custom Benelli work = poor cycling

Hi everyone.... I shoot a Benelli M2 for clays (2-4 cases/year) and a Super Black Eagle II for ducks (a case of steel, and as a loaner gun maybe a case of 1-1/8 oz trap shells/year). I was piddling around on the web recently and saw some custom work that could be done. After some research and a phone call, I planned some mods for my M2 and SBEII. Because duck season is out, I sent the the SBEII in to a reputable business (although not Taran Tactical) to have a Taran bolt release installed, lifter welded, and barrel 'throated'.

I was genuinely excited when I got it back, but took it out to test it with the 1-1/8 oz loads it usually eats shooting clays (the SBEII gets used often as a loaner gun to friends and it cycled with 1-1/8 oz fine). Every single round failed to eject-- bolt came back and tried to jam the empty back in. I tried and tried, and then called the business. We talked through it and there were 2 potential issues that came up--I thought the gun might be dirty, but I also saw the rotating bolt head stopping on the lifter on the way back forward. I tested 3" duck loads, and it cycled "OK", but the hulls "trickled" out (did not eject as far as before).

So I cleaned the crap out of the gun inside and out, front to back-- it was not that dirty, less than 2 cases shells since last cleaned. Lo and behold, I tried both shell types again, and same story-- trap hulls not ejecting, and 3" shells trickling out. The rotating bolt head no longer got caught on the lifter edge, probably due to Break Free CLP. But I did notice that when I used a snap cap and engage the firing pin, the bolt comes back (manually) easy for about an inch, then seems to be very hard to pull back for about another inch or so, then comes back easy again. I know my guns better than the average Benelli owner-- it did NOT do that before. I do understand that the bolt is harder to come back after the firing pin has been engaged compared to when not fired, but there is a lot of friction in there caused by something, and I have no idea what it is. I cycled and fired the snap cap over 100 times and could not see anything, nor did it get any better.

It does have a "25% stronger" Wolff spring (mainly a duck gun), but it cycled much better before the work and kicked 3" shells out 5-6 feet to the side. And again, it cycled 1-1/8 oz trap loads just fine as well.

Bottom line-- He told me on the phone I am worrying too much, and the gun just needs to be shot more to break it in. However, I feel like I paid $120 + $43 shipping to make my SBEII more comfortable to operate, but sacrificed the ability to shoot anything less than 3" mags. Plus, I am afraid when it does get truly dirty it won't cycle those. I am tempted to bring it to the gunsmith in Bastrop, LA tomorrow to see what the problem is, but I was wondering if anyone has had this experience. He said he has done the work on "thousands of Benellis" and never (maybe he said "rarely") had a problem, so I figure I would find some here with that many he has allegedly done this work to.

Feel free to shoot me a PM if you wish. Thanks in advance for reading.

I am aware of that, but man-- Those parts are HIGH, and we're probably talking over $300 down the drain once it is all said and done.

This puts a sour taste in my mouth for any more custom work, to be honest.

thanks for the tip though. To be fair, I need to give him a chance to rectify the issue before totally giving up at this point. I will keep the updates coming, please keep the comments/advice coming, thanks

The "throating" was just opening up the edge where the shell enters, appears to be very light. Supposed to help with feeding issues (ironically, huh?)... It was only $15, and I have had the out-of -battery issue on occasion, he said it was supposed to help with that.

I took it apart again, just to inspect it, there is a big silver piece that flies forward when you pull the trigger--it strikes the firing pin on the back of the bolt-- it seems like that can be the only possible source of resistance when pulling the bolt back (spring-pressure too heavy?). Everything else looks OK, I am wondering if there is something that he did that could have made this part tighter, thus requiring more pressure to lock back for firing? It appears to be the only part that applies any resistance to the bolt (?)

If nothing else, I am learning even more about my SBEII....

Crap I am tired, been a long day... Hammer. Jeez. I am not even going to try to convince any readers that I am not that big of an idiot, ha

The throating of the barrel is only around the edge of the chamber, not very deep into the barrel at all. Could this have caused an issue? It does not appear to have any burrs or imperfections.

I still think the hammer is spring-loaded too tight. I sure wish I could show it in person.

Virginian, no proof of that-- the problem is not out-of-battery, it was full extraction of the 1-1/8 oz hull

Cowboy-- please elaborate. Not really sure what you mean.... The problem is not guiding the shell home (assume you mean loading), it is fully ejecting the 1-1/8 oz hull.

The throating looks very minor, it is barely noticable anyway. The guy is reputable according to a fair amount of internet research-- it is C-Rums out of Missouri. In fact, I think I may have found the problem-- I took it to the gunsmith this morning, there were a couple of pieces of plastic "scraps" left over from.... something... in the trigger group, he said that was the cause making the hammer harder to cock back.

I will shoot it extensively and report back whether any of the conjecture about the throating is true-- I mean, can minor throating like this cause extraction issues? I don't really see how.

As mentioned, it cycled with 1-1/8 ounce loads just fine with the Wolff spring before the work. Over a case of shells without a blip, so that is incorrect.

I did not ask him whether he removed the lifter for welding, I wonder why not removing the lifter would ruin the trigger group? it looks fine, according to the gunsmith.

GREAT NEWS-- I ran 3 boxes of 1-1/8 oz trap loads today, and it did not skip a beat. It had to be the plastic crap (see attached photo) the gunsmith found under the rear part of the hammer, making it harder to engage, therefore causing the bolt to "not come back all the way" with the trap loads (and make the 3" shells barely trickle out of the action). It shoots just like before now.

Thank you all for your input.

I guess we will find out tomorrow, I plan to ask him. Will post update tomorrow night

I think it is 100% now. Did more research and he is very well known and reliable, so I am sure he took the carrier off before he welded it. Jeff Cockrum with C-Rum LLC, now that the issue is gone, I am very happy with his work.

I really like the Taran Tactical jumbo bolt release he installed as well. This and the welded lifter make this a Cadillac rig.