Planetcat

Shoots great using hornady superformance 200 grain sst’s. Copper ammo and 225 grain core-lokts, not so much (see my other post about non-lead ammo). Comfortech is nice with the .338, but still has a whallop. Less recoil than my .300 win mag wood stock R1 for sure.

Thanks Thunder. I’ve found that my rifles made in Europe don’t like the non-lead bullets. Three R1’s(.30-06, .300wm, .338) browning bar .308, and winchester .308 and .338wm made by FN. All have mediocre and/or inconsistent groups using barnes, trophy copper, and gmx ammo. I bet if I reloaded, i could dial them in. I’m getting sub 1” at 100 yards using .338 wm 200 grain superformance sst’s. The .30-06 and .300 wm R1 are over 12 years old and I get very good results with 180 grain bullets (Hornady interbond, federal blue box soft points, and fusions).

I know this is a long shot shot on this deader-than-dead forum, but I can’t get my .338 wm R1 to get decent groups (<1” at 50 yards) with 210 gr. Barnes, .225 gr. Federeal trophy copper, or 185 gr. Hornady gmx. All three shoot radically different groups - all mediocre. I had my barrel cryo treated again at 300 below, and it seems to allow me to shoot about 10 shots now before the barrel heat affects accuracy as opposed to 3-4 shots with factory barrel. Thats not the issue though, I just cant get decent groups with any non-lead ammo that I can find regularly. Buffalo bore makes 250 gr barnes, but that is a lot of bullet for hogs, deer, and black bear. Plus its expensive! I’m at a quandary. Any other suggestions? I dont reload. Also, my stupid restrictive state says i have to hunt with non lead ammo. 200 gr sst’s shoot great out of it. Her’s a picture of a nice sow I shot a few months ago with 200 grain SST ammo. She was drt at 150 yards.

I would bet the new .308 magazines would work since they are all short action calibers, but it is an expensive experiment. As an example, my R1 .338 and .300 win mag magazines are interchangeable both ways.

Ok, so the .300 win mag old blued barrel off of my wood stocked R1 fit on my new comfortech R1 receiver no problem. I might use the .300 for a while for longer range shooting.

Nice to see that Benelli re-released the R1 in .308. I never understood why they discontinued it several years ago, when it is such a popular caliber. Glad that Benelli is keeping this product line on life support.

I finally got a chance to shoot my new R1 in .338 win mag with black ComforTech stock. The Good: In general, the rifle shoots well and I like it enough to hunt with regularly for large game. It shot 225 grain Fusions very well, cloverleafs at 50 yards shooting at the range (no lead sled). It also shot Superformance 200's and Federal Trophy Copper 225's very well, both had similar performance and ballistics, but different than the fusions (about 1" higher and not as tight groups). Feeding and ejection were fast and slick, as expected, and it even fed with my .300 win mag magazine from my other R1. I took my time breaking in the new barrel, cleaning and cooling between shots for the first box or so. Even after 60 or so shots, my shoulder was not bruised. The Not So Good: The fit and finish is not nearly as refined as my 12 year old blued/wooden R1 with the crio barrel. The machining on the older rifle is the nicest I've seen, as well as the durability of the blued crio barrel and finish. It looks like Benelli might have reduced manufacturing costs somewhere down the line. The black coating is decent, but not great (scratched on the cement range table), and the fitment of the action and parts isn't as precise as I expected. Also, I think my expectations were too high with the recoil reduction of the ComfortTech stock. It still kicked like a .338 win mag, with maybe a little less sharpness than my other bolt action .338 WM. I also wish they had done the crio treatment on the barrel, as I noticed some accuracy degradation from it when it got hot. This doesn't happen at all on the older model I have. All in all, it shoots and functions great, which is all that really matters. It's a very good semi-auto hunting rifle for the price, and don't regret buying it at all.

Sorry this thread is such a morgue. I would think the chamber throat would have to be reamed to accept the longer bullets. Are you sure the overall lengths are in specs, and what weight bullets are your fmj's? I highly doubt benelli would fix this problem. I have the R1 in .30-06, .300 winmag, and .338, shoot heavy for caliber factory ammo, and dont have this problem. Also, it sounds like you are reloading. If its military surplus fmj's youre trying to shoot, Ive had issues with the .30 caliber R1's using crappy eastern block stuff.

Ok, the ouiga board didnt resurrect any spirits on this ghost town of a forum, so i bought myself the R1 in .338 black comfort tech. I like the caliber a lot, as it recoils less than my R1 .300 win mag (wood stock), and Im curious as to how good the comfort tech system is for recoil reduction. The first thing I am going to try is to put my original gen 1 R1 .300 and .30-06 barrels on the comfort tech platform. They are both tack drivers on the walnut stock, but .300 recoil is sharp. Very excited about this experiment. I will post pics when i get it all set up.

I have a bolt action .338 and I really like the cartridge. I am thinking of picking up an R1 in .338, but would like some more feedback than the few youtube vids out there.

I love fusion ammo. Now go kill a big hog!

Thanks for asking. We are about 80 miles south if it, but the smoke was bad for almost two weeks. I cancelled a deer hunt last weekend, because roads were closed. Lots of coughing, my wife got bronchitis, kids had to stay in for the most part. Everyone around here knows people who lost everything. Really good support locally and from the rest of the country. Some wineries and vineyards were burned, but the majority of the damage was in blue collar suburbs and rural homes. Recovery will be a long haul.

Nice. Our archery season ended in September and now fully into rifle season. I did arrow a big boar sipping chardonnay in August, but lost it on the adjacent ranch. :-( Real boars dont drink chardonnay, so I was trying to get him out of the gene pool.

Hey Thunder, hows that new R1 treating you? Did you get the ammo dialed in?

We hunt very similar, which is why I had the barrel cut down, except I hunt hogs with attitude about 3,500 miles West of you in the Sonoma wine country coastal mountains. Thick, steep, oak timber. The short barreled R1 is perfect for it. I carry a Glock 29 10mm for backup as well. The barrel cutting/muzzle brake was done by a guy named Ryan Pierce of Piercision Rifles. He's very well known in the custom muzzle loader rifle arena, but offers really well designed muzzle brakes. The brake he put on mine is a little big and ugly, but it works really well. The shorter barrel is great for quick shots in thick brush too. My R1 is old (12+ years), one of the originals before they even invented the comfortech stocks. The trigger on it is great, just the right amount of creep and overtravel, probably at around 4 lbs. It has the original crio-barrel on it, which shoots same POI even when blazing hot, and it loves soft pointed, bonded bullets.

The win mag barrel was 24", but I had it cut down and added a muzzle brake for a total length around 22". Accuracy did not change, but recoil is now more manageable. The .30-06 is the Benelli 20" carbine. Saving the copper bullets is a good idea, especially since the 180 grain copper bullets will be physically larger than the lead ones in the same weight. I even get decent accuracy out of the heavy core lokts. Also, it seems like even the hornady interbond and interlock are better than the sst, and superformance are worse than the regular hornady.

Keep trying. My .30-06 and .300 win mag are also 1:11 twist. Ive found that the rifle is more sensitive to bullet weight than it is to brands of ammo. Federal blue box soft points seem to be a good, relatively inexpensive round to experiment with. I dont own a rifle that doesnt shoot them well. I would try them in 165 and 180 grain. Interestingly, i have a browning BAR in ..308, and it also shoots the 180 grain Federal blue box at well better than 1" at 100 yards. It has a 1:12 twist, which you would think favored lighter bullets. Maybe its a European gun thing.

Congrats on a great rifle. I dont shoot wsm, but have the R1 with .30-06 and .300 win mag barrels. Both are very accurate using a variety of factory ammo. If you dont reload, you will want to try a few different brands and bullet weights for best accuracy. Both .30 cals prefer heavier bullets, and Hornady and Federal Fusions shoot the best for me. Unfortunately, neither shoots non-lead bullets very well.

Congrats on your R1. It is a great rifle. Yeah, this is a quiet forum. As for cleaning, after general range sessions or hunts, i just swab the barrel and maybe spray some dry lube on the action. For full cleaning, you can tear the whole rifle down and spray with your favorite cleaner. In all honesty, its been about five years since I removed the barrel and thoroughly cleaned everything. Shooting clean burning ammo helps minimize the need for a deep clean, too. Mine holds zero after removing the barrel and reinstalling it too.

Hey, congrats on a fine shooting rifle. My .30-06 R1 is a tack driver. It is scoped, but I remember that the burris speed bead used to be readily available for R1's. That might fit the bill for you. However, not sure what your intended purpose is though. That would help narrow it down.

Congrats on a great rifle. I bought mine used in 2008 I think. It was heavily used and beat up. An easy strip down and thorough cleaning, and it is by far the most accurate and reliable rifle I own. With both .300 win mag and .30-06 barrels. The crio treatment on these barrels truly makes for an accurate rifle. I may pick up a.338 barrel, before they become extinct. Also, I find 180 gr. Hornady Interbond and Federal Fusions to be the most accurate. 165's are not bad, but my short 20" .30-06 barrel does not like 150's.

Since the R1 forum has poor turnout, I thought I'd ask here. Anyone know when and why Benelli stopped the Crio treatment on the R1 barrels? I'm assuming they stopped, since it's not listed in the R1 section of the website. I've always felt that the the Crio barrel in the R1 was the best feature of that rifle. I can really heat up my .30-06 and .300 win mag R1 with no change in POI. Can't say the same for the dozen other rifles I have. Thanks.

I recently bought a new BAR short trac in .308, due to the non-existent available R1's or barrels in .308, and the fact that I "needed" an all weather rifle with a coated finish and synthetic stock. Now that I've shot the BAR a fair amount, I feel the need to compare the two. They are both dedicated deer, black bear, and hog rifles that are mostly shot in thick timber under 300 yards. I've had my R1 about 10 years, and had bought it used, so I'd say it's an early model, with walnut stock. I have a .30-06 20" barrel and .300 win mag 24" barrel. Both I think have a 1:11 twist. This is my go-to rifle, and I have shot it a lot. I replaced the gas piston (due to corrosion), and the recoil assembly (wore out, FTE's) about 2 years ago. Nikon Monarch and Leupold VX-6 sit on top for good sight pictures. In short, the R1 is a much finer rifle. As you all know, the machining and craftsmanship on all aspects of it are incredibly high quality. I've hunted for days in pouring rain and poured water out of the barrel, and it cleans up like new. Very durable blued finish and walnut stocks. Also, I don't think there is a production rifle on the market that has a barrel comparable to the excellent crio-barrel. I can shoot dozens of rounds and really heat it up, with no change in POI. It eats maybe 5-6 different factory loads in 165 or 180 grain while maintaining a 1.5" group or less at 100 yards. It does hate 150 grain bullets. I have the short recoil pad on it, and it still soaks up recoil well, even in .300 WM with a wooden stock. Gas piston and recoil assembly issues aside,the R1 is a slightly better rifle all the way around (and less expensive). The BAR is a short trac synthetic model in .308 winchester. It has a 22" barrel with a 1:12 twist, with a Steiner GS3 scope on top. It is a cool looking rifle and lighter than my R1, but the fit and finish are not even close to that of the R1. More MIM parts, a little rougher action, imperfections in the plastic stock, and stupid hinged floor plate with removable box magazine. However, it is very similar to the R1 in how it shoots. Recoil in the .308 BAR is similar to that of the .30-06 in the R1. Accuracy is the same with the R1 when the right 4-5 factory loads are found. A few 180 grain rounds and a 165 grain shot the best. In reality, I want to dispel the notion that the R1 is very finicky on ammo. My R1 in both calibers will shoot a larger variety of ammo more accurately than the BAR. The BAR really shines on quick, successive shots. I know it's not an A/R and it doesn't have the ARGO system, but it feeds, fires, and ejects spent brass quickly, reliably, consistently, and comfortably. The barrel heats up after 4-5 shots, and there's a slight degradation in accuracy with the hot barrel, but nothing to get riled over. Reliability-wise, this rifle makes me confident that it will do its job in the field under a variety of harsh conditions. It does not collect powder residue all over the action and gas system like the R1 does either. And of course, you can't tear it down like the R1 for cleaning. The front stock and trigger assembly are the only two parts that are easily removable for cleaning the BAR. In summary, I wish I could have bought a new R1 in .308 with Comfortech, but they're extinct. The R1 is a slightly less expensive and better rifle. It does seem like Benelli no longer does the crio treatment on the R1 barrels, shotguns only. However, the Browning BAR is also a fine rifle. It feels more production-like, but it shoots great and reliably, and I think is a good substitute for us Benelli R1 fanboys.

I feel that the cryo treatment of the R1 barrels is one of, if not the best feature of these rifles. I've shot a lot of different large bore rifles, and none of them can be shot multiple times in succession without at least some loss in accuracy due to barrel heat. Except the R1 of course. I see that there are now companies that will cryo treat rifle barrels for customers. I might get a couple bolt actions treated to see if there's a difference.