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SBE II Tactical?


scootercsu

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Good Morning Folks.

 

Forgive my "newbie-ness" to your forum, but I'm looking to purchase a new shotgun and I've been struggling with the decision for the last week and a half...so I wanted to look to you folks for an opinion.

 

Up until now, I've only shot a little upland bird and then some local/regional 3-gun competitions and a monthly defensive pistol leauge that regularly includes a tactical shotgun stage or two durring the spring/summer months. Many of the stage setups in the competitions shoot target loads and slugs in the same stage. My current shotgun is an inhereted 1960's JC-Higgans Pump action 2.75" 12GA...it's a pretty cool gun and has done me well on the skeet range and in the pheasant fields and suprisingly even took slugs without a blink...but now I'm nervous to put steel down the barrel for waterfowl hunting.

 

My Uncle is a member of a local LE swat team and shoots a M1 Super90 with the 19" barrel to mimick his occupational entry tool which is another M1 Super90 with the LEO barrel. Many of the other gentlemen I shoot with are also LE or military and are using M2 fields in a tactical setup or M4's to get through doorways and around walls and such...All of them have suggested getting Benelli's and so I'm pretty convinced on the need for a Benelli auto-loading shotgun.

 

Also, I'm a lefty...so having the safety on the left side of the weapon would be nice for a change...until someone finally decides to make an AR/HK styled safety someday.

 

So I'd like to get a semi-auto loading shotgun with the ability to shoot 3.5" shells for geese, but I cannot find a shorty 'defensive' barrel for the SBE2. Is there one out there that anyone knows of? Is the cost of cutting one down pretty expensive? Is 3.5" for geese really a big deal or could I be shooting BB or BBB in 3" just fine?

 

I keep going between the M2 Field and the SBE2 because I can get the mag extensions and tactical grips for both and use the gun for competition, but the 3" vs 3.5" for Large Bird hunting and the lack of barrels in the SBE2 are the only things that keep me from pulling the trigger, no pun intended.

 

Any thoughts or help would be appreciated...I'm looking to buy before the goose season opens on Saturday.

 

Thanks.

-Scott

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Truthfully there is no need to use 3.5" shells just use a really good 3" then you can kill all your birds with one stone. Too bad your a member of the lefty squad or I could make you a deal on my M2 tactical I have for sale here.

 

 

Saying there is no use for 3 1/2 is saying there is no use for 3's. 2 3/4 inch shells killed everything before both came along.

 

My friend shoot everything he hunts with a 20 gauge. He says there is no reason for a 12 gauge.

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Saying there is no use for 3 1/2 is saying there is no use for 3's. 2 3/4 inch shells killed everything before both came along.

My friend shoot everything he hunts with a 20 gauge. He says there is no reason for a 12 gauge.

Well he was using shell size as a basis for which gun to choose not if one is better than the other.

Also my M4 is my HD weapon not a rabbit gun so the 20ga vs 12ga is a moot point.

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Any M2 barrel should fit any M2 receiver.

 

A benelli safety is the easiest to switch from right to lefty use. I've been shooting M1's and SBE's for 20 years and I've switch them all. They're symetrical so all you have to do is punch the spring retaining pin, pull the safety out, turn it around, and put it back in.

 

I've never felt the need to go to a lefty receivered gun. On my three gun matches, a shell can put thrown into an open-bolt ejection port a lot quicker than a right-hander. I won a man-on-man steel plate match that way. I was using my right hand to throw it in whereas the other guy, using his left hand was having to go either over or under the receiver to get it in (I didn't pay attention to which method he was using) I was a fraction quicker on getting the reload completed and firing the last shot.

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Thanks for the replies to you all.

 

I spoke with Benelli Customer Service last week and she told me much of the same thing plus some extras...the short version - don't buy the LH version.

 

I bought the right handed version of an M2 after learning the following:

 

  • The Safety can be swapped from Right to Left...call Benelli CS and they'll email you word docs on how to do it...not really difficult if you're semi-savy with gunsmithing tools.
  • M2 barrels are not swappable between RH and LH models because of the piece that extends into the chamber and over the bolt...trying to swap RH and LH barrels it appears would block an emptie from being ejected. So for the RH gun, you have a 28, 26, 24 Slug and 18" HD barrel...for the LH, you have a 28, 26 and 24 slug....sucks being a lefty.
  • The Hammer release and the bolt release both remain on the right side of the reciever regardless of the LH or RH version...which to me is pointless. Why make a lefthanded version at all if you're not going to re-engineer the reciever to adapt the controls to a left-handed person? Aside from the safety, this was my biggest "want" in the LH version...it sucks to come up under the reciever to release the bolt or drop the trigger when aftermarket companies make an extention so you can snag it with your trigger finger if you're right handed...
  • the silly comfortec butt pads are interchangable, so if you're a lefty using a RH M2, you can at least get the butt pad to conform to your shoulder...and the shims allow you to adjust the weapon to a LH carry too.

All that said, I ditched the SBE2 and purchased a RH M2... Took it completely apart and moved the safety over to the left side...it looks like there's plenty of space in the reciever side-walls to drill and tap...does anyone know if someone has made an aftermarket adaptor to the bolt release button for lefties? it'd be sweet to make a lever that swings under the reciever and extends over to the left trigger finger...

 

So, thanks for the inputs...I appreciate it...just need to put a nordic +8 on the front end before next summer and I'll be

shooting 3-gun in style.

 

-Scott

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I know for a fact that a 20 ga. shotgun will kill a person, so saying you use a 12 ga. because it's your HD gun is just saying that you want to be sure that your gun will get the job done...

 

Along those same lines, having a 3.5" magnum load 00 buckshot, with 18 nickel plated balls, vs. 3" magnum load 00 buckshot with 9-12 balls... in my mind, is along the same lines as 12 ga. vs 20 ga. or 9mm vs 40S&W... sure the smaller calibers will get the job done, but you want to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that its going to get the job done.

 

Although, to base which gun you are getting, by what it's chambered in, isn't always that best way to go either. If you follow the lead of other competition shooters they use a 20-24 inch with a magazine just as long, on a M2 - Super 90... all of my duck hunting buddies use the SBEii... For a pump, you can't go wrong with a SuperNova.

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