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Benelli Shotguns are Not What They Used to Be


Jim1776

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Benelli had a reputation as the most dependable autoloading shotgun in world. Not any longer. A friend of mine and I just returned brand new Cordoba shotguns to Benelli. They jam and jam and jam. They jam with all sorts of ammo despite being thoroughly cleaned. They jammed right out of the box. They jammed after being completely stripped and cleaned. They jam with all sorts of different lubricants. They just jam.

 

I have had Benellis before and never had this problem. I used an older Benelli last month in Argentina with horrible CAZA ammo and it worked. That ammo is the worst I have ever used. I have used better African ammo.

 

I get tired of people saying that I should try this or that ammo. The gun was designed for high volume dove shooting in Argentina. That means low powered horrible, cheap loads. The old guns work and will shoot two or three thousand rounds a day without cleaning. This is common in Argentina and the Benelli is the only autoloader most of the estancias will use. However they have the older guns.

 

So what gives? There is a difference between the old and new guns. Maybe some of you remember how the old guns could 'float' a fourth round on the carrier. This became very controversial. From what I understand USFW made Benelli correct this if they were going to continue to import the guns into the US. At the time a Benelli spokesman said that the feature was not meant to cheat on the three shell maximum but rather it was an anti-jamming feature. I think he was exactly right. The old ones rarely jammed. The new ones are the worse autoloader I have ever owned as far as jamming goes.

 

I will see how my gun comes back from Benelli. If it still jams I am going to make it like the old ones. The only difference is that they have made a small notch in the rear of the bolt carrier. Any good machinist/welder can fill this in minutes and then the gun will float a shell in the carrier as it was designed to do.

 

I really don't give a damn if it is legal or not because I bought the gun to shoot in Argentina where there are no shell limits. The name of the gun is Cordoba for Christ's sake! Benelli should get a clue and make a gun that can actually shoot 3,000 rounds a day without jamming if they are going to name it after an Argentinian dove hunting area.

 

No, we just didn't get two bad guns. Google 'Benelli jamming' and you will see all sorts of people complaining. Benelli's reputation is going to go the way of Toyota's if they don't correct this.

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Your post here lacks a lot of definitive facts and numbers...

 

"jam jam jam" define jam? is it a fail to load? fire? eject?

 

Without knowing what type of jam you are talking about it is very hard for me to believe that the "anti-float" notch would have anything to do with anything.

 

I have nothing but good things to say about my gun, its relatively new, has the "anti-float" notch and eats cheap shells like candy. I just got back from a 1,000 round competition in Texas and not a single jam with my M2.

 

I can understand you being frustrated with 2 guns that just don't seem to work, I would suggest going the Benelli CS route as they have been nothing but nice with me AND/OR post something here. There are lots of smart people on this board and maybe some of them have the answer.

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When my Benelli M4 was jamming and stovepiping, I took a Casio FS10 with high speed video ability and was finally able to see exactly what was going on, short-stroking in my case. In the end, I didn't have enough lube on the back of the bolt and the recoil spring area. Now it fires like a champ. There's usually something very specific that's causing a problem, and it's often happening faster than the eye can see.

 

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Great video!

 

Jim1776,

I doubt your single case is going to tarnish Benelli's global reputation, but it was a nice thought.

 

Altering the bottom of the bolt should have no bearing on your particular issues, but it's always fun to have the floater.

 

I think CS will get you straightened out, provided it isn't a user error problem, which I actually doubt in your case.

 

Sorry you had problems.

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Yes, I hope they do fix the gun because I do like the way it handles and the new stock is really nice.

 

As to the guy that said it is a single case, read my most again. Two of us bought Cordobas and they both jam. My friend's is worse than mine. Mine jams at a rate of about 1%. I would say his is at least double that rate. As far as my one case tarnishing Benelli's reputation goes, I suggest you Google "Benelli jamming". There are many, many cases of this.

 

Mine usually jams with the bolt open and the shell stuck in the carrier. Factory rounds and all types. A jam is a jam. A new, clean gun shouldn't jam at all no matter what type it is.

 

As to operator error, well what can that be? If you say the gun needs to be shouldered tightly, well it was. I have been shooting shotguns for 45 years and know how to shoot them. Besides I have seen a guy in Argentina run through several unplugged magazines shooting at doves one handed. Yes, one handed. No shoulder at all. The gun did not jam once. This was the old Benelli, the one with the anti-jamming feature that floated a fourth shell.

 

As far as the gun being able to float a shell having nothing to do with the gun jamming, well I don't believe it. Benelli at the time of the controversy said that is exactly what the feature was for, to keep the gun from jamming. I wouldn't doubt that would deny that now since the new design is a fait accompli and they have to sell it.

 

The bottom line is that the old guns were dependable, the new ones are not. Shooting four or five hundred rounds a season doesn't prove the gun dependable. If it shoots two or three thousand a day of low powered loads it is dependable. That is what the Cordoba was supposedly designed to do and with cheap ammunition. Two out of two I have seen can't get through 500 rounds without jamming several times. That's a fact.

 

Sure, everything mechanical can break or have faults. However there are just too many of these problems reported for me to believe it just happens to be the two guns we bought.

 

I'll see how the gun works when it gets back from Benelli. If it can go through a thousand rounds without jamming I will call it cured.

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If it shoots two or three thousand a day of low powered loads it is dependable. That is what the Cordoba was supposedly designed to do and with cheap ammunition.

 

From the Cordoba Specifications on this website:

"Minimum Recommended Load: Use 3-dram, 1-1/8-oz. loads in all Benelli 12-ga. semi-auto shotguns".

 

As far as the groove in the bottom of the bolt, and being able to "float" a round on the carrier, I suspect that was carry-over from the military design, allowing for another round in the weapon.

 

I seriously cannot see how it could affect performance one way or the other. Mine came without the ability to float a round on the carrier. It performed flawlessly.

I modified the bolt to facilitate a floater. It still performs flawlessly. But then again, I don't shoot loads below the recommended minimums.

 

Go ahead and tell CS that your Cordoba won't cycle 7/8 ounce trap loads. You'll be saving them a great deal of time and effort in diagnosing the problem. :rolleyes:

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Mine usually jams with the bolt open and the shell stuck in the carrier. Factory rounds and all types. A jam is a jam. A new, clean gun shouldn't jam at all no matter what type it is.

 

Like this? (pictures toward bottom)

 

http://www.benelliusa.com/forum/showthread.php?t=20660&page=5

 

What turned out to be the issue there was the carrier latch. Had it not already gone off to benelli I would suggest starting there. Hopefully Benelli will get it all straightened out.

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From the Cordoba Specifications on this website:

"Minimum Recommended Load: Use 3-dram, 1-1/8-oz. loads in all Benelli 12-ga. semi-auto shotguns".

 

As far as the groove in the bottom of the bolt, and being able to "float" a round on the carrier, I suspect that was carry-over from the military design, allowing for another round in the weapon.

 

I seriously cannot see how it could affect performance one way or the other. Mine came without the ability to float a round on the carrier. It performed flawlessly.

I modified the bolt to facilitate a floater. It still performs flawlessly. But then again, I don't shoot loads below the recommended minimums.

 

Go ahead and tell CS that your Cordoba won't cycle 7/8 ounce trap loads. You'll be saving them a great deal of time and effort in diagnosing the problem. :rolleyes:

 

Except for the Vinci which says:

"Ammunition: 12-gauge — 2-3/4" target loads (3 dram, 1 oz.) to 3" Magnums"

 

My 20ga cordoba will cycle 7/8oz standard 1200 FPS target loads all day long (feels like shooting a BB gun).

 

My 12ga Vinci will cycle 1oz 3dram 1200 FPS target loads all day long too. I can't imagine shooting anything any lighter since the felt recoil is so minimal with these light target loads.

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My Cordoba is a 20 gauge. A 1 1/8 ounce load would be one hot load for it. The gun was made to shot low powered dove loads. Got that? The ability to float an extra cartridge had nothing to do with some military design but was an anti-jam feature as Benelli itself said. What is with some of you people? Really do you work for Benelli? Or is it you're so enthralled with the gun that you can't believe it has flaws?

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They jam and jam and jam. They jam with all sorts of ammo despite being thoroughly cleaned.

They jammed right out of the box.

They jammed after being completely stripped and cleaned.

They jam with all sorts of different lubricants.

They just jam.

 

Do they jam with green eggs and ham? :D

 

green-eggs.gif

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I agree with you about the shouldering "theory". Tom and Tim have been shooting Benellis that way for years...not an issue. I've owned 4 Benellis. My 18 y/o HK-SBE finally needed some TLC from the CS dept after 17 years. My new Vinci has been perfect out of the box also. My other two, a synthetic SBE and a Montefeltro 20ga have never given me any problems either, other than my errors. I have had new shells with small deformities at the crimp catch on the sharp edge of the chambers entry point, but even that is rare.

 

Hope you problem is just a mechanical parts flaw and I'm sure CS will cure wht ails your Cordobas.

Good luck!

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