I have been venting on the bird shooting forum about the Reliability of the Bennellis. It is my firm opinion that these are a POS. I realize there are a multitude of satisfied users out there but what I want to find out are the NEGATIVE comments and what it is that makes these things fail. I am under the impression that these will eventually fail. I have had five in the shop in the last month. That seems like an inordinate amount.

Jim I posted this Qustion in the Bird shooting forum. I would still like it andwsered.

(Jim Kobe I am really interisting in what you are fixing on them what are you finding for broken parts ect.

You have had five of them in so far what are you finding wrong with them.)

I have one Benneli plus some brownings , Rems, Winchesters, savage fox and several european doubles.

I really have no dog in the fight.

I would just like to know what you have found wrong with the Bennelli's.

Seems like it would be good info to know so I prevent mine from breaking or at least try to head off some of the trouble.

Are you a stocking Bennelli dealer. Are you sending them back to the factory to be fixed.

I have seen lots of guns fail for many reasons they all well at some time in their lifes.

When is just a matter of timing depending on number of rounds shot, maintance ect.

What are you finding wrong with them.

My experience is certainly limited but I have shot both the Benelli Sport (owned by a friend) and the Montfeltrol (owned by father)and both seem to be well made. As with all autos you do have to clean them a little more reguarly to ensure good reliability/function. The finest shotguns on the planet just my humble opinion.

I don't see a ton of Benelli's on the sporting clays course or the upland fields but I'm positive I wait the most for people while they work on their Remington's. Don't get me wrong I'm a huge Remington rifle fan but it seems like most guys can't get through even a round of skeet or trap without their 11XX messing up somehow. They all swear "It never does this?" but that doesn't give me back the HOURS of my life I've waited.

It seems like the Beretta 39X versions are quite reliable, but none of the autos ever are as reliable as any decent O/U.

Kyler

The one negative that I most commonly encounter regarding the benellis is the recoil spring that is located in the stock. Because of its location, folks have a tendency to ignore it and it will gum up and rust eventually causing the gun to function improperly. I have replaced the factory recoil spring with an aftermarket stainless steel spring. It has increased cycling speed and made my M1 utterly reliable.

Most of the problems I see are related to lack of cleaning. On the old style SBE it is the ejector.

Can't imagine a gunsmith complaining; sound like Benelli is terrific for business.

I don't care for them, never have . . . it would take some convincing to show me where they put a dollar more of effort into a SBE than a Nova.

But, though it is rare to see one on a clays course, they do have their following. They don't cycle light loads well as a generality, and take a couple of cases of shells to break in. Their triggers are heavy and rough more often than not, and the internals seem equally as crude.

Once they are taken apart and 'deburred', broken in, and shot with heavy loads as a rule . . . they seem to do just fine.

It is apparently just poor QC and lack of production tolerances more than a bad design.

I own a Benelli Montefeltro and a Beretta Silver pigeon 3. I bought these guns a couple of months apart.

Both are excellent guns to shoot.

however the Beretta has been sent back 3 times to have the firing pins changed as they crumbled and became sharp, rupturing the cartridge case.

The Benelli is brilliant. You can shoot 250 shells through it and then take it to bits and find its very clean. It cycles without hitch although i haven't tried lighter than 1oz shells

Leeboy

I have been shooting 2 Montifeltros and one M1 for the past 6 years. I have yet to have any malfunctions with them other than a crimp opening up on one of my reloads. It kind of dumped shot in the action and locked it down. It sure wasn't the guns fault. The Montifeltro 12ga with 24" barrel is one awesome upland game buster. It has taken its' share of quail and pheasant. I plan on getting an M2 in 20ga with a 24" barrel for even quicker and lighter carrying in the field. I guess these aren't any good either. The gunshops can't keep one on the shelf for very long.

Jim,

Interesting post....Please elaborate as to what exactly has been the problem (s) with these guns.

My experience is that Benellis are without a doubt the choice for professional waterfowl guides...Been there!

Additionally, I have recently gotten ahold of a few new ones, 2 Cordobas (12 & 20) and a "Exclusive"...2k rounds through the 12 - flawless performance - at least 500 through the 20 - again flawless on the Cordobas. They shoot well too...They keep me in the money on 5-stand! The performance of "Exclusive" too soon to tell.

Additionally the autos are the better choice for South American shooting as they are much easier to service in the field...e.g. all parts can be easily bought, transported and replaced...Try fixing a broken whatever on most O/Us (with the exception of Perazzis) in the field.

FACT: All guns will break sooner or later!

Last summer I took 2 Winchester 21s to Bolivia and Paraguay...3 of 4 ejectors broke on the 2 guns -that, by the way were completely gone through before going down...no possible way to fix in the field...Autos this time - Benellis to be exact!

Sure would like to know the specifics of the 5 problem guns!

JW

quote:

Originally posted by Kyler Hamann:
I don't see a ton of Benelli's on the sporting clays course or the upland fields but I'm positive I wait the most for people while they work on their Remington's. Don't get me wrong I'm a huge Remington rifle fan but it seems like most guys can't get through even a round of skeet or trap without their 11XX messing up somehow. They all swear "It never does this?" but that doesn't give me back the HOURS of my life I've waited.

It seems like the Beretta 39X versions are quite reliable, but none of the autos ever are as reliable as any decent O/U.

Kyler

Kyler:

You ain't never lied, brother. I like 1100s too, but we used to call them 550s on the trap field because they worked about 1/2 the time. I was shooting on a squad with a good friend's wife who was shooting an 1100 trap (and well too) that went through THREE guns to complete that 25. Admittedly this is an extreme and unusual example, but they carried bags full of parts and still had to go to their third backup to get finished.

Haven't shot a Benelli enough to have a real opinion, had a friend who is somewhat handy, who had to do some work on a SBE to keep it going in goose pits in Saskatchewan. But that fine glacial silt in this particular area is death on autos.

Jeff Wemmer:

You should have taken Winchester 101s, you'd still be shooting the first gun.

Randy Wakeman:

Let me see if I have this right. To quote you, the Benelli's only problems are: "It is apparently just poor QC and lack of production tolerances more than a poor design". Gee! That should be a comfort! Otherwise it's a great shotgun, right? ( Just kidding you)

I think Jim is just trolling..... 5 bad Benellis? No way.

quote:

Originally posted by gerrys375:
Randy Wakeman:

Let me see if I have this right. To quote you, the Benelli's only problems are: "It is apparently just poor QC and lack of production tolerances more than a poor design". Gee! That should be a comfort! Otherwise it's a great shotgun, right? ( Just kidding you)

Oh, well. Giving an honest opinion of a shotgun can sometimes be like appraising someone's wife: no matter how you phrase it, you are better off not phrasing it in the first place. I presume that most of us have platonic relationships with our shotguns, but there is often some cause to wonder about that.

I need a break from the hate mail, so I'm far better off just not discussing my Benelli experiences.

Randy Wakeman:

I apologize for adding to the weight of your "hate mail". I have never owned or even fired a Benelli. I will include it,though, as`a victim of my general dislike of another Italian firearm -and yeah, I'm being irrational. (I have never forgiven US Army Ordnance for endorsing the Beretta to replace the only auto I have ever felt was a totally reliable auto - as reliable as a revolver -the 1911 A1,45 ACP) Now watch the hate mail I'll get!

Alrighty, then. I do like Italian shotguns, but I also like Belgium and Japanese shotguns-- based on what they do, no where they come from. With many Beretta's being manufactured in the US, it mitigates the old Patriot card to a degree.

My experience with Benelli has been one of universally poor triggers strapped to a blow-back action with a rotating lug in front that gives fits when bad springs come from the factory. I know many Benelli shooters; I know many more ex-Benelli shooters. It sure doesn't look to me like a SBE costs much more to make than a Nova.

I saw a lot of SBE's in Argentina as 'house guns." Very few of them were ever shot-- for that type of high volume shooting people brought their own gas guns, as did I: a pair of B-80's, though my dupe B-80 was never fired.

The rotating lug on the bolt lenghtens the Benelli blow-back action considerably, their triggers are not only generally bad, but very hard to improve. Many 'smiths in this area won't touch them-- tired of buying new triggers.

Some cycle lighter loads, more don't. Folks have tried to make them reasonable clays guns, but most have given up in disgust after a while. Generally ugly, but simple or simply crude depending on how you look at it-- I tried them, hoped to like them, didn't like them.

Calling a blow-back an "inertia" action takes a tremendous amount of ignorance of Newton's first law of motion which states that "An object at rest tends to stay at rest . . . "

If your action stays at rest, there is no action, and no ejection. The only thing that stays at rest now is a SBE whenever I see one.

The A5 never looked better, or shines more brightly when compared to a SBE.


For anyone that owns one, of course your gun is the exception.

My old (15 years) M1 90 works GREAT. Ice, water , whatever. (Oh yeah, except light loads. I have other guns for that.) I gave my father's A5 to my son after fixing the split fore end and rusted blued finish. (Beneli doesen't do that.)

Oh, I forgot, I got rid of that *%@! B80 at a lose years ago!

quote:

Originally posted by bmash:
Oh, I forgot, I got rid of that *%@! B80 at a lose years ago!

Sorry, LOSS (bottle of wine, etc.)

I bought my first Benelli M1 Super 90 in 1995 and have fired thousands of rounds while hunting, skeet, and sporting clays shooting without even a hiccup. I currently own 2 Super 90's and a SBE and have had absolutely no problems with any of them.

I don't believe the poster of this thread even owns 5 Benellis (especially since he can't even spell it) much less had 5 in the shop in one month. I am not naive enough to believe that there are not guys having problems with their Benellis, but for a poster to only want to hear NEGATIVE comments is asking for a fight. TROLL!!!

It's been a while since I trolled this thread. I am going back to Argentina in April, with my two O/U's. My partner is taking two Benellis. I will update you all on this when I get back.

Jim

Gents:

I don't have a dog in this fight either. I like several different kinds of shotguns. So I'll just share my experience. Among my 7 personally owned shotguns are two Benellis. One is a 20ga Montefeltro, the other a 12ga SuperSport with synthetic stock and recoil reduction system. Several thousand rounds through the both of them without a malfunction.

I would also add that the Benelli auto loader system in some form or another has been THE choice of several major law enforcement special operations units, and many military units for several years. In that context I have seen tens of thousands of rounds fired through Benelli auto loaders and have not experienced or witnessed a malfunction. I've even seen them used at the surf line, coated with sand and salt water, function without failure.

GATGORDO,

101s???

Those ain't Winchesters...

JW

quote:

The A5 never looked better, or shines more brightly when compared to a SBE.

Randy! A-5s are nostalgic "contenders" for sure.

But as a veteran Chesapeake guide, I have to say they're great for a couple of birds a day.

For serious, high volume shooting. Well, that would be like putting an "Electra-glide" in the Daytona Superbike race...

...Get real Brother!

JW

quote:

Originally posted by Kyler Hamann:
I don't see a ton of Benelli's on the sporting clays course or the upland fields but I'm positive I wait the most for people while they work on their Remington's. Don't get me wrong I'm a huge Remington rifle fan but it seems like most guys can't get through even a round of skeet or trap without their 11XX messing up somehow. They all swear "It never does this?" but that doesn't give me back the HOURS of my life I've waited.

It seems like the Beretta 39X versions are quite reliable, but none of the autos ever are as reliable as any decent O/U.

Kyler

Interesting observations of 1100's. I've had exactly the opposite experience. Having been a skeet & trap shooter for many years back in the 70's & 80's, the 1100 was the auto of choice and I saw a lot of them go 50K rounds. Most without ever a malfunction if they were cleaned regularly. When they had a problem, the Rem rep was usually around to stick in a new O-ring & wipe down the mag tube and they were back in business in about 2 minutes. I still shoot one at sporting clays that has never malfunctioned: (knock wood) There are huge numbers of them out there and I rarely ever get one in for repair. When I do, it's nearly always dirty or needs a new o-ring seal. I get a lot of Berettas, Brownings, Winchesters, and a few Benellis. The 1100 is still the softest shooting auto made IMO, and one of the most reliable.
As for the Benellis, I don't really care for them. They are pretty reliable & cycle fast (but how fast do you really need an auto to cycle ) They do have a lot of recoil. I shot a 20 at the range last week & it was much more uncomfortable than my 1100 12 ga.

quote:

Originally posted by Jeff Wemmer:

quote:

The A5 never looked better, or shines more brightly when compared to a SBE.

Randy! A-5s are nostalgic "contenders" for sure.

But as a veteran Chesapeake guide, I have to say they're great for a couple of birds a day.

For serious, high volume shooting. Well, that would be like putting an "Electra-glide" in the Daytona Superbike race...

...Get real Brother!

JW

You'll have a very rough time convincing my father of that; it was 100 ducks in the same morning courtesy of his A-5.

That same week, I shot about 300 ducks and 500-600 doves. It fits my version of "high volume" and "serious"-- though it may not yours.

quote:

Originally posted by RandyWakeman:

quote:

Originally posted by Jeff Wemmer:

quote:

The A5 never looked better, or shines more brightly when compared to a SBE.

Randy! A-5s are nostalgic "contenders" for sure.

But as a veteran Chesapeake guide, I have to say they're great for a couple of birds a day.

For serious, high volume shooting. Well, that would be like putting an "Electra-glide" in the Daytona Superbike race...

...Get real Brother!

JW

You'll have a very rough time convincing my father of that; it was 100 ducks in the same morning courtesy of his A-5.

That same week, I shot about 300 ducks and 500-600 doves. It fits my version of "high volume" and "serious"-- though it may not yours.

I don't think anyone can argue ther reliability of the A-5 & it's Rem (11) brother. I just don't care for the recoil (like the benelli) or that hump. Instead of getting hit with an 8# shotgun, you get hit with a 3# barrel with a 3" headstart . A customer just got back from a central american dove shoot where he put 2500 rounds through his belgian 20 ga with no malfunctions & no cleaning... until he broke a hammer the last day.

So which is the most reliable semi-auto shotgun for use in Argentina?