bambihunter

Regarding the receiver extension tubes, one has to watch on the older ones as at least on some models they changed the nut size and if memory serves, the thread pitch too. You asked "Is the comfort worth the switch?" Are you referring to the Comfortech stock? If so, I don't think so but I haven't used them all that much. When they first came out I tried some of the friends SBE's that had them. To me, it was there, but if I wasn't thinking about it, I likely wouldn't have noticed the difference. For those 3.5", the difference was less than going from inertia Benelli to gas Beretta for instance. The Benelli's are lighter so that contributes to the recoil. One can also add a mercury buffer which is supposed to help with that as well. There are new LimbSaver pads that are quite cushy too. I have one on my .338 Lapua and it made a noticeable difference over that old Remington r3 pad that was on it (that turned all gooey). However, for shotgunning that requires quick shouldering shots, I think I'd snag it constantly on my clothing. Not a problem for a single calculated shot from a rifle, but could waste time in a fast paced wing shooting hunt. I'm an old waterfowler and while I'll admit to anyone shooting 3.5" at high angles is painful, normal shot angles and 3" I don't really notice much. Not trying to be macho, but I think it is like the old adage that you never feel recoil when you shoot that trophy buck but you sure feel it on those long sessions while sighting the rifle in, especially if it is a caliber that thumps you. I have saved searches set up on Gunbroker and a few other places keeping an eye for me for the things I want. It is handy since it seems most stuff I like is out of production. That top picture with the M1 shows a barrel with the blued extension. The gun in the picture and the barrel in the gun is a couple years newer and has the typical silver extension. I haven't ever owned a Nova. Even though I have a pair of Benelli M4 (one factory NP3 one, plus a blued one assembled out nice), I like Benelli because of the inertia action. I do have one pump gun that I inherited, that I never use. I would like to get an Ithaca 37 "Sweet 16" for no other reason than because I have always wanted one.

Receiver differences between M2 (left) and M1 (right)

Early, very early. I believe in your question, you are referring to not the bore being chrome lined, but rather the receiver extension being blued versus chromed. With that assumption... I have one M1 ~20" smoothbore barrel (pictured on top below) with rifle type sites that was purchased new in Nov. 1989. I am going from memory, but I think the barrel code showed it from 1988. Every other Benelli barrel extension I have regardless of the model are chromed aside from the SBE. On the SBE, that is part of the receiver instead of going IN the receiver. I am sure most people ignore this plea, but for those of us with an M1 plead that M2 owners will buy M2 barrels instead of buying up all the M1 barrels. Yes, the M2 can use the M1 barrels without modification, but the opposite is not true due to a longer recoil lug and the stop ring on the barrel that goes against the receiver. This makes those out of production M1 barrels harder to find and more expensive when found.

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.