Beretta 1301 QD Side Saddle Shell Carrier by RX Arms: QD vs Fixed, Materials & Fit Guide

As with any shotgun system, I believe one of the top upgrades for a Beretta 1301 should be a side saddle or shell holder.  Its always a wise idea to carry extra ammo on your firearm for when you need it most, and having the ability to remove that side saddle for a reload, or for storage, is the main advantage of our QD system.  In this post I’ll go over the Beretta 1301/1301 Tactical specific specs for the RX Arms QD Side Saddle Shell Carrier system.

 

 

Why Beretta 1301 Owners Should Use A Side Saddle

As stated above, the main reason for using a side saddle/shell holder on the Beretta 1301 is to carry extra ammunition on the gun so that it is there when you need it.  If you use other methods to carry ammunition like a pouch, or other alternatives, if you are under duress and picking up your shotgun, you may forget this pouch.  It is best to have something attached to the firearm so that it is ready to go when you pick up the shotgun.

Quick Detach vs Fixed Side Saddle vs Velcro Shotshell Card for the Beretta 1301

The obvious advantage of our QD system is the ability to remove the shell carrier/shell holder from the gun.  This is useful for transport in the vehicle, stowing in a safe, and also being able to reload the shell carrier when the one on the firearm goes dry.  You should alway feed your shotgun constantly, and not wait for the magazine to run empty.  When our QD Side Saddle is dry, you can reload it immediately if you are carrying spares on your body.  We go more into depth on Rigid and other shell carrying systems on post Rigid Side Saddles vs Velcro Shot Cards: Why a Quick-Detachable (QD) Hybrid Makes Sense

Materials — What our Beretta 1301 Side Saddle Is Made From

We use premium materials that are meant to endure bumps, impacts, and extreme temperatures.

• QD Shell Carrier Body: High Glass, High Performance, injection mould polymer is utilized for the Shell Carrier body.
• Mounting Plate & Button Latch: Premium 7075-T6 aluminum is utilized for the Mounting Plate (which remains fixed on your receiver), and for the button latch which is on the shell carrier body.

These materials are purpose chosen, to ensure our shell holder will endure anything you throw at it.

Beretta 1301 Fit & Compatibility — Handguard/Forend Clearance, Receiver Pins

There’s not much to say on this one.  The Beretta 1301 Tactical receiver is on the shorter side (much shorter than a receiver like the Benelli M4).  The allowable setback I was able to achieve was around 1.07″ or so at the extreme end.  This is measured on a 1301 Tactical receiver, a 1301 Comp receiver may have different results.  On my 1301 Tactical I run it much closer to the front of the receiver so the QD Shell Carrier is closer to the loading port (as you can see on the video above).

 

With the 1.07″ (lets call it 1″) max setback, this will push the shell carrier quite far to the rear.  As for trigger pins, the 1301 only has one small pin, and our mounting plate has no issues navigating the placement of this pin.  The beretta 1301 Comp models have more receiver overlap from handguards (field forend or field handguards) than the 1301 tactical counterpart.  As always, we recommend using our template (especially for 1301 comp receivers) to print off if you have any concerns with fitment with an aftermarket handguard or any handguard that overlaps on the receiver.  You can find the printable template on the QD Side Saddle Shell Carrier product page to confirm fitment.

We designed the Mounting Plate to provide adequate clearance for many shotgun receivers.  The Beretta 1301 Tactical has plenty of room with the mounting plate cutouts, to situate a good amount of clearance for the trigger group take down pin.

Beretta 1301 QD Side Saddle Shell Holder Installation

You can follow our installation guide found on the product page for our QD Side Saddle Shell Carrier.  In general, you just want to leave your take down pin exposed so that you can easily remove the trigger group from the firearm for cleaning.  Our mounting plate has cutouts to generously leave you enough space to place the side saddle pretty much wherever you want on the 1301 Tactical receiver.

RX Arms Beretta 1301 Side Saddle Shell Carrier – FAQ

Will the Spare QD Shell Carriers fit into AR15 mag pouches?

Yes, they will fit into most AR15 mag pouches on the market.  More Specifically tested, the HSGI Taco is designed in a way that it can easily expand to accept a thicker shell holder like ours.  Also, the Esstac KYWI AR15 mag pouches will need the Kydex to be modified to give less squeeze to use with our spare carriers, it can be done, but the fit is very tight as it comes new.  As for other brands, our experience is that there is no fitment issues, however we can not guarantee fitment every any magazine pouch as there are simply too many variants out there.  RX Arms will be offering their own pouches in the future as well.

How does the mounting plate attach to the receiver?

The mounting plate attaches via 3M VHB Adhesive.  More information can be found on the product page.

How are the shells retained?

We use a proprietary rubber blend dual strips.  These two strips are designed to give an easy pull, but also robust retention in all weather conditions.

How long will 3M VHB last?

3M VHB is currently in use in the Aerospace and Transportation sector to replace rivets and welds.  3M Documentation from long term outdoor exposure in harsh environments like Arizona resulted in the 3M VHB retaining 90% of its strength.  We are talking outdoors every day exposed to sun, and UV rays, for 10 years.  If combined with indoor storage of firearms, the data suggests that the 3M VHB bond can last 10-20+ years.

How well does the QD Side Saddle stand up to bumps and impacts?

We have done extensive testing on impacts, and drop testing with a mock gun weighing 9.3lbs.  The 3M tape (and carrier) did not have any problems during these tests.  We will do a blog in the future detailing the processes we used when destruction testing our unit including many multiples of strikes with a hammer.  I will say, in wanting to make the VHB fail, it did take a slew of hammer strikes on the unit, before the 3M VHB did tear in half.  These conditions will never happen in real life, but it proves how incredibly resilient the VHB bond is.