Benelli SBE Gunsmith

[Bearman]

I inherited an original (1997?) Benelli SBE from my father in law, he used it quite a bit hunting salt water ducks in WA state. I want to have a reputable gunsmith check/replace all internal parts with issues and I want it dipped in a camo pattern afterward.
I live in the Idaho Panhandle if anyone can recommend a good gunsmith to me. Thanks.

 

[backcountry_hunter]

Honestly that gun is the epitome of simplicity. You could learn the intricacy of that firearm by doing it yourself. There isn't much for moving parts and very few rubber/o-ring type parts (one small o-ring on the bolt if memory serves me correct). You'd spend a fraction of the cost doing it yourself. With the original SBE/M1's the most complex part of the process is disassembling the recoil spring tube becasue the nut that holds the spring inside and the stock on is loctite'd on..... sometimes with red, sometimes with blue but if it's red a quick minute and a half heating gently with a blowtorch will free it up. then it's just the spring inside that might need replacing (<$15 wolff spring) and if salt was really hard on it the tube itself can be replaced. The bolt comes apart very easily and all parts are usually readily avail at midway. The magazine is a spring and stopper...... literally thats it.

I know that's not what you asked, and that still won't help you with getting it dipped but working on these guns specifically is very easy. Things like balancing a checkbook or changing oil on your truck are more difficult than working on a benelli. Sorry for the rant but unbeknowst to me I just had a buddy take his original sbe into a smith for what he called a "tune up". The guy charged him $175 to clean literally the most simple autoloader ever......

 

[Bearman]

Honestly that gun is the epitome of simplicity. You could learn the intricacy of that firearm by doing it yourself. There isn't much for moving parts and very few rubber/o-ring type parts (one small o-ring on the bolt if memory serves me correct). You'd spend a fraction of the cost doing it yourself. With the original SBE/M1's the most complex part of the process is disassembling the recoil spring tube becasue the nut that holds the spring inside and the stock on is loctite'd on..... sometimes with red, sometimes with blue but if it's red a quick minute and a half heating gently with a blowtorch will free it up. then it's just the spring inside that might need replacing (<$15 wolff spring) and if salt was really hard on it the tube itself can be replaced. The bolt comes apart very easily and all parts are usually readily avail at midway. The magazine is a spring and stopper...... literally thats it.

I know that's not what you asked, and that still won't help you with getting it dipped but working on these guns specifically is very easy. Things like balancing a checkbook or changing oil on your truck are more difficult than working on a benelli. Sorry for the rant but unbeknowst to me I just had a buddy take his original sbe into a smith for what he called a "tune up". The guy charged him $175 to clean literally the most simple autoloader ever......

Thanks BCH!! I will do my research on that, nothing wrong with saving $$$

 

[Sccritterkiller]

The internals are coated with an anti corrosion compund IIRC..the OGs are great guns...break it down and clean it...doubt you will find anything that needs replaced...In 10yrs of heavy use I have only had to have the shell catch in the tube replaced...it wore down so much it was double feeding.

 

[msstate56]

I've replaced every internal part in my SBE-2, some of them more than once (recoil spring). They are super simple to work on. There are only a handful of replaceable parts anyway. Look at the recoil spring, firing pin, firing pin spring, firing pin retaining pin, sliding ejector plate and spring, extractor and spring, and maybe the inertia spring in the bolt carrier. You can also replace the magazine spring and the shell stop latch and spring. That's about it.

 

[hodgeman]

I'll mirror what others have said..Benellis are the easiest shotgun to work on. I am amazed at how few parts there actually are.

Pulling the recoil spring is the trickiest part, and that's only due to the loc-tite.

 

[Bearman]

Thank you all!! Time for me to do some research and get it done.

 

[SaltyUte]

Rob Roberts custom gun works. He does all the Benelli performance shop work.