zz3l4b Posted December 21, 2021 Share Posted December 21, 2021 I purchased this gun new late summer, and after a few dove hunts, I realized the POI (Point Of Impact) was off. I patterned the gun and it was shooting high (80/20) and to the 2" left with the 65mm shims installed, and while sighting straight down the rib, shooting 4 shots at 21 yards with modified choke. I contacted Benelli and they sent me a new set of shims that did not cure the problem. I sent the gun to Benelli and they adjusted the barrel stop ring, which is threaded on the magazine tube, in the attempt to drop the POI. I investigated the repair that Benelli had done, which stated "Adjust stop ring position to lower point of impact", and noticed that the barrel is now not making contact with the barrel stop ring on the magazine tube (See attached photos). I contacted Benelli and asked how important the barrel stop ring was in terms of the firearm's safety, and they said if the barrel is not contacting the barrel stop ring, than all the pressure is being placed on the receiver. I explained to them that there is a gap between the barrel and barrel stop ring of my gun, which seemed to alarm them because they requested that I send the gun back to them. I am sending the gun to them this week. Also, see the factory test pattern that Benelli provide after the barrel stop ring repair. I drew a line through the pointed of aim, which was indicated by the Benelli repair shop, and counted each pellet hole, which resulted in an 80/20 pattern. Benelli told me that this was an incorrect way to determine POI and said that the center mass of the pattern must be no higher than 5" above the point of aim to be within their specification, which is a matter of interpretation. I have have no confidence that Benelli will get this gun shooting a better POI than it already is shooting, but hopefully they can verify that it is safe to shoot. Looks like my next step is to send the gun to Briley and have them fit it with eccentric chokes to correct the POI issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zz3l4b Posted December 27, 2021 Author Share Posted December 27, 2021 This gun is now on it's way back to Benelli, per their request, to inspect and/or correct their previous repair. I'm now concerned that I may have damaged this gun while using it in this condition. More to come. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zz3l4b Posted December 29, 2021 Author Share Posted December 29, 2021 (edited) See the following article which describes the point of impact problem Benelli has with their SBE3 shotguns. https://randywakeman.com/TheDesignDefectoftheBenelliSuperBlackEagle3.htm Edited December 29, 2021 by zz3l4b Grammer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted January 2, 2022 Share Posted January 2, 2022 (edited) My new SBE 3 is having the obvious same issues as previously discussed in this thread. So, I called Rob Roberts shop and spoke with a guy there and he recommended not only trying different shims, but to slightly loosed the cap on top of the magazine tube by 2 or 3 clicks. I gave this a try and it seemed to help some; I went from an 80/20 to roughly a 70/30. Just curious, has anyone else here tried this with better or worse results? Edited January 2, 2022 by GregP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zz3l4b Posted January 3, 2022 Author Share Posted January 3, 2022 I'm getting the feeling there is a mechanical/harmonic issue with the barrels on these guns. Based on what Rob Robert's told you, the barrel lug making contact with the barrel stop ring is the problem, and unscrewing the barrel lock nut relieves the force on the barrel stop ring. This is probably why Benelli adjusted my barrel stop ring to where it didn't contact (.015" gap) the barrel lug! I'm seriously concerned about the safety of these guns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted January 5, 2022 Share Posted January 5, 2022 (edited) On 1/3/2022 at 7:38 AM, zz3l4b said: I'm getting the feeling there is a mechanical/harmonic issue with the barrels on these guns. Based on what Rob Robert's told you, the barrel lug making contact with the barrel stop ring is the problem, and unscrewing the barrel lock nut relieves the force on the barrel stop ring. This is probably why Benelli adjusted my barrel stop ring to where it didn't contact (.015" gap) the barrel lug! I'm seriously concerned about the safety of these guns. It somewhat makes me think that the barrel and receiver block is not machined parallel so the barrel and receiver will be inline resulting in the gun paten being where it should. Edited January 5, 2022 by GregP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zz3l4b Posted January 5, 2022 Author Share Posted January 5, 2022 I sent my SBE3 back to Benelli last week to have them inspect their previous POI repair, where the barrel stop ring is not even touching the barrel lug. I also sent an email to one of the executives at Benelli requesting a full refund. My next step is to share my story on every upland bird hunting, waterfowl hunting, sporting clays, skeet and trap shooting forum that I can find. I figure Tom Gresham's Gun Talk radio show will be interested in my story, which I can share over the 270 stations that broadcast his show. I'm not eating the cost of this defective and potentially unsafe gun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nspit03 Posted August 15, 2023 Share Posted August 15, 2023 On 1/4/2022 at 8:00 PM, zz3l4b said: I sent my SBE3 back to Benelli last week to have them inspect their previous POI repair, where the barrel stop ring is not even touching the barrel lug. I also sent an email to one of the executives at Benelli requesting a full refund. My next step is to share my story on every upland bird hunting, waterfowl hunting, sporting clays, skeet and trap shooting forum that I can find. I figure Tom Gresham's Gun Talk radio show will be interested in my story, which I can share over the 270 stations that broadcast his show. I'm not eating the cost of this defective and potentially unsafe gun. Did you ever get your issue resolved? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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