Any Benelli experts here?

I don’t see how he was short shucking it. Short shucking causes the new shell from the magazine to not be released onto the carrier after the spent shell has been ejected.

I think the variances in the shotshells are partly to blame. Cheaper sporting loads have all kinds of inconsistencies.

What I am not understanding though is how it jams up so tight. It is possible that it would be easier to clear the jam by manipulating the jammed shell more into the chamber and then continuing forward with the slide. Either way a bad situation.

I cannot tell if it is the shell jamming while trying to feed (failure to feed) or the mechanism of the gun itself malfunctioning.

I own a Nova and have never had a problem with it from any shell including the longer ones. If I had the gun I could probably figure it out.

Here is a question. When the jam occurs, is the shell loose? As in, not forced up into the side of the front of the chamber? I was researching this online and a found a few instances of what seems like a similar problem and they said the shell was loose but the action was still jammed.

Another observation. In the video the guy says he works the slide hard while cycling it and I will tell you that based on the video, he was not cycling it hard enough. I know that this does not sound like a reliable fix but similar problems occur with auto loading pistols when they are "limp wristed". It is a user error whether the user wants to admit it or not. Not saying this is your problem or the guy in the video but there can be very nitpicky operator errors that manufacturers cannot design into or out of a particular gun. You said you have another Nova with no problems so I suspect this is not a user problem.

There s a lot of buzz on th web about operating these things with authority. I am a pump shotgun guy and I cycle mine with such great enthusiasm that my shooting buddies say my racking of the slide is louder than the shot. I'm sure they are just being hyperbolic.

He hesitated when he worked the action on the 2nd and 4th shot. He held rearward force on the action when firing, but instead of completing the action, he hesitated. The first time, (2nd shot) the action didn't come back far enough to mess up the sequence of function, but on the 4th shot, it came back far enough to mess up the sequence of function, specifically, the magazine released the next round while the bolt was not far enough back, causing a jam. This can often be confused with 'short shucking', as it has the same result. The Benelli SuperNova is based on the Winchester 1200/1300 action, and will almost recoil back on firing on it's own, with only the slightest rearward pressure-this can be disconcerting to those not familiar with it, and cause them to hesitate with completing the action, and will instead 'hold up' midway through pumping, thus causing the jam he (and you) experienced. Keeping full rearward pressure on the forearm and forcibly pumping it back until it stops, them forcibly pumping forward until it locks up will eliminate this.

entropy said:

He hesitated when he worked the action on the 2nd and 4th shot. He held rearward force on the action when firing, but instead of completing the action, he hesitated.

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I don’t think he hesitated as much as the action was simply locked up for a split second more than he expected. That was the behavior that I experienced on my Novas and Supernova - some of them, more than others, needed a strong forward pull on the forearm to unlock the action before I could rack the slide to the rear. How much the recoil moved my shoulder altered the amount of forward pull needed to fully unlocked the action. It was very frustrating in its variability.

I never did trace down in the action what moving parts had fitment variability that created / caused this behavior. I can say that the behavior lessened over time with lubrication and use. I also never did have the action lock up to the point where a strong forward pull on the forearm while I depressed the slide release would not allow me to cycle the action.

Actions like the Stevens 520/620 series and the Ithaca 37 need to push forward to unlock the action if rearward pressure is applied while firing because of the action lock bar that is in the trigger assy., but I don't believe the Nova or Supernova has one, unless the bolt release acts as one if fired in the same manner. I usually push backward with good force with my 870, but not my Ithaca 37. I've only shot one Nova (a friend's and I admit I didn't care for it) and I'm pretty sure I didn't apply rearward force. It was during a round of Trap, and it didn't jam, but I wasn't loading out of the magazine, either.
If it lessens with lube and use, then my recommendation is the same as with a new 870; I lube up the trigger assy. good, and apply GunSlik (If you still have any-Flitz will work also) to the outside of the action bars ONLY, and work the action vigorously for about 15 minutes, more if needed. This smooths up the action, distributes lube throughout the trigger assy., and saves a lot of break-in time. Remove all of the Gunslik/Flitz from the action bars and their corresponding slots in the reciever, and lube as desired. Remove excess lube from the trigger assy.

entropy said:

Actions like the Stevens 520/620 series and the Ithaca 37 need to push forward to unlock the action if rearward pressure is applied while firing because of the action lock bar that is in the trigger assy., but I don't believe the Nova or Supernova has one, unless the bolt release acts as one if fired in the same manner. I usually push backward with good force with my 870, but not my Ithaca 37. I've only shot one Nova (a friend's and I admit I didn't care for it) and I'm pretty sure I didn't apply rearward force. It was during a round of Trap, and it didn't jam, but I wasn't loading out of the magazine, either.

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Most do, a few don’t. It was one of the quirks that got me to give up my Benelli pump guns, even though I very much wanted to admire them for their build quality and fit.

throdgrain said:

All the replies so far are saying the gun is fine, and I'm of course grateful for any opinions. However a part of me suspects there is something else afoot, would be grateful for any suggestions there.

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My recommendation is that the next time it happens, determine if pulling forward on that slide vigorously allows you to subsequently open the action normally. I suspect that it will, and that you don’t actually have to disturb the trigger group, but that’s a data point we need to have.

Here you go, $20:
https://www.gunpartscorp.com/products/740230E
Replace the spring while you're at it:
https://www.gunpartscorp.com/products/740220G
I hope the "South of London" in your location isn't England, because Numrich won't ship these parts out of the US for some odd reason.

Glad you got it fixed.