mudhen

Donnie says vacuum..... mudhen - CA

HH, When it comes to scopes and repositioning after shim adjustments, of course, your observations have some merit. Most points have some merit. Now the question goes back to the quite appropriate apology you still owe Benelli CS for the insensitive 'clueless' comment. They read all these posts, and you probably ruined someone's day with your callous remarks. It's time to do the right thing and apologize. Flowers might be nice too... mudhen - CA

I found nothing that made the sighting in process pleasant. Just shoot from a good rest, maybe have a shoulder pad, and have a buddy along to do some of the shooting. I get 5" groups at 100 yards with my SBE slug and Win Plat Tips. I tried 7-8 different slugs, and the Plats worked the best. In the field, the Plats are deadly. They work great for shotguns and muzzleloaders... mudhen - CA

HH, You lost me again at 'scope'! Beads are not scopes. Donnie says vacuum... As for the 'idiot' thing, in the post where I did it, it was, and still is, appropriate. You were blaming Benelli for the Winchester poly ball buffer leaking from their shells. You were, and still are, an 'idiot' for bashing Benelli about Winchester's poor quality control. You actually owe Benelli CS an apology for calling them 'clueless' about some other manufacturer's problem issues. My only apology on that subject is that I suger-coated the 'idiot' part. I should have said '****ing idiot'... As for posting when you have no actual knowledge on the subject, that is just common sense. Many folks come here for info on their firearms, and to provide an uneducated reply is inconsiderate at best, potentially dangerous at worst. If attempting to prevent uneducated people from disseminating potentially dangerous information to the innocent folks who merely come here for advice is insulting and arrogant, then I humbly plead guilty... mudhen - CA

Nice work in getting an answer about using a scope with shims. Too bad the question had nothing to do with scopes! Now answer the real question about wingshooting, turk shooting, and beads. Beads are not scopes. Beads are little chunks of plastic and metal designed to assist some shooters in aligning their barrels. Benelli can't even put most of them on straight! I use the very small Benelli beads to help me line up the barrel a bit. After that, I test 100-125 turkey loads a year to train my brain and eyes where I should hold to get the POI I desire. I test pattern in the field with full body turkey targets set in real hunting situations. I really do not look at the beads and/or the barrel much anymore, I just know where my Benelli will deliver the pattern. When I change shims, the POI changes, period. When you can get Benelli CS to reply to what's going on in my brain, then you are getting somewhere! Donnie says vacuum... mudhen - CA

I read the same article and got blasted for bringing it up here! Some say it only applies to wingshooting and that it has no effect on shooting a gun with two beads. This is simply contrary to what I have experienced when testing. The Shooting Times article described my experiences exactly! The part that most are missing is that beads can be lined up differently for different folks. My SBE II has a tiny little silver mid-bead and a tiny red end bead. I don't figure-8 them, I just line up the silver behind the red and fire. Even a minor change in how the beads line up can change the POI, especially at longer distances. I am quite sure that I am getting the desired change in POI because I hold the gun the same and somehow subconsciously use the beads differently. For whatever reason, I can move my POI all over the place on MY SBE II by changing the drop & cast. Another point that most missed is that if you change the shims, you should not hold the gun differently if you are trying to change the POI. Don't move the buttpad up or down from it's normal resting place. Some argued that the shims made absolutely no difference at all with beads, a point I agree with if you modify how you shoulder the gun in order to accomodate lining up the beads... mudhen - CA

Sorry for your loss. If it's her house, and Dan was the new boyfriend, they will have the scumbag shortly. We can only hope the cops get to finish the job... mudhen - CA

Yes, I am also mudhen on the 'fuge. Yes to the turkey thing for me too - I shoot about 100-125 turkey loads a year and it tends to screw me all up! Best thing to do it just take the SBE out and shoot - shoot - shoot. Starlings, pidge, trap, milk jugs, whatever it takes to get the mojo back! I pattern my guns every summer as my pea brain just needs retraining all the time... I'll look for a spare A shim in my box of Benelli parts. If I find one, I'll PM you for your address. mudhen - CA

Did you try the factory tube as you said you would? Maybe the aftermarket tubes are off? Maybe your gun's choke threading is off? No offense intended, but if D to B made the gun shoot lower for you, then it is you, not the gun. If you said B was higher, but the gun still shot too low, then I might think there is a problem. I'd try the factory chokes with the A shim. If that is still low, then call Benelli CS and get the gun ready to go back... mudhen - CA

SBE I. Much more versatile than the M2. Or save your money and go for the SBE II. I don't shoot much 3.5", but in some situations, it outperforms 3" in the field. mudhen - CA

The "No Guns Allowed" is just a private business law. Last I checked, if a private business places a sign in their own establishment, the content of the sign does not become a law. If a real law is being broken, then a sign is irrelevant. What happens here in Cali is most affected businesses enter into an agency agreement with local LE to enforce their private business laws or to come on to their private premises and enforce a local regulation. This is most commonly applied in cases of loitering, trespassing, public intoxication, disorderly conduct, etc. LE can make the arrest and removal on their own, but it is much easier to simply respond to a request of private business owner. There may be CCW laws broken though. A bouncer may lose his CCW for bringing the gun into a privately restricted area. mudhen - CA

Put the A shim in and see what happens. mudhen - CA

Like I said before, I've been cleaning Benelli recoil springs since 1991 with good results... Guns need to be cleaned... mudhen - CA

I get all sorts of crap in mine. And yes, it does get exposed to saltwater on occasion. During turkey season, those little clear buffer balls that Winchester uses in the XR's makes a total mess out of my mag tube and recoil tube. I seal the shells, but the buffer still seems to get stuck all over Sitting upright in a rice tank 45-50 days a year seems to do the trick as well. I get little bits of rice straw, mud, gunk, etc. all jammed in the recoil tube. Add in 1500+- magnum duck loads in a good season, and the recoil tube can get pretty gummed up with unspent powder. By design, water runs right into the recoil tube along with anything that happens to be anywhere near the bolt. mudhen - CA

Dang Kentucky, gets me every time He never didn't say he wanted an M2 SteadyGrip now did he...hmmm...maybe he does, maybe he doesn't...quite a mystery we have here... mudhen - CA

They state "Ash" in the 2006 catalog. Yet another complaint to add to my list I guess Black will do... Ya know, for $41, I would expect Ash to be in stock... mudhen - CA

My gun, and many others it seems, came without Locktite. You state the official Benelli position is that the gun was supposed to have Locktite when new, and that Locktite is required for my gun to operate. Therefore, factually, my gun is lacking a factory required component, and someone at Benelli knew or should have known that my gun was sent out lacking this critical component. At that point, Benelli, having actual or constructive knowledge of this lacking component part, had a duty to recall all affected weapons. I received no such recall, as would be standard customer service protocol. I filled out the yellow card, so Benelli knows where I am. That little yellow card is legally binding by gum! Therefore, I did not receive proper customer service. Perhaps I will continue to reassemble my Benellis for another 17 years without Locktite, and then file some sort of complaint in the year 2023... Until then, I expect some sort of apology note from Benelli. A nice Benelli polo shirt (XXL Ash) would be a nice token of their sincere regret in keeping me informed. Maybe a personal call from Tom Knapp while they are at it?.... mudhen - CA

Oh puleeze, don't even bother... Fist off, I don't even know who the frick Gamlelakjslkelsiss is. I do know they don't have a store in Sacramento. Secundtly, 2006 M2 Steadygrips come drilled & tapped, so technically a 2006 M2 comes drilled and tapped. Turdly, a 2006 M2 camo is $1295 in my area (full MSRP), $1295 + tax = $1396, + $35 DROS = $1431.39, close enough to $1500 for me! A camo M2 SteadyGrip is $1335 + tax = $1438.46 + $35 DROS = $1473.46, even closer to $1500! Add in gas at $3.27 a gallon, and I am just about there. Dang I am good... And, last butt not beast, optics are great for turkeys for some folks. I don't use them for turks, but I think many do and should be able to if they want. Come back when you are better prepared mudhen - CA

Dang it I spent $1500 on this heap and now I find out they left out the Locktite Will this madness of poor customer service ever end mudhen - CA

Just the beads. I aim at the base of the neck, and the pattern hits right where you see it on the target. I like being able to see the bird's head all the way up to the shot. With my Brownings, I have to cover the head, which has led to some misses and marginal kills... mudhen - CA

The c-ring is plain old soft nylon - maybe a $.03 part - don't know the function yet, not retaining I think as the nut screw just bottoms out on the tube. I am pretty sure heat will melt it. mudhen - CA

FYI - Your information is not accurate as it applies to my SBE II, or you do not understand what was being described, or maybe Benelli has changed the part since February 2005 when I bought my SBE II. Benelli stocks have always been held in place with a $.05 nylock Stock Retaining Nut. The part in question is the Stock Retaining Nut Screw, which is now stainless steel. I will post photos on Monday of my gun and the modified Stock Retaining Nut Screw that has been modified from the original to include some sort of threaded c-ring retaining band. This c-ring retaing band somehow compresses to hold the Stock Retaining Nut Screw in place I presume. My Stock Retaining Nut Screw was removed by me, not a gunsmith, with a mere 17mm closed end wrench without the aid of heat. I saw no visible Locktite, red, blue, purple or any other shade of the spectrum. It has been put back into place many times, without the aid of any color of Locktite, without incident. I did not have the desire to ruin that threaded c-ring retaining band to find out what material it is made of, but someone mentioned nylon. I think now that it is not nylon, but I will give it some closer inspection over the weekend. I have been using Breakfree CLP on Benellis for as long as I can remember... mudhen - CA

What happened to the Rhino???? The JH was just a tad better with the #6's. I still use the Rhino for #5's. The new 2006 nickel coated Win XR's #6's patterned better in the JH for some reason. mudhen - CA

For turkeys, I like underbored guns like the SBE II because I shoot small shot through tight choke tubes. Win XR #6's pattern well through my SBE II and Primos Jellyhead .660. The SBE II is also ideal for me because I travel to hunt and keeping the Benelli clean on the road is no problem. Larger shot like #4's tend to like slightly more open chokes. The Xtrema & Xtrema II are overbored guns, and tend to pattern larger shot better. Berettas have more moving parts to clean as well. That being said, I'm sure someone could figure out what choke tubes work best in the X or X II on turks. Probably HeviShot though a .670 or something like that. I might be buying an X II this summer. I will certainly try to make it a turkey gun, but its primary purpose is for ducks & geese. mudhen - CA

Any lefties out there? I think these are pretty good prices @ $1300 for SBE II's. It's a local gunshop in my area - the guns are NIB. http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=49060985 http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=49078698 mudhen - CA