Tacman

Treeman, Do you have the Eotech 500, 510, or 550? Which battery type - lithium, AA? How is the battery life? How is viewing in daylight and at night? Do you move the scope across the AR and Benelli platforms? Any issues? How do you mount on the AR - carry handle? flat top? Do you co-witness? Do you do 3 gun? I have heard that you can't change scopes there and a variable scope is the best way to go - like 1-4x to adapt to different distances. Thanks for any info. Appreciate it - this scope choice is confusing. Tacman

Chasman, Regardless of what model you buy, another thing to think about and one of the most important is stock fit. If your stock is too long, you will not shoot correctly - everything will be more difficult. Rule of thumb is: lay the stock in the crook of your elbow. The trigger should fall between the base of your index finger and the first joint (knuckle). If it is longer than that look into options to change or alter the stock. If the stock is too long, you will not be able to properly place the finger tip on the trigger properly and your shots will tend to pull off target. A stock too short is better than too long. Something a great trainer taught me that I thought I would pass on. Good luck, Tacman

Piney, Great news on the M3. Congrats! I have been looking at that model for quite soome time and will be very interested in your feedback. I like the ability to switch from semi to pump, depending on the situation. I am curious if it cycles as quickly and smoothly as the M1. Itoo am interested in your range report. Saty safe and happy shooting. Tacman

chasman1015, Look under Benelli USA Forum > Shotgun Sports > Longer is better. There is an interesting article quoted about shotgun length you should read. Good luck, Tacman

chasman, You may want to check out the general discussions page on the Benelli USA Forums home page and solicit opinions there. There are separate discussions about Upland game, turkey, birds, etc. You may want to post on each of those sites and see what comes back. There is likely to be some convergence of points of view that could help you on the length and even model questions. Sorry, I am biased to tactical shooting, so can't really help you with these. Good luck. Whatever Benelli you get, you will enjoy. Stay safe (the game won't!). Tacman

Treeman, A tip if it helps. When you re-attach it, use some Loctite BLUE (non-permanent) to help it from moving. Then, when you want to remove, a tool will overcome the Loctite. Stay safe. Tacman

M1014, Very nice eye candy - what scopes are you using? And what would you recommend? I am looking for a scope for my M1014 and would like to move it to an AR15 when I wanted. Thinking about the Aimpoint. The ACOG is nice, but very pricy. The Eotech is another option. Any suggestions? Tacman PS How did you attach the digital pix? What format?

Lokewolf, I just shot Winchester rifled slugs at the range and had perfect round holes. They were 1oz, 2 3/4" hollow points in the silver box. Sounds like yours are doing a bit of end over end or wobbling. What brand are you shooting? Tacman

Lokewolf, Thanks for your response on the compensator issue. I will check again with customer service. Stay safe, Tacman

How did you attach the pictures to the e-mail? What format where they - .jpg? Can the moderators help about posting pix? Some short step directions would help...

LHMoose, Be careful with the springs. The gun was engineered to cycle the way it does with the springs it has. Benellis are not known to cycle light loads very well. The trade-off with weaker springs is disrupting how the gun was designed with several potential downsides. As is true with other semi-autos, the springs need to be changed as they weaken or the gun could malfunction - you tend to get problems with poor ejection (jams, stovepipes) or the action will not cycle entirely causing a mis-feed. In extreme cases, excessive wear may occur if the springs do not adequately absorb the action of the bolt slamming rearward. The recoil and ejection phases happen in milliseconds and if the springs are not up to the task, the gun may not function properly. See the Benelli website at http://www.benelliusa.com/innovations/inertia.tpl for a discussion of the inertial recoil system and note the timing in which the actions occur. If the springs are weak, it is easy to see how the timing can be disrupted, resulting in possible malfunctions. I would specifically ask Benelli if the lighter springs are OK and will not compromise wear of function. BTW, lots of stuff can be done to guns and often, the more you do, the less relaible they often become. Just watch the tricked up race guns and see how sensitive they are. Not what I would want to count on in a pinch... Stay safe. Good luck. Tacman [ August 13, 2003, 09:07 PM: Message edited by: Tacman ]

Wanted to see your family pix, but they only show as empty boxes (with "X" placemarkers where the picture should be) on my site. Any idea why? Did anyone else have trouble? Stay safe. Tacman

Piney, A couple of thoughts. Call Chad @ Cal's Sporting Armory (http://www.calssportingarmory.com/) and ask him about the fore end. He sold an M3 recently and should know. He also sells Surefire and knows the product range inside out. And, he has some of the best prices on Surefire anywhere. As an alternative, you could get a ring mount that attaches to the mag tube and has a small weaver rail. Then, you could attach an M3 by Insight Technologies. I did that with my M1014 and it works well. The M3 is really light and the new ones have tactical LEDs in various colors. I got the green, as it has been found to be the best in retaining night vision (yes, even better than red). If you want to stick with Surefire, you can get a mag tube mount ring and hang the 6P on it. And in both light manufacturer cases, you can buy alternative rear caps with extension wires and built in pressure switches and mount these where you like on the gun. Hope that helps a bit. Stay safe and enjoy the M3. I am envious, have been looking at that one for sometime. Stay safe. Tacman.

lokewolf, Know anything about the M1 Practical? It has a Benelli-supplied choke tube (cylinder) onto which a compensator is screwed. Received that and 3 other non-compensator tubes for the Practical. Benelli customer service has said the compensator may be used with tubes other than the cylinder, yet the others do not have the screw-on capability for the compensator. Do the extended tubes on the Benelli website (under accessories) allow the screw-on compensator, to your knowledge? If not, any idea where to get them? I tried Brownells, but no luck. Thanks and stay safe. Tacman

And, by the way, a stock too short is better than too long. Contrary to all we hold dear! Tacman

Another fitting tip: Many shotgun stocks are too long and are a culprit in poor shooting. Here is how to check for the fit of the stock: Place the stock in the crook of your elbow (that's right - elbow) and place your finger at the trigger. The trigger face should fall between the base of your trigger finger and the first joint of that trigger finger. If it doesn't, the stock is too long or short. Judge at that point on whether you can have the stock fit for you, or move on. Stay safe. Tacman

Another fit tip: Many shotgun stocks are too long and are a culprit in poor shooting. Here is how to check for the fit of the stock: Place the stock in the crook of your elbow (that's right - elbow) and place your finger at the trigger. The trigger face should fall between the base of your trigger finger and the first joint of that trigger finger. If it doesn't, the stock is too long or short. Judge at that point on whether you can have the stock fit for you, or move on. Stay safe. Tacman

M1014, I got the two pieces apart finally. Can you ask your friend with the Practical: 1. what chokes he received with the gun, 2. which ones will accept the compensator. Seems I have 4 chokes and only 1 will accept the compensator - the "cylinder" choke that was tight. It is the only one with an extension that will accept the compensator because it has an additional length of threading that allows the compensator to screw on. The others just screw in as a regular choke would and have no extended threads to accept the compensator. I tried the Brownells website and no mention is made of the Practical. Do you know if what they refer to as an "extended" choke will work? Not sure if those have threads to attach the compensator. They were closed when I called today. Thanks for the help. Tacman

Quetico, Sorry, did not work - it prompted for user name and password and no mention of "View" anywhere. Maybe it remembers your computer via a cookie and it is different for new users or non-members... Tacman [ August 09, 2003, 02:31 PM: Message edited by: Tacman ]

Quetico, Glad you have the right slig info now. By the way, the photo you posted did not work - it took me to a HP web-site. Was there something else to do? Tacman [ August 08, 2003, 09:20 AM: Message edited by: Tacman ]

BTW, I reviewed some literature on the M4 and it stated that the gun was produced to cycle light loads (rubber bullets, etc) MANUALLY, so the constraints about aout cycle still exist - you need to have enough "punch" to cycle the gun. How was your weekend shooting? I took mine out and shot slugs and 00 Buck and was getting very tight slug groups (most shots touched each other) at 15-50 yds. and nice patterns on the buckshot. Nice feeling. Hope you experienced the same... Stay safe. Tacman

Quetico, I don't have the catalog and can't seem to find that photo on-line. But, I have a sling suggestion I posted elsewhere on this site. If you want a versatile sling for either tactical or traditional carry, try CQB Solutions -. wwwcqbsolutions.com; 559 635 1172 - ask for Jeff - he is really helpful. I got their SOP Universal for my M1014 and liked it so much I bought a second for my AR. It is extra thick - 1.5", so it is really comfortable. The version I ordered has a "transition buckle" to do quick side to side transitions and a quick release buckle to allow you to take it off with a snap of the buckle. Like none other I have seen or worked. You will likely need an Uncle Mike's adapter for your Nova. Or, there may be alternative ways to mount it directly to the stock. See the web-site for info. Also, they are really helpful if you phone and can help you figure which sling and hardware will work on your Nova. Plus, their prices are great and they stand behind their products. An alternative I hope you like... Stay safe. Tacman

M1014, Thanks for the info. I will work on it with some finesse.. Stay safe, Tacman

My M1 Practical has a compensator/muzzle brake that is attached to a "cylinder" choke. I have not been able to separate the compensator from the choke by simply turning it. Has anyone removed these pieces from each other? Are they able to be separated? If so, how? And what other chokes does the compensator fit, if any? Does anyone have experience with this? Any insights are helpful. Thanks and stay safe, Tacman

For Birdshot, I had cycling problems with light loads - every 3 shots or so, the gun failed to cycle. Very frustrating in a tactical training situation. I went to Winchester 2 3/4", 3 3/4 Dr Eq, 1 1/4 oz., 7 1/2 lead shot and it has cycled just fine, with no problems at all. I have had no issues with any 00 Buck or slugs. Good luck, stay safe. Tacman [ August 04, 2003, 10:01 AM: Message edited by: Tacman ]