Best ammo to break in M2

[NewM2]

Hello! I am very new to shotguns so please forgive my basic questions!

I just ordered a Benelli M2 Tactical and know I will need to break it in using a few hundred heavy load rounds. I also gathered anything below 1200fps or 3 dram/1-1/8 may be too light to cycle properly. So, two beginner questions:

1) How many drams/oz or fps is the ideal load to run for break in, and how many rounds?

2) I saw that the SD/HD round I thought I would use is unfortunately 1145fps. After break in, if that seems to cycle OK for many rounds, is it safe to conclude that it will run reliably? Or, better to use something else for home defense?

Thanks so much!

 

 

 

 

[bambihunter]

Some go heavy rounds from the start. While that has some merit to it. I always took the opposite approach. I shot the lightest load I wanted to shoot. If it worked 100%, then you are good to go. If it did not, THEN start shooting heavier rounds. Why work around a problem that may not exist in your particular weapon?

For the M1 and M2's, with their 3" chamber I haven't ever had to go to heavier/hotter loads. In my original 1994 vintage H&K import Super Black Eagle with its 3.5" chamber, I only had to quit shooting loads less than 1 ounce. I can still shoot the Wal-Mart el-cheapo 2.75" 1 oz loads. Though physics tells me it should matter, any 1 oz 2.75" load I've ever fired through it worked, even light recoil shells. And, comparatively, I hadn't ever found a 7/8 oz load of any FPS that it would shoot reliably. Now, 24 years later, still shooting the same spring, with firing probably 200 3.5" shells per year plus all the normal bird loads, I STILL have to shoot 1oz 2.75" loads through it.

[NewM2]

Thank you for replying bambihunter - very helpful to know!

Edited November 3, 2020 by NewM2
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