K4DV

I have been shooting the M2 off and on and doing further comparisons and have had an about face on my first, off the cuff, rebuttle on the Benelli recoil. I think I had my expectations WAY too high at first and was surprised at the recoil and was very discouraged on my first experience with the shotgun. After more firing and shooting clays, I have changed my mind on this shotgun. The recoil is more than a gas gun like the 1187, but it is a different type of recoil. It does kick, but the kick isn't a painful, hurt of a kick like other shotguns. I shot the 1187 again with turkey loads, 2 ounce, and compared the two. The 1187 didn't kick as bad on the part of moving my body back but did "hurt" more on the cheek and shoulder as far as felt punch. The M2 seems to jar me more, but it is a softer, gentler punch. No pain on the cheek or shoulder. I shot about 50 1 1/8 ounce loads at clays and absolutely LOVE the way this gun shoulders and shoots. At the end of the day, I ran 10 more 2 ounce loads through it at clays and it did kick pretty good, but didn't to the point that I couldn't hit the doubles three times in a row. I did purchase a C&H Mercury recoil reducer that screws on in place of the forearm cap, and it does help with the recoil of the turkey loads very noticably. I shot several rounds with and without it in place, and it does work. It definately isn't needed on the 1 1/8 ounce loads, but does keep the muzzle down and soften the punch. I regret "jumping the gun" on my original post and do retract my first opinion on the gun. For those looking for a soft recoiling gun due to injury, etc. , you probably want a gas gun and a 20 ga. at that. My dad had shoulder surgery a few years ago and can't take the kick of a gun much at all. He wouldn't shoot it when I first bought it, but did at the clays range the other day. It kicked him, but he said it didn't leave him sore or hurt like he expected. He bought a Rem. Sporting 20 last week for doves and maybe even turkeys due to his condition and it is a dream to shoot for sure, but he said he was surprised at the M2 on the way it didn't "hurt" his shoulder. Sorry for the rash review I gave. I am now a true Benelli fan. Great gun and I can't wait to use it in the dove field and elsewhere.

The point on the recoil that everyone is missing is this........it isn't that it is kicking so bad that I can't shoot it, the point is that Benelli leads you to believe on their advertising and infomercials that these things are amazing to shoot. Very little recoil and what recoil there is the Comfortech stock absorbs it like a sponge. I can handle the recoil, what ticks me off is that the ONLY reason I dropped $1000 bucks on a shotgun is that I believed the advertising and wanted it based on the premise that it was a light recoil shotgun. But when I shot it and it punched me around for a couple of boxes of dove loads and then knocked the crap out of me with a couple of turkey loads, I said time out, get the 1187 out here and lets see if it is me or not.........well, it wasn't me. I would estimate that the Benelli has 50% more recoil than the Remington, at least. I talked to a Benelli representative and a Benelli sponsored clays shooter and told them of my test. They BOTH agreed with my results and BOTH said that the Benelli would definately have MORE recoil than the gas guns. I said, Wait a minute, Benelli says these things are a JOY to shoot, better recoil than anything out there.........they both laughed and said you can't always believe what you read. The clay shooter said that he shot around 1200 or more shots per week with a Benelli , so he knows what he is talking about on the guns recoil for sure. I guarantee that Benelli is a great shotgun and will probably out last all of us, but I am sticking with the MUCH more comfortable to shoot Remington myself and save $300 bucks in the process too. After my dad witnessed me shooting the Benelli, he changed his mind on getting one and is going with a gas gun, either a Franchi or Remington. I just wanted to post these results to hopefully raise a flag, which I wished I would have seen raised before I bought mine.

Where did you get 870?......I have one of those too and they are killers !!! But I know one thing, my dad was going to get him a Benelli, but after today.......he said no way. Not trashing them, but for those not familiar with them,( like I was a week ago), don't expect it to be a little 20 gauge cream puff, because it ain't. The infomercials are very misleading to say the least. And no, I ain't keeping it, it is going to find a new home very soon.

Tested 3 different shotguns today with the same loads and here are the results on the recoil. Remington 1100 was the softest shooter of the lot, and that with no recoil pad. Remington 1187 was a close second on the 1 1/8 oz. dove loads and a clear winner on the 3" 2 ounce turkey loads. Benelli M2 showed a marked amount of recoil over and above either of the above guns. This is a new M2, with the Comfortech stock on it. With the 3" 2 ounce loads the recoil was a lot more pronounced and the muzzle jump a lot more pronounced on the Benelli than on the 1187. To be honest, the Benelli knocked the crap out of me. The 1187 ain't no baby but it sure was lighter than the Benelli. Needless to say, I am very disappointed with my $1000 Benelli on the recoil. Even with the 1 1/8 ounce loads, it kicked pretty darn hard. The 1100 was much softer on the kick and had half the muzzle jump of the Benelli. The 1187 was about the same as the 1100 overall, maybe a bit more kick. I didn't shoot the 3" loads in the 1100 to compare since it is only a 2 3/4" chamber, but figure it and the 1187 would rate about the same. I knew going in that a gas gun was a softer shooter, but with all the hype and advertising of the Benelli being a creampuff of a gun on recoil, I was expecting a lot less than it dishes out. I am sure Benelli is a great, tough gun, but it sure lets you know it is there on recoil. Oh well, guess it is back to the good ol' Remington 1187. I have learned my lesson(an expensive one at that). You don't always get what you pay for.

I agree 100% on not feeling the recoil while actually hunting and shooting at game. You never notice it then for sure. I am going to run a bunch of different ammo through it this weekend and give it a good testing beside a Remington 1187 and a 1100 and compare recoil that way. The Remingtons are both heavy guns in comparison, so it will be a good test to see how the light weight and the Comfortech stock performs vs. a heavy gas gun. I will report the results.

Good point on the recoil. I noticed it does have a pretty hefty punch,as with any 12 ga. shotgun. I guess when you read up on them so much and believe all the hype and advertising, you expect a soft, gentle little .410......lol. I guess I have it pegged this way.....you trade off the weight of a gas gun and get the same recoil or close. Not going to be a powder puff for sure, but I am anxious to run some 3" magnum 2 oz. loads through it and compare it to my 1187 and see what the difference is. Love the weight and fit. Smooth action. Just hope it doesn't knock me silly with those turkey loads.

Just purchased a new M2 and was wondering about how many shots does it usually take for the gun to become"broken in" and the action and springs get loosened up and set? Does the recoil usually lighten up a bit after breaking it in good? Any other suggestions on breaking one in? Thanks [ 12-12-2006, 02:20 PM: Message edited by: K4DV ]

The M2 for the money. He probably never would shoot the 3.5" shells and that is basically the only difference in the SBE2 and the M2.