libertad

Vortex, in my opinion, is better than glass that costs 2x as much. Their "no questions asked" limited (intentional misuse and scratches that don't affect the performance are not covered-pretty much everything else is) warranty make this a no-brainer. If only I needed a scope...

I have found Benelli Customer Service to be very helpful. They helped me with a problem that I had on a 10-year old forestock and I was very happy with the experience. You can use lots of solvents/oils/waxes to clean your gun, but some shotgun cleaning solvents are designed to dissolve plastic wads from the barrel. I would be very careful with those around the furniture, whether it is wood or synthetic. I don't think you can buy methylene chloride based cleaners any more, but those would eat through pretty much any plastic or varnish and make them tacky. If you have any sticky residue that doesn't come off with isopropyl alcohol, then there is something that either you or Benelli messed up.

My recent experience with a warranty replacement for a part on my Benelli shotgun was excellent. Expert and friendly customer service rep, fast and flawless delivery to get me going again with minimal effort on my part.

My teenage son started shooting trap with a cheap Tristar gas-powered semi-auto. Once it became clear that he was going to keep up with the hobby, we upgraded his shotgun because there were some reliability issues with the Tristar and my son loves to shoot doubles when he can. He is very lean and hasn't filled out his frame yet. His first round of trap was always his best score, so fatigue seems to be an issue. For him, I didn't think it was recoil but the weight of the gun. I got him a Benelli Ultralight and now he won't go back to the Tristar. Recoil is a little more stout, so we just lightened up the loads and all is well. For him, it is easier to swing the (really light) Benelli and if you can hit a clay with 1-1/8 oz load you still hit it with a 1-oz load. That, and you can wear a vest with a recoil pad. Now, he is getting bored with trap, and I think the Ultralight is well suited for Sporting Clays and 5-stand as well.

Newbie here, also. I am usually using IM choke but might move up or down based on what is happening at a particular stand. The place I go to generally mixes up where the clays start and where they are going so that an open choke may get you on one clay but not the other. Occasionally, a stand is essentially a skeet shoot and I open up the choke. Once in a while, a stand is like a 27 yard line trap shot where I need a full choke to reach. My son (who is better than me) almost always shoots true doubles after a "practice" round of singles at a station. He uses IM and sometimes full. However, the last time we shot, there was a double stand that he put in a skeet choke and hit both clays with one shot three times. He was pretty geeked.