bambihunter

I can't really see the chamber well enough to know. It looks more like a packing oil/light grease than a finish issue. The finish under the forearm isn't delicate per se, but I imagine he just forced it on. If one has it too far out of line or it binds in anyway, it can scratch it. The barrel ring that goes around it has pretty sharp corners. I am not sure how I'd feel about it either. I'm a stickler for condition and even my 31 year old Super Black Eagle is in dang good shape and it has been hunted hard every season, particularly from Sept. 1 through end of year following the different bird seasons. But, I have dinged around where the two halves of the receiver join together. I finally found a technique that worked, but at first there was just too many things to keep track of all at once. I imagine the Cabela's guy doesn't have much experience and was rushing to assemble.

If they looked new, I'd buy them. They are in good shape though and not a bad price for all it includes.

Thought it is not specifically about what you are after in this topic I think will answer your question. It has some diagrams too so you can look at those. The user StrangerDanger always posts informative stuff like that.

I don't know of any Benelli USA ones that can ghost load. Perhaps there was a very small batch of the different types, but none that I have ever found. Not that I really use it when hunting or anything, but that is one specific reason why I look for HK marked ones. I usually then have the seller take a picture of the bottom of the bolt to see if shows 1 groove or 2. MrMilitaryPolice - This thread talks about it and different ways to achieve that if desired: Opinions differ, but from what I've been able to tell from GunBroker searches I've had on since forever (I think 2001 or so), it seems that HK Benelli's do bring a small premium but condition is a much bigger factor. Many don't agree Gunbroker is a good test for prices, but it's a real-time way to see what they sell for across the US. If one is looking for that highly unusual or rare item, it is THE go-to place. I've practically filled my collection with things I'd have never found locally. I have at least a dozen guns that I can think of off the top of my head that have a production or import run of less than 180 items that were all sourced there.

I always watch Gunbroker for the national average price on things but it doesn't show any recently sold ones. https://www.gunbroker.com/semi-auto-shotguns/search/completed?keywords=benelli 11711&timeframe=1&sort=1&pagesize=96 If you have an account there, you can set up a saved search to notify you when one is listed. You log in, go to advanced search, and type your search parameters. I have always just used "Benelli 11711". You can then tick the box to save the search. Then go into the saved searches settings in your account, and have you notify you the way and frequency you want. This is how I have found all my rare and unusual things. Some things I have wanted and put a saved search took me many years (recently acquired one that was on my list since I joined GB in 2001). The search for current listings for the 11711 is this: https://www.gunbroker.com/semi-auto-shotguns/search?keywords=benelli 11711&sort=1&pagesize=96 The one listed there has been listed for quite a while. There might have been one sold for that much during the peak of COVID crazy buying, but generally speaking, they almost never go for that much. Yours is like mine, same condition and everything, unfired, in the correct box, etc. I'd be a little surprised if they'd still sell for $5k but one never knows. If you were serious about selling it, put a $4k starting price on it and see where it goes. Or, set your minimum and let it run. Just don't use reserves, most people I know won't look at a reserve option unless the reserve is already met when bidding. For myself, if I was looking, I put a check in the box marked No Reserve. That link looks like this: https://www.gunbroker.com/semi-auto-shotguns/search?keywords=benelli 11711&noreserve=1&sort=13&pagesize=96 If you do decide to sell it, you might post a link to it here since many people want one.

No, not at all. Remember the M3 has the pump action so it has a different cutouts to allow that action. Also, if you are looking, make sure you get the right age/generation of M3 barrel. From what I can tell, the older HK era models look different than the newer M3's. If it follows the other models like M1 to M2 changes, it will have a barrel ring to give a positive stop when inserting the barrel to the receiver. The older M1's as well as M3's did not have that. It's been a long time since I had either of my M3T folders apart, but the barrel lug behind the ring was shorter on the older SBE's, M1's, etc. than the newer models. The M3 has the indent where the slide lock catches so that may or may not hold true on the M3, but they are certainly different than any other Benelli barrel. Also, you didn't mention yours being a folder, but if it is, they took a unique barrel to function completely as the rear sight location is slightly different and use completely different sights. If you put a non-folder barrel on a folding stock model, the sight doesn't lock the folded stock in place like shown in the top picture. Those sights is how it locks, and there's a release button on them to allow the user to fold it down. If you have the newer style M3, you can likely buy a new one at places like Numrich, Midway, etc. Be prepared however as most Benelli semi-auto barrels are ~$500 and up for new ones. Good luck on your quest. The M3's are fairly unique in the shotgun world. There may be others, but the only others that I know of that are both semi-auto and pump like the M3 is the detachable magazine Franchi SPAS-15 and tube magazine SPAS-12 which looks cool but is a pain to use. Its controls are just awkward. I just saw the original post was 16 years ago and was necro-bumped. LOL

https://www.gunpartscorp.com/gun-manufacturer/benelli/shotguns/semi-auto-shotguns/m1-super-90-military-and-police You'll want this part if you don't have anything at all. On the schematic, it's part #85: Ring Joining Assembly, New Factory Original Part Key: 85 Prod #: 741010A $38.25

Dedduc has it correct. They were labeled and sold as the ultimate turkey gun. While uncommon, they aren't exactly rare. And, though uncommon, I've not found them to increase the value even to people like myself that prefer the SBE 1. This is in part due to the fact that the pistol grip generally makes wing shooting more difficult. Not impossible, just more difficult. There were a lot of M1's sold with pistol grips, and if memory serves, they share the buttstock with the early SBE's. I have 2 pistol grip stocks that I bought 25+ years ago, one is still in factory wrap, one I used one season and took it back off even though my intention was to have one SBE configured for turkey or use with my slug barrel, the other for everything else.

Here's a diagram of the Ethos that should show everything you need: https://www.midwestgunworks.com/benelli-ethos/parts.html

I'm curious, what was the reason for removing the bluing and polishing the barrel?

There were different length tubes in that era. I used to have a pistol gripped HK era M3T and its magazine was slightly different - I think around 1/4-1/2" different than my pair of M3T folding stock models which do have other differences as well such as barrel rear sight locations and actual sights along with obviously the stock. I don't think I have any remaining pictures of the pistol gripped M3, but it looked a lot like my M1. It almost seems like there might be two different threads for the mag tubes though I may be thinking of the threads for the bolt that holds the stock

I have an older HK era Montefeltro and it was an ounce or so heavier than advertised but it was balanced perfectly. On average, I like the balancing point to be immediately in front of the trigger guard. My wife LOVES the gun! So much so that she says it's 'my Monty'. Ironically, and maybe that's why she says it like that, but how I met her was I sold her my Monte Carlo years ago. We hit it off, we started dating, and then I had to pay the car off again. 🫤

You don't need to revive 6 posts that were started at least 12 years ago. Just post a WTB about it. If you can find a picture of one, even better. I often go to gun shops and auctions and with a picture in my head and someone's WTB, I sometimes have been able to link the buyer and seller. I will be going to the big Wannamacher gun show in Tulsa, OK in April 11-12th. You can find dang near anything there with over 4,200 exhibits. I believe it is still the largest gun show in the WORLD! If you are anywhere even close to that area, it is well worth the drive. I know people drive from all over to go to it. Good luck on your quest.

I'd be interested in all except the vest. NC is in line first for the shell carrier though. Off topic, I've always said someone should make a R-vest (reverse vest). My body doesn't get cold when I am out hunting, it's always my arms. So, I need a pair of sleeves with a cord to link them together. LOL

I recommend to NEVER use a 'wet' oil in your magazine tube. I have made a decent amount of money over the years buying "jam-o-matics' that wouldn't feed after a quick look down the tube. I'd take them home, clean out all the dried chaff, dust, leaves, and everything else the environment kicks up that the wet oil will gladly stick to until it eventually traps so much of it that it gums up the works. I even sold some back to their original owners after they saw they shot flawlessly again. I'd purposely bring their old gun with me when I'd hunt with them just to show them it wasn't the gun. 😇 So, I started with dry lube in the magazine, then started using it elsewhere. Ultimately, I now run it everywhere else including in the bolt, though I do put a small drop of oil on the frame rails. I spread it nice and thin, wiping off any excess before putting my Super Black Eagle back together (my main hunting shotgun). I don't know if the gas operated M4 would need a different oil anywhere, but I've got a LOT of rounds, including a lot of 3.5" mags down my SBE and it still looks and runs like a champ inside and out. I use the cheap RemOil for non-moving parts as a rust-preventer for storage but after having a bolt literally freeze shut at 10 degrees F, I quit using it on moving parts. I put it on evenly, then wipe off the excess. I then put them in modified silicone gun socks so the Rifle Rods gun storage system rods would pass through and they give some limited protection against safe rash of guns bumping together.