Pump or Semi? Bead, rifle sights, or red dot? What weapon light? What ammo carrier? Which sling do you like? Did Epstein kill himself? Over the years, I've received these questions about my preferences for defensive shotguns. The last question is unrelated, a resounding "NO," and good to remember. The shotgun has been referred to as "the thinking man's gun" and a physical manifestation of that statement is how the thinking man selects and sets up his shotgun. I like to consider myself a thinking man and someone who applies logic to decision-making. As a thinking man, you should always be open to new ideas and challenges to previously held beliefs. For the longest time, I was a pump shotgun guy. I grew up pheasant hunting with a Remington 870, and that platform was the do-all end-all for me. In early 2023, my friend Graham at Beretta sent me the Beretta 1301 Tactical model for consideration. Instead of unquestioningly recommending it to others, I used it for numerous courses in North Carolina and Utah and put thousands of rounds through it. I grew more fond of the design with each course and slowly started swapping out parts and bolting on others. What is sitting in my safe now is the final form of this amazing scattergun. I'm sharing my shotgun setup to answer the above questions and educate the why as much as the what. This shotgun is as close to perfection as you'll find, and as you read on, you'll understand why.
Sights
"You can't miss with a shotgun." That statement is false, and we've repeatedly seen it in courses. Misses happen depending on the ammo, the distance to the target, the shooter's capability, and the target's nature. Many home defense shotguns are equipped with a bead front sight. Some have improvements with rifle sights, but even those are hard to see in lower light conditions. One of the greatest advancements in shotgun tech is the miniature pistol red dot mounted on the shotgun. In particular, the Holosun 509T is mounted with a GG&G replacement peep sight, giving the shooter a perfect sight picture with a "donut and dot". Inside your average home, the shotgun payload will likely land inside the donut. You have to pattern your shotgun to determine if this is true of yours. With a bright electronic red circle and dot, you can pick up the sights quickly. In my humble opinion, this is the way to go.
Light
Since we can't dictate when we will need to use our home defense shotgun, we must prepare to use it at any time of day. This includes when it is dark. For this reason, my Beretta 1301 Tactical is equipped with a Surefire Scout light and pressure pad. The cable management is accomplished with a Bang Band from Strike Industries. This light is small enough to be out of the way and has just the right amount of lumens for indoor use. Other lights may provide more lumens, but they bleach the eyes of the user as well as the reticle from your red dot. Surefire has been my go-to light of choice for shotguns way back to my original home defense Remington 870 with the dedicated forend. The surefire Scout MLOK mount is minimalist, lightweight, and discreet. The pressure pad connects easily to the tail cap and stays put even during the heaviest recoil.
Ammo Management
Shotguns run out of ammo quickly. Semi-auto shotguns run out of it even faster. Even though the Beretta is a 7 + 1 shotgun, I only load it to 6 rounds most of the time. Shotgun springs are less resilient than pistol and rifle magazine springs. By downloading one round, you increase their longevity. I recently swapped the polymer magazine tube shroud for a machined aluminum Nordic Components magazine extension. That shroud has a recessed section that holds the barrel/tube clamp in place, eliminating the clamp creep some have complained about. If you haven't checked out Nordic, give them a look. I carry seven spare rounds on an ESSTAC Shotgun card with a hook and loop attached to the receiver. One spare round is on the forend just forward of the ejection port in a Matchsaver. Beyond that, if I need additional rounds, I have extra ESSTAC cards that fit into carbine magazine pouches, but I typically only carry more when I'm teaching. At home, I feel confident with 14 rounds in and on the shotgun.
Misc
I don't keep a sling on my home defense shotgun, but I have one to use on the range. In my recent podcast with Ernest Langdon, he stated slings are great when you have to live with your firearm. A home defense shotgun will likely be grabbed from the corner of a room and used inside the house. I attach The Second Best Sling from GBRS when using the 1301 on the range. It is minimalist, smoothly adjusts length, and doesn't chew into your neck when you wear it all day. Rounding out the modifications to the shotgun, I swapped the stock and forend furniture for Magpul SGA bits using the GG&G adapter and the forend kit from Aridus Industries. While the factory parts are great, I like the feel of the SGA having it on my other past shotguns, and it allows for the easy mounting of other components. Since this shotgun is always hungry, I feed it a steady diet of Hornady Critical Defense and Federal Premium Flite-Control ammo. Both rounds have been excellent performers out to 25 yards, keeping all pellets on the paper inside the silhouette.
This shotgun is as close to perfection as I can get it. It cost a pretty penny to customize, and my wallet is suffering a bit, but I'll say it has been worth the expense. The Beretta 1301 Tactical has been flawless in the courses I've taught, and students who have handled it have commented on the balance, the performance, and the way it just runs so damn smoothly. Maybe you won't copy mine, but if you decide to upgrade your scattergun, make sure the modifications make sense. Should you make a carbon copy of this one, you can guarantee you will find perfection in your hands the way I found it in mine.
