mudhen

There is no easy answer to your question. Many spend a lifetime learning the Delta and most are probably unwilling to give up their spots. Parts of the Napa River system are open to the public for hunting. I see guys coming in all the time with birds near the launches off Hwy 37. 99.99% of the guys I know that hunt ducks do so at private clubs and/or the public refuge system. I'd spend some time at CA F&G's website... mudhen - CA

Improved Modified. Yes. Improved cylinder. mudhen - CA

There are no authorized Benelli distributors - Benelli USA sells to authorized dealers directly. I have never bought an M4. mudhen - CA

Yes - by design. mudhen - CA

I think Timber is going to be a tall order. There are new Max 4 barrels around: http://www.e-gunparts.com/DisplayAd.asp?chrProductSKU=979490&chrSuperSKU=&MC= Almost $600 I'd call them to see if they can order you one in Timber. Remember, the SBE I slug barrel fits the SBE II. Don't know if they Crio the slug II barrel, but they probably do. Good luck! mudhen - CA

It's fine. Sometimes the more some folks want to come back, the more they resist. Don't know much about the whole situation. That gun should shoot 70/30 with the A shim. mudhen - CA

A. mudhen - CA

Nope. 95 degrees today. Rice is still wet & green. 10 deer/bear hunts before our Oct 21st waterfowl opener. A week of deer/coyote in NoDak in November. 100 days of waterfowl thereafter with daily; 7 ducks - all 7 can be greenheads 1 sprig - all season 1 can - all season 4 of any goose I can shoot - snows, specks, honkers. January 28th is a long way off! mudhen - CA

Use the search button - this is a very common subject here. mudhen - CA

CLP & SYT mudhen - CA

How 'bout a photo dumb arse What did Benelli say when you gave them the serial #? Sounds like a frenchie gun - does it have a little white flag logo on it? Does it have a handle on the barrel so the Nazis could take it from the cowering frog easier? It taint a Benelli is my guess mudhen - CA

No. mudhen - CA

You might want to try paragraphs and some cap letters! I think the reason for the ports is to reduce recoil/muzzle jump. What other advantage would you be looking for? It's kinda like saying "I super-charged my engine, other than going faster/more power, can anyone tell me the advantage to super-charging?". I take you have never shot a PM? If you had/have, you would not be asking about the studs. They work. Too well for some. They are waaaay too tight for my crappy shooting. Shoot some on a photo-chrony and your questions will be answered. Do you really think PM is lying? Do you really think their entire existance is a fraud? http://www.patternmasterstore.com/index.htm You may need to check your eyes. With Benelli ID's being all over the board, depending on how worn the tools were when a particular barrel was made, there is no way for a choke tube to be just a choke tube. I can't correct you. A particular Benelli might just match it's chokes perfectly. It might match some aftermarket chokes perfectly. This has not been the case for me, so I have had to purchase many tubes to find the ones I like. Choke tubes in my SBE II don't even remotely fit well. I have huge gaps from the barrel to the choke tube. The Primos chokes close this gap the best, and logically, shoot the best in my SBE II. I have 6-7 identical constriction chokes for my SBE II. All shoot different patterns. Go figger... mudhen - CA

I load the gun all the time without one in the chamber, so that's not much of an answer. And, I rarely, if ever, load the chamber using the bolt release. The limiter is call the 'plug', a federal (and state) requirement for many, many, decades. No offense, but it sounds like you don't know much about guns in general. Be careful mudhen - CA

Box it up & send it back! Get a return authorization from Benelli CS first. Maybe a bent or wrong part. Sounds like a bad mag follower or debris jammed in. My SBE II will jam up with leaky buffer, dirt, etc. Clean the mag tube assembly. Bet I could fix it in two minutes... mudhen - CA

Huh? No need to slam the bolt - just close it all the way. The carrier depresses to allow loading, no 'lifting' that I know of. I know of that 1/2" stuck thing - but it only happens to me when the bolt is not closed all the way - I just close the bolt and the shell loads. But, I do recall someone having a similar issue that you are describing, so maybe call Benelli CS? Something about the carrier not being aligned correctly? Too far left? Right? Not centered? Good luck! mudhen - CA

Dunno. Just know that the slug forearm works on a regular barrel, and not vice versa without grinding on the regular forearm somewhere. I think someone has done the grinding - maybe they will post up... mudhen - CA

What gunner76 said. Buy the slug gun first - buy a regular barrel later. I got one for $300 on www.refugeforums.com classified. I've seen them on gunbrokers.com and/or other websites. mudhen - CA

I'm only guessing, but it looks like it allows the rounded case head to to go lower for easier mag loading. Good question for Benelli CS! mudhen - CA

Sounds like a design defect, not an AD.... mudhen - CA

Never heard of a true AD with a Benelli. Sorry, but if the gun was NIB, properly cleaned and maintained, not altered in any way, and factory ammo was used, then I suspect user error. But only you know for sure what happened, so send the gun on in to Benelli immediately if you are quite sure the gun malfunctioned. Please keep us informed. This is a potentially serious problem that could lead to a major recall of all Benelli products ever made. mudhen - CA

These are all matters for you to deal with yourself. Will 1000 lbs kill a deer?, maybe. I saw a 175" non-typical whitetail take 8 Foster slugs before going down. Four hunters spent the rest of the week bickering about who shot the deer. Basically ruined the entire trip. On my trips to Iowa, I see many deer soak up multiple Foster hits. The sabots seemed to be much more effective. Accuracy is usually more a matter of the shooter, not the gun. The choices are yours... mudhen - CA

Original ad is probably 5-7 years old. They updated it maybe two years ago to add the Comfortech guns and R1, etc. mudhen - CA

This is really a matter of apples to oranges. Using a rifled choke tube and slugs designed for rifled choke tubes adds another fruit to the basket. Sure, there are some very good Foster/smoothbore combinations, but they simply fade when compared to the top end rifled barrels and sabots. Use what fits your needs best. If 100 yards is your max, then maybe Foster slugs will work out fine. If you are looking for 100-150, maybe think about a rifled choke tube? Remington's Buckhammer was designed for rifled choke tubes and makes a nice round hole! For 150-250, you may want to consider a fully rifled barrel and top notch sabots. I've shot much of both, and I my experience has been that a slug gun can never be too accurate. Where I hunt in Iowa, if you miss your first shot, you usually do not get a second shot before the posse opens up. Last year, my SBE slug gun was used to kill a large buck at 197 yards, freehand, one shot, graveyard dead. Winchester Partition Golds clipping along at 2000 fps. At 100 yards, the Win Parts are delivering 2392 ft.lbs, while a Foster is petering out at 1051 ft.lbs. http://www.winchester.com/products/catalog/shotdetail.aspx?symbol=SSP123&bn=5&use=7 http://www.winchester.com/products/catalog/shotdetail.aspx?symbol=SRSH12&bn=5&use=3 For me, if I'm spending $1000's on the trip, burning precious vacation days, etc., I'm going with the best combination I can afford, not the cheapest I can get away with... mudhen - CA

Dan, Learn to use this forum - you don't need to reply in a seperate post Also, no nasty photos here. All nasty photos should be sent to me privately. mudhen - CA