birdbrooks

M2 in 20 gauge. Only had mine for a short while but the jury's already in. If weight is more of an issue than recoil, (which is very light to begin with), think about a 20 gauge M2. I've shot thousands of birds in the last 38 years and a bunch of them have been with 20 gauge--almost all the grouse (2.75" light field loads) and many pheasants and late season ducks using a 3" load, which is the direct equivelant of a high brass 1.25 oz 12 gauge load. Windy conditions, range, they are all the same. That includes some husky eastern Tom turkeys! Most of them with #5 or #4 shot. But the main thing is it so LIGHT! 5.7 lbs! You will be amazed at the ease of carry and handling. In any case best wishes and good luck in your choice. There are some very qualified members in this forum and each has a great viewpoint.

RivrBuoy, Is the wood on that gun solid, or some sort of a laminate or synthetic made to look like wood? Thanks! Bill

Additional note: I started a poll in the Benelli forum about this issue-- for 12 and 20 gauge M2s... perhaps there is a reason for this issue of difficult extraction using the finger method... and maybe a solution! Yes, as Tucker301 mentioned, one can extract the shells if you back-push the shells against the mag spring, which hints that spring pressure is part of the issue. But that's not a solution, of course. The bottom line is that Benelli M2 owners should be able to extract shells from the magazine without cycling them through the action!

This is superb info. The M1's in particular respond very well to even just a little love, but I can attest-- we Benelli M1 owners have got to access that recoil tube and spring and do as the Man remarkable says; it'll help keep your gun working hard for thousands of rounds-- which mine has experienced-- I have had tremendous luck with my M1 Super 90 after working it hard for 12 seasons, letting it get beat up in duck boats, muddy fields, ice, you name it. Thanks again, remarkable! Bill

I'd like to hear if any of you good people owning Benelli M2's in 12 or 20 gauge, have had difficulty in removing shells from the magazine by hand-- that is, by depressing the carrier latch with your finger to release the shells from the magazine, as is described in the owner manual?

Thanks, Tucker301, appreciate the response-- My response to that is WOW! How could Benelli have done that? Not being able to unload directly from the magazine, as was easy to do with the M1's-- an arguement could be made that therein is a safety issue. That means that each and every shell that is loaded into the magazine has to be cycled through the chamber on the way out of the gun. That is the way that I often do choose to unload, especially when it's cold and icy, but to not be able to work the shotgun as it is designed to do-- that's hard to swallow! Any other stories out there? 12 or 20 gauge M2's?

I have a new M2 in 20 gauge, and it is a fabulous gun in every respect. I am very familiar with this gun from the get-go because I have had an M1 for 12 hard seasons of use, and the basic functionality is quite similar. The carrier releases on Benelli autos are a bit stiff by design, but... With the new M2 I absolutely cannot release shells in the magazine by pushing on the carrier latch with my finger in the normal fashion as designed by Benelli. I went back to the dealer and the gunsmith there confimed the difficulty on my gun, and then we checked another new M2 (20 gauge) in the rack and found the same stiffness--that is, too stiff to release a shell from the magazine. Anyone out there with a new M2 (or one with some use on it) experiencing similar problems? Thanks!