bambihunter

Not a chance. I searched way too long. I wouldn't sell the low ribs, slug barrel, and additional modified forearm. I still haven't decided for sure on the rest. I had initially bought the 2nd SBE at the top just for its barrel and was going to swap the newer type onto it and sell it but ended up keeping it. I might make it something of a 3 gun setup with extended mag, flared mag well, etc. I've got other guns like the M1, M3, or M4 that would be a better fit, but for all other shotgunning activities, the SBE is the one I use so it makes sense to use it for more practice. I know I'll never be at a competitive speed in competition but as long as I have fun and improve, I'll keep at it. Without actually trying, I seem to be a bit of a collector of Benelli barrels. I've got extra for all of them except a 20 gauge Montefeltro that my wife uses.

You are in for a long search. How I finally bought mine, was to set up a search term on Gunbroker.com where it alerts you if an item matching your search shows up. For mine, over the course of probably 8 years, I bought a 26", and the rare 24" to go along with my factory 28". I had already bought the same in SBE II configuration in the meantime so I have both now, but I don't want to switch back and forth between the high and low ribs so most are still in the box in the safe. I also bought a slug barrel and the required modified forearm (which is also required for the SBEII field barrels). Good luck on your endeavor.

The thread difference is all the older HK, and early Benelli USA models have the thread at the very end of the barrel. Those are called Mobil chokes and they are maybe 1" or a little more. All new ones for quite a while, I am guessing around 2002 maybe, have Crio chokes. Those are longer maybe around 1.5" and the threads are maybe 3/4" down inside the barrel. They are about the same length as many extended chokes in the Mobil style, but it all fits inside the barrel. You can do a search on the threads here and find who does the threading, cost, limitations, etc. But, for a quick recap I'll tell you that some barrels are either too thin, or they have to run another choke type that is thinner such as Rem-Choke's. Briley is who is most often recommended if I remember right for the cutting and threading. They'll keep everything legal too and make sure you don't go too short where you'll need to register it as a Short Barrelled Shotgun (SBS). If that is actually what you are after, I am not positive they do that, but they might.

No it is not normal if it came from the factory that way. But, if they had, it should have been addressed at that time. With normal use I've found these camo wraps will wear through the image with extended use, and any impacts will tear chips out like it shows in yours. I've had some bumps and rubs that seemed so insignificant do this. I know the same impact wouldn't have looked as visible on regular blued or matte finishes which penetrate the metal. As a result, long ago, I went back to standard metal finishes on all my hunting arms that will see any extended service. This "weakness" is fairly industry wide. If they are painted on instead of a wrap, they last a little better, but not as well as blued, NP3, etc where it penetrates the metal. It's maybe not the best analogy, but I liken it to the idea of bed liners can take a ton of abuse. The same abuse against the original paint would be very evident. Like Remarkable said, it's worth a call to Benelli. Be nice and politely plead your case. You never know.

I've found the camo wrap on these blemish WAY easier than the actual metal finish. It makes sense though since it is effectively a wrap. At least on the old SBE's, they are standard finished parts underneath so the wrap can be removed and either run bare metal with the matte black look, or have it hydro-dipped to reapply a camo (or other) pattern.

Briman, there are links posted in one of the threads above. That aside, places like Gunbroker.com has a ton of accessories and there are places like MidwayUSA or Brownells that sell various factory replacement parts such as mag extensions, barrels in different lengths, etc. Then, there are also places that specialize in shotgun work for 3 gun competition. They can flare the mag well and remove those sharp loading port corners, replace or reweld the carrier (the ramp you push up when you load shells) to eliminate the area that can catch your thumb during speed reloads. You might also check out places like Taran Tactical, RXArms (from Canada), Freedom Fighter Tactical, and there are many others. Searches will find these and the places I mentioned above.

@BigPaul13, I don't think I'd give a lot for your older (fine threaded magazine), but I might be interested in a spare for my pair of older M3's if you plan on selling.

No idea. Maybe it needed more weight in order for the inertial action to work. I don't know about the new ones, but the old ones had a different recoil setup, than others of the era like M1, but that may only due to mine being folders. I really thought both of my HK folders had 18.5" barrels but I am not positive. As for SBS, I'm not into that really as I prefer extra ammo from extended magazine. So, I think the stock length on the early H&K imported M3T's are about right. As far as having it cut down, there are places that can do that such as Briley. Depending on the barrel thickness, they might be able to rethread it for chokes. Often they end up having to use Rem Chokes instead of Benelli. I think they are thinner.

Please just create one thread per subject. This is nearly identical to your other post. https://forums.benelliusa.com/topic/27555-sbe-rifled-barrel/

Slug barrels (rifled) in general are much more rare than shot barrels, and even more so now that more and more states have allowed some form of rifle calibers. That said, I just did an advanced search on GunBroker.com and they have several: https://www.gunbroker.com/Semi-Auto-Shotguns/search?Keywords=benelli sbe 3 slug&Sort=13&PageSize=96 I have found that with patience, everything I have wanted to purchase was eventually for sale even some of the rare models with ~150 or less of them made. If you don't have an account, set one up (it's free). In case you don't know, any firearms will have to be shipped to an FFL in your state if purchased elsewhere. If you happen to be in an gun unfriendly state like CA, NY, etc, you should also check if the sellers ship there.

SD, it looks like he hasn't signed in since Aug of '22. That's too bad. I remember liking his comments.

Congrats bob3, I wondered if it was someone from here that bid/won it. I bid it to a point, but then let someone else have it. I don't need it that bad since I do nearly all my shotgun work with inertia guns.

I agree completely. Though maybe not for everyone, I think the selectable pump/semi-auto action really sets the M3 above the rest. I only know of two others both by Franchi. Along with my two M3's, I've got a mint folding stocked Franchi SPAS-12. In my opinion, it is likely only popular due to its more iconic look and exposure by being featured in video games and movies. But functionally it is completely inferior in every way to the Benelli M3 (both of mine are also folding stock). That's not even counting the extremely unsafe paddle safety issue on the Franchi if they haven't been upgraded to cross bolt. I have been saving for quite a while to get a Franchi SPAS-15 as it largely fixed all the shortcomings and oddities of the SPAS-12 plus gave it a removable magazine. I have shot a box through the SPAS-15 and it and the M3 are very comparable in terms of ease of use, design, etc. However, the SPAS-15 is extremely rare and magazines are nearly unobtainium. The last two guns sold for $8,500 and mags are ~$350-500 each (5 round). I was honestly surprised they re-released the M3 but very glad even though I am not in the market for one. Does anyone know of any other selectable pump/semi-auto shotguns besides the three I mentioned? I need to get my SPAS-12 out and photo it with my M3T folder's.

Never heard/seen one before. Where'd you get it?

Generally I use Otis Dry Lube for easy to spray parts. It also has a spray straw to get it further back where you need it. To be honest, it was the first one I tried and I was impressed and have stuck with it. I like that they have a tube version so I can put it on smaller parts. I've heard good things from my military buddies about Nano Dry Lubricant. I know one guy that uses QWIK Dr Lubricant on his offshore fishing gear and his high dollar camera tripods and celestial tracker. It website states its functional temperature range unlike many of the others. As long as it's rated for the temp range you intend to use it in (and factoring the gun heating under repeated firing), most dry lubricants are fairly modern tech and should serve you well. I put it on fairly heavily on the rails and the part of the bolt that slides on it to prevent any galling. That aside, everything else gets a light spray. I generally pull the barrel and disassemble the bolt at the end of the particular season or if the gun gets rained on or dunked. It certainly doesn't really need it that often but I am really caring toward my guns and my original SBE I bought in ~94 and it holds a special place in my heart. I first tried the dry lube after my bolt action rifle froze solid one year elk hunting when it was below zero. Ever since, Rem-Oil has been relegated to the outside on guns that I don't shoot. It's never even had a tight bolt in cold weather once I switched to dry. BreakFree is a great product. Their synthetic oil is good to low temps as you have found. If I hadn't already switched over to dry, that would be my choice too. After I use the copious amount of Rem-Oil that I have that is likely what I'll use for outside use on safe queens.

I agree with phil, I get most of my guns through GunBroker. I do this largely due to me liking mostly uncommon or out of production stuff. If you don't have one, create an account, then search for what you want. Be precise, and look at the results. Once it seems how you want it, tell it to Save Search and turn on notifications. Then, it does the work for you and emails you if something comes up. I have had things take a few years, but I'd have given up if not for that. Here's the search but includes SBE 3. You can limit further, but this should give you a start: https://www.gunbroker.com/Semi-Auto-Shotguns/search?Keywords=super black eagle&Sort=13&PageSize=96 Good luck on your quest.

This one isn't an original camo, but looks very nice. This is not mine, just posting it as a courtesy. https://www.gunbroker.com/Item/1035562007

Glad you figured it out Zach. Being inertia guns, they come apart easily and the bolts are so quick to clean. I have made a decent amount of money over the years buying "jam-o-matics" from fellow duck hunters. The bolt being dirty has only been the issue. Usually it is people using wet oil in their action or magazine. Shells get dropped, picked up, and put in the wet action and it sticks. A little bit of this and it gums up. After just doing a cleanup and proper DRY LUBE in the mag, and bolt rails, they are good to go usually. I've even sold them back to previous owner more than a couple of times. LOL

On my safe queens, I put a little gun oil behind the choke just as added anti-rust protection. Guns that get shot, I have never before used choke lube in my 45+ years of shooting. If I were to, I'd use a dry lube like I use for the action and magazine.

One thing that many people find appearing in the original H&K imported model is the ability to "ghost load" another round on the shell elevator. It was designed this way in order to be able to still reliably function if a round slipped by the magazine stop, but some people like the +1 to the limit it offers. There is a notch on the later guns that prevents this from happening. Some people JB Weld, epoxy, or actually weld/braze that notch. Common wisdom is that all H&K models can ghost load and Benelli USA versions cannot (even within the same model line). This is a very good indicator, but not always. My friend has a Benelli USA SBE with high rib, short lug barrel that can ghost load. He's had it since new so I know it is original. That is very rare. If the ghost load ability is important, don't go just off the importer, ask to see the bottom of the bolt. I've heard of some trickery where people will buy the H&K version and swap the bolt and then resell it. The H&K version generally brings a light premium over the later ones. I've found SBE II's to bring less yet. Below is a comparison picture I grifted previously. It shows the M2 vs the M1 bolt, but this also applies for SBE's as well as other models. The 20 gauge Montefeltro (H&K import) can also ghost load. Along with the rib, another thing to look for if it is all original is the length of the barrel lug. In the pic below of a couple of my H&K SBE's and barrels from both early and later versions, you can see the lug behind the ring that holds the barrel onto the magazine. Early ones it is shorter, later and ALL slug barrels have the longer lug which require either a modified fore end, or like the SBE below, I just bought one for SBEII to use with my slug barrel and would also work on all barrels, new or old. There really isn't any slop when using it, but I suppose theoretically it could end up looser. . Hope that helps.

They have came down a bit from the peak during the pandemic, but that is around the price the last few I've seen sell went for.

One clue that would narrow down to only a couple of models would be the barrel ring (behind the barrel nut and under the front of the forearm). If it is a real small ring, that rules out a lot of them and is indicative of the Montefeltro, original Black Eagle (non-Super) and I think another model or possibly two. Models like the M1, M2, M3, M4, and Super Black Eagle have a ring large enough an extension can be added to the magazine.

The area in your top picture is not what holds the barrel firm. What should lock it solid to the frame is the forend nut shown below with the red arrow (mine is extended magazine). The yellow arrow is pointing to the action selector. It is easy to hold or bump it when handling or firing. You might check the spring in the action change in the front of the stock. If that spring is weak or broken, or it isn't locking into that detent in the front, then it will exhibit this behavior. One way to know this is the issue is if your forend is loose though I have heard (but not had it happen to) that forearm can still be locked and this happen and supposedly then the issue is further underneath that mechanism. Others can probably say for sure, but I know there are multiple changes between the early HK imported ones and the latest Gen 2 models. One that is apparent just by looking is the later ones have a positive stop ring around the barrel. I put a blue arrow on it in the picture below from NCSwamp13 of the new model, and green arrow on same spot on old version. Historically, on models such as the M1 > M2 and newer SBE's, the barrel lug is also longer in the later variants/models. The final picture with 3 barrels are actually SBE's, but is shows some of the differences on it such as change of rib height and I include it because it illustrates the longer lug of the newer models versus the original model at the bottom. I don't think there is anything wrong with your original barrel, but in a pinch, the newer style will work, but it will require modifications likely including either grinding that barrel ring on the barrel, or Dremel out the stock for that ring and likely the lug slot as well.

Is this a new gun that doesn't work right, or has this issue developed on an used one? If not new, did it develop suddenly, or missing occasionally more as time went on? To make sure I follow.. If you completely load the magazine, and then cycle the action it works? Or, does it still mess up until you've had one successful firing? Do you have to press the cartridge release when the gun fires normally after the issue? When you get the click, have you ejected that round (after waiting a little bit in case of hang fire) and inspected it? Does it have an indentation from the firing pin on the primer? Any other scratches/gouges around the rim? What happens if you press the bolt release while holding it, then forcefully pushing it home? Another thought, is perhaps when dropping round in manually the extractor is keeping it from fully seating. Subsequent rounds from the magazine likely come up under the extractor instead of it having to go around the cartridge case head. I don't have a SBE3, but I have fixed quite a few SBE1's of fellow hunters. Most of the time in similar situations it has been rusty or gunked up recoil tube in the buttstock. One had a broken recoil spring. However, these weren't repeatable and always first round like yours. They were the opposite in fact. One other one which yours isn't doing, but I mention it as other places to check. On this one, the cartridge release internal was malfunctioning. Sometimes it wouldn't feed any rounds, other time it might let an extra round go through. The SBE1 would self-clean in that situation. He also did have it try to feed the entire magazine once which of course caused it to jam.

One can look up the "whois" information for benelliusa.com and get some contact information, but it could just be the people that created the site and run the domain name registrars. I am in I.T. so a bit of a geek, but I often find that information helpful.