Randy S

Exactly. When the cold temps set in; that cosmoline would get downright nasty. I'd like to see it after shooting a couple boxes of dirty ammo to see how it performed with the cosmoline and other lubes holding powder and debris. Just for grins... I can tell you that I didn't clean my SBE II this duck season other than to wipe off the exterior and it didn't miss a beat. But then again, I didn't pile on the lube...

I've had to call CS twice over the years and found them great to deal with, but I've heard their turnaround time for repairs is sometimes slow. I'd ask if they'd swp the stock out by just sending you a replacement, so that you don't have to wait on them to assess, fix, and return ship. If you look at the way the stock split; it looks like there was pressure on it already as it didn't just crack, but opened up. Bet they'll fix you right up. Good luck.

I haven't taken the extractor out of the bolt assembly on mine, so I'm not sure how it comes apart. 035A is labeled as an extractor pin and looks like a rolled pin, so I would presume it can be pressed or driven out with a small punch. Hopefully, someone who has replaced the extractor will chime in. I'm still a little skeptical of the extractor being the part that is hanging the bolt. I know when you push it up, the locking head rotates into battery, but there it's also rotating the locking head pin into the grooves in the bolt. Look at the grooves in the bolt where the pin guides the rotation and see if there are any unusual wear patterns or burrs.

I don't think there's anything under the extractor other than a spring. The color you're seeing is likely oil. If you haven't already, it's worthing spending time to thoroughly clean the breech area and disassemble, clean, and oil the bolt assembly. [ATTACH=CONFIG]633[/ATTACH]

If I pull the bolt back about 1/2" and release it on my SBE II with the Wolff spring, it closes well, but I wouldn't count on it closing every time with a short pull like that. There's just too much slop in the bolt/head fitment and how it mates to the barrel. The rails and contact area of the bolt are oiled and the gun is kept clean, so that helps. With oil and use, the spring should quieten down. Not sure how the extractor could be hanging you up. Look for some polished spots in the breech area and see if the bolt face is making contact.

On a related note; I noticed that fitment of the bolt assembly on a SBE II or M2 vs a Beretta 1201F (also inertia bolt) is quite different. The Benelli bolt head drops when pulled out of battery and the Beretta stays steady with a smooth rotation and no drop. As a byproduct (I presume), the Beretta can be eased into lock much easier than the Benelli. I don't recall ever having the Beretta click on me, but it could have faded with time as the Beretta was purchased in 1990. There certainly appears to be a manufacturing tolerance difference between the guns. At the end of the day, they all go boom and the Wolff spring virtually eliminated the click problem.

Unfortunately, it's not that uncommon for the bolt to not be fully seated and cause the "Benelli Click". The best solution I've ran across for it is to purchase a Wolff 25% stronger recoil spring. They're about $15 or so, aren't so strong that they create problems with the intertia action, and will go a LONG ways towards solving issues with the bolt not going fully back into battery. They only list the M1 on their site, but have verified that the springs are the same and will work in the SBE II. Good luck and post back if you upgrade.