Planetcat

I got lucky and found a nib .30-06 barrel for my R1 .300 WM on gunbroker about 3 years ago. They are almost impossible to find both used and new. When I bought my R1 back in '07, I was duped by the stupid marketing Benelli did with the interchangeable barrel idea. The concept, from the beginning, was prohibitive for most of us either due to cost, lack of availability, or ridiculously long wait times for orders. Not to mention you need to buy another scope or remount the scope from the other barrel onto the new one. Love the rifle, though.

If you are in the market for new ammo, in my .30-06, I would say the Hornady Interlock shoot the best in 165 grain. For some reason, the polymer tipped SST's and similar aren't as accurate in my rifle. For hunting, I shoot fusions. They are also very accurate and probably the best priced ammo for the quality on the market. I prefer a good, tough bonded bullet for deer and hogs as opposed to some of the newer designed bullets with polymer tips. All shots tend to be within 200 yards, most within 100 yards.

I believe the crappy new website is accurate. Only 3 calibers now, all long action. It seemed that rifle in .308 was very popular, but they still discontinued it, along with the short mag version. It's been this way for a while.

I don't know if the set screw has any functionality or not, but I think mine was turned out a little bit where the one in the picture looks like it's turned in all the way. I didn't remove it, just left everything the way it came. At a minimum, I would set it the same as the one in your old collector is set. It might have acted as an alignment pin, but I really can't remember. I really didn't do a lot of tinkering - I just removed the old parts and installed the new ones. Also, your concerns about stripping the torx screws is valid. They do come out, but not easily. You might want to consider soaking them in some pb blaster or other screw removal solution to help.

I don't have a chrono, so not sure if I lost any velocity; however, I did cut my barrel down a couple of inches with the brake, so my comparative numbers wouldn't be valuable anyways. If you call/email Ryan Pierce at Piercision Rifles, he is very knowledgeable and experienced custom rifle maker, so he will answer your question for you. I would not expect a significant loss of velocity on a .300 win mag, and even if you lost 50-100 fps, the gain in accuracy and reduced recoil would be well worth it.

I just installed this kit a couple of months ago on my 10 year old R1. The piston assembly comes off by removing the c-clip and unscrewing the big silver set screw under the front of the receiver. The 8 torx screws on the collector are a pain to get off, but with a good quality torx driver (get a ratcheting one or socket wrench style if you can), and a vise or someone strong to hold onto the barrel, they will come off. You can put the new on and use some red locktite on the screws. Make sure both the collector and barrel are clean where they meet, because there appear to be some gas holes under the collector. The old gas collector did not fit onto the new piston assembly, so it's an all or none deal with that kit. On a positive note, the parts appear to be hardened and chromed/polished, and supposed to resist corrosion unlike the old style one. The kit worked like a new rifle after installation.

I've been wanting to tame the recoil of my R1 .300 win mag some, so I could maintain my sight picture while shooting successive shots. I hunt big pigs and black bear in thick cover, so I wanted to turn my R1 into a brush gun for that purpose. I sent the barrel to Ryan Pierce of Piercisions Rifles in Iowa. He cut the 24" barrel down a couple of inches and installed one of his muzzle brakes for me, called the mini-mag muscle brake. He has several different ones, but given the narrow diameter of the barrel, this was the only one that he could fit properly. He did a great job, very clean and precise. The finished barrel length is 22" which works well for me now. I would have preferred about 20" like my .30-06 R1 barrel, but his equipment couldn't cut it that short and thread the end. Range report: I shot three different loads: Federal Fusions 180 gr., Hornady Interlok 165 gr., and Remington “Managed Recoil” 150 grain core-lokt. I would have to say that on average, the recoil was reduced by about 50% from the standard 24” .300 win mag R1. The Federal fusions and Hornady’s shot like my .30-06 R1, and the low recoil core-lokts shot like my kids 7mm-08. Half inch groups at 50 yards shooting off-hand, too. This is on an original R1 with walnut stock and shortest recoil pad. The muzzle brake is designed to cancel out blast and noise, and it shot very well with no more noise/blast as on a standard barrel. All in all, this is about all I could ask of a muzzle brake and it was a pleasure to shoot. Here are some pictures: [ATTACH=CONFIG]2376[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]2377[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]2378[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]2379[/ATTACH]

I guess I'm too late for your hunt. Hopefully you got yourself a nice whitetail and will post some pics when you get back. I've found in both my R1 .300 wm and .30-06 that it likes 165 gr. bullets the best. The hornady's are all good. Fusions are fantastic (my go-to round for hunting), Federal Premium and Core-lokts. The blue box federals, several Winchester premium loads and white box, plus any eastern block ammo shoot like poo. Barnes copper TTSX shoot Ok. It also likes 180 gr. better than the 150's in the good stuff. My .300 wm barrel is very consistent with the .30-06 barrel in terms of ammo. I'm having the .300 barrel cut down to 20" and a muzzle brake put on it for a brush canon for hogs. We'll see how well it shoots when I get it back.

I've got a .30-06 barrel for my .300 win mag R1. Probably an 8-9 year old rifle, wooden stock version. I find that they both shoot around 2" groups at 100 yards for me, but I can only do so much with sand bags and a bench. Both are the same when it comes to ammo. They both shoot Federal Fusion, Hornady Interbond, core-lokts, and any of the Federal Premium bonded bullets the best. Cheaper Federal, winchester, or remington soft points and any Barnes copper shoot Ok, and all of the eastern block ammo shoot terribly. I find the crio barrel allows us to shoot multiple rounds through it where the it gets hot, but does not affect accuracy. As compared to other hunting rifles I've had, when the barrel really heats up, the accuracy suffers greatly. Doesn't seem to be the case with the crio barrel. Also, I used to re-sight in after every cleaning and removal of the barrel assembly, but after a few wasted range visits, I realized that it would still be on zero after removing and reinstalling the barrel. With the exception of feeling like I need to clean it frequently, it's been a reliable and fun to shoot rifle. I carry it on all my rifle hunts now. Additional info: most of the bullets I shoot are 165 gr. I find the 180's to not shoot as accurately as the 165's or the 150's (which I don't shoot very often). Same results for both calibers.

I'm usually on the R1 forum, since that's the only Benelli firearm I own; however, I have to say that I really don't care for the new website design. As an IT guy myself, I try to give the benefit of the doubt to the designers, but I can't find anything on this new version that's an improvement over the previous version. In fact, they removed some nice real life photos and replaced them with cheesy sketches and sterile color schemes. I realize it's in the eye of the beholder, but I find this new website disappointing and not reflective of the Italian artistic beauty that's in Benelli firearms. Like everything on the internet, just my opinion. In fact, I'll post a poll on it to see what people's opinions are.

I would check around if I were you. On gunbroker, you can get an R1 new for $999 any day of the week and less for the wooden stock versions. Shops across the country are selling them at prices much less than they were several years ago. I have a .30-06 and .300WM barrel for my R1 and like the setup a lot. It shoots .30-06 like a dream. A little finicky on commercial ammo though, but nothing to worry about. If you load your own, even better.

I don't think the rifle has been discontinued. Benelli is notorious for taking months and months to fill orders for guns, parts, etc. My local gun shop would just tell me that Benelli sends them whatever Benelli feels like and whenever they want. They would have shipments arrive many months late without any notification whatsoever containing whatever Benelli felt like putting in the order. You could call the Benelli USA help line which I think is listed somewhere on this site and talk to a real person, but they may not be able to expedite it or even give you a status. That's your only hope. After 7 months and for that amount of money, I'd cancel the order and get a BAR. I love my R1, but not that much.

I just heard that Tom Knapp, world record exhibition shooter and hunting advocate passed away a few days ago. I watched many hours of his clips on Shooting USA, Benelli's show, new Mossberg shows, etc. Seemed like a great guy and advocate of the shooting sports. Prayers to his family and close friends. A true loss to the shooting and hunting community. http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci_23147524/tom-knapp-international-trick-shooter-from-elk-river?source=rss

I just want to report back. I finally got a chance to take apart the R1. I received my new recoil spring assembly and firing pin spring; however, as you guys predicted, the misfire had to be because of a dirty gas piston. I've only got maybe 100 rounds since I last cleaned it, but it was absolutely caked with powder residue. So much that I had to spray the piston with solvent to get it off. I've never seen it so stuck on there in the 8 years I've had the rifle. Stripped it all down and scrubbed everything really good, so it's all nice and clean now. I installed the RSA and firing pin spring while I was in there. I typically only shoot Fusions, Hornady's, or Core-lokts, but I guess the powder has to go somewhere. Anyways, I'll test fire it in the next few weeks, but I'm pretty sure this fixed the random FTF's. Thanks again for the advice. A potential hunting problem averted, and I learned a new lesson. Follow-up Report: Went to the range last week. The R1 fed rounds and shot like a dream using the usual fusions, core-lokt, and hornady ammo. I think I shot some Federal blue box soft points as well. Also, I am continually amazed at how the rifle goes back to zero after taking the barrel off and cleaning it. I always sight in after taking off the barrel and cleaning, but in the 6-7 years I've had it, it's always been back to zero on the first shot after the cleaning. Gonna kill some hogs with it in May.

Thanks Steve and Saw. I always clean my rifle after a range trip or hunt (if I shoot something); however, I haven't done a thorough scrubbing on the gas piston in a while. Also, I noticed on a recent hog hunt, that when I went to load a round from the magazine, the bolt did not lock all the way into battery (as mentioned above-good call). I've had the rifle for about 6 years, so I noticed this right away and just pushed in the bolt and continued my hunt. I didn't shoot anything, so I don't know how it would have worked. I ended up buying a new recoil spring and a new firing pin spring, just in case, but will give it a good cleaning when I remove the barrel for the new springs. I will report back with the results. Anyone have any feedback on storing the rifle with the bolt open/back or closed forward?

If you get the Warne permanent mount rings, you'll need the high rings. With my medium ones, the 44 mm objective almost touches the barrel. I have a Zeiss Conquest on my .300 Win Mag R1 barrel and it's got 44 mm objective which also almost touches the barrel. I like to shoot 165 gr. pretty much as a rule. They seem to shoot the best in both my .30-06 and .300 WM. 150's shoot Ok, and 180's for me aren't as accurate. I can get nice 1-1.5" groups with Federal Fusions. A great bonded bullet for the price. My rifle also really like the Hornady interbond and interlock. Sometimes I hunt hogs in a no-lead zone, so I'll shoot the Barnes copper. They shoot Ok, but not as good as the other two. Same for core-lokts - just ok. I almost always shoot the Fusions now. They are relatively inexpensive and shoot great. I hunt hogs, blacktail deer, and bear for the most part. The ammo that my rifle doesn't shoot well is Winchester eTip, any Eastern block surplus ammo (Golden Bear, Selier & Belot, etc), and federal blue box soft points.

I have probably 300-400 rounds through my .30-06 barrel that I found in sporting goods store in VT about 2 years ago. I suspect that it had been sitting in the shop for a few years prior, but it was new, fit great on my .300 WM and is a dream to shoot with the 20" barrel. At the range the other day, I was shooting a new box of 165 gr. core-lokts and had a couple fail to fires. This would happen on the second shot after manually loading a round (i.e. jack one in, it fires, ejects, and puts in round #2, hear a click, no fire). There were no striker marks on the round. It did this maybe three times, and those rounds fired when chambered manually, so I know they weren't duds. I then proceeded to shoot an entire box of Federal Fusions without any problems and about another 10 core lokts. Any ideas? I want to throw another thing out there, maybe related to this issue. I was always told to store semi-auto rifles and shotguns with the chamber open and locked back. Something about keeping the springs compressed. I do this with my R1. How do you guys store your R1 - bolt open or closed? Any comments on storing it like this? Thanks in advance.

I have a few sets of the Warne permanent attach scope rings in medium height. They are good and decently priced. With that setup, I've put a Nikon 3x9x40 and a Bushnell Trophy XLT 1.5x6x44 (30mm tube) and they've fit perfectly on my .30-06. It's worth noting that the Warne pictatiny rail for the Browning BAR fits great on the R1, too, and is much cheaper than the Benelli one.

I've had my .300 Winmag for about 6 years, 24" barrel. I've never seen accuracy decrease with the barrel getting hot. That cryo treatment on the steel really helps that - much better than other semi auto hunting rifles I've had. The rifle is not that finicky about ammo, you will probably get to narrow it down to 4 or 5 brands/weight that you will find shoot well out of it. I have found, like many .30 caliber rifles, that 165 gr. shoot best for me (also in my .30-06 R1 barrel). The ammo I shoot the best at the range (all 165 gr) are Hornady Interlock/Interbond, Fusion, Barnes TSX (not as good as the other two), bonded Core-lokt, Federal premium Nosler Partition or Trophy Bonded Bear Claw. It absolutely hates cheap Eastern Block ammo, winchester white box, and even Federal soft points. If I have to change bullet weight, I'll go to 180's which shoot Ok, but 150's don't fare well in my .300 wm. I've been taking the Fusions deer hunting lately, as the Hornady TSX's don't expand as fast on blacktail deer.

I had my R1 .300 Win Mag 24" barrel ported by Magna Port. Not their muzzle brake, which costs about double, just 4 ports on the front of the barrel. I have to say that it reduced recoil a slight amount, but didn't make the .300 significantly lighter on the shoulder. It still shot 1" groups at 100 yards, but I was hoping for it to recoil more like the -06. It still has a whallop to it, but a little less than stock. Magna Port has fast and good customer service, and their electro porting process is very clean with no machining. I'm not really a recoil shy person, but I do like my follow up shots on hogs to be fast and the .300 Win Mag had just a little too much recoil for me. I also have the .30-06 barrel, which I like just fine, but the .300 knocks them down like nobody's business. I had my 10mm Glock ported too and that's a whole different story. Noticeably less muzzle flip, no flames coming through the top, and faster target acquisition on follow up shots. Worth the $140 on this one. Thought I'd give my feedback in case anyone was thinking of doing this.

I have a Zeiss Conquest on the .300 wm that holds zero fine. I would not go lower than a Leupold VX-II on that rifle. You can't go wrong with a Leupold. I believe a typical 3-9x40 is in the $300 range. I have a Nikon Monarch on the .30-06 barrel, which I would trust with no worries on the .300 wm too.

I have a .300 win mag (24") and .30-06 (20") barrels for my R1. I like to shoot Hornady Interbond 165 gr. for both, hunting hogs, deer, and bear. Although, I have to admit, I feel like I'm lucky as both calibers for me are not finicky with ammo. I can shoot core-lokts, Hornady's, and especially shoot the Federal Fusions well for both too. It seems to not like any cheap Eastern Block ammo (Wolf, Bear, or Privi Partizan) and doesn't especially like Winchester XP3's or the Federal blue box jacketed soft points. For no-lead zones, I shoot Federal Premium with Barnes TSX in 165 gr. just fine. My default hunting ammo is the Hornady or the Fusions, and the Barnes for no-lead, all 165 gr. I have not found a 180 gr. bullet that shoots as well as the 165 gr. in both barrels. I have a Zeiss Conquest 3.5-10x44 on the .300 and a Nikon Monarch UCC 3-9x40 on the -06. Both scopes are excellent and the Nikon cost half as much as the Zeiss. As for barrel break in, I did not break in either barrel. Just shot at the range until I ran out of ammo. :-) The .300 was bought used, but the -06 was new. Shot it like I stole it.

I'm probably around 1.25" groups with both my .30-06 and .300 win mag barrels on an older, standard model R1. Seems to like Hornady Interbond 165's and Federal Fusion 165's the best, but really shoots any type of premium American made ammo fine. Absolutely hates blue box federals and any Eastern Block ammo. Both calibers shoot consistently for me out of the same rifle. Plenty accurate for the type of hunting I do (hogs and black tail deer).

Are you using the Superformance loads? I have been using the "regular" interbond's in 165 gr. with my .300 wm for a few years without any fouling problems. I belive the superformance loads are not designed for short gas port rifles. I also shoot 165 gr. fusions and power shocks at the range to sight in with. My R1 is probably over 7 years old though and the piston is like a collection box for burnt powder, but it's never caused any cycling problems. Probably the most I've gone is about 100 rounds before cleaning. I use brake cleaner or B-12 chemtool and then oil the little o-ring after I'm done.

I know you don't want to spend a lot of $$$ finding the right loads, but in my .300, my R1 shoots the Hornady Interbond bullets the best, but also shoots fusions well, too. It's an older R1 and does about the same with my .30-06 carbine barrel on it.