shooting hand while the gun is slung muzzle-up on your strong shoulder usually won't rotate the shotgun into an easily-graspable position as it would if the swivel was placed at the back of the magazine protection sleeve. Carrying the gun South African-style with the muzzle pointed down from the weak shoulder works better with this model. Just don't kneel in the mud.

The day after I bought the Beretta, I pulled together about 50 rounds of buckshot and slugs and headed out to the range. Yow! Forgot to mention that the biggest advantage of the gas-operated shotguns is that they do a good job of moderating recoil by spreading out the impulse over a longer period of time. Here's a tip: don't shoot slugs off a bench. My first three rounds went into a 5.2" group at 100 yards, and the next two wound up in East Bumfuck as I collapsed into flinch mode. I then wised up and moved to prone (with the butt snugly UNDER the collar bone, thank you). The rifle sights, while serviceable, would be faster if there were a ghost-ring peep in the rear instead of a blade. Like you haven't heard that one before.

With Remington's "Law Enforcement Reduced Recoil" 00-Buck (RR-1200BK), which contains a 9-pellet load, at 25 yards the Beretta always put at least five pellets into the generous 15.75 x 23.5" oval scoring area of a standard B-27 silhouette, for a total of 54 hits in a 10-round series. As this performance was somewhat better than the two other brands of buckshot that I tried, I assume that the lower initial velocity (1200 fps vs. around 1350) does not deform the unplated shot as much. Or maybe I was simply flinching less - this "tactical" load is definitely more pleasant to shoot than standard buckshot, and substantially speeds target reacquisition.

Federal makes a similar load with copper-plated shot, H13200 and the newer LE13200, which was introduced in the last couple months. The only difference I've noticed between the two is that the "LE" version features the words "Law Enforcement" prominently on the box. I assume that designation is supposed to make the ammo more sexy to buyers, sort of like the manufacturers who slap labels like "Special Forces" on their canteens and web gear so that they can charge more than their competitors.

Another interesting round to check out is the Sellier & Bellot 2-3/4" Magnum 00-Buck 12-pellet load. Currently available for about 30 cents a bang, it looks well made and definitely seems to kick less than standard 9-pellet American stuff. Unfortunately, the cases are slightly longer than American spec. (they are marked 70mm, which works out to about 2-4/5"), so you may lose a round of capacity on most guns. It's great for practice, though.

Oops, back to the subject at hand. I also remembered to bring along forty-five Winchester low-brass one-ounce "Rabbit & Squirrel" WW12R #6 shot shells for the initial trial, and was glad to find that they all fed without a hitch. That's great, because not only are the things still cheap as hell (usually less than 16 cents a pop at the chain stores), but they are also my favorite home defense load - they will turn a bad guy to mush at close range, but if I get wasted and accidentally nail a roof rabbit, the neighbors won't have a gaping hole to point out to the police. It turned out that the similar Remington and Federal loads will fail occasionally, but going up to their slightly hotter or heavier stuff (e.g., the Remington R12H-6 with 1-1/8th ounce of shot, or the HV12-6, with 7/8th ounce of shot at 1390 fps) cleared up this problem.

But then I went looking for a flashlight. I just got in a Laser Products SureFire fore-end replacement flashlight unit #606.

IT WAS NOT ORIGINALLY MADE FOR THIS SHOTGUN! Rather, it is a short plastic Benelli Super 90 fore-end with aluminum spacers fore and aft. Since the gap between the Beretta's barrel and tube magazine is apparently larger than the Benelli's, THREADED HOLES ARE DRILLED INTO THE PLASTIC FORE-END SO THAT SET-SCREWS CAN BEAR AGAINST THE BARREL TO TAKE UP THE SLOP! No telling how long this kluge will work before the unsupported threads give out, and then the fore-end should start exhibiting an unacceptable amount of rotational movement. In order to save the finish on the barrel from the screws, I stuck in some shim material, held in place with duct tape. Sexy, huh?

Better yet, the light is placed directly behind the sling swivel attachment, so that about a third of the candlepower was expended on illuminating the backside of the web sling! I resolved this one by running some parachute cord around the barrel-mounted mag tube support, and attached the sling on the left-hand side. It looks awful, but at least it cleared a path for the light. Hardly an acceptable solution for an accessory that cost $170 with shipping.

But the capper is that the instruction manual states that reduced-recoil loads buckshot loads should not be used while this attachment is in place, since they WILL NOT function properly!

Sure enough, the gun would not reliably cycle the Federal Tactical loads, choking once every six or seven rounds. My gun also sported a Tac-Star sidesaddle (there isn't one made specifically for the Beretta, but the Benelli Super 90 version fits almost perfectly), which is a heavy chunk of hardware when topped off with six slugs. I got a screwdriver out of my trunk, removed the shell holder, and lucked out as normal function was restored. Even 100 rounds of the cheap game loads mentioned earlier worked perfectly.

Apparently the weight of both accessories -- over two pounds combined, on a 6.3-lb gun -- was sufficient to reduce the amount of velocity imparted to the bolt carrier (because the gun as a whole was moving slower given the same amount of force applied to it), which meant that it had less energy to overcome the tension of the action spring. Moral: check out them neat accessories before you need 'em!

[Critical Tip: Sidesaddles meant for guns with aluminum receivers come with a lock nut, which must be used. The proper way to mount 'em is to remove the shell loop section, merely snug the main screw up, crank down the lock nut, and replace the loops. DO NOT overtorque the main screw! This will cause the steel bolt carrier to gouge the heck out of the receiver, and might well inhibit proper functioning. Be sure that the carrier moves perfectly freely before firing.]

To wrap up, while the Beretta 1201FP has a few problems that I would like to see resolved (especially a redesign of the bolt release to prevent it from advancing a round when the bolt is in battery), on the whole it is still an astounding piece of machinery for the money. Right now I love it as much as my beautiful little Glock 26. Check one out at a merchant of death near you.