tucker301

There has to be something wrong with my SBEII. I hunted with it yesterday and it poured rain. It got wet and very dirty. I was going to clean it when I got home, but I had some emergency business calls to take care of, and it just sat in the back seat of my pickup and never got so much as wiped off. It literally soaked for about 6 hours after being in the rain and muck for about five hours. When I got home I was tired and pre-occupied with other things, so I forgot all about cleaning the gun. I actually didn't get a chance to disassemble and clean the SBEII until over 24 hours after it had been exposed to the elements. My gun is the dreaded matte black that we've heard so much about this year on these forums, so I feared the worst. And yet, when I took it apart and cleaned it, I couldn't find a speck of rust, inside or out. Very disappointing news! There must be something wrong with this expensive Italian shotgun!? Why didn't it rust? Here's why.

301-283-6981

I would hope that if Benelli gunsmiths offered you no negative feedback then it must not be anything you're doing wrong. That means there had to be a defect with the original parts somehow. Hopefully, they have it fixed now.

That truly sucks. Makes you wonder what this world is coming to, doesn't it? I'm forwarding some information to you via PM. I hope it puts you in touch with someone who will help you as much as they've helped me in the past.

"no it all"? Butt in? This is a public forum, dipstick. If you want a private conversation with him, then use the PM feature. Heck, ask him out. You never know

See HOGWILD's answer.

26" is your best choice for a gun for turkey / waterfowl combo. All waterfowl and 28" would be great. All turkey and 24" would be great. 26" is the middle of the two. Learn more about barrel length here. http://americangundog.com/straightshooting_AGD1.html View episode 3.

You guys kill me with this stuff. Take M1014's lead and trick that thing out anyway you please. When's the last time you had the ATF doing a door-to-door surprise inspection for cryin' out loud? Yeah, I know. You just want to be law-abiding citizens, pay your taxes, and go to the polls and pretend it matters . This land was founded on and still has but ONE gun law. Read it, abide by it, enjoy it!

+1 on what mudhen wrote. However, here are my answers to your specific questions. 1. No, there are more differences. They have been discussed here a number of times. Use the search feature and look for keywords sbeII differences. 2. Yes, it's a crapshoot on whether you get one that works or not. 2a. No, it's much worse than a 870 express.

It will always be argued as to whether this procedure is even necessary on a sporting rifle. The simple fact is that it cannot hurt a new barrel, but it may very well help it. So what's to lose... other than some time at the range You'll need ammo, copper solvent, brushes, and patches. Fire 1 round - clean - cool : Repeat for 10 rounds Fire 2 rounds - clean - cool: Repeat for 10 rounds Fire 3 rounds - clean - cool: Repeat for 9 rounds You can also consider using a product called Tubb's Final Finish. It's available from Midway, Cabelas, Brownells, etc.

That's work best left to professionals. If I had confidence that you could DIY I wouldn't have to be reading the question from you . It's not adjustable like a fine bolt rifle's trigger would be. It requires skill with stones and polishing media. There's a fellow named Bill Springfield in Colorado who does excellent AR trigger work. Not sure if he'd do your R1 or not, but the setup is similar. Google his name + trigger and you'll find him. Otherwise, check with local smiths. I'd shoot for 4 - 5 lbs. on a semi-auto like this.

Good job! Looks like someone's got a turkey dinner in their near future

1. What kinds of groups are you able to shoot with other rifles? 2. What brand(s) ammunition have you tried? 3. Have you cleaned the gun and checked the barrel nut for proper torque? 4. Have you put the barrel through a shoot/clean/shoot/clean break-in process? 5. Have you checked the base and ring mounts for proper torques? 6. Did you lapp the rings? 7. Did you level the scope to the rifle? 8. In your opinion, what kinds of groups should a $1,200 semi-automatic hunting rifle shoot? 9. What are you using for a rest? 10. Are you subject to flinching? Have you been blind tested to be sure?

I generally don't read messages formatted so poorly, with no capitalization, punctuation and paragraph spacing. Since you sent a PM on the same subject, I suppose you really do need an answer. What brand 3" shells are you using? Have you tried other brands?

000 Buck or slugs?

There shouldn't be any kind of a top coat or sealer on it. Did you buy it used? Sounds like someone put Armour All or something like that on it. Confirm with Benelli CS, but I'd clean it with a mild solvent (409), and then give it a good soaking in Hoppes Elite oil. I just went over my SBEII's synthetics with that stuff today and it makes the black come back like new!

Try Mann & Son & Reeds If you can't find it, call CS back and ask them to help.

If you were asking about ring height, then it would probably be best to wait for the scope to arrive and then try mediums. They may not be high enough, so you can step it up to high rings if need be.

.357 is plenty big and accurate for short-range hunting, although it is more commonly offered in revolvers instead of pistols. More accurate at longer ranges would be the likes of the Savage Striker and the Thompson Contender. They are available in a miriad of rifle calibers and can take deer out to 300 yards with good optics and a steady hand.

Yes, but it isn't user-adjustable. There are no screws. If must be honed and polished. A decent gunsmith can do the work. The factory warranty will be voided.

The gun's specifications indicate a minimum recommended load. Do your dove loads meet or exceed the minimum, because most dove loads do not. I've had a black matte SBEII for several years. I've hunted waterfowl in rain, sleet, snow, and muck. Never seen a spot of rust, but I do take proper care of the gun. It's not put up wet nor dirty. CS will be reasonable, but they're not going to fix something that occured due to neglect or abuse. They're also not going to make a gun designed for heavy field loads cycle the light stuff. If you expect otherwise, then you should cut your losses and sell the gun, then go get whatever you want to try next.

How much you want for it?

I didn't say hunting in the rain was abusive treatment. Scabbering a wet gun and leaving it for a day is abusive treatment. When the gun has been exposed to rain it should be completely disassembled, cleaned and lubed as soon as you're back indoors.

That was dumb. No, I don't think they will replace the gun based on it being exposed to abusive treatment.