tj

chris4, i was in the same boat. i settled for a franchi 620. i bought her an M1 20ga but it had too much recoil. i looked at a few guns: beretta 3901 20ga(too expensive) 11-87 and 1100(too heavy) browning gold(too expensive). in general gas guns are lighter in recoil then recoil guns, but the trade off is that gas guns are heavier. the francy 620 fit the bill. lighter weight and gas operated. the M1 was very lite(like 5.7lb) but its lite weight and inertia action had too much recoil, even for a twenty. good luck

fmsniper, sorry to hear about your hunt. unfortunatly every gun dealer is the same regardless of make. it is rare to be able to return a firearm. your problem sounds like an ejecter pin and if so, easy to fix and covered by warranty. good luck

are your tubes extended??? if they are they may not have the id notches. i have heard of people scribing info on their tubes like constriction and diameter. sorry i cant help

doesn't the Sport II chokes have notches on them??? Full has 1 * IM 2 ** M 3 *** IC 4 **** C 5 ***** if they do have the notches, like benelli and browning, it is a quick and easy way to id the tube even when its in the barrle. hope it helps [ 01-19-2004, 03:07 PM: Message edited by: tj ]

It's Walnut wood. i have seen better looking wood though.

easy killer. have you ever owned a benelli? i have had 3 remingtons and 3 benellis in the last 6 years and have 1 one remington and 2 benellis left. the one remington i have was manufactured in 1994-95 and is far superior to that crap they are pumping out today. i will never give it up. one of the rem guns was so bad that remington actually bought it back from me paid in full plus tax. the other one had a forcing cone so rough it would not eject a spent shell, and ill be ****ed if im going to pay more money to have a new gun worked on just so it functions properly. remington also only offers two year warranty. the two bennelis, on the other hand, have functioned flawlessly right out of the box, and bennelli has a 5 year warranty. i really wish i still that M1 though and i think ill be kicking my self in the ars for long time on that one. i have owned all bennellis field guns, nova, M1, and sbe, a found them all to be great guns. the remintons, on the other hand, nothing made me happier when those guns we out of sight and out of mind. as i said before i love my old remington and will probably still buy one that was manufactured before 1997-2000 if i find a deal. the only way ill ever shoot a new remington again is if i can fieldtest one first, but thats whole different story. the only thing i wish i could change about the nova is to make the safty oversized and put it behind the trigger instead of in front. otherwise the gun has been through **** and proved its self to me.

i agree with bird dog. i use snap caps. its better to be safe than sorry. i dont know how common this is but i have broken a firing pin before. good luck

wow! that nitro ammo is expensive! i can buy remington and hevi shot brand hevi shot much cheaper than nitro company's lead loads! not to mention nitro hevi shot! wow!

birddog, the shells were remington duck loads. i bought them at gander mountain when they came out. i hunt over nothing but labs. they hold solid points and flush when i tell them to. then they go and retrieave the downed or wounded bird. i love hunting behind them, they work much slower then pointers and will retrieve in any environment. i have two pure breed pointing labs, a yellow named taz and a chocolate named abby, and am currently raising another chocolate named alli. the problem is that towards the middle and end of the season the birds get VERY jumpy. i love my dogs. there are a couple of pups from my blood line in wisconsin i believe around Wausua(sp?). im really looking forward to next season! how bad is that? good luck [ 01-15-2004, 08:12 PM: Message edited by: tj ]

they both really look different but what features set them apart from the M1 and SBE??? is there some place i can read about them??? i dont really like the way they look but the trigger guard on the M1 isnt that bad.

birddog, they were 2 3/4 #4s i think an 1 1/4 oz. they worked great for my father. fez, hunting wild pheasants is a whole different world then planted pheasants. my dogs work no farther then 10 or 15yds from me yet the birds will still jump 50yds and farther in front ou us. in one area we actually have to "sneak" up to, no talking to each other or the dogs. this is why we use full chokes and #4 shot. our season just ended with a total of 65 roosters and not a one was "shot up". we ate every one. i have hunted planted pheasants in wisconsin and it was not hunting but rather shooting. you want to try some pheasant hunting try a late season iowa hunt. [ 01-15-2004, 04:56 PM: Message edited by: tj ]

my father is a recovering heart patient so his reflexes are a little slow and the bulk of his shooting starts at about 40yds(if they get past me!) and he used hs for the first time this season. WOW is all i have to say. i dont think i would ever use it or recomend it but he "pillow cased" one at 50yds! the bird jumped and i watched it and didnt even consider shooting and and he pulled up and fired on shot and the bird died before it hit the ground! luckily we have a few good labs that found the bird in the switch grass. he was using a hastings extended IM in a browning gold. i seen him shoot at least half a dozen birds that i didnt even mount my gun. the hs is great for and his situation. i use my home rolled loads of 4s in a briley X2 F and can cleanly kill birds at 40-45yds but the hs was wicked. ill never use the hs on pheasants because i dont think i have the skill to be shooting that far and lead works just fine for the ranges i like to shoot. i think at thirty yards and under it could have been a mangled mess. [ 01-08-2004, 11:14 PM: Message edited by: tj ]

welcome paolo, i use hoppes #9 gun oil and hoppes weatherguard gun oil on my sbe and nova and it works great. i use the #9 the whole season until it gets cold (our low this week was -7F with a -20 to -30 windchill) then i switch to the weatherguard. one important tip would be to scrub all the packing greese out of the rails before you shoot it for the first time. good luck [ 01-08-2004, 05:06 PM: Message edited by: tj ]

i'll clean my shotguns when ever they get dirty or about every other outting. i will also clean them after every target shoot. my rifles i'll clean after every outting and sometimes 2-3 times a day. it will make a difference on a target the size of a prairie dog at 200-300yds. nitro company(makers of rhino choke tubes and nitro ammo) say a clean bore makes a big difference in turkey patterns and to clean the bore after every shot. they say the harmonics created by the fouling effects the density of the pattern. [ 01-08-2004, 01:28 PM: Message edited by: tj ]

the two are very different. i have had an M1 and loved it. i have never shot a 612 but im sure it is a good gun. try and throw both up and see which one fits better. differences: M1 recoil operation 612 gas operation M1 holds 3+1 612 holds 5+1 they both use benelli choke tubes they both have aluminum recievers the recoil is probabaly felt less in the 612 M1 was a little rough the M1 is very easy to clean there is usually maore to clean and keep clean on a gas gun. (i have a 11-87) M1 has a stepped rib 612 has a flat rib the 612 is a bit lighter then the M1 but not by much there is a big difference in price with M1 about $200 to $300 more then the 612. M1 5 year warranty 612 3 year warranty they both fire the same shells 1 1/8oz 3drm both have mercury recoil reduction systems available M1 is double beaded i cant recall if the 612 is or not? M1 comes with 5 choke tubes 612 comes with 3 choke tubes M1 has oversized safety behind the trigger 612 has a small safety infront of the trigger both guns have magazine cutoff systems IMO, i would go with the M1. i really wish i still had mine but i had to sell it(financial difficulties) and if i had the chance to get another one i would do it in a heart beat!!! the 612 is a nice looking gun but id rather have a recoil gun over a gas gun and id rather have the safty behind the trigger, one thing i wish i could change about the nova seems a bit of a stretch some times. hope it helps [ 01-08-2004, 10:44 AM: Message edited by: tj ]

it all depends on the birds. adjust to the birds, for instance, late season pheasants in iowa are notorious for jumping 30+yds infront of you while grouse usually jump at your feet. ducks might be working your decoys and hanging 10yds infront of you one day and passing over at 35yds the next. i always carry a few extra tubes good luck

you can try and pattern your full choke that came with the gun but you will almost always produce tighter patterns with an extended tube designed for turkey hunting. i have not found a good tube for my sbe yet but i do use a truglo tube in my nova. your sbe came with five tubes and only the C, IC, and M are recomended for use with steel shot. as for which tube to use will be determined how the birds are flying. pattern your factory tubes first but i have found that after market extended tubes produce better patterns with steel shot, especialy high velocity loads, then do the factory tubes. i use Briley IC, LM, and M for ducks and a hastings IM for geese. for quial i use an IC to F depending on the time of year and how the birds are jumping and i use a C to M on grouse. for doves/pidgeions i use a F because a lot of longer shots are taken. pheasants get a LM to F depending on time of year and how they are jumping. hope it helps good luck

anybody know if the parts are interchangable between the sbe and sbe II??? also, what are the new features of this model, no rumors, or where can i find statistics about this model??? thanks

that tube was designed to reduce report using sub-sonic loads in populated urban areas. this combination was created for use on canada goose depredation orders inside of city limits. the sub-sonic loads are slow (about 800fps) and the metro tube keeps the blast quite. its just another way to combat local geese.

i also have a nova and i use a gobble stopper tube by tru glo. i have measured it to be about .648 and does really well with #6 shot but not too great with anything else. i use winchester supreme HV and can consistantly but 10-20 pellets in the head and neck at 40yds. the problem is that for some odd reason thisa tube will not fit in my sbe. its a little tight fit in the nova and goes in about half way and sticks tighter than **** in the sbe!!! i have been meaning to contact tru glo but haven't got around to it. has any one else had this problem. i'm looking into the factory style tubes from cabelas in a .665 this should do better with #5s and #4s. i would also like to know about the benelli extended tube be BRILEY and does anyone know the diameter or the constriction of this tube? thanks for any help guys! [ 01-05-2004, 07:46 PM: Message edited by: tj ]

has anybody used benelli's extended turkey tube by Briley??? what do ya think about it?

yeah, its not very pretty. is there a link were i can read some info about it? do you think the barrels are interchangeable between the SBE and SBEII???