sjelk

Mike B, Sorry that is going on. It is completely ridiculous. Benelli appears clueless and incompetent with this 828U which has been out for a long time now. I just saw an add for a new model and I’m not sure from the photo but it looks like the safety may have been redesigned because it looks slightly elevated in the back and not flush with the receiver. In my opinion they should replace this safety free of charge with a better designed one to anyone who complains about it. I hope they fix it to your satisfaction soon. Steve

Good! Strange that they don’t provide instructions because once you start it’s an irreversible procedure. And you can’t get it flush without significant impact with that rubber mallet.

I asked that same question from Benelli and eventually got a response from Italy. Just take the screw out and remove the red insert. Then place the silver oval in place. You can use a drop of glue to bond it. I used a tiny bit of gorilla glue on the underside of the medallion and a drop on the serrations on the insert post. Tap on the medallion with a rubber mallet. I used a gunsmith hard rubber mallet (you can by that for cheap on Amazon). Be careful because once you drive that medallion in you cannot remove it. I had to pound on the medallion pretty hard to get the sides to be reasonably flush with the wood. Don't use anything harder than hard rubber or you will marr the wood. Don't start the installation until you have the proper type of mallet. It worked pretty well and looks good. I found an engraver in Denver that beautifully hand engraved my initials in the medallion with some scroll border work. He did an awesome job and his charge for the work was reasonable. If you want more details about that and a photo PM me and let me know.

No one sells the model I wanted in my home town so I bought the gun from Scheels in Wichita Kansas. That is why I didn't know about the stiff safety before I bought it. I called Benelli and explained the stiff safety to them. They were very polite but it was if they had never heard of the problem before. They sent me a shipping label and expedited the repair since it was a new gun. They fixed it. I can get the safety off now with no problem with or without gloves. I will say that the texture of the glove might be an issue. I would recommend using a glove with some texture to it. The design of this safety is not ideal. It is recessed and pretty much flush with the top of the receiver. So there is nothing really to get purchase on with your thumb and push it forward. The only way it works is that it has a large surface area, so you just place your whole thumb on top of it and slide it forward. Benelli could improve it greatly by just raising up the barrel selector switch which would give something to push against - and an added benefit would be an easier functioning barrel selector switch. I also emailed Benelli and they eventually got back to me from Italy. They said no one had complained about this stiff safety issue before and no one had complained about the recessed flush design either, and they would pass it on to their design engineers. I think it also seems that their inspection process at the factory is lacking, that they would pass a gun with a safety that is too stiff to function. I don't really believe that they have had no complaints before. This recessed design also looks CAD designed by engineers rather than hunters, to focus on aesthetics rather than function. It also surprises me somewhat that Benelli doesn't monitor this forum. There are so many unanwsered complaints about a lot of their product line. Many complaints are never answered and the ones that are answered are by customers, not the company. Many forums from other manufacturers have complaints that are monitored by the manufacturers with help to fix or repair problems. Anyway, the bottom line is that the safety is fixed and should work just fine. When I shoot clays, I always start with the safety off and the shotgun in a low ready position to simulate hunting. I wanted to make sure the safety is functional to hunt with in cold weather with gloves and I had it out for a shooting lesson in cold weather with gloves on and it was fine. (Forget about getting the barrel selector switch off but in defense of Benelli, I can't get those switches off on my other over and unders either in a hurry under hunting conditions, includning my Browning Superposed Superlight.) Good luck and good hunting to you all.

Where did you hear that Benelli had changed the design of the ejectors? I am unable to find out any information about that.

I just bought the 828U Limited Edition. I'm disappointed that the safety is so stiff I could essentially never get the safety off in time to shoot a bird. As is it is worthless as a hunting shotgun. I found a gunsmith that identified the exact problem and how to fix it. The gunsmith points out that Benelli should train people better when they install this receiver, and it is also surprising that they don't pick this up with quality checks before it leaves the factory. https://www.bto-range.com/2023/08/16/the-gunsmith-bench-benelli-828u-stiff-safety/ Benelli sent me a shipping label and RA and say they will expedite the repair since it is brand new and fix it. Hopefully they will. It is a bummer to have to ship a new gun for repair. Shipping isn't without risks for damage, etc. When it comes back it must be smooth and effortless to get the safety off whilst in the process of mounting the shotgun, or it will be worthless to me as an upland bird hunting shotgun which is what I bought it for. I'll let you know how it works out...

I just bought the 828U Limited Edition and have the same question. It is surprising that Benelli doesn't provide installation instructions for the silver insert. What kind of adhesive to use, etc.