bambihunter

You may know, but in case not... You can enlarge the recoil lug area on your forearm to make it function for both. I am like you and wanted to not do that and was eventually able to get the setup for my SBE1, but it was black and even that took a while. So, I've done it right on one SBE, and Dremeled the other one to fit. I've got pictures of what the area should be enlarged to in order to use both. Believe it or not, the modified forearm actually feels just as tight on the older barrels as it does the newer ones.

I thought they stopped making the M3's for more than a decade. Is that not true Doge? I have two, top folders like your bottom one. Both HK marked.

Wow, it is very obvious I don't get on here often huh? I just saw thanks to the latest bump. The one I am selling/trading is the one above the gun and NOT in the gun in the first picture. The last picture shows the only blemishes I can find. It is truly nearly mint and is in the original serial matching early box. I'd probably be better off putting it on GB. Due to the condition, I think it might sell well there. I do have a M2 field length barrel that I may sell too. I am not willing to cut this M1 forearm in order for it to fit.

I'd be interested too.

Take it back in and see what he has to say about it.

Pictures would help. Just before COVID, I bought one with the extended mag, and both pistol grip and field stock. And, it had ammo holder and sling for $850 in mint condition. I can't remember if the gun was in the box, but I know the extra buttstock had the box still. In the current pricing, I am not sure but again pictures would help. Who knows, I might even be interested in another one.

CeraCoat is good, but not NP3 good. It is however fine in most instances. My pocket CCW pistol has been CeraCoat'd twice now. It gets a lot of sweat and salts on it during the hot summer months. I would bet big money that if I would have had it NP3, that it would outlast me.

Good. I was REALLY thinking about it. I have an original 11711 unfired, and a black version with the same items. But, I still almost exclusively shoot my inertia guns. Hopefully it went to a good home. ?

For our 20 gauge Montefeltro, it required more effort than any of my 12 gauge Benelli's. I loaded the shells for a while for my wife. After ~75-125 rounds down and up the tube, it let up. This was a nearly new looking HK import model from early 90's. Could have been sticky from it not being used, but removing the spring and follower and scrubbing it, and putting dry lube (never use wet in mag tube) nothing changed. Only actual use freed it up. We used live fire, but loading a snap cap repeatedly while sitting and watching TV might work too.

Here is the listed solution (from 7 years ago).

If he doesn't get it, PM me the info. He gets first dibs though.

More often than not, it is the recoil spring that goes into the buttstock that causes the bolt not to lock. If you tap forward the bolt handle and it rotates and clicks in, I'd bet that is what it is unless it is in fact dirty. Benelli has gotten an undeserved reputation for the bolt not locking when shooting heavy loads at high angles (and eventually any angle) with the factory spring. Sometimes it is the spring itself, other times crud gets down in there and mucks up the smooth travel. StrangerDanger has a great how-to somewhere on here if you want to tackle opening it up. Here it is: Here is the spring if you end up needing it. This goes into the buttstock portion. https://freedomfightertactical.com/collections/benelli-m1/products/the-fft First though, to your original question, I've gone well over a thousand rounds in between ANY cleaning. I normally clean more often than that, but it rarely is dirty. I always use only dry lube on friction surfaces on the bolt sliding portion, as well as on the frame rails where it meets. Your issue isn't a failure to feed, but another thing I have seen is people use wet lube in the mag tube. In the fall hunting, this will get dried dust and grasses inside and they it won't feed properly. Some of my fellow hunters were complaining about how Benelli sucked. Sometimes I'd buy it from them, clean it up properly, and then use it on our next outing together. Quite a few times, they ended up buying it back from me (after admitting it wasn't the guns fault).

RX, as a consumer, I really appreciate your openness and explanations for design choices. It's easy for one to sit here and say I'd do it this way, but when referring to bolt weight for instance, I wouldn't have thought of that until a product I would make (if I had the skills), didn't work. I wish more companies were like this. ?

I had lost track of this thread and didn't realize you had responded SD until it was bumped recently. I'll try to check that out soon. Thanks.

As far as current selling price, look at GunBroker.com. Do an Advanced Search. There is an option to show you ended sales and it has the selling price. This is more accurate than looking at just the current list price since some people inflate the price hoping to snag a sucker.

Clay target shooting encompasses a few different styles. If you are not a hunter, then a good O/U is what most seem to go for mostly, especially on trap. Personally, I used to have a shotgun for upland game, another for pheasant, yet another for sporting clays, another for trap, another for waterfowl, etc. The problem was every time I switched sports, I was ineffective for a bit until my muscle memory adjusted. Circa 1994, I heard about the Super Black Eagle that could shoot everything from 2.75" - 3.5" without adjustments. After a 6 hour trip to see and hold one, I saved my pennies and later bought one. In no time at all, I found I was better at all of the sports I enjoyed using a single gun. One by one all those other shotguns got sold except my Remington 1100LW .410. I am a better shot because of it. The old adage about "carry what you practice" regarding using your actual CCW gun for practice rings true here too.

For some reason, I think the new look makes it look cheap(ish). I like the older look better. I like the slab sides better too. While the C-stock might be more practical than folding, I'll still take the folders:

While you are technically correct, I was using SBE 1 to denote the original as a separate model. All 3 models are colloquially as SBE. So, I used 1 to denote I was basically asking if it was NOT an SBE 2 or 3. I am still rocking the original cast recoil rod link and springs in mine. I still (26 years now) put at least a couple thousand rounds a year through mine. Maybe I am just lucky. Maybe it is because I am meticulous in cleaning even though these don't need much except after a dunk in the water which has happened several times to me duck hunting. I don't know.

Like these? Oddly, they did not skyrocket in price like I expected them to with the craze with guns such as the SPAS-12 going for $4,500+ where 2 years ago they were $1,800. The SPAS-12, SPAS-15, and the M3 are the only ones I can think of off the top that has the pump/semi-auto functionality. There are probably others (if so, please remind me). I'll weigh in on this since I have (or have had) those mentioned... The M3 is a very versatile shotgun. I understand it could be ideal for police and security to be able to use less-lethal rounds. I believe the M4 shoots the softest of any of these inertia guns (not including my 20 gauge Montefeltro). However, I think the most versatile of the modern Benelli lineup is the SBE for hunting thanks to its 3.5" chamber. With the right combination of barrels, and other accessories it can go from competent home defense gun to goose/turkey hunting in a minute. M4 can do most of that, but with the shorter chamber, it limits its capability some particularly for large birds (Geese, cranes, etc) With the exception of my M4's, all of my current Benelli's are HK Import models. I've got an M1T, shot an M2 in competition until someone offered me way more than I had in it. I have these 2 M3T Folders as well as an unfired 11711 H2O M4, and a regular M4 with the c-stock, extended mag tube, etc. I've also got a 20 gauge Montefeltro and two SBE's, with all barrel options including both a complete SBE1 and SBEII set along with a slug barrel along with the required modified forearm with Leupold VX-2 SLAM scope (not pictured). When I was younger, we had an SL-80 (predecessor to the 121-M1 if I remember right). It was my very first exposure to the inertia system. Previously I had only been around recoiling barrel, gas-operated, pump, and break-action single shots. M1T: I have straight and pistol grip stock, and two barrels.

They'd probably still warranty it, but you'd likely be out the cost of the NP3 treatment.

Regarding whether it is a SBE 1 and SBE 2, I can't tell with the plastic over the barrel, is it a high rib model? Honestly, I think that is a SBE II and not 1. The triangular safety makes me think SBE II. I don't know if they had any camo models on 1. But, a SBE II would likely have a ComforTech stock and this one doesn't. Does it say Benelli USA on the side or Heckler and Koch? Are the chokes thread at the very tip of the barrel or back just a bit? This may have been what I refer to as an unofficial 1.5. Where they have aspects of both. The HK imported ones are desired due to their ability to ghost load. However, there is more parts availability for the SBE II models. Either way, you've got a great gun.Take care of it and it should last a lifetime. I've got at least 25 years on my original one and it is still going strong. If you ever decide to sell, I'm always open for another. ?

I don't use anything for magazines or practice racking shells from magazine or anything similar. Mine is JUST for dropping in the chamber and dry firing it to relieve the firing spring pressure. On my seldom used shotguns I used the "Snap Cap" brand. I used them for many of most of my guns already. However, for my SBE and 20 gauge Montefeltro of my wife's, we shoot them enough I wanted more longevity than I thought those might give. I got Tipton's for that. They have a spring in them instead of just the material most other have. These are what the Tipton's look like:

I doubt you'd sell an heirloom, but I'd be interested in a new original SBE 1. I've been using the same springs in my HK import SBE since 1995. Tens of thousands of rounds, including more than its fair share of 3.5" mags. Zero issues. Unless this is something used for defensive situations, I'd use it as is until I needed to change them. If concerned, order spares to have on hand. If you aren't used to these, one thing to note is these generally take at least 1oz dram shotshells to function properly, occasionally 1 1/8 oz. Are you sure yours is a SBE 1? For that time frame, it will be a Benelli USA model and most likely have the higher rib barrel. They did make the high rib for a brief time for the SBE I while still using the original chokes. Do you know if it has Mobil chokes or the Cryo version? Mobil chokes (threads at the very end of the barrel) should be SBE1. I believe all SBE II's use Cryo chokes. Also, the slug version of SBE I, and SBE II's have a longer barrel lug. Pictures might help explain what I am referring to:

Really? Hmm. They used to have one. It was simply called the Black Eagle. Super was later added when the 'super' long receiver allowing it to shoot 3.5" cartridges. I am certainly biased since I bought my SBE in '95, but they were quite light for the time, particularly with a semi-auto. They are still quite light, which can be a detriment when shooting 3.5" shells. Unless one would absolutely never shoot 3.5", I'd get it anyway. Like the old saying "better to have and not need than to need and not have". Still not sure why they would reuse the SBE name for a shorter chamber. M2's could already do 3" shells. I guess maybe it is for the name recognition.

This almost sounds like a proposed solution looking for a problem. As far as weight, it is personal preference. Back in the mid-90's, I bought a SBE for the capability of 2.75"-3.5" mags in a semi-auto. I ended up using it for all hunting seasons and sporting clays due to its lighter weight. Yeah, when we go to Canada hunting and I'm shooting up to 300 rounds of 3.5" mags during our time there, I occasionally wished for a lighter recoiling gun, but not so much that I'd want to carry more weight the rest of the seasons. Porting is always an option for recoil reduction. Weights can be added. Many like and use the mercury filled ones. A different recoil pad can help with the recoil as well though it will likely change the length of pull. Sounds like you may have been using something like this in your M1. The newer guns have the energy absorbing stock. It really does help. But, I'm not giving up my original HK M1, M3T, Montefeltro, and SBE's that all work perfectly. I like the low rib better anyway. I would think your M1 should be able to go below 1oz loads. My SBE's with its longer reloading stroke can do 1oz stock. My 3" Inertia Benelli's can shoot 7/8 oz loads with 99.9% reliability. But, I still use 1oz like you so I don't have that .01% failure to feed. Everyone that I know that shoots clays in most any fashion uses an Over/Under. Benelli already has the excellent 828u over/under. I would think the sub gauge inserts would work in these as it is. The Ethos Super Sport 28 gauge has almost all the features you noted, as well as those I mentioned. Being 28 gauge, there is already little recoil to worry about.