Gear Review: Benelli Shotguns

Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy. 1 Corinthians 4:2

Preface: I am not currently in any way sponsored by or receiving free or otherwise discounted goods/services or payment of any kind from any of the entities formally mentioned in this piece.

The gear used by the modern outdoorsman is ever-evolving. Someone comes up with a new design for an old product nearly every year it seems. Some seem to be improving and some arguably are not. There seems to be a few different dynamics that differentiate groups of people within the market for outdoor gear: those who will get “the new and the best” every year, those who will replace what is broken or worn out before every season, and those who perpetually use what is “broken in” because it “still works”. Within those groups you have different types of people, as well. Some people have the “if I don’t have it, I might need it” mindset who take often times more to the woods than they can comfortably carry, then you have the minimalist who takes almost nothing to the woods, and every variation in between. None of these people will ever agree with one another from a gear perspective, nor are any of them concerned with the opinion of the other side. The one piece of common ground that everyone shares specifically from a hunting gear perspective is the absolute necessity of a dependable weapon.  

Shotguns. There are countless models from numerous manufacturers available, all with slightly different feels and subtle differences in technology incorporated into their design, but when it comes to dependability, everyone can agree: when you pull the trigger, the gun should go boom. In nearly every case, dependability is directly correlated to how well a firearm is maintained. Otherwise, finding a shotgun that fits you and your needs is all about what feels good to you, and one that enables you to develop a level of confidence. For me, the Benelli autoloading shotgun platform is where I find comfort and confidence in the field. 

An Italian based company, Benelli Armi was founded in 1967 as a sister company to the Benelli Motorcycle Company. As avid hunters, the Benelli brothers recognized that the future of the shotgunning world lay in the autoloading shotgun which at that time were all based around gas operated systems. A designer by the name of Bruno Civolani from Bologna, Italy designed the system that became the fast shooting, extremely reliable inertia driven mechanism that Benelli is known for today.  Benelli was acquired by Beretta in 1983, but still continues to produce firearms under the Benelli entity using Benelli patents and technology.

Fast forward to today and although some different technology has been incorporated into the design geared toward both further reducing felt recoil and adjusting the aesthetics and feel of different models, all of Benelli’s autoloading shotguns are still built off of the original, simple, reliable inertia driven platform designed by Civolani nearly sixty years ago. 

I have used Benelli shotguns since I learned to shoot as a child over thirty years ago. Benelli shotguns are the benchmark for me in the field for several reasons, and I will talk through some of those here:

Reliability:

I have used Benelli autoloading shotguns in the field for the better part of thirty years. During that time, I have hunted with other brands sparingly, hunted with friends who were hunting with other brands, and I have repaired and/or cleaned other brands for friends, family, and others and have found no other shotgun manufacturer to be as reliable under a wide range of conditions than Benelli shotguns. I have seen a Benelli autoloading shotgun with so much dirt, sand, grass seeds, gun shot residue, you name it, gummed up inside the chambering mechanism that it was nothing short of a miracle that the bolt would even move. In almost every single case, the gun would still fire and chamber the following round. 

Being a serious turkey and waterfowl hunter often lends itself to a broad disregard for conditions which is very demanding on the equipment in use- the firearm especially. For many years, I hunted with the same Benelli Super Black Eagle 2 for the duration of both spring turkey and winter waterfowl seasons. The Super Black Eagle 2, or SBE 2 for short, was released in 2004, and I procured one for my own use not long after the release. The sole use of a single firearm for the better part of five months out of the year induced a powerful level of wear and tear. The gun was usually cleaned between seasons, whether it needed it or not, but rarely any additional “preventative maintenance” was ever applied. While it may have been advisable, said additional maintenance was never required. 

Imagine almost never hunting in the protection of a stationary blind during the pursuit of waterfowl or spring gobblers. The gun was nearly always being drug through the mud, laid to hide in the tall grass, hung from a button willow branch, rained in, snowed in (occasionally), frozen, employed as a boat paddle or decoy hook, a long list of tasks in addition to it’s primary full-time duty of operating when the trigger was pulled. The gun was abused in most ways that one could dream up. As disrespectful as much of this was, that shotgun proved itself reliable time and time again. That particular gun has been called out of (semi) retirement and hunted with for thirty, plus days under a variety of conditions during the waterfowl season over the last five plus consecutive years by a close family member and still operates without offering an issue. The overall design of the inertia driven platform enables the Benelli autoloading shotgun to remain reliable in nearly any conditions imaginable. Moral of the story: it goes boom when you ask it to, every time, regardless of the conditions. Simply put: Benelli shotguns are tough and dependable. 

Ease of Maintenance:

I was fortunate to harvest my first spring gobbler at the age of five. The firearm in use during the act was a Benelli M1 Super 90 3” magnum 12 gauge. The first of what became a series of M models under the Benelli brand, the M1 was developed in 1986 with military and police servicemen and women in mind. For many reasons, the model became popular among hunters, as well, and remains that way today. I sat beneath a big pine tree on the ground between my dad's legs with the hard rubber butt pad rested on his lower chest, the comb of the stock under my arm, and I peered down the raised rib of the barrel to align the front and rear bead for the shot. 

Not a terribly long time after that, still at a very young age, I was taught to break the weapon down for cleaning. I could not have been much past six years of age when I was first able to fully breakdown the firearm on my own- a true testament to the ease of disassembly/reassembly. All autoloading Benelli shotgun models are one to two pins at the most (plus the charging handle on the bolt), an end cap on the magazine tube, and the magazine spring retainer ring that rests on the inside of the magazine tube just beneath the end cap. The simple removal of these will enable the complete disassembly of the firearm including the magazine spring. There are a few things that can be further disassembled including the main recoil spring that is housed by a tube inside of the buttstock, the disassembly of the bolt/firing pin mechanism (which simply requires the removal two additional pins essentially), and the trigger group itself (which can be sufficiently cleaned without further disassembly). However, the necessity of disassembly to that extent is rarely necessary.

One pin, the magazine end cap, the magazine spring retainer ring, and the charging handle on the bolt is
all that have to be removed to disassemble down to this point. 

For the reader’s sake, I am not going to explain the process of disassembly/reassembly. There are plenty of YouTube videos available that will depict in detail how to break down your Benelli autoloader, clean, and reassemble. But the take home message here, again, is that the entire process is super simple. 

Ergonomically and Aesthetically Pleasing:

Since the very beginning, with every autoloading model in the lineup, Benelli engineers have done an outstanding job manipulating ergonomics and aesthetics to cater to shooters with a different preference for the feel and look of their firearm, while maintaining all of the functional shootability features that the Benelli brand has been built around. Beginning with the SBE 2 the “Comfortech” recoil reduction system has been incorporated as a standard option in many of the new model autoloading shotguns. This system which includes shock absorbing rubber built into the sides of the buttstock, the cheek pad or “comb” of the stock, and a buttpad that is contoured to the dexterity of the shooter that all work together to reduce felt recoil and improve the time that it takes the shooter to reacquire the target for a follow-up shot. All of these integrated into the buttstock yields a look that is modern yet still maintains a high level of professionalism. All new Benelli autoloaders come with a variety of shims to change the drop and cast, so that the shotgun can be adjusted to the preference of the individual shooter, which can be achieved with the simple removal of the butt pad, the stock retaining nut, and the butt stock itself.

The forend is an area that has also evolved over the years. There have been notable changes made to the forend that, again, cater to different preferences around look and feel. The SBE 2 forend yielded a number of changes versus the look and feel of the forend on the original Super Black Eagle. The grip portion of the forend itself was shaved down to fit better in the hand of the shooter and, also, engineered at a forward angle which allowed for a more comfortable hand position when fully gripped to the palm. On the Super Black Eagle 3 model, the biggest aesthetic changes were made to the forend, which lends itself to a more traditional but still the modern, professional look and feel for which Benelli has become reknown.

My Current Choices

The gun that I currently carry in the turkey woods with me every day is the Benelli M2 Compact 20 gauge. The model that I shoot has a 24” barrel and the Compact model comes standard with a buttstock that is 1 inch shorter than a standard-length stock. These two features provide enhanced maneuverability and ease of carry, not to mention coming in at an average weight of 5.7 pounds empty- it is super lightweight. As I have told numerous people: “The average hunter is going to carry a turkey gun 98+% more than they will shoot it”, so turkey hunting with a gun that is lightweight and carries well just makes sense. 

The finish on my personal gun is an aftermarket cerakote finish done by Jay's Hydrographics in Bessemer, Alabama. The two-tone finish includes the cerakote color “midnight bronze” for the primary color and matte black on the checkered grip areas on both the stock and the forend.  

The M2 model in 20 gauge yields very low felt recoil. I have found low recoil to be a huge advantage, but probably not for the reasons that one may think. I will openly admit that, over the years, I have missed somewhere in the neighborhood of a train car load of turkeys. After missing a couple with the same gun, confidence begins to waver. 

Six or seven years ago I elected to swap from 3 1/2” magnum 12 gauge over to a 20 gauge platform and made an eye-opening discovery. After successfully harvesting a few turkeys with a 20 gauge, I found that there was something in my subconscious that I had no cognizance of prior to the switch. It quickly became apparent that the higher level of felt recoil produced by the magnum12 gauge was causing me to anticipate the shot and jerk the trigger often times pulling the sights off target, which, in turn, caused me to miss a lot of shots inside of twenty yards where the pattern gets tight. After making the switch to the 20 gauge, I was able to comfortably and confidently squeeze the trigger through the firing sequence and keep eyes on the sights and sights on target as they should be. I no longer anticipate the recoil as before with the magnum 12 gauge which increased my level of confidence in both the firearm and in my ability to properly execute the shot when the time came.

Tip: If you hunt from a certain blind a great deal and prop your
gun in the same position, use some Gorilla tape over the
contact area to prevent excessive wear on your barrel.

Waterfowl season is somewhat of a different story. I still prefer to waterfowl hunt with a 12 gauge. Again, this is strictly personal preference. With all of the improvements that have been made to non-toxic shotshells over the last several years, the effectiveness of sub-gauge shotguns has significantly improved, so I am not saying that I am staunchly against taking a 20 gauge to the duck blind. However, for me personally, at the time of this writing- my ducks and geese are shot with a 12 gauge. 

As earlier mentioned, for years the SBE 2 served as my daily shooter. In 2017 Benelli released the Super Black Eagle 3, and I swapped to the new model as soon as I could get my hands on one. This was almost solely due to new the look and feel of the updated model, as the only real design changes that were made versus the SBE 2 were concentrated on looks and feel, and some minor necessary enhancements to the chambering mechanism that returns the bolt back into battery when the bolt is eased shut- an issue we will address shortly. I have hunted solely with the SBE 3 now for twenty to thirty days per season for each of the last five waterfowl seasons, dragging it through the mud and subjecting it to all of the atrocities that are inherent with hunting predominantly rice fields, and the SBE 3 has performed flawlessly, as expected from a Benelli autoloader. 

This particular model has had the forcing cone lengthened, and the pull weight of the trigger adjusted by professionals at Rob Roberts Custom Gun Works- two upgrades that I would definitely recommend if you are looking to enhance your shooting experience and the overall performance of your shotgun. The forcing cone is located in the "throat" of the barrel, just past the end of a chambered round. Most standard barrels come from the factory with a forcing cone that appears as a ring or shoulder in the barrel. A standard forcing cone works as a mechanism that abruptly "forces" or constricts the charge of shot after it exits the shell casing before entering the more gently tapered length of the barrel. This abrupt forcing has a tendency to cause the individual pellets to bounce off of one another to some degree which affects pattern stability and increases the number of "fliers" in the pattern of shot. Lengthening the forcing involves shaving down this "shoulder" and providing a less abrupt, more smoothly tapered forcing cone which will allow for the charge of shot to be constricted more gently, over a slightly longer stretch than with the standard forcing cone and enable the charge of shot to flow through the remaining length of the barrel more smoothly. This modification has been proven to reduce felt recoil and increase pattern retention by reducing those "fliers" in the pattern, ultimately placing more of the pattern on target. The lighter weight trigger simply enables the shooter to execute the shot with more squeeze and less jerk. Both of these performance enhancements help keep the sights on target for all three shots of the volley, put a higher number of shot on target, and, in theory, should help increase overall shooter effectiveness and efficiency on average which, over time, should help save money on shotshells.  

Watchout

No design is perfect, and Benelli shotguns are no exception. The main watchout for anything outside of late model Benelli autoloaders is the infamous “Benelli click”. There are millions of stories that you will hear about either the shooter "easing" the bolt of their Benelli autoloader shut not allowing the head of the bolt to properly rotate home, or about the charging handle hanging something, slightly easing the breach open, rotating the head of the bolt back and out of battery. Without close examination, the improper positioning of the bolt head is minimally noticeable, but the bolt being in this position will prevent the gun from firing and, instead, allow only a hollow “click” when the trigger is pulled. 

The easiest way to prevent this is to allow the bolt to slam home when chambering a round and following up with a quick check after you make your setup to ensure that the bolt head is flush and rotated properly into firing position. 

Benelli engineers recognized this as an issue and have made a modification in the design on the newer model autoloaders, including the SBE 3, which prevents the potential stoppage of the bolt head rotation regardless of how forcefully the bolt is delivered forward. This modification will now allow the head of the bolt to properly rotate home, into the firing position, even when the bolt is eased shut. An excellent, very necessary design modification by Benelli. 

Solid, Reliable Shotguns – Period.

The Benelli autoloading shotgun is designed to allow for proper functionality in a variety of applications, in wide range of conditions, safely and effectively- period. Model does not matter. Go to your local Benelli firearms retailer and pick the one that appeals to you the most. You will not find a more solid, reliable shotgun currently on the market. For the better part of the last thirty years, I have been using and abusing these firearms and they have always performed. It is not too difficult to see why I choose to carry a Benelli shotgun in the field. We have all heard the age-old saying that Timex watches will “take a licking and keeps on ticking”. From my perspective, Benelli is the Timex of the autoloading shotgun world.