Aridus Industries, known for the metal Q/D shell caddy systems, has been hard at work designing new products for the market. It would seem that they are highly interested in the Beretta 1301 series of shotties based on their various previous of product on their Facebook page and their other released product, the YT-1301 Latch and Shroud for the platform.

*Before I go any further, I have to compliment Aridus Industries on their naming for the product. Anyone who appreciates nerd-dom will find the nomenclature YT-1301 to be a nod to the Millenium Falcon (a YT-1300 freighter). 

I’ve likewise made no secret of my enjoyment of the shotguns having reviewed the 1301 Tactical in the past. I liked it so much, when I upgraded from my 930 JM PRO, the 1301 was the next logical choice and have run them 2 years without gun-induced issues. However, I have caused (just once) the “shell dump” malfunction.

In short, the 1301’s bolt release can also act as a shell release by pivoting the latch to the rear instead of forward. This causes the shells to immediately release and if done with the shell lifter down, will immediately jam the shotgun – hard. However, if done during admin unloading, the feature is quite nifty, as one can release all the shells in the tube without having to rack the action.

In a combat situation, this can be devastating to weapon functionality, so Aridus put a bit of brain power to it and has released their YT-1301 should and latch. When combined together, they only allow the paddle to be pivoted forward, completely negating the chance of the “shell dump”.

As they put it: “The YT-1301 takes the Beretta 1301 from being a great range gun to a top contender for hard use semi-auto shotguns.”

The YT-1301 is available now direct through Aridus Industries. Pricing is set at $60.00.