InertiaDriven71
Member
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 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.
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