The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - Benelli "nova" pump shotguns--how good are they?

jmr40 · July 28, 2011, 06:27 PM

The Benelli is the heaviest of all the pump shotguns, followed by Browning. The old Winchester 1300 are the lightest followed closely by Mossberg. Remingtons are right in the middle weight wise. (assuming comparable barrels and other features) They are good guns from a mechanical perspective, but handle like a fencepost.

I really want to like them, have actually owned 2. I think they function well and given time to prove themselves may prove to be the most rugged, durable gun in the bunch. But I can't get used to the weight and awkward handling. For a turkey gun or SD where quick handling and balance is not important they probably perform well.

For me nothing beats an 870. There are quite a few of them out there with better than 200,000 rounds through them that are still going strong and they point and balance better than any other pump. If I had to pick a 2nd place gun it would be the Browning with the Benelli 3rd.

July 28, 2011, 06:27 PM	#4
jmr40 Senior Member Join Date: June 15, 2008 Location: Georgia Posts: 10,808	The Benelli is the heaviest of all the pump shotguns, followed by Browning. The old Winchester 1300 are the lightest followed closely by Mossberg. Remingtons are right in the middle weight wise. (assuming comparable barrels and other features) They are good guns from a mechanical perspective, but handle like a fencepost. I really want to like them, have actually owned 2. I think they function well and given time to prove themselves may prove to be the most rugged, durable gun in the bunch. But I can't get used to the weight and awkward handling. For a turkey gun or SD where quick handling and balance is not important they probably perform well. For me nothing beats an 870. There are quite a few of them out there with better than 200,000 rounds through them that are still going strong and they point and balance better than any other pump. If I had to pick a 2nd place gun it would be the Browning with the Benelli 3rd.