usagent14

Interesting decision....I always felt that short action was more reliable in a semi-auto. Hence the choice to go .308. It's been, for a semi-auto, a good gun. No failures, reasonable accuracy and very sharp looking. I have managed to get sub moa at 100 yds with Winchester Fail Ssafe's in 150 gr. Unfortunately that ammo is no longer available. I do have enough to keep me going though, then it will be back to the drawing board as my results with other ammo I tested was much like a lot of others, in the 2-3" range. But in the last ten years new stuff has come out, and I am hopeful to stay within 2". That is sufficient for the northeast. Thanks for the info.

Is Benelli still making the short action R1? I have the .308 in wood, it's about ten years old. I don't know if the site was acting up today, but I was only able to find the rifles in long action....did I miss something?

This whole piston thing is some fabulous information and I thank you for it...but that being said, it does not make me happy. While I absolutely love Benelli shotguns and find them to be flawless in extreme hunting conditions, I just don't think anyone should have to worry about this type of stuff if they are shooting a Benelli. Afterall, isn't that why you own a Benelli? I own an R1 in .308 with some gorgeous wood. I have used it in the field, but not to the extent as it sounds some of you have; and therefore, I have yet to experience any of these issues.....thank god. But when/if I do, I'd better get a little more advice/customer support than a gun smithing lesson on how to better clean my gun. Sorry, just how I feel when I own a spend hard earned money on a Cadillac and not on a Le Car.

I have the R1 in .308. If you can still find some Winchester Fail Safe on the shelves grab them....I bought all my local shop had when I heard Winchester was doing them in for the XP3 (which I have yet to try in this gun). Should last me a while. They are the best shooting out of my gun. At 100yds, it is consistently under 1". I tried several notable rounds when I bought my guns three years ago (therefore some of the latest stuff was not tested) and the fail safe's were by far the best. They performed great in the field on Northeast (larger bodied) whitetails as well. I am a huge benelli shotgun owner and very pleased with the shotguns so I jumped on the rifle when it came out. I must say that Benelli could have been a little more help when I called about ammo reccomendations. In addition, watch the poorly placed magazine release if you hunt in thick cover as I have lost a couple $60 mags. Otherwise...enjoy.