Paul Vincent

When I had my Chessie, Jack, I found that even seven and one-half shot (target loads) were more than enough for clean kills. I also have used # 2, 4, 5, 6 all with success.

Thanks for sharing the story of your hunt in Kansas (I intend to get back there some day). Now for a boost for Illinois hunters. This past Saturday my two brothers and their English Setter went pheasant hunting in a fairly strong wind with about one inch of snowfall in central Illinois. One got his limit (two roosters), but perhaps the other would have gotten one rooster with some better shooting (he did get a Mallard hen). The good news was that they saw at least three dozen pheasants (and half were roosters). Naturally, at this point of the season most of the pheasants were flushing at 70+ yards minimum. If I got the story right, at one farm, about 18 pheasants flushed (well out of range) almost at once. This was the most pheasants sighted in one day's hunt by any of us in a decade. The two pheasants dressed proved to be quite nice birds (one was just huge, and it bird had nice spurs, but they were not as long as the other's).

Only after years of extreme abuse (I never once cleaned the working parts...only the exterior) did my SBE fail to cycle flawlessly. I don't have the SBEII or the Beretta Xtrema, so I can't comment on how either works, but I'd like to know how well the Beretta works for you under extreme conditions. So, I vote that you buy the Xtrema and report back on how it worked out.

If the kick is that bad (even with light loads), you might want to get a thorough physical (and I'm not joking). The discomfort just might be an early warning of some serious health issue.

About 22 years ago I used WD-40 on my 870, and when I went hunting on a sub-zero day, the gun was frozen up (the gun was kept inside all night, so it just froze that very morning). I've never used WD-40 again.

Then try the Ultra Light (the quicker he can be for grouse, the better off he is).

I have by mistake...gun did not get wrecked, but heavyshot patterns better with more open chokes. Also, I will not use the incorrect chokes again.

Thanks. I've read about it, but I've never seen it perform.

Bristol26, I know this is not what you asked, but IMHO, you might want to ask your husband as he may well want the SBEII with its 3.5" chamber and camo (for turkey). As for the three that you mentioned, I sure like the Ultra Light (from what I've read and seen).

I am very satisfied with my SBE; however, I don't have a blind brand loyalty. If another gun is proven superior, I would consider owning it (but I'd only get another gun if my Benelli was all worn out...which I don't believe will happen).

Thanks for the post.

viking..., Keep this in mind: I guarantee that if you needed to sell it back to them even the day after you had bought it that they'd low ball you.

I can't honestly say if I've shot trap loads with my SBE since I had the recoil reducer put on it. Prior to the installation of the rr, I had used trap loads a lot for pheasant. It came about like this: I had shot fifty plus 3.5" 2.25 oz turkey loads without any padding except a light shirt. Some time after that for the first time in my life, the recoil got to me. I could not pull the trigger to fire my SBE. I decided to try the lightest trap loads I could buy. With work, I was finally able to pull the trigger. So, all that season, I used trap loads, and I used them for the majority of my shooting the next few years (no waterfowl obviously). Once I had the recoil reducer put on, I began to shoot 3.5" loads again, and they were no longer a problem. Plus, using heavy waterfowl loads, I was able to get clean triples on Mallards. So I feel I really benefitted from the recoil reducer. One more thing. Other than having allowed my SBE to get filthy as I hadn't cleaned it in years (and the spring was really rusty), I've never had any problem with the SBE firing and reloading as it should. This goes for the lightest trap loads on up through 3.5" 2.25 oz turkey loads. [ 11-15-2006, 09:40 PM: Message edited by: Paul Vincent ]

I had one installed a couple years ago, and it has worked well.