kelbro

I have an SBE and so do several of my hunting buds. Never saw a malfunction in several years use. Doves and skeet with light loads, ducks and geese with heavy loads. Saltwater marshes and dry, hot, dusty maize fields. Several of the gunsmiths at the local shops also say they are virtually trouble-free. I take half of the negative stuff that I read on internet forums with a grain of salt and completely dismiss the rest of it. My bet is that a large part of the negatives come from people that do not have a Benelli and are trying to justify their own shotgun selection. Before Benelli, they said the same things about Browning and Beretta. Buy the best that you can afford and what fits you correctly.

deer-hunter18

im with you kelbro i think the people that are putting down the SBE just cant afford them so they have to slam them and make there mossbergs look better

Bondster

If you know of anyone wanting to unload one of there piece of junk Benellis "cheap", please let me know. I have three of them (M-1, M-3, SBE) but my neighbor wants one.

plainsman

Ya.....thats right, everybody that slams Benelli owns a Mossberg....get real!!!!
goosin bill, if you want real answers to your question go to

http://www.refugeforums.com/refuge/
a site that is completely dedicated to shotguns and waterfowling. Ask for comments comparing SBE to other semi's....the win SX2 for instance. You'll find that a lot of hardcore waterfowlers have had extensive problems with these guns [SBE]. Slow cycling in cooler weather is a big issue. Jamming is another major problem. When at the 'Fuge, be sure to ask about the loudest sound in the marsh....the famous Benelli "click" also remember that the thin walled Italian barrels don't pattern all that great...even Mossberg puts 'em to shame in that comparison!!! If your intent on spending a fair chunk of change on a gun,look at the Win SX2, a very solid performer!!! I do agree that fit is very important....but fit don't mean crap if the gun doesn't work well. Did I mention that average repair time to get the Benelli back to your door is around a 2-4 mo. wait ? The SBE isn't worth half of what the price tag says[:'(][:'(]

deer-hunter18

slow cycling in cold weather had mine out in -12 F today for about 3 hrs. not one problem. I have owned benelli sbe's for 8 yrs. and never had one jam. also compared to my buddies SX2 the benelli sound like a pellet gun. OH and one more thing I work at a place in Iowa that sells these and in the past 5 yrs. of me working there we have had a total of 5 benelli's that had to be sent back for repairs on average it took them 3 weeks to get them back. But them great SX2 wow in the 5 yrs. we have had oh about 27 that had to be returned for repairs and on average it took them 5 weeks to get back. I think you need to do a little checking on you GREAT SX2 You wont be so happy with them.

deer-hunter18

I forgot something have you ever had to take apart a SX2 to clean it Pain in the A$$. When you take apart a benelli it breaks down into 4 parts Stock, Trigger mechanism, Bolt, and barrel. Dont let anyone fool ya Benelli is the way to go.

PikeTipper

plainsman,

Thanks for the link, A5s sure seem to be a hit on the other site. I always enjoy looking at different waterfowl sites to see what kind of arguements get going. You get the usual over the best guns and calls but on many sites the ones being argued about may be completely different. I was on one site out of N Dakota and the best goose calls that they were fighting about weren't even listed on this site.

Champlain Islander

I had a Benelli M90 and traded up to a SBE several years ago and never had a problem with either gun. At the end of the season I break it down to the basics and thoroughly clean and lubricate. The SBE is lite, balanced and cycles faster than all the other want a be guns. I hunt turkeys but many of my friends are ardent waterfowlers and they all have Benellis.

plainsman

No problem tipper, let me know if you want more. There's about 6 sites I hit on a regular basis.... and another 6 or so I go to now and then, really good for getting info from others experiances!!! Better to learn from other peoples mistakes than to repeat them. I'd rather have lots of info from various hunters than just a couple biassd opinions from a few!!!

Worc

The Benelli's are good guns. They have good quality and are pretty reliable. The inertia system is a clever design that is easy to maintain. They are not without their problems. They have failers just like any other semi auto operating system. Dirty actions or recoil spring, cold lube problems, too low of power shells to name a few. They do have their own unique problems as well. The "Benelli Click" that was already mentioned is caused by the bolt accidently coming out of battery. The fact that they are inertia operated AND have a rotary bolt is the reason. Straight overhead shots usally result in a failure to cycle the action. Because they are the most expensive semi's, they have the expectation of being perfect by many.
The gas operated guns like the Gold and SX2 may not be quite as easy to clean as the Benelli's, but they are not that far behind. Other gas guns like the Franchi 612 and Weatherby SAS are easier to clean than the Benelli's if you include their recoil springs.