Benelli pump shotgun question??

dreher

I know several men who are serious duck/goose hunters that swear by their Benelli semi-autos.  They think they are the absolutely the best shotgun on the market.  So I was foolin' around on the GB auction side and noticed that the Benelli pump guns were what I felt were reasonably priced, much more so than the Benelli semi's.  My first thought was, I wonder if the Benelli pumps have the same reputation as the Benelli semi's.  But I have never talked to someone who owns a Benelli pump so I have no idea what people think of these pumps.  So if you have owned or used a Benelli pump, what did you think of it??  How did it stack up to a Rem. 870 or a Mossy 500??  I have both a couple 870s and a couple of Mossy's.  I am wondering if a Benelli pump needs to be added to my stable of self defense pump guns.  

I guess my real question is,  what is the difference in quality between an 870,  a 500 or a Benelli??   I'll be very honest, I see very little difference between a Mossberg and a Remington.  I feel well armed with either.  Would I be even happier with a Benelli??  Or is this just a another case of a very common disease here on GB, the need to buy another gun before I go into withdrawal??      

SCOUT5

I've only dealt with one and that was many years ago.  It wasn't  mine but someone's I know, it was bad out of the box.  They took it back to the local gun store where it came from got a Remington and that was that.   I'm sure they put out better samples or they wouldn't still be making them.  This one jammed on cycling half the time, then would fire on closing the bolt, often (without a finger on the trigger).  We didn't fool with it much as being a new gun it should have never left the factory like that.   

BobJudy

Shot a few and sold a bunch. Never ran into a bad one. Not the smoothest action but didn't shoot one enough to see if it got better. A little bulky and the forend rattled pretty loud but it is built to take a beating. Not elegant but for me would make a good truck gun. Bob

mark christian

That's a good question. I've owned several Benelli autoloaders, starting with an old 121M1, which is still one of the fastest shooting shotguns ever made. I also have a couple of 14" entry SBS sitting around here somewhere- I should probably find them! I've always been a big fan of Mossberg pumps. The 870 is fine, but the old Ithaca Model 37 remains my favorite...as well as everyone else's, and the asking prices reflect this. 

I'm sure that the Benelli pumps are good guns, but I honestly don't know anyone who shoots them, and I've never sold one. 

varian

i bought one once at a gun show (anybody remember those).  it worked perfectly but then i realized it didnt do anything my other pump shotguns did'nt do.   sold it to a friend who didn't have a shotgun, he loves it and it works as it should.

dunbarboyz

Sounds like you want the Benelli! You can never have to many shotguns and if you do the auction side is a click away.

redneckandy

I have had a Nova for a long time. Solid and reliable. Forend rattles a little though. I like the design of the Nova action much more than an 870 or 500.

Butchdog2

Had a Nova for a shot or two. Kicked like a mule. Down the road it went.

Sam06

Not a fan of the Nova.  Clunky, ugly not very smooth and did I say ugly.

bambihunter

The Benelli Nova has the 3.5" chamber, so unless the other two have changed since I last looked (~25 years ago), that may be the differing factor if you want or need it. Do you need it? In my opinion, the Nova's have as good or better quality as the other two mentioned but I don't think the Nova has the fit, look, and feeling of quality that the semi-auto Benelli's do. I think when the Nova first came out, it was too futuristic and my first impression was that it looked like what a shotgun would look like if designed by Jennings/Bryco/Lorcin, etc. But, the look has grown on me some, partly because that look is fairly standard now and I think the Nova looks a little cleaner now too.

Personally, it IS the inertia action of their semi-autos that IS Benelli to me. They are so quick cycling, cleaning is super easy since there is no gas system. Many models have a ton of aftermarket parts if you are of the type to personalize them to a hilt. I will say that, in my opinion, this action has only a single downfall. It has a shorter recoil stroke which means the recoil impulse to your shoulder is slightly faster thus you feel it a little more. The SBE II's and especially the III's have Comfort Tech stock that really does work. I don't think it is an issue unless you are a sensitive shooter and shooting 3.5" loads. My first generation SBE doesn't have any recoil dampening at all aside from the hard-ish recoil pad, and at just a bit over 7 pounds is lighter than most, if not all 3.5" capable shotguns. But, during one trip to Canada I fired over a 100 3.5" shells during the testing of various chokes I had brought with me, plus the actual hunting over the subsequent days. I wasn't hurting at all until the last day when I fired near vertical and the recoil was on top of my shoulder more pushing down. That hurt...

I used to have a different shotgun for different seasons (upland game, waterfowl, dove, skeet, sporting clays, trap, etc). The constantly changing guns meant that with each season change, I missed some birds until I got the feel for that particular gun again. I first read of the Super Black Eagle in 1994; that it could shoot 2.75", 3", and 3.5" mag. In any order, and without adjustment. I made a 3 hour round trip to a gun shop that had one. After holding it, the balance felt good, it was lighter than most of my current guns, many which were only 2.75". So, I saved up about a grand which took me quite a while. So, in '95 I brought home an H&K import Benelli Super Black Eagle. The more I shot it, the more I liked it. So, I slowly started selling my O/U's (Browning Citori and Ruger Red Label), then sold my SxS, then my pumps including the two you mentioned (I do wish I still had the Ithaca 37 for my left-handed friends to shoot), then lastly sold my Ithaca. So, for ~10 years I had ONLY the SBE; well, and a .410 1100 Remington that I traded for that is mint. During that time I bought a rifled slug barrel and modified forearm (required for the SBE 1 to shoot the slug barrel and/or for later field barrels). I said at that time if some atrocious law came into effect that only allowed us a single firearm, that would be it.

Flash forward to now. I started to collect them some years back. I now have an M1, two M3T's (top folder's), Montefeltro 20 gauge (my wife's clay pigeon gun), two SBE's and every factory length barrel that was offered (24", 26", and 28" in both low rib and high rib barrels, plus the aforementioned slug barrel), an all black modified M4 (these are gas operated), and the rare and valuable M4 H2O (NP3 version) model 11711.

I still have only the Remington 1100 .410 and a Savage 22/.410 O/U though a Franchi SPAS-15 or SPAS-12 is on my short list.

Final thought (sorry about writing a novel here) Depending on your needs, I'd highly suggest saving up and getting a SBE for hunting. It can do it all. Or, if this is for personal defense, perhaps a M3 (semi-auto and pump) or an M4.

Here's a pretty good read on the SBE: https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2016/11/29/celebrating-25-years-of-the-benelli-super-black-eagle/

Beeramid

The Nova is a beast, we were in a pit blind duck hunting in terrible conditions one morning. It was raining turning to sleet, muddy from the ride in, we probably should've stayed home! My two buddies had 870's and they shutdown simultaneously. Both of the 870's had to be stripped in the blind, the Nova ran flawlessly.

discusdad

hunted often with guys using the Nova.  no complaints other than just UGLY.  i'm partial to the Browning pump-bottom eject and top tang safety.  Nova ranks just a smidgeon below in my book.  yet the Wingmaster and Mossie continue to be the standard killers of most common hunters.  think the Nova and Browning handle the 3-1/2 inch 12 gauge better