Benelli Ultralight Semi-Auto--thoughts on this shotgun?

[WildGooseChase]

FWIW, most high POI's can be adjusted with shimming and if that doesn't bring it all the way down, an aftermarket Hi-Viz sight. Many of these sights sit higher on the rib than the normal bead and will bring your POI down.

I installed the thickest factory shim the shotgun came with. It brought the POI down to roughly 80/20 and left me feeling like I was staring into the back of the receiver. I had a friend who sent his SBE3 20 gauge back to Benelli for the same reason I did. They stuck a big high viz bead on it and mailed it back to him. Right or wrong, when I called and talked to the customer service tech, I specifically told him I didn’t want them to stick a bigger bead on the rib that tricked my eye into looking where the shotgun is shooting. I want the shotgun to shoot where my eye is looking naturally. I was prepared to sell the gun as soon as it came back if they didn’t resolve the problem on the first attempt. Benelli got it all straightened out (literally) and the gun has been a pleasure to hunt with.

 

[Sandstrom]

I bought one and love it, tons of rounds through it hunting, trap, and skeet with no problems ever. I made the mistake of letting my wife shoot it... I now own two of them
Ryan

 

[philos]

I bought one in 20 gauge since I created this thread. I really like this gun-maybe even more than I thought I would. I actually have backed off of buying an O/U 28 gauge for -now at least- since I am enjoying this little Benelli so much.

 

[Braaap]

How many shells can the Benelli ultralight hold with plug removed?

 

[Sandstrom]

There is no plug. It holds three rounds including the one in the chamber.
Ryan

 

[Dejhavu]

I haven't shot one, but I have held one and played around with it. It definitely felt like a good gun. I have always heard with the inertia system that the lighter the gun, the more you will feel the recoil. But if you aren't bothered by recoil, I would definitely get one.

 

[Sandstrom]

My 12ga Benelli UL feels softer in the recoil department then my Beretta 12 over under UL. Also my 5 foot 120 lb wife has no problem with the recoil in her Benelli UL 12ga. She even beat me once at 50 rounds of sporting clays with it!! (She did not like it with turkey loads but handled it fine)
Ryan

 

[Dave C.]

I installed the thickest factory shim the shotgun came with. It brought the POI down to roughly 80/20 and left me feeling like I was staring into the back of the receiver. I had a friend who sent his SBE3 20 gauge back to Benelli for the same reason I did. They stuck a big high viz bead on it and mailed it back to him. Right or wrong, when I called and talked to the customer service tech, I specifically told him I didn’t want them to stick a bigger bead on the rib that tricked my eye into looking where the shotgun is shooting. I want the shotgun to shoot where my eye is looking naturally. I was prepared to sell the gun as soon as it came back if they didn’t resolve the problem on the first attempt. Benelli got it all straightened out (literally) and the gun has been a pleasure to hunt with.

This is purely your perspective, which is incorrect. First, it doesn't necessarily require a "bigger" bead--only one that is raised slightly off the rib. Second, virtually all guns require some fitting to match the shooter's body habitus which is why most mfrs include shims. It's simply unrealistic to expect an off-the-shelf gun to fit every shooter. If one puts any kind of bead on a gun and the gun shoots where you are looking, POA matches POI. Have you never used a rifle with a scope????

 

[MattB]

I won a Benelli M2 20 gauge in a raffle, thought it would be a great gun for my daughter. Turns out it kicks as hard or maybe even harder than my 12 gauge Beretta gas gun. Light + inertia = a lot of recoil

 

[WildGooseChase]

This is purely your perspective, which is incorrect. First, it doesn't necessarily require a "bigger" bead--only one that is raised slightly off the rib. Second, virtually all guns require some fitting to match the shooter's body habitus which is why most mfrs include shims. It's simply unrealistic to expect an off-the-shelf gun to fit every shooter. If one puts any kind of bead on a gun and the gun shoots where you are looking, POA matches POI. Have you never used a rifle with a scope????

What does a rifle with a scope have to do with it? Do you shoot a scoped rifle the same way you shoot a shotgun at moving target? I do not. I stated that the POI matched the POA when the shotgun was aimed. Unfortunately, that’s not how I shoot a pheasant. I simply wanted my 28 gauge SBE3 to have the same sight picture and POI as the other out of the box SBE’s I have owned. On my previous guns, the POI and where I’m looking (POA) have been spot on, out of the box. That was not the case with my SBE3 28 gauge. I did not want the issue resolved by changing the site picture with a bigger bead, raised bead, or whatever. While you may find my perspective incorrect and the desire for this gun to point and shoot like my other out of the box SBE’s unrealistic, Benelli was able accommodate the madness without any fuss. For that I am thankful.

 

[Dave C.]

Nearly all shotguns need to be fit to the shooter to shoot most accurately. Occasionally, they fit right out of the box. Sometimes, they must be shimmed. The fact that yours shot POA when aimed but not when shooting offhand tells me it's more of a fit issue than a gun issue. Ask any competitive clay shooter how much they spend on stock fitting after dropping thousands on a fancy gun. Are you gonna tell me those guns are the problem? It is impossible to manufacture a gun that shoots POA for every shooter out of the box and even more unrealisitcic to expect it do the same for every load type. Have you ever patterned a turkey gun with different loads? Try it sometime. You may be enlightened. Most different loads will hit a different POI. This is why I referred to the rifle/scope as an example. To expect your Benelli to do so is simply unrealistic. Every shotgun I purchase gets pattern tested and shimmed out of the box. Some of my Benelli's required more shimming than others and a Beretta I purchased once required the most shimming of any shotgun I've ever owned. Most guys don't take the time to pattern and stock fit and don't know how. And this includes many avid hunters. They kill birds either because they got lucky and the fit was close with the stock fit or they never patterned to see where their POI was and are killing birds in the fringe of the pattern without even knowing it. Glad your gun "fits" you now but you wasted a lot of time and aggravation sending it back to Benelli.

 

[Vedauvoo]

After hunting pheasants over a good pointer, I became a 28 ga fan. I have a no-frills Ugartechea in 28 ga, IC and mod choked, double triggers, straight English stock. I found the 28 ga to be deadly, was long as I didn't shoot birds beyond 40 yards. It seems to punch well above its weight class. I just use the 3/4 oz #6 shot.

I liked the 28 so much I bought the Benelli Ultralight in 28 ga 2 years ago. When I get my kids and grandkids together for an informal clay pigeon busting season, they all want to shoot the Benelli. They have multiple shotguns available to choose from; 12, 16, 20, and for ridiculously fun time, a 10 ga Browning Gold.

With the IC choke tube, it is quick to the target and deadly.