The Beretta 1301 Tactical has long been held as one of the premier defensive shotguns of the day but the recent entry of the A300 Ultima Patrol has felt a little like a challenger vying for the title.
Is the new arrival capable of seizing the crown or is it simply a budget-minded upstart?
We can agree Beretta makes some fine shotguns, but how would a discerning shopper make a choice between these two?
Thankfully, we’ve spent quite a bit of time with both and designed a test to settle the match-up between the Beretta 1301 Tactical and the A300 Ultima Patrol.
Keep reading to see who wins the Beretta Battle!
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Prices accurate at time of writing
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Prices accurate at time of writing
Prices accurate at time of writing
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How We Compared the Beretta 1301 Tactical & A300 Ultima Patrol
For this review, we compared notes from separate experiences and previous reviews. In addition, we subjected both shotguns to accuracy and performance testing to determine which shotgun won the following categories:
- Reliability/Durability – how well they run and how long they last
- Ergonomics – controls, fit, and ease of use
- Accuracy –patterning buckshot as well as accuracy with slugs
- Performance – comparison of speed as well as recoil mitigation
- Value – price compared with benefits to the shooter
After analyzing each category, we reviewed the judge’s scorecards to tally up the victor.
Beretta 1301 Tactical & A300 Ultima Patrol Comparison Chart
| Beretta 1301 Tactical | Beretta A300 Ultima Patrol | |
| Caliber | 12 gauge 3″ chamber | 12 gauge 3″ chamber |
| Capacity | 7+1 (can ghost load) | 7+1 (can ghost load) |
| Action | Gas operated semi-auto | Gas operated semi-auto |
| Overall length | 37.8” | 38” |
| Barrel length | 18.7″ | 19.1″ |
| Weight | 6.7 lbs. | 7.1 lbs. |
| Choke | OBHP-IC | MC |
| Manufactured in | Italy | USA |
| Price | $1,375 | $800 |
Beretta Shotgun Background
The Beretta 1301 Tactical was created in Italy in 2014 as a defensive semi-auto shotgun. It was equipped with an oversized charging handle, ghost ring sights, a Picatinny rail, 5-shell capacity (LE and later models were 7+1), and an oversized bolt release.
The A300 Ultima Patrol was released in 2023 but manufactured in Tennessee. Also intended as a defensive semi-auto shotgun, the Patrol featured an oversized charging handle, a fiber optic front sight, an enhanced loading port, 7+1 capacity, an oversized bolt release, and improved attachment points for accessories.
Who Are the Beretta Shotguns For?
Both the 1301 Tactical and A300 Ultima Patrol are billed as defensive or law enforcement shotguns. Their tactical features and overall design reflect this intention.
Whether you’re a home defender or a cop on the street, either shotgun is a great choice.
What about concealment or hunting?
Well, that’s when things break down. The size and capacity of both these shotguns rule them out for easy concealment or hunting.
Reliability/Durability
Shotgun Ammo in Stock
We own and have tested both guns extensively. The 1301 Tactical has been in Pew Pew Tactical’s inventory since we reviewed it in 2022 and has a lot of shells through it.
Similarly, we reviewed the A300 Ultima Patrol in 2023 after trying it out at SHOT Show the same year. This gun has just under 1,000 rounds through it.
Both scatterguns have had a ton of shells through them and share something in common — they have fired a wide variety of ammo without any malfunctions. As far as the reliability side of this category is concerned, both have a perfect track record in our testing.
The Beretta 1301 Tactical enjoys a slight advantage over the A300 Ultima Patrol because of its more advanced B-LINK gas system. It can handle a wider variety of ammo without fault, whereas the A300 has a slight chance of struggling with light birdshot loads.
Our testing hasn’t revealed this, as the A300 Ultima Patrol has reliably cycled everything it’s been fed. With reliability settled, our next concern is longevity via durability.
Both shotguns are built for the long haul, though the A300 Ultima Patrol has a more economical approach, reflected in its feature set. The 1301 Tactical has a chrome-lined bolt and barrel that are more expensive, but this also means the gun will last longer.
The winner…the Beretta 1301 Tactical
Ergonomics: Fit & Feel
Both Beretta shotguns are remarkably light and comfortable to handle. They mount to the shoulder well, and all controls are easy to reach.
In addition, both guns feature oversized controls when compared to hunting shotguns. This allows easier use during high stress, gross motor skills moments.
The stocks on both guns appear very similar, with excellent butt pads and fairly aggressive texturing. The only notable external difference is the sling swivel on the 1301 Tactical compared to the Patrol’s QD well.
Moving forward, both guns have fairly similar triggers and trigger guards. The safety of the 1301 Tactical is slightly larger and triangular in shape compared to the Patrol’s round configuration.
Charging handles are roughly the same on both guns also. Though the 1301 Tactical has a horn shape as opposed to the Patrol’s ribbed barrel.
As near as I can tell, the bolt release buttons are the same on both guns. They are also located in the same spot.
One major difference in the receiver of these shotguns is that the Beretta greatly improved the loading port of the A300 Ultima Patrol. More material is moved away from all sides surrounding the port, and the edges are beveled nicely to allow greater ease of use.
Both guns have Picatinny rails on top of the receiver, which we replaced with Scalarworks optics mounts for a low-sitting co-witness. In addition, the Patrol has a slight advantage with a fiber optic front sight and slightly smaller rear sight than the 1301.
Finally, while both shotguns have the same aggressive texture on their forends, the A300 Ultima Patrol enjoys the modern enhancements of M-LOK at the 3, 6 and 9 positions and QD on both sides of the barrel clamp.
These advancements are noteworthy and enough to tip the advantage to the A300 Ultima Patrol in this category.
Accuracy
For the accuracy portion we patterened both shotguns at 5, 10, 15, and 25 yards using Federal’s Flitecontrol, 9-pellet, 00 Buck. By comparing the performance of both guns we were able to see that it appeared the Patrol held groups a little tighter up close but spread out a little more over distance.
In contrast, the 1301 Tactical was slightly wider up close, but didn’t spread out quite as much at distance. For the patterning portion, the guns performed pretty closely.
Switching to slugs, we used a brace and fired 5-shot groups of Hornady American Whitetail slugs from 20 yards. Here again, the performance, limited by my skill, was comparable.
The 1301 Tactical had four hits pretty close at roughly 2.5 inches, omitting one flyer I dropped. Meanwhile, the A300 Ultima Patrol had four grouped (omitting another flyer) at roughly 3 inches.
The winner?
Performance in this category by both guns was close enough to call it a draw.
Performance
Two subcategories helped us measure which shotgun had better performance: speed and recoil mitigation. To test speed, I fired seven rounds of 00 buck as fast as possible and measured each effort with a Shooter’s Global Shot Timer.
The 1301 Tactical smoked all seven shots in 1.18 with .18 splits. Interestingly, the A300 Ultima Patrol blistered seven shots in 1.14 with .14 splits.
To my way of thinking, this is definitive but also subjective because my performance was limited by my capabilities and likely came nowhere near the fastest possible speed of both guns. The times were also very close, further emphasizing the prior point.
For recoil mitigation, I fired four rounds of 00 buck and did my best to pay attention to how each gun felt on the shoulder. It was extremely close, though the 1301 Tactical felt slightly softer.
This was supported by the performance seen during speed shooting. As I watched both videos, I could see the 1301 Tactical had less muzzle rise than the A300 Ultima Patrol.
The 1301 Tactical is the winner in this category, though based on our testing, it is very close.
The B-Link gas system handles the recoil of rapid fire a little better and the speed was too close to call.
Value
While this category is also pretty subjective, hard numbers are not. As of the filming of the accompanying video, the 1301 Tactical was approximately $575 more expensive than the A300 Ultima Patrol.
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Prices accurate at time of writing
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Assigning value for what you pay is the proverbial devil in the details.
In this case, the A300 Ultima Patrol is almost as good in reliability/durability and performance while pulling cleanly ahead in ergonomics and value.
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Prices accurate at time of writing
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Upgrades for Beretta Shotguns
One of the best upgrades for tactical shotguns is using shotgun cards to hold your shells. These can go on a plate carrier, in a pouch, and mount right to your gun.
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Not surprisingly, shotguns make a loud boom and tend to send stuff flying. Protect your eyes and ears with some sweet gear from Shell Shock.
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Prices accurate at time of writing
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Even though these scatterguns are pretty lightweight, a great sling improves their utility by freeing your hands when needed. We love the options from Blue Force Gear.
Prices accurate at time of writing
Prices accurate at time of writing
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Why You Should Trust Pew Pew Tactical
At the helm of this review was Pew Pew Tactical Content Producer Sean Curtis. Sean has been shooting since childhood but really began to delve into guns more during his law enforcement career. He spent over two decades in law enforcement, where he became a POST-certified handgun instructor and NLEFIA Red Dot Instructor and received CLEFIA Advanced Firearms Instructor Training and AR-15 armorer training. He has since attended a variety of training, including Tactical Performance Center Handgun Mastery & Carbine Mastery, and earned USCCA rifle instructor certification. Aside from training and prior to joining the Pew Pew Tactical team full-time, Sean wrote for several gun publications evaluating and testing guns and gear and has written hundreds of articles.
This review was edited by Editor-in-Chief Jacki Billings, who runs Pew Pew Tactical’s experienced team of reviewers. Jacki is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists, ACES: Society for Editing, and the Professional Outdoor Media Association and has her bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications. She has worked as a media professional for close to 20 years, specializing in gun media for almost 10 years, and has worked as an editor for five years. She uses her extensive professional journalism and editing experience to set testing protocols and editorial standards.
Final Verdict
Without a doubt, the Beretta 1301 Tactical is the better shotgun. It handles recoil a little better, will last longer, and will cycle a wider array of shells more reliably.
That said, for several hundred dollars less, the Beretta A300 Ultima Patrol provides almost the same level of performance with better ergonomics.
If money is no object or you just want the absolute best Beretta has to offer, grab the 1301 Tactical. If you’re budget-minded but don’t want to sacrifice quality, pick up an A300 Ultima Patrol, and the world is your oyster.
Have you been on the fence about these two shotguns? Let us know in the comments below. For even more scattergun goodness, check out Best Home-Defense Shotguns: Tactical, Pump & Semi-Auto!
23 Leave a Reply
Buy the A300 U.P. and spend the $575 on 12ga reloading equipment (ex: Lee Load All II and something to roll crimp) and components (hulls, primers, powder, wads, shot, buck, slugs, etc.). Follow published load data.
This way you can experiment with all sorts of different loads, maybe something better/cheaper than commercial. I wouldn't have it any other way. YMMV
IMO it seems to me that the price difference is tremendous -> especially when the results are so closely matched. For a couple hundred dollars more one could acquire two Patrol shotguns for the price of one 1301 and that's a tremendous difference (a backup shotgun ready to go if something happens to the first one or one is overrun by a horde of zombies -> another 8 rounds immediately ready to take care of those pesky creatures). I wish the Berettas had pistol grips like the Benellis. I have an early M2 (not optic drilled) extended mag model and I'm considering moving to gas operated. I wonder when gas gun would get so fowled up it would stop cycling versus inertia gun? Another one I'm considering is the 940 (again no pistol grip) which is in the same price range as the Patrol. Lastly, I read your commentary before I watched the video -> you have a softer voice than I expected (gas gun versus recoil(?)) as I expected a deeper voice like that of a Viking warrior to go with the beard.
It really is significant Carlos. The 1301 is the better gun, despite us using the older model--but the A300 us the better value. I just got the new Mossberg 940 SPX in for testing, you'll see it soon! Hopefully my voice doesn't disappoint, I'm doing my best to be inviting and share our love of guns.
You need to more fairly & accurately put the A300 against the latest 1301 Mod 2, which addresses many of your ticks against the original 1301. The A300 is a great gun, but Beretta heard the customers and included revisions to the original 1301 (like the M-LOK stock, upgraded carrier, and so forth) which many will find a positive in an already great gun. I recently bought the 1301 Mod 2 recently, and it's a fabulous shotgun that surpasses the original 1301 that you reviewed here.
You're right Randy. In spite of this, the 1301 still came out on top as the better gun!
I purchased the A300 in 2024. Absolutely love it. But like an AR, with N-Locs, it's easy to load up options. I checked out the 1300 and was impressed. Ive owned Mossberg's 5xx tactical and loved that action.
Good point Curtis! I've been concerned about mission creep too, but thankfully the gun starts out very light!
Tony, that Benelli is around 2 grand. Comparing the A300 to the Moss 940 makes more sense since they're in a similar price range.
I have the 1301 that I use in Multi-Gun shoots and love it. I have never shot the A300 so can't judge between the two. Just glad the 1301 won as it is the one I have!!
Always nice to have your good choices confirmed! The A300 is a great gun but the 1301 takes it by a nose.
Been using an A300 for clays and it is outstanding. Absolutely love the lockup mechanism - you hit that button and the gun going into battery makes such a cool sound. I'm a bit on the older side so maybe the slightly lighter weight of the 1301 would make a difference, but you can't go wrong with the less expensive version.
I agree John. I think the weight difference (0.4 lbs.)is difficult to tell when carrying either around. The value is greater for the A300, but the 1301 is a better gun overall.
Sean, really nice surprise to hear from you. I shoot left-handed (using a rental A300). Problem is my right arm was injured years ago. Short lifts are no problem but 50 rounds of clays can make it ache a bit. So - unfortunately - I'm able to notice a half-pound difference after a while. Your review has inspired me to physically check out the 1301.
Does anyone remember when the 1301 was almost the same price of the as the A300, when it first released?... I do.
Yeah, it's interesting to see the effect of pricing when Beretta intentionally offers another gun with almost the same performance at a cheaper price.
Both are excellent guns, and imo the 1301 seems overpriced for what the A300 can also basically do.
Accuracy portion seems kinda lazy unless I misread, maybe could have done 5 target papers for each, for both 'shot and slugs. Regardless I have been thinking of buying another home defense shotgun and will keep this article in mind when I get to it.
I agree with your assessment. I think one thing I would do moving forward for certain is use slugs more optimized for smoothbore shotguns. The comparison was fair, if not optimal.
I think I was overly critical with my initial comment, so I want to apologize. Also, I think you using normal slugs helps represent viewers like me who aren't experts like yourself, who'd be interested in the shotgun and would think to use whitetail slugs as an option (and substitute for hollowpoints) for defensive use.
Thank you, no harm done. We face a tough balance between being thorough, and not boring viewers when making videos.
I’ve seen a lot of these two shotgun comparisons.
Why don’t you do one with a Benelli M4 (which as you know is also owned by Beretta) and the Mossberg 940 series. Then it would be a more useful comparison review.
And exactly what is “a ton of shells” ? 500? 1000? 10,000? 50,000? As a gun review source are you not keeping a log book on how many shells are fired through your test guns?
Thanks for the suggestion Tony, we may just do that. I'm drawing on the work of other team members who have reviewed the 1301 for the reliability score. I didn't have an exact number but that's a great suggestion.
Thanks for the great review. Full disclosure, I've never fired either of these shotguns. I have been waterfowl hunting for decades.
Although the 1301 Tactical is better suited to longevity, I can personally attest to never being able to "wearing out" a shotgun. Recently (since 2008) I've been hunting with a Benelli Cordova and a Benelli Super Black Eagle. Neither has shown any sign of being "shot out".
Thank you! Yes, you make a great point. I've got some very old shotguns that still have a lot of life in them. When two guns are so evenly matched, it's a challenge to tease out the details that separate them.