I actually don’t own a semi shotgun. I’ve looked at the M4 before, but never pulled the trigger due to price. You may have already seen this video, but it has me looking at the 1301.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RI9wCsFKW9E
Yes, hence my "short shorts" comment above.
He made some good points though, and also referred to this Lucky Gunner video:
https://youtu.be/y2hbmGIyZ2cI've been doing a whole lot of research today, and I think my mind is made up for the 1301. While it appears to have a bit more recoil with hot loads than the M4 (one of the things I loved about the M4 was how soft the recoil was), the 1301 seems to be more reliable with a more varied range of ammo, including light loads. Not that the M4 is unreliable. From the review videos, it was maybe one or two malfunctions with Walmart dove loads, none with combat loads, and the light load malfunctions went away after several hundred rounds. I'm not at all recoil sensitive, so I'm not worried about any slight increase in perceived recoil on the 1301. It's still gonna be less severe than recoil on my pump guns.
Both shotguns are the only semi-autos I would consider for a defensive shotgun, but the Beretta is just giving more bang for the buck. They are scarce as hens teeth right now though. I put in "notify" emails to Sportsman's Warehouse. I'm still checking online.
Langdon Tactical has their version in stock for $1600. That's actually pretty reasonable if you add up doing the same upgrades yourself. You're not saving a whole lot of money over their ready made upgrade, at least if you want the same stuff theirs comes with. I'm seeing the base model 1301 tactical for $1100, and one of the colored (OD or FDE) ones for around $1250.