johnshiredman

I am looking at an all purpose shotgun and am leaning towards the SBE II (yes, more expensive than what I would need to spend for my purposes, butI am30 and planto getmany years ofuse from it beforepassingit ontomy son).I will mainly use it for Turkey, but would like to be able to use it for any shotgun need, including trying out sporting clays and joining friends for the occational fowl hunting trip. The gentleman at the sporting goods store implied the SBE II may have difficulty cycling lighter loads. Is there any one that uses or has tried a SBE II with lighter target loads that can report on the performance of cycling?

If target loads would be problematic, and I still wanted to use a SBE II what is the lightest load that would cycle well and on average what would be the differance in cost for an evening of shooting sporting clays? (If I only shoot a few times a summer the extra cost of using more expensive shells may not be that much of a factor.)

I appreciate your shared experiences.

J

crimedog

I have shot 7/8 oz loads with no problem. You ma need to shoot a few boxes of heaveir loads to break in the SBE II

maytom

I would contact Benelli and ask them. http://www.benelliusa.com/

Personally, if you want to shoot target loads, buy a target gun. A 3 1/2" gun is used mainly with hunting weight loads, and since that gun is recoil operated, there might not be enough force to operate the action with shooting target loads.

doubleA

Cycling light target loads can be a problem with inertia driven guns like the Benelli's. I have proven this to several people at the trap club time and time again, my gas driven Beretta's cycles my very light trap loads while the Benelli will choke.
Other than that the Benelli auto'shave a great reputation for being a great gun. It sounds like you are going to have to find a happy medium, yes one gun can do all but one gun cant do everything equally.

t roy

wouldnt let it hold you back from buyinga sbe I or II, my super black eagle Iwill cycle target loads of 1 1/8 just fine; it does take a little time to break them in. you cant buy a better shotgun.

Doug S

No doubt you can handload a 7/8's load too light to cycle an SBE, one can make any round to cycle any gun. I have not found a storebought one that didn't work, things like the Remington Gun Club promo rounds work really well. A 1oz/ 2 3/4 or 3 dram load will work all day long. Since they are recoil operated, make sure the gun is planted in your shoulder with light loads or it will loose some inertia. Also, I've seen some trouble in really cold weatherwith light loads, this is generally cause by someone using the wrong oil or too much, especially in the recoil spring tube.

Are they a do everything gun, Nope! But what is. Does your 30-06 do everything, how about that .40 Glock, Nope. They make different guns and bullets for different things and I don't see why anyone would think a shotgun should be different. If you are wondering about the reliability of the Benelli, take a look at the Dove shoots in South America. Most of the semiauto guns being used are Benelli or Beretta and they shoot thousands of rounds in a few days.

Doug

SwampCollie

The only issues I have seen with the SBE or the SBE IIs is with the super light low recoil loads. I have seen two that would not consistantly work with light 1oz loads, but if you step it up to a heavy dove/handicap AA load, you should have no issues. I have seen gas operated 3.5" jam up with target loads much more frequently than the Inertia guns, but just about any 3.5" will occasionally have an issue or two with the really really light stuff. If you want a gun that will never jam, I would recommend an Over/Under... The gas guns accumulate fouling much in excess of the Inertia guns. After a box or two, this can really slow down the action due to friction caused by the fouling. When you have a super light load, those gas guns start to hang up. I have seen it in the 1187 Supermags, even with 3" loads, they seem to have the most problems. The Extremas are good, and the Golds are a close second, but will hang up after a box or two of the light stuff. Just part of the ball game. Unless you direly want/need a 3.5" for turkeys (which is the only thing I use a 3.5" for) then I would consider the M2 or Montefeltro instead of the SBE II. Will save you some money, and the 3" models will digest anything.

bigbulls

Benelli guarantees that a 3 dram 1-1/8 ounce load (heavy field)will cycle their SBEII. Anything lighter and you are on your own. And this will go right out the window if you install a mercury recoil reducer in the stock or do any other modifications to the gun to reduce recoil. The SBEII requires recoil in order for it to work.

I have trouble shot several SBEII's and almost every time one wouldn't cycle I found out they were using light target loads and/or had modified their gun in some way to reduce recoil.

If you want a gun that will work on the target line then don't get a SBEII and expect it to perform like askeet gun cause it likely won't.

Rammer

Another thing is to shoot only shells with a smooth finish instead of the lil raised ribs.

Pretty much everything else has been covered on this thread.

MinnFinn

I shoot 3 1/8 to 3 1/4 dram loads through both my Benelli M1 and SBE II withoug problem. They recommend not using "light" loads, because the interia system does required a certain amount of recoil to function properly. Benelli also recommends in the user manual to shoot the first 4 to 5 boxes of "standard" load (heavier) for the break in period, before you, if you choose, go to something a little lighter.