mudhen

All I've done for 15 years is buy a new Wolffe recoil spring every 3-4 seasons, and polish the inside of the recoil spring tube with a bore brush wrapped in steel wool with some metal polish and rigged up to a power drill. It has worked great for 15 years of 1000-1500 shells per season. If you messed up your SC, send it back to Jeff for repair and/or cleaning. mudhen - CA

They all do that. I use the C shim, aim at the base of the neck, and it's perfect for turkeys. Takes a little more practice for ducks, but I just remember to pull in front and low a bit. mudhen - CA

Kinda an odd issue. I've never loaded my Benellis that way, so I couldn't tell you one way or another. I hunt with several SII shooters, and they hold the gun upside down, drop a shell in the receiver, and press the release to rack the shell. I've never seen anyone load a Benelli your way, but I've also never paid much attention. I'd say you may have to alter your routine a bit to adapt to the gun's operational abilities. mudhen - CA

Carlson Sporting Clays .705 - Modified. I'm liking the .700/.705 series more than the .710/.715, seems like the SBE II likes more constriction... mudhen - CA

2"-3" groups, from a rest, with open sights, 100 yards. The SST is for real. I shoot the SST & the Plat Tip in my muzzleloader as well with good results so far. mudhen - CA

Slow day, shot poorly at first, starting to figger out the SBE II a bit... mudhen - CA

Plat Tips have worked great for me. Part Golds are fine. The new Hornady SSTs patterned well in my SBE last weekend. mudhen - CA

rdn, that is exactly how I did it. No problem with the spring afterwards, but I replace all Benelli springs with Woffe springs after 2-3 seasons anyway. No problem at all with nut loosening up. mudhen - CA

I never used locktite after taking the original nut off in 1991, but the original nut was not hex head it was flush fit. The replacement nut was hex head. They changed the design on the SBE II, it now uses a threaded retaining band. mudhen - CA

Shot five birds in twenty minutes before the flight died at sunup. All brown ducks.... Forgot to put the duck choke in after turk, so I shot 'true cylinder' today Stupid is as stupid does mudhen - CA

Lever the mag spring cover off via the slot - I use a flat head screw driver - watch out, the spring will come flying out! I use a mag spring kit from Sure Cycle and put the plug on the outside of the mag spring cover for easier removal. mudhen - CA

1.5 oz Kent Ultimates work great on wild roosters out here. mudhen - CA

Dux have been slow, so we went after the turks. I want Benelli to offer the SBE II in Max4 Vineyard for next season - it that a stupid idea? mudhen - CA

If they make the gun with that barrel, the barrel will be available somewhere. You may not like the price though, even if you find one on E-Bay they run $200+ usually. MSRP is around $260+ for a camo Nova barrel. I can buy a new camo Nova for $350. Try e-gunparts.com? I see they list them for $326 I'd just shoot the 28", you won't be much of a snap shooter with a Nova anyway I've shot 26" bbls for 20 years, and I am now heading towards 28"-30" for a smoother swing. mudhen - CA

A quick look at www.benelli.it may provide some answers. I don't see a Monte or SS slug type barrel in their line up. They do have slug barrels, but in the M1/SBE style of barrel. I am guessing, just guessing, that Benelli USA is somewhat limited to what Benelli Italy produces. Same for Browning. Browning Europe has the new Phoenix line, and Browning USA now has the Silver Hunter line. Both lines combine the X2 and Gold features. Europe before USA I guess! mudhen - CA

In case you didn't catch the Benelli catalog or website description, the SBE & SBE II share the same slug barrel. Matching camo could be tough though. I see one in matte black on E-guns for $570 or something like that I bought my SBE as a slug gun and then bought the extra barrel for $300 off the internet. Good luck, mudhen - CA

www.impactguns.com may be able to help, or www.e-gunparts.com ($470-$620). Tough time of year to be looking for any slug barrel. Good luck! mudhen - CA

Trying to make sense of this; one can certainly see where folks with creative imaginations could come up with an infinite amount of combinations of features for any model of gun from any gun manufacturer. My only opposition to this position is that some imply that to not offer exactly what they want is somehow negligent or indifferent on Benelli's part. To dream is great, but to imply professional negligence or apathy is unacceptable. True motives are now coming out with the additional comments from the Benelli bashers; "seeing that they are opposed to versatility and practicality and would rather see everyone buy 3 benelli shotguns" This is the heart of this little debate. Some folks are peeved that Benelli does not fit their perfect little world, and they have decided to make a helpful customer forum their personal soapbox. If you continue to use this forum to promote your personal agenda, you will continue to get opposition from me at least. I have purchased 100's of firearms over the years, and most were/are lacking in some desired feature that I thought important. Browning does not make an open sight slug barrel for any of their shotguns. So, all those BPS & Gold shooters are SOL. Ruger does not make a pump or auto, although it would seem they could be prime players in that market and allow for support of USA made products. The list is endless. I'm just a fan of business reality......I know of no Benelli employees here other than the moderators.... You newbies need to read old posts before you come here and lay down baseless accusations.... Like I said before, you get what you pay for here mudhen - CA

Here is my question for you guys; where does it stop? Should the slug barrel be 21" or 24"? Maybe 18.5? Rifled or smoothbore? Drilled and tapped or cantilever? Don't forget good old open sights! Then take all these choices and mix & match - each would have to be a different sku and each would have to cost $450+. Open your Benelli catalog, there are your choices.... You are on your own for good reason...... mudhen - CA

I love the 525 too. The SBE slug gun is a fine weapon. The current SBE slug barrel fits the SBE I & II. 3" groups are 100 yards are about the best I can do with a 2-7x32 Nikon ProStaff. A better slug shooter can prolly do better. Favored slugs for me are the Winchester Platinum Tips. Part Golds work fine too, but they are real bruisers. If you buy the SBE as a slug gun, and then buy a regular barrel, you can use the same forearm. If not, you will have to buy a modified forearm for the slug barrel. mudhen - CA

You get what you pay for here at the Benelli USA Forums mudhen - CA

$70. mudhen-CA

My newer SBE II has been releasing Kent Matrix shells from the magazine at the slightest bump. Tore the gun apart and found nothing wrong. Lightened the mag spring, no help. Took a good look at the ammo, and found all 500 rounds of the Matrix I just bought have just slightly rounded brass! The shells slip right past the mag carrier latch sometimes! Just that little extra rounding is causing the problem. I talked to Kent today, they may want the shells back, we'll see what happens.... mudhen - CA

I got a pair of custom plugs made a few years ago at a gun show. I wear them most of the time in the field. mudhen - CA

The entire state of Iowa during their gun season. mudhen - CA