Is Benelli really the Ferrari of the shotgunworld

[olddrum1]

Its not the car that makes the driver.

[Will Fennell]

If it matters, in the competitive sporting clay world, where a shooter will fire more shells in an afternoon practice session than most hunters will shoot in a year, it is rare to see a Benelli. In a shotgun game where semi auto's are common, Beretta gas operated rule the roost. I would say that 9 out of 10 semi's in the hands of competitive sporting shooters are Beretta's[303,390, or391], and the last 10% are slplit up between old Browning Golds, old Superx1's, new Superx's, and a FEW Benelli's.

The recoil operated guns simply kick too much, and don't offer any reliability advantage over a good gas gun.

[mathman]

If you are talking about semi-autos they are the best to me...YMMV. I won't own any other shotgun besides a couple of over/unders.

[Big Bill]

This is one of the funniest threads I've ever read. Thanks you guys.

My Winchester 1300 is like a 57 Chevy. My Remington 870 is like a a Ford F100. And, my Mossberg Maveric is like a Hyundai Accent. And, my Benelli Nova is like a Jeep Cherokee.

[BigJimP]

I don't see that many competitive shooters - even at local events shooting semi-autos either. When I do see semi-autos it's usually a new shooter, or a person who is primarily a hunter - just coming out for some sporting clay practice.

However, the Benelli with the comfort tech recoil supression system in the stock - in my opinion, will give you about the same recoil as a gas operated semi-auto. Is the Benelli an advantage over the gas guns / hard to tell ... - but it is an easy gun to strip and clean and quickly put it back into battery. I like the Benelli SuperSport model in 12 and 20ga. Its a very light gun ( and I added about 1 lb of weight to mine to help the swing characteristics / and that even reduces recoil a little more ). The downside to the Benelli SuperSport is current retail price on the gun in my area is about $ 1,875 and at that price / there are other guns in the mix competing for the dollars.

Frankly, I think price is hurting Benelli ( and selling more Stoeger, etc look alikes ) ....and the Berettas are a lot more competitive on price as well / even though they are all part of the same corporation now. These days, dollars have a lot to do with what guns you see on courses - especially among casual competitors or new shooters.

My primary competition gun will remain an O/U - but I still think the Benelli SuperSport is an option / yet I wish it would come down in price so more shooters would give it a chance. I use the 12ga Benelli SuperSport as a travel gun/rain gun ...and I picked up a couple of extra SuperSports as training guns for the grandkids / loaner guns for new shooters. I'm not saying the 390's / 391's are bad guns - and I see Beretta has a new semi-auto offering out too - the Xplor ..and I see its getting some writeups in the gun mags this month.

I wonder if some of these models / from their various divisions might be going away ...

[Big Bill]

I think the Benelli Vinci will be a hard shotgun to ignore.

[LordofWar]

Apparently the OP's never heard of Holland & Holland or James Purdey.

+1 for the innocence.

[darkgael]

[IMG][/IMG]


[IMG][/IMG]

Now that's a Ferrari. Costs about the same too.
Pete

[MAX100]

Benelli is way over priced.


GC

[Big Bill]

Benelli is way over priced.

Why? I thought that my Benelli Nova Pump for $300 was a good buy. Have you ever owned one?

[colostomyclown]

Gonna side w/ LordofWar here. There's some shotguns that the purchase price of a single one could buy you a considerable stake in the Benelli COMPANY. Holland and Holland and Purdey being closer to a Ferrari of Shotguns, there are even higher priced guns like a rare Rizzini that are more along the lines of handmade, nearly one of a kind offerings that may cost as much or more than the houses of anyone in this thread!


As far as Benelli's being overpriced, some are. Their semi-autos certainly are. But like Bill said, their pumpguns are VERY fairly priced for what's offered (a great product by all accounts). I don't really understand this, but it's a fact. Anyone know why the difference in price? The Benelli pumps aren't really my thing, but they are a nice gun and probably, if anything else, the most weather-resistant gun I know of. They're priced reasonably. The Benelli semis are astronomically priced though.

[MAX100]

Why? I thought that my Benelli Nova Pump for $300 was a good buy. Have you ever owned one?

The Benelli Nova is their budget shotgun. I was speaking of their tactical semi auto line: M4, Super 90...ect


GC

[mathman]

I like Benellis and I am willing to pay the price to get one...but I don't know that they are way overpriced. There are a lot of things that go into making one...the crio treatment, chrome lined barrels, comfortech stock, ease of use, ease of maintenance...plus the fact that they are light weight and very slim (for an auto).

I know that there are good gas guns, but no gas gun is as easy to clean or as reliable as the inertia operated Benelli...on the whole...there might be individual gun exceptions.

Buy what you like and like what you buy...and more importantly, shoot the heck out of it.

[oneounceload]

Here's a nice Fabbri - only $220,000 - which IS the price of a new Ferrari:

http://www.gunsinternational.com/Ivo...n_id=100109066

[colostomyclown]

roughly TWO HUNDRED AND TWENTY BENELLI M4's.

[Plenoptic]

I disagree darkgael, Holland and Holland is the Rolls Royce of gun makers. And now Holland and Holland has partnered with Overfinch to create the perfect ride for your shooting expeditions - http://www.hollandandhollandoverfinch.com/
if you want a closer look at the vehicle go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTBmNL8rGow and skip ahead to the two minute mark. So if you have about $400,000 you can get yourself the ride and a couple shotguns to put in the cabinet.

[darkgael]

Holland and Holland is the Rolls Royce of gun makers.

Can't argue too hard with that.
Perhaps a 20 ga. Purdey Sporter would be a Ferrari-like choice?
Pete

[Firepower!]

I think it does like this:

Perrazi is like Ferrari
H&H is like RR
Purdey is like Bentley

rest are just toyotas!

[Gold]

As an Italian, I can assure you that the semiatomatico comparable to Ferrari and the Cosmi, there are comparisons ballistically, then add BREDA and finally benelli. (in Italy)
But I love browning!

Saluti
Gold
ITALY

[SR420]

Is Benelli really the Ferrari of the shotgun world?

Ferrari cars are fast, but tend to be less reliable than other makes.

My HK/Benelli is more like the Lexus of the shotgun world... fast and reliable.

[grubbylabs]

Well I would have to agree with Big Bill I have a Nova Pump and I gotta tell you all that that thing just goes boom every time. I just cleaned it yesterday for the first time in two or three seasons, it was -3 or 4 out side and the pump was a little stiff is all. And I shoot the cheapest amo I can find at WalMart. I would not call it a sports car but like Big Bill said it goes any where and does any thing I ask of it.

[Dave McC]

Ferrari, heck no. Maybe a Fabbri or Piotti, the Cosmi autoloader,etc.

The Benelli Nova is a F-150. Not glamorous but it gets the job done.

I regard Benelli's autos as good quality, but a tad overpriced.

For the record, I've shot a few rounds through a couple different SBEs, a Montefeltro, and one 20 gauge Cordoba.

I did really like the Cordoba.

The others worked and the clays pretty much busted on demand.

However, these did nothing for me that an SX2, a Gold, or even an 1100 didn't.

And they cost plenty.

[impalacustom]

Well if your comparing shotguns to cars, I own the Model T, lots and lots of them made and still many of them running today, and very reliable, go anywhere and will bring you home. Browning A5

[RangerHAAF]

It is the best semi-auto shotgun on the market. I don't know what else can be said or written about it. It is expensive but the quality that goes into it justifies the cost.

[darkgael]

That Cosmi appears to be a pretty neat item. Not a gun that I am familiar with at all.
Pete