Waterfowl Shotguns -- Benelli vs. Winchester Super-X

Howdy All --

I'm trying to decide on a Goose/Duck semi-auto shotgun for next season. Want 3-1/2" capability, camo soft grip finish, etc.

One fella says that he LOVES the Winchester Super-X 3-1/2" Mag.

Another couple of fellas just RAVE about the Benelli Super Black Eagle II -- and I was also told that Benelli had test fired this piece something like 330,000 rounds without a stoppage! Jehosephat!! :-/

In any event . . . might anyone have feedback on the merits of these 2 shotguns?? Any preferences?


Western Rifleman
 
I have the SBE and my son has the Winchester. Both very nice. I've had mine for 6-8??? years. Never a problem with it. Hunted ducks & geese rain,sleet,snow, and all three at the same time, no problems. Hunted SD pheasants at -20, still worked. Sons second year with his winchester, no problems. Your choice. Which fits you best?? That would probally be my pick.
 
I am a very big Benelli fan, and with good reason. I have a S90 Monefeltro I have been shooting for going on ten years now. My father, who I bought the gun from, had shot it for another 2 or 3 years beofre that. Not once in that entire period has it ever malfunctioned, in every kind of waterfowl weather imaginable. I shoot everything from trap loads to 3" T shot out of it with a patternmaster choke tube. My father now has 2 SBE's, both of which perform flawlessly, a Executive model, and a monefeltro 20ga that is a duck killer for sure. All of these guns see use in the goose pit, and none have ever let us down. Two of my hunting partners shoot SBE's, and like me have never had a problem with them. The one guy I hunt with who has had a problem with his S90 need to buy himself a cleaning kit and learn to use it if you know what I mean. They are a bit more money than the SX2, but you will love it, and it will perform for you.

That said, the SX2 is a really good gun for the money. I have shot one on a limited basis and liked the way it shot. I didn't think the gas ejection system on the SX2 was quite as smooth as the inertia system on the Benelli's though. That's just my opinion however.

I would strongly suggest that you shy away from the Benelli Super Nova. Although it's got Benelli stamped on the side, I don't think they are of the same quality as the rest of their family. I know of several guys that bought them and had big problems with them.

If you decide you can't pony up the extra $500 for the SBE, then I am sure the SX2 will be a great gun for you. Like trailhound stated earlier, go with the gun that feels the most comfortable and you will probably shoot it the best.
Hope that helps.

Kyle
 
Hi Rifleman,

Just thought I would throw my 10 cent opinion in on this. I have had two SBE Binelli shotguns. Both guns performed flawlessly as far as their actions went, inertia actuated not gas actuated. Ease of maintenance was outstanding less parts and no gas residue to clean. So far so good, then I went to pattern the guns with various steel loads I use for geese and ducks. You could drive a truck through the holes in the patterns. I was really dumbfounded with the results. That was using all five choke tubes that came with the guns. I bought the first Binelli to replace a 870 Remington Express 12. That cheap pump gun shot circles around both of the $1100.00, 3 1/2" capable Binellis using 2 3/4" and 3" shells. I sold the first Binelli to a friend that just had to have one. I told him about what I did with it and what I thought of it, but could not keep him from giving me his hard earned money. He used it for one season and ended up selling it. He told me later that he should have listened to me. I ended up getting a Remington SP-10 and have never looked back. There is NO, 12 gauge made that shoots 3 1/2" shells that can match a 10 gauge 3 1/2' load, period, end of subject. Along those same lines the big ten does an outstanding job on coyotes.

I don't know if you ever have tried Hevishot, but it will kill any goose you want to shoot, at 60 yards+, using 3" 12 gauge, #2 shot. I usually hunt about 60 days a year goose hunting here in Idaho and very seldom not get my limit. If you want a good inexpensive and reliable shotgun capable of shooting 3 1/2" shells get a 870 Remington Express supermag synthetic. WalMart sells them for $278.00 or if you do't think the Remingtons from WalMart are of the same quality as the ones sold at a gun dealer, those sell for the same price give or take a few dollars. Remington is offering a $50.00 rebate on the supermags until 30 Dec. this year so you can get the 3 1/2" capability for less than the price of the 3" model. Take all the extra money you would have thrown away on the Binell, and buy a case of Hevishot, or buy a MEC shotshell reloader and load your own custom steel shotshells and still have money left over to buy gas for the truck. Thats my take on it, for whatever its worth. Good luck which ever way you go!
 
I am not a waterfowler, however, I shoot a Benelli M1S90 camo turkey gun for turkeys and predators and love it. Regardless of the weather, snow, ice, rain, clean or dirty, wet or dry, hot or cold, it goes bang everytime. It patterns beautifully and handles extremely well for me. I like the simplicity of the action and ease of manintenance. This gun gets a steady diet of heavy 3" magnum loads, either Winchester Supreme high velocity turkey loads, or Federal Premium No. Four Buck for coyotes. I also have put a whole bunch of 00 Buck rounds through another M1 with a 14" barrel with permanent modified choke as an entry weapon for high risk warrant service. Serious business and it is a serious weapon that demands respect. This shotgun has also earned its keep by not ever stuttering, not once. We train regardless of weather and sometimes for days on end with little care for the weapon.

With that said, I would absolutely go to a gunshop somewhere that stocks the Benelli, Winchester, and yes, the Berretta. Choose the one that seems an extension of your eye. Fit and feel is subjective. Most shotgunning requires swing and "feel" for good results. As an example, I'm also a Browning kinda guy and when I went looking for a .20 gauge O/U the Browning Citori was my natural first choice. Problem was when I snapped the Citori O/U to my shoulder I was looking down the SIDE of the barrels! Hard to hit much that way. After trying several shotguns I found my natural pointer in the Weatherby O/U. Handles without concious thought from me and seems like a lazer extension of my eye on fast moving targets.
 
I have personally owned both guns. I must say you aren't going to go too wrong with either of them. I currently shoot the SBE and have been more them happy with it. It shoulders well, shoots well, and patterns well. The only downside I had with the X2 is that in extremely cold weather it would have an occasional stove pipe.

I do have to agree with the guys above, I personally haven't dealt with the Beretta semi's much but that may be another way to look when deciding.
 
I have over the yrs 4 Benelli's shotguns my last was in the spring turkey season. I got new in the box and took it out to the gunsmith to pattern it and have custom turkey choke made for it. I shot it @ 30 yds to see where the point of impact was. It was 10 inchs to the right of the target. So i called Benelli they said sent it back before i did i have aother gunsmith look at it and he said send it back. So i did Benelli kelp it over 3 months and sent it back the same way i sent it to them. They dont stand behide it and fix it. When i got it back i took it that day and traded for a Win Super X 2 3 1/2 NWTF shotgun. It out pattens any of the Benelli's i ever had. I have one Benelli SBE left my dad gave me is why i still have it.Out at Anderson's Custom Shotguns and Chokes i have seen him work on a bunch of SBE for jamming .And most of them he was working on was used for duck hunting. But after Benelli screwed me on the last new gun and wouldnt stand behinde it i WONT buy another one. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/angry-smiley-055.gif VM
 
I haven't heard many others give the same kinds of experiences with bad patterning that you guys have had. I know benneli is now cryo treating the barrels on their competition models and that is supposed to make them pattern better. Personally, I have never experienced any problems of bad patterning with any of the benelli's I have shot, even with the factory choke tubes. I do however use a Patternmaster choke in mine, and the patterns are impressive to say the least. I would post a pic, but the cardboard from patterning them is a little hard to fit on a scanner LOL. The patternmaster is absolutety awesome for waterfowling, and I couldn't believe the difference it made when I switched. I increased my percentage of kils to cripples on the fringe yardage, say 45-60 yards. I don't shoot at anything beyond the edge of my decoy spread.

Not saying that any of your guys experiences aren't true or should be discounted, but every factory puts out a bad egg once in awhile. Just my .02

p.s. If your benelli is patterning high, it probably isn't fitting you right for where your line of sight down the barrel is at. They provide different shims with the gun that will change the fit of the gun and thus effect your point of impact when you pattern it. There is a shim behind the receiver and one behind the nut that holds the stock on.
For hunting, I keep mine pretty flat shooting, but for something like trap, you want a high poi to compensate for rising targets. Try it, it makes a huge difference.

Kyle
 
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Both GC and KVV make valid points in favor of Binelli shotguns. Rain, sleet, snow, or shine the gun will go bang when you pull the trigger dirty or clean. Both of mine funtioned flawlessly. I went through all of the shims provided with the guns. I spent more money on various choke tubes including Patternmaster. The after market chokes were a great improvement over the factory chokes. The patternmaster is outstanding with buckshot 100% in 30 inch patterning target at 40 yds. At seven yards the average distance for entry team or police actions, I'm sure it would be devastating to say the least. As GC said the gun needs to be an unconscious extension of your eye as far as fit goes. Unfortunately for me and my wallet neither one of the SBE's I bought did that in the field where it counts. My suggestion to anyone that is contemplating on buying a Binelli is to try one before you buy one. By this I mean with all of your normal hunting clothes on in the duck or goose blind, not in the store with your everyday street clothes. Anyway, my suggestion to Rifleman is if there is anyway to beg, borrow,but not steal one, to try it in the field, in conditions he normally hunts waterfowl in before laying down $1100.00 or more.
 
I know about the shims But that dont make one to fix it when it is shooting 10 inchs to the right. I wasnt the only one that shot it the 2 gunsmith did so same thing. The first 3 Benelli's i owned shot good point of impact was good. But they didnt patten as good as other guns. I set the gun up for turkey hunting. That last one was camo i thought i had to have a camo gun. So i sold my 3 th one and bought the 4th one and it was the bad one. I went to a Win SX 2 and it would have out patten any of the Benelli's i owned . But it wont out patten my SP 10ga .VM
 
I know its not what your asking about but I picked up a Mossberg 935 and so far its been a fine gun. Comes with stock shims to adjust fit and patterns well.

A great knock around waterfowler in my opinion. AND you can walk out the door with one for less that $400.00
 
If you waterfowl hunt in wet conditions one thing the Beretta has is a chromed steel barrel inside to handle steel shot better and the outer barrel has a protective coating over the blueing to repel more moisture and prevent rusting. The receiver and internal parts are either nickel or chrome plated, or are aluminum coated with the same product that is on the barrel and receiver. Of course, if the gun didn't perform well, all of that wouldn't make any difference.The flip side to that is it is much more expensive than the Winchester. It is not much more than the Benelli.
 
There are many fine shotguns in the world. For the most part, they will all perform well and pattern well IF you spend time with it. I just bought my brother a Franchi with the 3 1/2" chamber, camo synthetic, very nice. i picked it up from a hunting buddy and couldn't pass up the deal. I cut my teeth on a Browning A-5 and consider it to be a legend among duck guns. I know people rave about the 870 and I believe it's a great one as well. But make no mistake, there is no comparison of ANY shotgun to a Benelli. I have been shooting Benelli's since '94 without one malfunction EVER, of ANY KIND. I have abused it in our slough in AR, the White River, dozens of rice and soybean fields, dove fields, shooting skeet, you name it, I've done it. That crap about it patterning to point of aim is just that...crap. I have three and they all pattern dead nuts, with the pattern I want, with factory choke tubes. The only exception is that I do have an x-tra full turkey tube that is a custom. I notice you are from Wyoming. Why on God's earth would you consider a gas gun? They will freeze, my A5 did many times in the winter of '89 in AR while hunting in sleet. My Benellis never have, including when I was hunting in an ice storm in '96, '98, and '01. I don't know how hard you hunt, but if you take care of your guns, they will all perform reliably...Beretta, Winchester, Remington, Franchi, Mossberg, Benelli, etc... I just happen to know from my experience that the only two I would trust under ALL conditions are any Benelli, and a Rem. 870. Back to your original question, both are fine guns, but not in the same league.

Blake
 
Hi i did have a new Benelli M1 Super 90 12ga with a 21 inch barrel. With a factory choke @ 30 yrds the point of impact was 10 inchs to the right of the target ( dot). My dad gave me a SBE and it has a 26 inch barrel with a custom turkey choke. Shooting Hevi Shot'6's there was a 835 and BPS and a SX 2 and they all out patten me with the SBE. I have hunted with them all BPS, 835, 870, SBE Super 90 SX2.I too hunt the White River Bottoms there is where i grow up hunting. I like the S X 2 the best. VM
PS look up www.patrickflanigan.com He used to shoot for Benelli!
 
I was helping a friend pattern a 500 Mossberg that he had borrowed from his brother. That thing shot a good 8 inches low at 30 yards.
 

Hey guys . . .

This is Wonderful information coming in! ... I mean REALLY Valuable! I've always said this is the best dang Board on the Net.

Please keep the info and experience coming .... it also makes one curious about the Customer Service of Benelli .... really something to check out.

Yup ... it gets a tad nippy here in Wyoming ... just like Alaska its not a place to skimp on quality of firearms or clothes.

I would think that if an SBE is not patterning, that they should instantly Start with a barrel replacement for you, and then go from there.

Cas
 
I have been doing a lot of reading on Shotgunworld.com and a few other boards about new shotguns, I really wanted to get a new SX2. I was already offered a trade of one of my FAL's for a new over the counter Benelli M1 camo but I turned it down. I figured the all stainless DSA SA58 was worth more than 800 bucks in trade value.
Anyway, today I went up to my local goon store to purchase a barrel for my 11-87P, since it has a short tactical barrel I figure I could just throw on a field grade barrel and be done with it. So I price it all out and the barrel they had in stock was used but not really what I wanted. So I looked up on the goon rack and I see's this new 28" Mossy 935 looking lonely. I fondeled it for awhile and asked the price, $429 he say's, I thought that would work but it sure weren't no SX2, which by the way they did not have in stock.

So, since my wife was standing there with me and knowing how fast money can slip through my grubby little fingers, I looked at her with those big blue eyes of mine and said "No.....I'll pass" then a little tear came trickling down my cheek and my lower lip began to quiver. Well my wife took one look at me and said..... "Good decision, you don't need any more damn guns, let's go home" /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

Well, when I got home I cleaned my new 935 /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif. Now it's ready to go break in next week and kill a couple dozen pheasants /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif

 
I don't own a Benelli but I have seen them have serious problems goose hunting . I have hunted in west Texas the last 5 years and the group I go with has a couple of Benelli SBE users .In west Texas you hunt in pits that you dig and lay down in . There is no way to keep dirt off your gun . The soil is very sandy and the Benelli's seem to be very sensitive to this problem.The guides call them "Brokenelli's" .The Benelli Nova seems to work OK .Most of the other pumps and auto's don't have any problems .Just what I've seen .
 
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