[Monty question?]

Rodburner... had this idea a while back and didn't initially get much from my post inquiring about the idea. However, I can thank Novaking, who remembered that Mudhen had done this and I PM'd Mudhen and he coached me about what he did. After reading your post, I went to my shop and combined the C & D shims and will test it soon. Wasn't really all that difficult and now I can put mount the gun IN the pocket instead of having to mount it higher in order to look straight down the barrel. Hope I'm as happy as you will it. I'll report results later but my thanks go to Novaking, Mudhen, and YOU for the "confidence-building." I'm neither a gunsmith nor a machinist, just a "regular" guy with a fairly decent shop out back.

 

Thanks, and have a good one![/quote/]

 

 

No problem and thanks to you for getting this thing stirred up enough to get some input. The gun lines up so much better it's almost unbelievable. The only problem I see is the two shims don't line up with each other. There's a ridge where the stock meets the "C" shim. I think we will need to make one solid piece to make it look right. Another thing, the piece of the gun that comes through the stock hits the stock not allowing further adjustment. I could use just a touch more drop in the barrell but I don't think the stock will allow it. When you take yours apart you will see what I mean. Did Mudhen have anything out of the ordinary to do besides taking off the "tittie". I shaved mine off with a knife but like I said I would like to have one solid piece for a shim instead of two.... Thanks again for the help..

[Monty question?]

I added the "C" shim to the "D" shim and went hunting this eveing. I hit 5 of 7 so I would like to say that it made a tremendous difference. Thanks again for the help. I would still like to have one shim instead of two if anyone had an idea of what I could make one out of I would love to hear it. I was thinking wood since it goes between the stock and gun. I work in a welding shop so I also have the option of metal too. Which one do you guys think would be best? Or do you think I should go with plastic since that's what the original ones are made of.

[Monty question?]

I think Mudhen did something like that or told someone to grind 2 shims down and put them together. I would pm him and see.

 

I like longer barrels for dove and waterfowl, and I like shorter barrels for upland and turkey

 

 

Why do you like a shorter barrel for upland if barrel length doesn't make a difference. It's hard for my to belive that a shorter barrel won't throw a wider pattern than a longer one. If the bb's come out sooner, I would think they would start to spread faster. Like I said before, I don't know much about this stuff but I do have a little common sense. I would definetly not cut the barrel off of a $1000 gun. (Maybe not worth a $1000 but sure cost close to that). But it was an idea.

What do you guys think about the Hastings choke?

[Monty question?]

Pattern it appropriately with paper to establish a baseline, then make the appropriate changes and pattern again. It might save you a lot of tail-chasing! (You can't even be sure of what you're trying to change!)

 

 

Banjo MD, I am sure of what I want to change. I want to change the shims and I want a bigger pattern.

Prairedog, The gun doesn't shoulder right for me to see down the rib. I see a a lot of the top of the barrel and I don't like it. In most cases I have to aim a foot below the bird to hit it, of course that depends on which way it's flying and how close it it but you get the idea.

[Monty question?]

I have been adjusting myself to shooting high but it still seems awkward. I can probably train myself on that one but I still feel like the pattern needs to open up. My dog holds birds well and I shoot extremely close range when firing at birds. Occasionally I have a longer shot but not normal. Oklahoma is pretty open and I can usually see where the birds land and pick up the singles. As for the pattern board idea, I shot an old house with the different chokes and honestly I couldn't see a whole lot of difference. Of course there's a little difference but not a lot.

Here's the choke I was looking at for around $20. I know nothing about chokes so you guys bare with me. The only shotguns I have ever owned were fixed so this is all new to me. All help is greatly appreciated. Thanks guys!!

 

http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=317393

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Shims: To be honest, I would wish for even more stock-drop myself... wish they made an "E" shim! Wonder what would happen if we ground off the titties on the "C" shim (which prevent installing two shims) and installed it along WITH the "D" shim??? There would be a lot of 'black' showing between the stock and receiver, but it might help us get the drop we're looking for. Some of the Forum Senior experts like Tucker, M1014, Novaking, Cleefurd, etc. might have some ideas about the feasibility of this maneuver. Hope they'll respond with some coaching on this. I am still having to mount the gun pretty high on my shoulder to be able to look down the barrel, although the 'D' shim is much better than the 'C' shim for me... just not quite enough correction.

 

On the choke pattern issue: If your skeet and IC chokes are patterning the same... it makes me wonder if you might be patterning too close? Back up to 30-40 yards and see if you see a difference. Takes a little time for the pellets to spread out to their full potential for a given choke. Just a thought.

 

 

Thats funny, my wife had the same idea about putting shims together but she suggested the "C" and "A" or any combination that worked. The only problem I see is we would have to make a new metal piece that goes in the stock. I just happen to work at a blacksmith shop and may try it. I can't find anything about an "E" shim so may have to do something.

As for the choke issue, if you'll notice in my first post I was shooting at 40 yds. I shot a duck and when the bb's hit the water it looked like a full choke. A guy on Hunting.Net suggested a cylinder choke. I had never heard of one until now and looked on Midway USA and found one. It's about $20 so I may get one and try it. Only other thing I can think to do is shorten the barrel and I would rather not do that. Another guy directed me to some shells called spreaders and I have never heard of them either.

If I can get my barrel dropped I think it will help me tremendously, but I do think I need a wider pattern. I e-mailed Benelli and waiting for a reply. May never get one but it's worth a shot. I may have to call them..

Thanks again, and I will figure out something if I have to take my Remington youth model hunting. Nothing more aggrevating than missing a bunch of birds....

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Thanks Pro. I have the "D" shims in mine but I think I need another notch. I still have to shoot below the bird to hit them. I'm shooting high. Also, I've tried the IC and skeet chokes and can't tell any difference. I shot a piece of wood to check patterns and I can't tell one from the other. I thought there might be an aftermarket choke that would open it up a little. Thanks again for the help..

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First off I wanted to say "Hello" to everyone. This is the first time to the site and surely not the last.

I got a Benelli Montefeltro a couple of years ago and love the gun. All I use it for is quail hunting. The first time out I was using the IC choke and the guy I was with told me I needed to change it because I was blowing limbs off the tree way up in front of us. So I changed it to the skeet choke and I don't see much difference in the pattern. My question is, is there a choke that I can buy that will open up my pattern a little? I've shot wood and water to see the pattern and it still seems real tight to me even at 40 yds. Another question I have is, can you get different shims? For me, it doesn't seem to break enough from the stock to gun. Thanks in advance for all the input and I hope to learn a lot more about my Benelli, from you guys...

[Monty question?]

Thanks guys.. Does anyone know about different shims?

[Monty question?]

First off I wanted to say "Hello" to everyone. This is the first time to the site and surely not the last.

I got a Benelli Montefeltro a couple of years ago and love the gun. All I use it for is quail hunting. The first time out I was using the IC choke and the guy I was with told me I needed to change it because I was blowing limbs off the tree way up in front of us. So I changed it to the skeet choke and I don't see much difference in the pattern. My question is, is there a choke that I can buy that will open up my pattern a little? I've shot wood and water to see the pattern and it still seems real tight to me even at 40 yds. Another question I have is, can you get different shims? For me, it doesn't seem to break enough from the stock to gun. Thanks in advance for all the input and I hope to learn a lot more about my Benelli, from you guys...