ASELKON IT-1 Semi Automatic Shotgun Review
Ever wanted a Benelli M4 but couldn’t afford the $2,000 plus price tag?
Well, you might be in luck. Today we’re reviewing the Aselkon IT-1, a Benelli M4 knockoff, semi automatic shotgun.
Aselkon IT-1 Semi Auto Shotgun
A clone of the classic Benelli semi automatic shotgun, the IT-1 gives you a similar value proposition at an incredibly low price
I know what you’re thinking, Turkish guns can either be an incredible value or a complete flop, so at nearly 1/10th the price of the real thing, is this Turkish clone shotgun a good value?
I picked this bad boy up from Palmetto State Armory for $250 on clearance.
Now I know, when people see semi auto Turkish shotguns for under $300 they roll their eyes. Maybe some of you have purchased a dud, maybe some have exploded and you’ve lost arms while bearing arms. I don’t know. However, bear with me and don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater quite yet.
So does this deal of a shotgun go boom or bust? Let’s find out together.
This shotgun performs like much higher end semi automatic shotguns. In fact, at this low price point, its is most affordable (yet still reliable) semi automatic shotgun that I know of.
Design and Function: Patterned after the Benelli M4 Tactical Semi Automatic Shotgun
Functionally speaking, the IT-1 is very similar to the Benelli M4. In terms of ergonomics, the IT-1 has a very similar feel to the M4 with some slight differences. Namely, the rubberized grip and butt pad is unique to the IT-1. Furthermore, other differences exist such as the sling mount. However, ergonimcally the clone is fairly similar.
Performance – The IT-1 Benefits by Having a Similar Inertia Driven Bolt to the Benelli M4
The Inertia bolt system really makes the IT-1 a pleasure to shoot. The recoil from the 12 gauge shotgun is honestly minimal and very controllable (see the above video). It’s also a very reliable semi automatic design. It handled just about every brand of shotgun shells I threw at it, save for Fiochi Self defense 00 Buckshot (more on that later). However as seen below, the shot pattern is great at 25 yards. First shots out of the box and shooting fast (above video) I was able to get A-Zone hits quite easily. I was immediately impressed by this shotgun.
Additional Extras: The IT-1 Comes with Lots of Accessories
The IT-1 comes in a pretty nice hard case. Sadly, the hard case forces you to disassemble the barrel in order for the shotgun to fit, so I’ll never use it.
The IT-1 also comes with 2 chokes. I’m sure I’ll lose the second one in a parts toolbox somewhere, since I really like the spread pattern of the one that comes installed for my needs.
The IT-1 also came with some basic cleaning supplies and gun oil
Initial Differences
Starting from back to front the IT-1 has a very familiar design that you might recognize from the Benelli M4. The look is similar, although it has a noticeably shorter tube which of course equals lower capacity. Some distinct differences are the sling attachment points and the style of the rubbarized rear pad.
The Good
The inertial bolt system is where this shotgun really shines. Copying the Benelli design, the action is crazy smooth. It doesn’t feel clunky at all. The machining and finish appears to be top notch.
- Stock: The construction of the stock feels solid. Although hollow and light weight, there isnt any flex to the stock itself.
- Grip : Next, integrated into the stock is a rubberized grip that feels great in my hand. The oversized finger grooves that fit my hand quite well. I love the fit and feel of this grip, but I’m also the only person on earth whose hand seems to fit the gen 3 glock finger grooves.
- Safety: The IT-1 has a safety just where you’d expect it on the Benelli M4. It’s tactile and easy to engage, no real difference there.
- Trigger: The trigger itself feels great. It is a single stage trigger with a very short length of pull and quick, crisp reset. Overall a very good trigger.
- Receiver: The receiver itself feels like high quality steel. It has a nice matte finish and so far has been pretty resilient against scratches. It has a built in dove tail with a picatinny mount tightly bolted to the frame.
- Pic Rail: The pic rail is steel and rock solid. I have no doubts that it’ll hold whatever optic I mount on it with no issues.
- Handguard: The front handguard has a nice design and is of solid construction.
- Sights: The fiber optic front bead is by contrast very nice and very durable. It’s also great in bright daylight.
- Bolt: The inertial bolt system is where this shotgun really shines. Copying the Benelli design, the action is crazy smooth. It doesn’t feel clunky at all. The machining and finish appears to be top notch. As shown in this Aselkon official and oddly satisfying to watch promo video, the inertia bolt system operates very similarly to that of the Benelli M4. I wasn’t able to find any information at all online about if the parts are cross compatible, with the real thing so I can’t comment on that.
- Tube Capacity The tube has a 4 round capacity plus 1 in the chamber. The shotgun is easy to load and it loads like most tube fed shotguns.
- Barrel: Lastly is the barrel. The IT-1 ships with an 18.5″ smooth T6 aluminum bore barrel. In practice the system is very smooth shooting.
- Reliability: In practice the system is very smooth shooting. It’s easy to get multiple shots off if in succession with very manageable recoil considering that it is a 12 gauge shotgun.
- Great for Home Defense: The choke that came preinstalled worked great for a home defense context. At a range of 15 yards, which happens to be the longest distance in my pretty average sized 3 Bedroom home, rifled slugs flew accurately and where I wanted them on 3 USPSA targets, fired in fast succession. Similarly, buckshot had a very nice spread. Bird shot as expected peppered each target indiscriminantly.
The Bad:
My biggest complaint with the shotgun, and really its only visible negative, is it’s rear ghost ring sight. The ghost ring is made of plastic and feels a little flimsy. You can easily wiggle the body of the sight around with little effort.
Be aware that the tube is not threaded, so capacity cannot be extended.
The only reliability issue that I noticed is that the shotgun would have trouble with stove piping on some Fiochi brand self defense loads. After some research, I’ve heard other people with other shotguns having trouble with this particular load.
Ironically it handled generic Academy sports Monarch bird shot just fine, and it did great with some off brand Sauk 12 gauge slugs I got cheap from PSA. With the exception of the Fiochi ammo, the shotgun ate whatever I threw at it, so I think this was an outlier. It may improve as the shotgun gets more broken in as well.
Aselkon IT-1 Semi Auto Shotgun
A clone of the classic Benelli semi automatic shotgun, the IT-1 gives you a similar value proposition at an incredibly low price
Conclusion:
Overall I’m extremely happy with this purchase. I think it’s a good value if you can find one for under $400. The fact that I got it for $250 on sale, the quality really can’t be beat at this price point.
