mgspencer

The Benelli is built on the principal of the M4 shotgun with twin gas tubes and plungers. I too am trying to decide on Benelli or Browning. What it the deal with the Zero after cleaning? I thought the barrel was intergral with the upper receiver which is what the scope is mounted to. In theroy the scope should always be in alignment with the barrel even if you pull the barrel off for cleaning.

I have tested this many times with several different guns. I have SBE's with 24", 26" and 28" barrels and the all have the same average Muzzle velocity with Kent Fasteel, AA trap loads, my reloads and Federal Steel. My Winchester 1300 28" has a bit higher velocity on average than the Benelli's. I shoot the 24" barrel more than any of the rest. I love the easier swing and it moves around better in heavy cover and reeds. I never notice the "sight plane" or the bead when I am hunting. I pull up concentrate on the bird and drop him. If the bead fell off my gun I would never notice until turkey season. BUT everyone says that the short barrel is LOUD to others in the blind.

To Answer your second Question first, always let the bolt SLAM closed. if you lower it slowly the bolt will not lock-up and you will get the Famous "Benelli Click" which means that the hammer did not drop because the bolt was out of battery. On the first issue it could have been a weak load or a gun malfunction but if you run 500 rounds of "light" loads thru it and it was fine I would point at the load. I oil everything in mine but very lightly and use the benelli oil or my Own mixture of ATF (due to its anti rust and cleaning properties) and machine oil. I had an M1 that would not cycle S&B buckshot no matter what you did with it.

My first thought is if you paid $1400 for an M2 Deer you did not do your research and got ripped by the retailer. I have never seen a camo M2 in any configeration for over $1100 and around here I can gat a Max4 SBE-II for $1325. Also the retailers in my area will talk you out of a Remington and try to sell you a Benelli, Browning or Winchester before anything else. This is due to the number of Remingtons sent in for repair or rust problems. I was a dealer fo 10 years (to many headaches) and I seen more 11-87 repaired than all others combined. I would think that benelli produces the most of and keeps a SUPPLY of what is in DEMAND at the time. if It is a NEW product I would guess that all the barrels in that pattern are going on matching guns to ship to dealers. Accessory barrels are not a consideration until all the gun orders were filled first. if it is that big of an issue for you than buy a black barrel and pay the $75 to have it dipped to match. (what I did with my SBE) Try to buy an accessory barrel for a Winchester Super X3 right now. As a matter of fact try to buy a factory slug barrel that will fit an X2 or X3 3.5" receiver. YOU CAN'T. They advertised them but I was told be a Winchester Rep that they actually only produced a very short run of them and not many got out. You can get them for the 3" receivers but not the 3.5" receivers and they will not interchange ( I tried). but I did not cry like a spoiled little girl, I just wrote it off as a fact that I did not do enough research first. AMEN

I picked up a used Benelli and need the "A" shim set. It has the "D" installed and I would trade that for an "A" or buy the "A" at a reasonable price. Thanks

Anyone know where the best place is to get benelli Barrels at a decent price. I am looking for a 24" or 26" in the older woodlands camo. would consider a newer barrel also as long as the camo is somewhat close to the original Thanks

My SBE has the ER-Shaw barrel on it and it shoots 1" with the Federal Sabots (BRI style). it will not group the remingtons, Hornady's, or the Lightfields at all. it will be decided at the range for your particular gun/load combo to be accurate. The Federal Barnes expanders and Winchester's are next on my testing list

My Particular SBE has the ER Shaw barrel on it and I can get reliable groups of 1.5" of less. I use the Federal Sabots (simular to the old BRI) and took two deer this year. One at 148 yds and one at 20 feet. I could not get good groups with the Remington, Hornady, brenneke or Lightfield with mine. The Winchester Partitions were pretty close to POA but 2" groups. still need to test the Fed Barns expanders and Winchester Platinum tips. Buy several boxes of various slugs and do some bench time. Every gun will have its own preference.

I tried the recoil reducer in my Nova and it did add a lot of un-wanted weight at the rear of the gun. This caused me to have to think about it every time I shouldered the gun due to the new ballance point. I did notice a small bit of recoil reduction but that is usually the caes when you add weight. I removed the unit and sold it on E-bay to recover my investment. Ihad a Ported Browning O/U 12 but could not tell the difference between it and my un-ported guns. Just my preceptions.

Cals has it. I am waiting for a reply from them. They do not specify if the one thay have has choke tubes or not. I want the choke tube version. I have bought many HK items from them with no problem but never knew they sold Benelli accessories. Thank you mgs

I have searched the net and can not find anyone that can get me the 18.5" Barrel. I have a Nova Pump with the 28" barrel and want the 18.5 so as to have a dual purpose shotgun. HELP! mgs

I tried to buy an H2O myself and did not because I could not find one with choke tubes. They were all fixed chokes.

It depends, Semi-auto, Pump, O/U? My Nova Pump gets Negelected more than it should and it is the gun I take out in EXTREAME weather. Freezing rain, sleet and snow. I clean it when it gets wet but other than that It just works. My SBE's on the other hand are cleaned after every outing if they are fired or not. My son has a Traditions ALS2100 Gas operated semi-auto and it has to be cleaned every 100 rounds or it starts to short cycle and it has to be well oiled or it will not not function at all. On all of my guns I lightly coat all metal parts and then wipe it so as to only leave a slight film.

I have no idea where these guys get the idea the the 3-1/2" kicks so bad. I have the Nova Pump and 2 SBE's. I hunt ducks and geese with these guns and sometimes go thru 15 shells in a day with no notice of the recoil. My cousin uses a fabarms O/U in 3-1/2" and it is just fine too. I am using the Federal Premium in #BB for geese and #2 for ducks both at 1550fps. I have found that the 3" 2oz magnum lead loads I use for turkey kick a LOT more than the 1-3/8 loads for waterfowl. Think about the old duck and goose loads we used in 2-3/4" that were 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 oz in #6, #4 or #2 lead and they had a pretty stout kick to them. The 3-1/2" I use is about the same shot weight but higher velocity. I am not a Big guy at 180 lbs so I would recommend the 3.5" with no hesitation. I see no problem with the guys shooting 3" or even the 20ga loads but I just prefer the 3.5". With the increased shot count I have opened up my chokes to IC to get wider patterns and still an excellent concentration of shot with no holes at 40 yards. Also remember when you paper test your loads wear your coat. there is a difference if you test in a t-shirt you will feel the recoil much more than when you are dressed for duck hunting weather.

no ideas yet? mgs