Aridus Industries, the Pennsylvania based manufacturer best known for its aftermarket shotgun accessories, recently started shipping a new charging handle for the Beretta 1301 semi automatic shotgun.
The new charging handle features a concave design intended to meld with the fingers of the shooter’s hand that manipulates the shotgun’s action. Instead of the typical knurling texture as found on similar cylindrical shaped charging handles, Aridus has opted to mill their handle with a very unique geometric oval shaped pattern which also intersects at various points to create a textured pattern. Furthermore, Aridus’ 1301 Charging Handle is also designed with the original “tail hook” on the stem. Not only is the tail hook a part of the original Beretta specifications for 1301 or A400 shotgun charging handles, but this structure also serves to keep the bolt together with the bolt carrier. The 1301 Charging Handle retails for $80 and while the first batch already sold out, more are on the way.
After speaking to Adam Roth, the founder and owner of Aridus Industries, he explained that he conceived this charging handle concept some time ago. He added that there were several designs for Beretta shotgun charging handles on the market, but nothing like his idea was available. Due to recent investment on a specialized lathe, he was finally able to execute on his ambition. This late allows him to manufacture these charging handles in house exactly the way he envisioned them. In addition to this new lathe, Aridus has been busy boosting their productivity with a trio of Haas CNC mills. The new lathe and CNC mills (along with the small team and the workshop they now sit in)—are all fairly recent augmentations to Aridus’ capabilities. It wasn’t that long ago that Aridus’ entire operation was based off a single consumer grade mini mill housed in a garage run by one man.
