birddog

yea the jumpy thing is always a scorcher it's the same out in the Dakotas. I've hunted private land sw of Mason City a few years back and had a good time. Call it coincedence ... I had a vet from outside Davenport in Eldrige tote her husband up here twice to pick out a pup (Wirehaired pointer) last July. I'd have to look to make sure but Dar and Scott Beegern comes to mind. Good People! Get this....SHE HUNTS .. HE DOSN'T !! That caught me off gaurd. But I know the boys got it made there with 'em. No kids and plenty of room at their place west of town. So he's spoiled rotten I can imagine. Next season will not come soon enough! haha Leaving for north west Wisconsin tomarrow to chase the dogs around the grouse woods for the weekend. have a good one!

I think there are a few opinions on this one and even some manufacturers reps say you don't need them but I use 'em in all my guns except the revolvers.

birdkilr - Been wondering how the gun looks now.. have any photos you can share??

I'm ignorant to tactical terms and for the most part what makes the features of these guns 'functional' (besides the obvious). just a few questions.. 1- LEO ?? LAW ENFORCEMENT O..(officer)?? 2- I understand the burn factor concerning the shroud... but, is this practical?? how many shots out of a shotgun are you guys running off at a time on duty?? or is this a practice-preventative measure for at the range?? 3- other than slug rounds - what rounds are you guys packing that constitutes a red dot? personaly - target aquisition speed is faster with iron sights compared to a 32mm red dot scope on a slug gun but that's me i guess.. pardon the ignorance if I don't see something..

tj - yea there's a difference but they all run like carl lewis on crack! One of the reasons I like pointers vs. flushers in the field. don't get me wrong we still have plenty of wild flushes out in front of us. If I'm hunting alone or with someone that knows my dogs or is at least conscious of them I don't use a bell. If they're new to 'em or just not with it ... a small nickel bell gets added to their collars which accounts for a lot of those wild flushes. Were those loads the factory pheasant loads by remington?

Sam - disregarding whats been said previously.With your last post in mind I think you narrowed down your options too much. If you're considering a gun for clay target sports such as skeet or sporting clays I think you'll be better served by an automatic or a double. For a few dollars more you have these autoloaders to choose from: ( that I'm aware of) Stoeger 2000 synthetic - @ $400 Charles Daly VS-MC synthetic - @ $400 Traditions ALS 2100 Synthetic- @ $450 Remington 1100 Synthetic - @ $470 For an inexpensive double look at the Stoeger Condor O/U - @ $400 just a thought.... jedd - yea the porting helped out on the 870. I have 4 shotguns that are ported and would say it helps a great deal ... some have said recoil reduction up around the 30% mark but, the real noticable factor is muzzle rise. The barrels are less jumpy for sure!! [ 01-14-2004, 11:08 AM: Message edited by: birddog ]

I couldn't agree more with you on the reduction of the season lengths and bag limits. I find it pretty gut wrenching that the Feds, DU and Delta have not pushed this harder but, I feel there are other factors besides these two that if recognized and acted upon will effect our numbers of ducks in a more positive manor. My entire family is involved in DU and Delta and we've been for years and will continue to do so religously! What other organizations out there have done anything? My brother guides waterfowl hunts on the weekends on the Mississippi River and it's tributaries so there is plenty of talking done among us about the situation... (not that we ever say anything though - haha) This is only my opinion - I feel that our #1 adversary at this point and time as wingshooters are Varmints/Predators. I think we've done great things as far as 'habitat' is concerned in the last twenty years or so but, I think we lost predation concerns along the way - specificaly while nesting and brooding. Sure we've 'built' habitat for the birds to feed, wallow and nest in but I think we've done a poor job at managing the population of predators that thrive in this 'luxurious' habitat. For instance: South Dakota Fish and Game has full time trappers and varmint control agents running 24-7. I see them every so often when I'm there pheasant hunting. Constantly working with farmers, private land owners and tending state owned land with pick-ups loaded with fox, racoon, opposum, coyotes and everything between.(Don't get me started on hawks and owls.... I've seen a hen pheasant get plucked out of the air once). I believe that this kind of predator management aids in South Dakota's Pheasant and Waterfowl populations tremendously!! Predation is definately something that needs to be addressed quickly before we do much else. for what it's worth.... [ 01-14-2004, 12:45 AM: Message edited by: birddog ]

I think i'd put my name on the list too! after sitting here and staring at my 12ga. model I'm convinced i'd buy one if they'd offer it. jedd - I have an 1100 20ga. also but, it's been reduced to collecting dust since I started using a 20 o/u. Just think an SBE in a 20 would be Primo! I'd use it that's for sure.

for what benelli charges for these things you'd be better off spending a few extra dollars and buy the entire nova slug gun model.

This is a can of worms..but- One thing we do here in south central WI is change hunting spots often and not over hunt an area. Concerning our 'local' birds - the few guys I hunt with are always scouting new areas and traveling away from home to keep these families of ducks coming back to our hide-aways. We want to keep them there and keep them coming back. So heavy hunting preasure is something we stay away from. The weather is another major factor ... too dry and too warm is another key factor in certain spots. Obviously not enough rain in southern areas like where you are is going to effect thier stay for lack of available water and possibly food. Too warm in the north to drive the birds south is another factor ... Now add in record harvests in the mid to late 90's and obviously somethings got to give. If a guy hunts all season as much as he can and shoots everything he can year after year ... How does that help populations?? Especially when populations were on the rise in the 90's everybody and thier brother went out and bought a 3-1/2" mortar cannon, a mojo-duck, 60 decoys, 5 duck calls, and a dopey lab (i have nothing against labs thier just dopey) ... Now all these guys are lookin' around wondering where the ducks are and complaining about #'s One thing i recomend highly is getting involved in your local Ducks Unlimited chapter (if your not already) and donate as a sponsor if posssible. The more money your local chapter is able to raise the more thier able to pump into local efforts for habitat and the likes. Another is getting involved in an active sportsmans club. These two avenues will be able to better aid you in what will help most for the habitat Another place you might consider before driving 24+ hrs to the Dakotas is Texas or Oklahoma. Both states have seasons around the 90 day mark, moderate climates and plenty of ducks. for what its worth... [ 01-13-2004, 05:22 PM: Message edited by: birddog ]

Yesterday morning while out chasing gamefarm birds my brother (who sleeps with his SBE) made the comment that if Benelli ever produced a 20ga. SBE He'd be first on the list. After hypothetically talking about it - a 20ga. version of the gun sounded better and better. what do you guys think??

Waxed Canvas - porting helps eliminate barrel jump along with recoil making second shots quicker and easier. you are right tho... you do get a bit of a "crack" when you're beside it... but, not when you're shooting. As for adding a pound of wieght to a gun to reduce recoil...I think you guys gotta be crazy not to port a barrel before adding weight!! Think about that ... you're increasing the wieght of a nova by roughly 15% turning an 8 pound gun into a 9 pound gun... plus throwing off the feel and balance by stuffing it all in the stock... not for me - no thanx! [ 01-11-2004, 08:42 PM: Message edited by: birddog ]

waxed canvas - sounds like you've got a humidity problem wherever you store your 870 ... I've got a wingmaster magnum that's eligable for carbon dating that has most of the bluing worn off that I've had no problem with rusting ... and it gets beat like a rented mule. I just make sure she's wipped with oil after it drys and never a concern.

I hear ya fezman.. i have to laugh cause that's the way one of the birds looked... both wings broken (one hangin' by a thread)and it's back was a pile of mush... no telling what coulda been with a full choke - wouldn't want to find out out either... they're precious no matter the limit.

fezman's right... the 500's i know about have taken a good share of abuse real well! The guys I know that own them are happy with 'em.

tj - what loads was your Father using?

Well for starters consider fit to be your first concern. It's been a while since i've shot a 500 and do remember I didn't like it a bit *my opinion. However I've recently popped a few shells out of a nova and thought it fine. it's a lot diferent than my old 870 wingmaster magnum duck gun I use -I think I'm a bit biased towards my 870- but putting that aside, I liked the nova. One other thing- i've had considerable work done to my 870 .. an adjustable recoil pad, A trigger pad, the once fully choked 30" barrel has been choked out to #2 sheet, ported and new large dia. red front bead installed.. so it's been 'made' to my liking. I sent it out to R & D CUSTOM BARREL SERVICE who did the barrel work on it and they did an EXCELLENT job. I don't recall what they charged me on an itemized basis but, thier site currently quotes $65 for porting with a turn-around time of 1-3days! Add your shipping to that and you've got a first class job!! Hope this helps and good luck in your quest.

yea ... that's the way it is guys. A shooting partner of mine works for an owner of a retail outfit at shows and told me that they didn't carry Benelli for a number of years because they (Benelli) wouldn't let them sell at a lower margin than msrp. Go figure.

A heavy brine of pickling salt and garlic powder. Soak for 24hrs. this will pull out a lot of the blood on steaks and chops. Then grill on a HOT bed of coals or HI on gas!!! Grilling will keep the meat from cooking in it's own juices... one thing to remember is not to overcook it. like liver .. it has a tendency to toughen up from being so lean if over cooked and if it's cut wrong... watch out. If I'm cooking meat from a full rut swollen buck... I just cut the backstraps out and grind the rest for sausage and burger meat... but thats me. I'm not a fan of pungent venison either. [ 01-11-2004, 06:08 PM: Message edited by: birddog ]

I grew up using hoppes products and rem-oil. rem-oil is all I use today along with fine grease for ejectors and pivots on doubes. Too lazy to get up and check but, it's red and has a seringe applicator haha

Both shotguns and rifles of mine get surface cleaned after everytime out. Only takes a few seconds to spray 'em down and wipe off then (shotguns) run a lightly oiled swab down the bore. Cheap protection and insurance. On a trip shotguns get inspected every night then ripped down and brushed when i get home. Rifles and slug guns get the same treatment but, the bore dosn't get touched until i get home. Sighted-in and left fowled before the trip then brushed when i get home... learned that the hard way. After check sighting my back-up mossberg 485T 20ga bolt slug-gun I didn't even think about it and cleaned the bore before leaving for the cabin for rifle season. Early in the week I knocked the front sight off my rifle and confidently picked up my trusty back up.... well, the first shotable buck I'd seen was at a perfect 50yrds where i zeroed... I put the iron sights on his boiler and shot underneath him kicking up leaves. He didn't move. so I worked another shell up... shot... same place. Taking just a few steps forward he still stood there. At this point I figured to compensate for the difference and held above his shoulder... shot...and hit the tree behind him dead where I was aiming after I watched him trot off I sat there in complete shock until it hit me. DUH!

I reload waterfowl loads with it and grabed a few to test out on pheasants and had the same outcome as tj replied with. Guessing between 20 and 30yrds I all but ground up three roosters with some high reving #4's. So it worked well. but, to me it's a bit expensive to be throwing at pheasants. I usually use Federals premium Pheasants Forever loads 1-1/4 oz. of #4 copper plate when I'm out in the Dakotas and this has worked great too. if the price ever comes down on the bulk re-load material I might switch to it but, i'll definately load'em a bit lighter and maybe jump up to 5's or 6's.

Hi T - There is little documented on this these days. From what I've read in the past the velocity increases are so nominal (say 5fps form 26-28") that the point is moot. This has to do with shotshell construction and it's components specificaly the powder. Years ago powder burn rates were much slower so longer barrels were key in getting everything you could out of a shotshell packed with a heavy load of shot and the increased powder charge that was needed to propell it at a high velocity. personally I prefer longer barrels. click on this link that fattire75 posted earlier Longer is better Hope this helps out.

Looks as if the engineers and designers were at work over at Browning with a few Benelli items on their minds... Benelli R-1 Browning Cynergy Sporting O/U Browning BAR ShortTrac Browning BAR LongTrac Browning BAR Safari (old design of the BAR) [ 01-08-2004, 01:01 AM: Message edited by: birddog ]

yep, it says, "Hastings Metro Gun Systems extension coupled with Federals Metro Sub-Sonic ammunition, can reduce blast up to 50%...with a muzzle velocity of 850fps .... ranges must be inside 40yrds, 30yrds is better." I just can't imagine using it i guess ... would be interesting to try though. Thinking of toting that thing around in my skiff or duck boat just makes me chuckle i guess. Could you imagine seeing that thing pop out of the grass and cattails in the blind next to you ... HAHA!