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View Full Version : Benelli vs. all others


hdm25
May 30, 2000, 06:47 PM
A friend of mine and I have a good-natured argument going and I'd like some more opinions. I am a civilian with no training in the use of a shotgun whatsoever, though I have owned and fired both a Benelli M1 Super 90 and a Remington 11-87 Police. He is a SWAT cop with extensive weapons training and experience. He claims that the Benelli is the king of shotguns and that anything else pales by comparison. I see little real difference between it and the 11-87P that I have or an 870. Yes, the Benelli cycles quickly, but does that really matter? Do double-taps with a shotgun that are 1/4 second faster matter at all? And tac-loading a Benelli is easier but how often, other than in a competition or other made-up scenario, does transitioning from shot to slug really happen? The 870 has it's own manual of arms, of course, and I don't really include it in this post because I have no experience with them. Anyone with their opinions of any of the three, please post something. I would like some feedback.

P-35
May 30, 2000, 07:38 PM
I have shot the both the Benelli and the 870 extensively, both are easy to manipulate however, the manual of arms is very different for both. Compare any of these with some abortion like the SPAS-12, appropriately named I might add.

Personally, I like the Benelli over the Remington autoloader because the Benelli is recoil operated and I find it more reliable and easier to clean. That said, certain individual guns have a problem cycling the reduced recoil 9 pellet 00 load so I use 3" 00 buck for reliability. The other thing is, sticking a bunch of doo-dads like sidesaddles and lights on the gun can also cause funtioning problems.

The 870 is probably the best all around Shotgun, fires anything from bean-bags to slugs and lasts forever, and I mean forever!

Shawn Dodson
May 30, 2000, 08:16 PM
The 11-87 is such a sweet shooting shotgun, especially with slugs. Recoil is very mild. For home defense, I believe the 11-87 is tops.

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/s/ Shawn Dodson
Firearms Tactical Institute
http://www.firearmstactical.com

oberkommando
May 31, 2000, 01:37 AM
Own them all and would choose the M1 hands down. No gas system, Rem gas guns are harder to strip more small parts like linkage rings and o rings. The M1 is simplicity. As to the 870 dont double feed it and break the ejector like I did, It wasnt designed for combat like the benelli though it does an admirable job.

jthuang
May 31, 2000, 08:18 AM
Have fired all three. I agree that the Benelli is very easy to keep clean -- I left mine for over a full year without cleaning the receiver (just swabbed out the bore with MP-7 after every usage) and when I finally got around to cleaning the old girl, it was easy as cake.

I've always seen it as a gas gun vs. inertia gun issue.

Gas guns have the advantage of less recoil and the ability to utilize multiple weapon accessories without affecting reliability. But gas guns become unreliable if not kept clean and they do have more small parts to break.

Inertia guns will recoil more and you may experience reliability problems with light loads if you hang a lot of weapon accessories on your gun. But otherwise they are dead-on reliable even if dirty and are almost Glock-like in their simplicity.

Both cost about the same. Compare prices for the Beretta 1201FP against the Remington 11-87 Police and they're virtually identical (well, the Beretta might be a bit less, street price is $450-550). The Benelli will cost you a bit more, however -- more like $750-850.

Mr. Suarez, a member of this forum, stated in his book that the Benelli is the hands-down ultimate combat shotgun in his book "The Tactical Shotgun". Hopefully he will chime in on this subject.

Justin

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Justin T. Huang, Esq.
late of Kennett Square, Pennsylvania

Monkeyleg
May 31, 2000, 05:40 PM
A month or so back, somebody here mentioned that an outfit called "R Guns" had magazine extensions for the M1 for about $65. If that person is still here, could you give me a phone number? I've looked all over the web and can't find them.

Thanks in advance,
Dick

jfrancis
May 31, 2000, 05:53 PM
Another vote for the Benelli. Some say it has more recoil than (say) the Rem 1100 or 1187, but that's subjective and I don't find it excessive The main problem with these guns is that some will not cycle reduced recoil buck/slugs or light birdshot loads. Also, this may be worsened by adding accessories such as sidesaddles and light systems. If you get a good one though, there's nothing better IMO.

The easy tac load - or more likely - the slug select, is a real benefit. I keep my M1 loaded with buckshot (Federal Reduced Recoil) but have slugs on the sidesaddle. This extends my options if I need to take a particularly precise or extended range shot.

dZ
May 31, 2000, 08:31 PM
A little off topic...
I have a Benelli Nova
Man is it simple to strip
All the tools are built in to the gun!
Its kinda the Glock of shotguns with its polymer shell & metal sub frame

It drops ringnecks too!

dZ

dZ
May 31, 2000, 08:38 PM
R Guns advertizes in Shotgun news
[email protected]
140 N western avenue Route 31
Carpentersville IL 60110
847-428-3569

SGN, May 15 has an rguns ad for the extension
4 shot or 2 shot
$55
pistol grip stock for M1
$75

HTH
dZ

Jaeger
May 31, 2000, 10:39 PM
I've got to weigh in on the side of the Beretta 1201FP. It's recoil operated, Light, simple to maintain and has NEVER malfunctioned on me, even using low brass target loads. It also has an amazing cyclic rate. If I do my part I can empty the magazine before the first shell hits the ground. I only paid $417 for mine a few years back. You never hear much about this shotgun and I don't know why. It is second to none.