mudhen

Our Benelli rep said that this was just the first of many Vinci configurations. He said there will most likely be a 3.5" version available at a later time. I'm just about sold on this gun

This was posted in the Turkey Hunting forum, so I'm guessing he is hunting turkeys

My dealer says maybe late summer of this year - he heard August, but that was not firm yet. Funny talking to my dealer, the first reaction was kinda of a yawn he said, but several folks have asked about the Vinci today at his shop. Since I only shoot 3.5" at turks, and can go through 6-8 cases of 3" steel shot in a very good waterfowl year, I really might look at this Vinci pretty hard. I want to shoot one soon for sure

I'm not a fan of Kick's GT in SBE's - just can't get the pattern I want. If I had to choose a shell, it would be large lead from Winchester - like HV 4's or 5's. Good luck!

I like it in camo I will own one - maybe soon - we'll see - I will shoot one this summer and decide then!

I don't know how you can back this up Patterns are a pretty subjective topic to being with. What is a 'better' pattern? For waterfowl, it might be an more evenly spread out pattern. For turkeys it might be a more dense pattern. I have maybe 25+ extended tubes that pattern much better than any flush tube in the same constriction. Now, none of the parallel sections are the same in these chokes, even if the simple constriction is the same, so it's not really comparing an appple to an appple (added an extra 'p' - I guess you can't spell out a p p l e here!) Some flush chokes, like the Crio Plus, have been getting closer to the performance of extended chokes, so the issue may be getting less and less relevant as time goes by.....

I think there are some new custom shop Sport II's and other guns that are being overbored and tricked up by Briley. I think they are going to be pricey though - $2500+ You may not be able to just simply overbore or backbore a Benelli barrel without affecting how the gun cycles.

I like slates in general. I've bought some 'custom' calls that sound like crap. I've bought some 'production' calls that sound pretty good. I've got a custom slate coming from Lights Out Calls that might be interesting. This tom liked the new Zink Powerhen. Then he died

They do. I spoke with a CS rep a few years ago and she knew my forum name. But, I've never seen any substantial replies from CS here, especially in the past few years. It used to say in big red letter that this was not a conduit to CS, but I don't see that comment anymore. I'd contact CS for any CS related issue, but that's just me

These forums are not for specific CS issues. You will need to contact Benelli's CS yourself directly

Like I have already posted, I was able to buy an SBE II within weeks of Benelli's original given ship dates. The fact that the Internet Wizards chatted about a possible SBE II before it was officially announced by Benelli is irrelevant to Benelli's reputation. I've never had a problem getting any Benelli with repect to legitimate company offered availability dates. I got an M2 APG camo in 20 gauge just a few days after they were available. Now, your favorite dealer may not always be able to get the exact Benelli that a particular customer wants, but in general, the guns can be had from somewhere at some price. The Maxus is supposed to start shipping in May, third week according to our Browing rep. I'll find out because I have one on order It's already listed at Davidson's, but of course, it shows out of stock for now. I think you may be somewhat confused on how the gun industry works. When the rags report on new guns, they are pretty much trolling on behalf of the gun makers. Have you ever seen a real bad review in a typical gun rag? I have not. It's pure PR. They are helping create interest. Another benefit to delayed general or soft releases is that it can help the gun maker discover problems with early test guns. This was exactly the case with the Browning X-Bolt. They soft released some guns and then found out the magazines had a problem. They quickly fixed the problem and disaster was averted because they had not shipped that many guns. I'm only guessing that with all the hype and dates being mentioned by Benelli, the Vinci will be available shortly. They have not done this for any other model that I am aware of. We'll see in a few days

I have found that all the sticky grip coatings will probably peel eventually. Some faster than others. The Dura Touch on my Browning Silver started peeling after 2-3 hunts. A call to Browning CS got me a big "so what". The Dura Touch on my A-Bolt has held up fine though. You could call Benelli CS though - can't hurt Which M2 comes with Dura Touch or whatever Benelli calls their version?

A light amount of CLP for my SBE II.

Is it anything like Astroglide? Maybe for three-ways?

I think I know what you are asking about. We all know that Benellis are well made guns. I think you are asking what specifically makes them so useful in high-volume situations. Have you done any high-volume shooting? I have done a little with Benellis in Mexico and I do see that many outfitters use Benellis for a variety of reasons. I have heard of some M1 20's going 500,000+ rounds. One thing is reliability. No plugs - extended mags - the Benellis tend to go pop when you pull the trigger. If you are going to shoot 3000-6000+ dove in one day, think of how much better it is to reload a semi-auto versus an O/U. But watch out for the semi-auto loading thumb! Cleaning. Benellis are pretty easy for some outfitters to disassemble and clean. The places I go just use a compressor to blow out crud, swab with a Tico tool, add a little oil, and the gun is ready to go again. I've seen some places actually disassmble them and dunk the frames, then blow out with the compressor. Parts. Very few problem parts with Benellis. Maybe change the recoil spring every now and then? Maybe replace an ejector/extractor on occasion? I've got a 20 y.o. SBE that looks almost new. A little wear in the ejection area, but nothing too bad. It's a combination of things that makes the Benelli a good high volume gun. I hear good things about other brands too for high volume; Beretta gas autos, some O/U that are easy to maintain, etc.

The reps are heading to Benellli for the big Vinci meeting as we speak. No doubt, it will probably be yet another huge success for Benelli Can't imagine why anyone would hate a gun that technically doesn't exist yet, but that's just the way some folks are I guess

What standing do you have to say this Do you know the ship dates of the Vinci? I ask only because we don't even know what this gun is, yet you seem to know the ship dates. The reps are all heading to Benelli right now for the big Vinci meeting. Maybe you are already there? I was able to purchase an SBE II within a few weeks of the first shipments

Yes .

Yes. After March 31st, 2009. No. Fine. No. I find it delicious

Obviously

Calling Captain Obvious, Captian Obvious, please meet your party by the white courtesy loading area I'll add in that you might want to try to shoot a turkey in the head with a dense pattern of shotshell pellets. Just a suggestion

They are only worth what someone is willing to pay for them You may be sadly dissapointed with what folks are willing to pay for guns right now I sold an M2 20 in APG for $800 in late 2008. It was like new in the box. It was like pulling teeth to get the $800! But, a 20 gauge Monte is a pretty desirable gun, you might get $600+? Don't know anything about the tactical Benelli pricing....

Ditto I wouldn't accept a free M2000 - I have personally viewed maybe 5-6 of them malfunction in the blind.

The best type of theory - one with no backing I've discussed Black Cloud with ATK several times. Black Cloud is not for use with ported chokes. Any steel shot can damage older barrels. Guns blow up for many reasons - defective/wet/dud shells is probably the primary reason for most barrel blow ups. I've gone through maybe 6-7 cases of BC with no issue. I can only guess how much BC 1200 Wal-Marts sold last year. The stuff works just fine. I'll side with a company that makes rockets long before I'll listen to a coven of Internet Wizards that probably meet in one of their mom's basements over a root beer and Cheetos:)

What do you mean 'work'? They all work! A Bic pen will 'work'! But I think Albert Paul knows a few things about turkey calls I'll get back with you with results sometime in June