mudhen

The SBE II is not overbored and uses the Optima Plus choke configuration. Most, maybe all, Beretta Optima Plus guns are overbored. You figger it out for yourself..... Here's a hint; what is the constriction of a Beretta Optima Plus LM vs. the constriction of a Benelli Crio Plus LM? mudhen - CA

Call Jeff H. before buying any of his chokes, especially if you are leaning towards .655 and large hard shot. mudhen - CA

Blackjack, Federal's involvement with Estate is a recent thing. Estate has been around for some time. My issues were during the 00-01 waterfowl season. I'm sure Federal has it's issues too, but I'm on 15,000+ Federal steel shot loads with no problems, so I'll stick with 0/15,000 versus the many failures I've witnessed with Estates, albeit some time ago. Drylock and Kent Steel are crap too. Kent steel is famous for undersized brass that expands and sticks (saw that 20-25 times just last year alone), and Drylocks are often cut too long in the hull and they jam in semis and pumps (saw that 10+ times last year). It's all about quality control at the mass ammo plants. Cheap ammo is generally crap. Why anyone would spend good $$$ for a good gun and then try to feed it the dirtiest, poorest made crap is beyond me.... mudhen - CA

I hunt salty, brackish, and fw rice and marshes; I've seen Estates fail in all conditions. Now, this was a few years back, and I recall some issues about bad batches, but why on earth would I even think about shooting a shell that I saw almost kill a fellow? Just can't take the chance. I'm glad you have not had any problems. mudhen - CA

From my experience, the bolt will close a bit more smoothly as the gun gets broken in a bit. Also, keep the breach mouth clean with a toothbrush and/or pick the grime out every so often to keep that area clean. So no, you do not have to necessarily slam it shut, just make sure it's in full battery. You can push it closed. I just memorized where the extractor stops when the gun is in battery. I clean the recoil spring and tube every year on all my Benellis. mudhen - CA

I use Kent Matrix for waterfowl. 3" #5's & #3's, 1525 fps, 1.25 oz. Just bought 1000 rounds the other day. Estates are crap. First hand, I have watched maybe 15 ftfs, 2 stuck wads, and 1 very dangerous delayed fire. For steel, if forced to use it, I guess I'd use Federal Ultra Shok Hi Vel in #2's & BB's. mudhen - CA

Beretta makes many, many, Gelpads to fit some of their models: www.berettausa.com http://www.berettausa.com/product/product_proshop_main.htm (Shotgun Pro Shop) mudhen - CA

You posted three questions. 1) No, the chokes were not designed to interchange. The SBE I used the Beretta Mobil choke system, the SBE II used the Beretta Optima Plus chokes system. 2) This was not a clear question. What does "will the internal barrel match" mean? What is an "internal barrel"? I presume you meant that if you put an Optima Plus choke in a Mobil choke gun, what would happen. I don't know. I don't make a habit of putting the wrong parts in a gun to find out what might happen. 3) Yes, extended chokes pattern better than flush fit chokes. The longer parallel sections create more true patterns by eliminating flyers. The end result is more dense patterns. No offense intended, but this is real basic stuff. You can read info on this website or in the Benelli catalog. Also, play around on choke maker's websites for info; www.carlsonschokes.com. www.briley.com, www.turkeyhuntingsecrets.com, etc. mudhen - CA

No. ?? In english please ?? Yes. mudhen - CA

As to the difficult part - read my post again - then read between the lines - do I have to spell everything out? Donnie says vacuum.....green quarters..... mudhen - CA

Buy any brand of rifled tube and shoot Rem Buckhammers. mudhen - CA

Man, that's not even close for me, our verbal prenupt specifically refers to unlimited huntin' rights, and I'm not kidding..... mudhen - CA

This has got to be a practical joke The SBE II comes with a great cast & drop kit. Use it for god's sake Take a friggin socket wrench and remove the stock and change the drop setting. I think they come with C from the factory. Try D before you send it anywhere. I disagree with not changing beads though - I have done it many times - sometimes several times a year - no big deal. mudhen - CA

I don't know what you are talking about, so I've have no reply. I line the midbead up behind the front bead. Can't see what difference it would make to make the Benelli front bead larger I guess you don't want to use the shim kit in your SBE II? Removing the Benelli front bead is difficult - grasp with a pliers and twist in a counter-clockwise manner. Then buy a new bead and put back in a clockwise manner. It's either 3-56 or 6-48, both short shank. www.brownells.com has literally 1000's of bead in stock. mudhen - CA

Deja vu all over again? Yes. mudhen - CA

Have you checked the firing pin? Sounds like a broken spring or it's gummed up. I use pipe cleaners with the bristles to clean the firing pin hole. mudhen - CA

Good enough Buying the slug version makes sense, you can get a spare reg barrel on Ebay or from a Benelli dealer and that slug forearm will fit fine, a little loose, but it works fine. Kill a big 'un this season, I should be back in 2006, with the new preference point system it would seem that I should get a tag every other year or something like that. The Albia buck really made it tough for a southern Iowa tag draw - we hear tale of a larger toad in Zone 4..... mudhen - CA

This is all just basic stuff. Much info comes from catalogs and books. All you ever need to know about Benellis is in their instruction manual or can be answered by Benelli CS. I bought my first Benelli in 1990 and the drop kit was described in the catalog. If your rifle shot high or low, you would adjust the scope, right? Shotguns are no different. The adjustable drop (and cast on the Comfortech) is a great custom feature found on few production shotguns, another great reason to buy Benelli. Read, read, read, read, read...... did I mention read?..... mudhen - CA

If the choke tubes fit, you must acquit.... Crio on the new Monte would be news to me. Looks like Mobil chokes in the catalog and website. The threads on the Crio are well below the muzzle, maybe around 3/4" down or so. Mobil choke threads are right at the muzzle. mudhen - CA

I would put the non-Crio choke in the freezer before every trip out It appears Benelli and other choke makers use the name 'Crio' to designate certain chokes. The name Crio appears to refer to the Beretta Optima choke system, and the name Crio Plus appears to refer to the Beretta Optima Plus system. Remeber that Beretta Optima Plus guns like the Xtrema are overbored and Benellis are not. Therefore you need to select your chokes based on constriction not the common choke name. mudhen - CA

Mine patterns perfectly, aim at the base of the target and it lifts perfectly into the target area. Change the drop shims to raise or lower pattern. mudhen - CA

I have hunted Iowa for many years. My SBE slug gets passed around the group due to it's inherent accuracy. I shot a walking buck, free-hand, at 97 yards last season, he dropped and never moved. The key is to find the ammo it likes. Right now, my SBE prefers Winchester Plat Tips, with Part Golds a close second. I did not draw a tag this year, but my SBE is going without me I'm sure the M2 slug or SBE II slug would be a great choice, so would a NIB or used SBE I slug or M1 slug. mudhen - CA

I know little about the M4, but the 2005 catalog does state the gun is designed for 'light tactical loads', whatever the heck that means: The current website catalog page does not appear to mention the 'light tactical loads': http://www.benelliusa.com/firearms/m4.tpl and Miami is saying his owners manual does not either I'm confused too. I'd like to know so I can give out correct info. mudhen - CA

I can hit 3 local stores in one hour and find close to 50 SBE II's in stock at any give time. Within 75 miles, I can find close to 200.... mudhen - CA

No no, I do not wear manties when hunting.... manties are for special occasions only..... In the SBE II - I shoot 3.5" Winch Ext Range #6's through a 1.5" Rhino .660. mudhen - CA