bambihunter

Perhaps no one answered because the forum and the internet is peppered with this type of information. Not trying to be mean, just pointing out a possible "why". Benelli's have thin barrels. That is a small part of why in general that they are lighter than much of the competition. I mention this because some models I know can't be cut down and re-threaded. However, since there is some choke material in there, a company like Briley maybe could do it. Remember that the choke is at the end of the barrel (muzzle), as such it is the last thing that touches the projectile(s) so get a skilled 'smith to do it. As Evolution mentioned, having screw-in chokes gives more versatility. Shotguns for centuries have had just a fixed choke with one size/type restriction. I think it was the 1960's where it was introduced in a production shotgun. If memory serves, it was a Winchester pump that kind of kicked it off. So, it is safe to say that people all over the world fed their families before screw-in chokes took over. Back then, if for some reason you needed a wider capability than your existing choke offered, you'd buy a whole barrel. That obviously makes it tough to take another option in the field with you while hunting. If I could only have a single choke for all my hunting needs, it would be "Improved Modified". Personally, I don't mind a "tactical" (I hate that over-used word) shotgun having a fixed choke as the ranges are purposely intended to be shorter range (than hunting shotguns, which are already very short range compared to rifles). That said, I would not ever buy a shotgun for hunting without them. There were also several attempts to make adjustable chokes such as the Poly-Choke. They worked OK, but never as well as individual choke. As mentioned above, different loads will behave differently through the exact same choke. Not as much as once believed, but barrel length plays a part in all that too. The old-time logic was a longer barrel gave you a tighter pattern and higher velocity. That may have been true based on my experience with blackpowder but with modern propellants, the powder burn is mostly over well before the end of the barrel of most shotguns. Also, note that though it may seem counterintuitive, going too tight of a choke can actually open up your pattern as your pellets can deform. Also, when using steel shot, there is a maximum restriction that it can be shot through. I think generally it is Modified though it does vary. Always check before shooting steel loads. For me, longer or shorter barrels are more for the swing characteristics. I've had my Super Black Eagle since 1995. At the time, I had a shotgun for hunting one thing (such as rising birds), and another for skeet, another for crossing birds, and another for deer hunting with slugs. Once I discovered the SBE, it was an eye opener. I slowly sold off all the different 12 gauge shotguns I didn't need anymore since I could do it all with that one gun. However, as time went on, it became obvious that the 28" barrel on an already long 3.5" receiver really was clumsy in the woods and also while turkey hunting. So, my quest started for shorter barrels. By then, I couldn't find any for the original SBE1, so I bought SBE2 barrels and also a slug barrel. Then, later I found the low rib original SBE type. I haven't shot several of the SBE2 barrels, but the SBE barrels I have shot, I can take the same choke from one barrel, put it in another barrel and the point of aim moves slightly, and groups change a marginal amount. It isn't noticeable in the field, but is evident on a patterning board. There is a TON of information out on the web too about how the choke restrictions change the pattern, generalized tables with actual measurements of how much restriction each choke has, what the intended range for each is, etc. This is one of many, but looked decent: https://chokefortrap.com/choke-tube-chart/ One last question. Are you going to do any hunting with this firearm, or is it only for defense? If the latter, how big of an area will you be defending (i.e. the size of the house/room)? I ask because you said you were interested in reaching out. In a typical house you won't need the range, but I understand the desire to load heavier loads like double or triple buck. I don't use a shotgun any more for home defense, but when I did, I had it loaded like this: Chamber: 000 buck. Magazine tube: slug, 000, slug, 000, slug, 000... My logic was the buck shot for a little spread and a little more efficiency for a target in the open. But, still had every other shot a slug in case they have heavy clothing or if they were behind a sheetrock wall.

I hear a lot about the need for a secure mount to ones shoulder and with shooting position on various Benelli shotguns. When I first bought my SBE in 1995, I would have failure to feed (FTF) issues when using less than 1oz DRAM. It would fire, eject the empty, then close on an empty bolt. They said it simply lacked the energy to push the bolt back to release the next round from the magazine. I found that was true because if I ghost loaded, it wouldn't do that for the one round. So, I grabbed several of my inertia guns to give them a test. For this, I grabbed a M1T and M3T folder both with 18.75" barrels I believe. I also grabbed a 20 gauge Montefeltro and a HK era Super Black Eagle. I figured the SBE, having the longest stroke and still having original weight springs (since I shoot 3.5" every fall while hunting), would be the first to fail without proper positioning. All of them I fired 2 magazines through them for a baseline. The shells are what I use for dove and quail each fall. The 12 gauge are Federal 1 oz DRAM #8 shot. All fired as expected. So, I repeated the first test on all of them with the gun against my shoulder, but not pulling back into it. Again, there were no failures. So at this point I decided to skip straight to extreme to save on ammo. I held the gun down across my body in the front, shooting to the left. I provided what was required to hold it, but zero resistance to the shot. It acted like a pendulum. The M1, M3, and Montefeltro all still fired normal. However, once again likely due to its longer bolt stroke, the SBE struggled a little. About once per magazine (of 5) I'd get what I described in first paragraph where it would fire, eject the empty, and close on empty bolt. Once again, as I found in 1995, ghost loading would prevent that from happening for that one additional round. I tried to make it as scientific as I could for this informal inertia action tests. I did not fire any of my M4's. My 11711 is staying in the box unfired, and the other one was clear in the back of the safe. I might try it at a later time and add to this if anything stands out. Gas guns shouldn't be effected by the support (or lack there of) at all due to the way they operate. However, we know that it does effect some guns. I couldn't find my recoiling barrel shotgun. I thought that might yield interesting results too. It's just as well. It was getting dark and the 'skeeters were horrible at my place that night.

My HK import Montefeltro 20 gauge has a silver trigger on it so it's not necessarily a new thing. If I remember right, it was made in the late 90's. I like gold accoutrements on some firearms. However, for this one with its shiny silver bolt, I prefer the silver trigger. I completely get the frustrations though. It ticks me off to be shown one thing and given another. Even if unintended, it is still feels like bait and switch. Back to gold triggers, I used to have an Ithaca/SKB XL900 12 gauge that had a game scene on both sides of the receiver, and a couple of gold appointed items. It was nice. I also still have have a Beretta 21a with high polished blue (this is not my gun, it was a picture I could find to show it)

I understand that it is a tool to some. Honestly, all my hunting arms are tools. They will get bumps and bruises but I still try my best not to. More than once I have fell down in the woods and I rolled over and landed on my back so the firearm stays good. This was particularly true on my (only) elk hunting trip. I had a Rem. 700 Titanium and a Leupold VX-6 (~$3,500). But, I was mainly worried about it being damaged and me not be able to finish my hunt after spending all that money. I also knew that may be the only time I ever get to go elk hunting. You may call BS on this but it's the honest truth. I went pheasant hunting with a group in northern Kansas. I knew most of the people but had never met the father of one of the guys. He had recently bought a new shotgun (mid-level trimmed 870 Remington). We get to the field and he takes out the shotgun. He then proceeds to walk over to a barbed wire fence. He scraped it on the fence on both sides of the stock, and the back of the receiver. I looked at his son, probably with disbelief in my eyes. He said he has many collectible guns that he takes care of. But, for ones that are a hunting tool, he does that to every new one. Then he can hunt without having to worry about it. He holds the gun with both hands through briars and brush and it is scraping all the time. I lift mine up to my chest or hold it in one hand up under my arm.

I have hunted with my HK import SBE since '95. All I can say is for whatever choke I am using, it is always at least 2 chokes "tighter" than any other shotgun I've used. As a result, I rarely use above modified, even for turkeys. I've got quite a few other Benelli's (2 HK SBE's, 1 HK M1, 2 M3T's, 2 M4's, HK Montefeltro 20 gauge, etc) but I haven't shot them enough at in close time frame to know if they also exhibit that. However, every single one of them pattern great although the newer ones have a higher POI than my older ones. That is part of the reason I haven't shot them as much. When I go back and forth from high rib to low rib, it takes me a bit to remember the change.

I have a NIB 26" version that I bought for my M1. However, this one is cheaper than what I'd sell mine for: M2 barrel at MWG

That's what I though RJHUB. I realize all the things I mentioned would just result in blemishes on the surface, but these are expensive guns (at least to those of us that purchase our own. I wouldn't treat my cheapest firearm like that. But, to each their own. Similarly, I can't believe the things some people do with their vehicles.

Did anyone else cringe when he was shooting off the rock with the forearm resting on the rock? Or, when he leaned the shotgun down with a clunk onto another rock? Maybe it is me, but I wouldn't do that on any of my guns. My hand would be between it and the rock. His door shots I think were right at the side collision bars. Slightly down would make quite a difference. I liked the video, and he displayed good trigger finger discipline.

While I wholeheartedly agree with what you are saying on your last post Alpha33, it can end up putting you in legal trouble. I think however if the story below was in a personal residence instead of a business, it would have been very different. The state of Oklahoma is a VERY gun friendly state. I was actually surprised by the outcome of this case. I also think that due to the fact that he went and reloaded and came back and shot again put the nail in the coffin so to speak. Race might have factored in, at least subconsciously. Pharmacist shooting people holding up his store gets life in prison. Original footage here.

Glad you got your money back. Hopefully you can get the ones you are after. ?

Providing they are nice and bright, what would you take for them?

I believe the point alpha was making, is by getting a "fire-rated safe", you'll hopefully have temperatures inside the safe low enough that it doesn't hit the ignition point of the ammo inside. For ammo, I follow the recommendation of a late friend of the family. He was the fire chief for 25 years and a fire investigator for another 10-15 years. He said from their perspective they'd rather the ammo be inside a good, high temp rated fire safe. In absence of that, then they'd rather loose ammo in boxes. What they don't want is ammo loaded in the chamber in guns, and especially not in a tight fitting box with no temp/fire rating. Here's how he explained it to me. With a proper fire rated safe, they likely won't know you have ammo or a safe until the end. While it is true that smoke will damage paper, photos, and firearms before it gets hot enough for the seal to expand and seal it up, that seal should expand before inside temps get high enough for the ammo to hit its ignition point. When they are fighting a residential fire, the little pop pops of small arms going of individually gets their attention, but isn't particularly concerning. Since the pressure is not contained, it is not dangerous. It just goes bang and sounds like the cheap firecrackers. However, these last two are dangerous. A loaded gun that has a round "cook off" is dangerous because it is under pressure, and projectile(s) are directed the way it is pointing when it goes off. This is no different than a normally fired firearm. The most dangerous is when you have a stockpile of ammo in a fairly tight sealing lockbox. The reason by now is probably self evident. Once you hit the critical ignition temperature, it will go off. This can, will, and has caused them to all go off in very quick succession. Do to contained pressures, it effectively results in a bomb like explosion. They are trained to be able to tell the differences of which situation it is just from the sound. He said they would always withdraw on the last two unless it is believed people are inside needing rescue. I keep my expensive ammo on the bottom of my safe (where temperatures will be lowest). The rest are in those plastic ammo containers for rifle ammo, original boxes for most of my pistol ammo. Only my bulk 10mm auto ammo is stored loose together. Most of it is in coffee cans and such. I do have a small amount of ammo stored in a couple army ammo boxes which are the least safe option I use. I don't keep the cans together. This is my "grab and go" or bug out should SHTF scenario ever happen. All told, including a lot of .22lr ammo, I probably have 100k rounds of loaded ammo. I am nearly out of projectiles, but I have enough primers, brass, and powder to load another 25k. Prior to 2020, I used to shoot at least 10k per year so I always have tried to keep on hand 3-4x the amount I expect to shoot each year. I stocked up more than usual early on as I thought there was a good chance ammo would go up in price globally during the pandemic. As the 2020 elections neared in the US, I correctly suspected it would go up even more and might stay there for quite some time depending on which POTUS was elected. While it hasn't opened yet, we are a month or two from having a fire department station literally 1/4 mile from the house. The irony to it is that we live in the country about 7 miles from town. It is an odd location, but there are a lot of oil and natural gas drilling in the area so that is probably why.

10 year old post necro-bump. Nice. ?

Glad to hear it. Benelli's are a perfect example of "buy once, cry once" product. They are expensive, but for me, they have been perfect. I hope they are for you as well. That length is a great option. I had forgot to mention barrel length (and why I have the full barrel set). I originally bought my SBE with a 28" barrel with the old "wisdom" was that longer barrels gave more velocity and tighter groups. While that is true to a point, it isn't everything. My 28" gave me TOO tight of patterns. I rarely shot above modified choke for any game. Anyway, the 26" that you are choosing is the perfect length I think for general use with the SBE's. They have a longer receiver than many of the conventional guns you may have grown up shooting. This is largely due to the 3.5" capability, but they are slightly longer than the few 3.5" guns I've directly compared it to. That extra inch plus in the receiver makes it feel like the next size longer barrel. I only have used the 24" barrel in that set above for turkey hunting. After shooting 28" for 20 years, I swing the 24" too fast on moving targets. The 26" seems perfect to me. I honestly do not know why my 28" barrel is so tight. I've even tried different chokes on it with minimal change. My best friend just shakes his head when I can consistently drop doves 10 yards further than he'll even take a shot. I don't know if you hunt big game as well, and what the related hunting requirements in your area might be, but it might be worth considering a slug barrel too. I've got one for mine, and a 2x7x32 scope on detachable mounts so I can use open sights or scope. I have thought a little bit about getting a red dot or something for it but I doubt I will as I don't really use this gun for defense.

Absolutely is a multipurpose shotgun. I have had the original Super Black Eagle since '94. Before I had numerous shotguns, each with their specific role/season. The problem was that every time I switched seasons, it took me a bit to adjust to the new fit, feel, and point of impact. I read about a semi-auto shotgun that could shoot 2.75", 3", and 3.5" mags in any order, without adjustment. That I was intrigued was an understatement. I drove 5 hours (each way) to the closest retailer that had one in stock. Though I couldn't afford the price then of $1,000, I knew I had to have one. So, I saved my pennies and worked some overtime and finally bought it. After I had a chance to really try it out on the various seasons, I started selling off the other guns it was replacing it. So, for many years, I had this 12 gauge and a .410 for the misses to shoot. I later bought a semi-pistol gripped stock, extended magazine, and different length barrels for it so it could truly adapt. I even eventually bought a slug barrel with modified forearm as well. I have said before that if some catastrophe happened and I was only allowed one gun, it would be this one. No question... After I got older and had more discretionary income, I also started adding other Benelli shotguns to the stable. Now I've got M1's, M3T's, M4's, a Montefeltro, etc. I really love the inertia action. Even though many (probably most) on here seem to prefer the M4, I still like inertia over gas operated. However, these are really all just toys. When I head out to bring home dinner, the 26 year old SBE is what I always grab. So yes, the SBE can absolutely be one of the most multipurpose firearms that I know of. It has all this capability and versatility without being very heavy either. It is lighter than most of its contemporaries.

That was from August 2019... If they do have any, you can bet they'll be much higher than that now. Ah, 2019. Before COVID, before gun-grabbers were elected in US, good times. ?

Yeah. That's it. I knew gall wasn't correct but was having a brain fart and couldn't remember correct term.

Same. Just keep it all lightly oiled, especially the rails (the ears on the bottom sides). It will "gall" (not correct term, but only one I could think of), and smooth out a little. After that is done, it will shoot smoother and you shouldn't see much more visible wear from then on. I've got thousands of rounds through my SBE1, maybe even 10k+ at this point. Rails looked like that within a few weeks and haven't changed since except maybe a little more silver.

Didn't your old Remington have chokes? Or, was it just a choked barrel and not Poly-Choke type or screw-ins? Just shoot the tightest factory choke that is safe for steel (or shoot bismuth or other lead alternatives). Thousands of ducks and geese that I have taken in my lifetime can't tell the difference between factory or aftermarket chokes. Just do NOT shoot steel through a choke that is marked to not use steel shot. Just. Don't. You can, and most likely, will at the very least bulge your barrel. It is possible to blow up the barrel. Like those above have mentioned, pattern your gun with the desired loads. You might be surprised and find that often the tightest restriction chokes occasionally don't have the tighter pattern. Turkey, while using lead, is the only bird I use above a modified choke for.

With the longer receiver length, I believe it will have to be specifically for the SBE for it to mount on the receiver. Perhaps add a picatinny rail and use one of those type of ammo holders. Or, you can use a +2 or full length extension on the magazine itself for the additional rounds unless you are hunting migratory birds and other shell limiting activities.

On most Benelli's, the serial number is down low in the area of the loading gate/trigger. Does yours have a factory vinyl wrap? Of so, that obscures it quite a bit. Could the S/N be hidden by the pump action by chance? Might check there as well. It will be on the receiver itself. At least on the semi-auto's, the barrels have their own unique serial number that won't match the gun. On all my Benelli's at least (but no Nova's), the barcode listed out features, and had the serial number on the box end. If there is nothing at all there that is readable on the firearm itself, use a smart phone with a barcode scanner that can scan to a file. I have Android phone and it can scan barcode straight to "Samsung Notes" which breaks it down to text. If you don't have that capability, you can try to PM me with a picture of the box end and I'll see if I can scan the barcode for you and reply with the text from it.

PM Sent

Though much more tricky on newer guns, it's pretty much the same procedure since the beginning. I have at least a half dozen HK import models and the SBE is easy to do this since it has such a long chamber. My 3" only guns require one to be a little more precise on how far back to hold the bolt. Ghost loading was not the intention for the design. The ability to do that stemmed from an anti-jam feature, where if a round slipped past the shell stop in the magazine, that it wouldn't jam, instead feeding that round into the chamber without releasing a new one from magazine. It is a great feature. Too bad people were using it during shell capacity limited seasons such as migratory birds.

I was surprised it wasn't listed in Benelli's own manual section... At first it wouldn't let me attach to this chat so I sent you a PM. But, it will now for some reason. I am attaching it here for anyone else that needs it too. M1 S90 Manual.pdf

I highly agree with the bolded part.