Tweet
I have to echo SCMA-1 on the recoil issue. Benellis already spank you pretty good for a semi and the 1200/1201 Berettas are worse. However, the light weight that makes for some extra punishment can obviously be a great advantage, i.e.- humping the gun all day long for hunting or protracted zombie eradication. Regardless, since you've already shot the thing, you know you can handle the recoil just fine, though I would love to see you rapid-fire a full mag's worth of 3" magnum slugs.
For 3-gun, I don't find that weight is a big deal since you only carry the gun for certain stages and they're never very long, unless maybe you really stink and you need to shoot 10 times the amount of shells that the stage was designed for, but even I don't stink that badly and you won't either.
The other thing is that if 3-gun is going to be the main gig for this gun, then the shell capacity can potentially be a significant issue, especially since the difference can be more than just one shell. Not only can other shotguns take extra-long magazine extensions, but some Benellis (and my Mossberg 930, incidentally) can be ghost-loaded with a shell on the carrier, giving you yet another shot. I don't know if the 1200/1201 can be ghost-loaded but there is definitely no way to extend the magazine without some serious mods.
All that being said, if you're not out to win 3-gun medals but rather, just want to have fun with a highly-reliable fighting gun, then the 1200FP is a great pick. It's what I would have bought had I not stumbled on my 930 for a good price. You're basically getting a Benelli for hundreds of bucks less and it's still Italian-made Beretta goodness, unlike say, a Stoeger, which borrows the same inertia recoil system but lacks the refinement of either the Benelli or Beretta. If you can get a cheap police trade-in, I say go for it and make sure you tell me where I can pick up the same
For 3-gun, I don't find that weight is a big deal since you only carry the gun for certain stages and they're never very long, unless maybe you really stink and you need to shoot 10 times the amount of shells that the stage was designed for, but even I don't stink that badly and you won't either.
The other thing is that if 3-gun is going to be the main gig for this gun, then the shell capacity can potentially be a significant issue, especially since the difference can be more than just one shell. Not only can other shotguns take extra-long magazine extensions, but some Benellis (and my Mossberg 930, incidentally) can be ghost-loaded with a shell on the carrier, giving you yet another shot. I don't know if the 1200/1201 can be ghost-loaded but there is definitely no way to extend the magazine without some serious mods.
All that being said, if you're not out to win 3-gun medals but rather, just want to have fun with a highly-reliable fighting gun, then the 1200FP is a great pick. It's what I would have bought had I not stumbled on my 930 for a good price. You're basically getting a Benelli for hundreds of bucks less and it's still Italian-made Beretta goodness, unlike say, a Stoeger, which borrows the same inertia recoil system but lacks the refinement of either the Benelli or Beretta. If you can get a cheap police trade-in, I say go for it and make sure you tell me where I can pick up the same
Comment