However, 76 percent of the total hits in the 30-inch circle were in the lower left quadrant and there were four, 3-inch holes in the pattern, mainly in the outer 10-inch ring. Also, we fired 2.75-inch Nobel Low Recoil Target loads with 78 ounce of No. It tipped the scales at 7.75 pounds and measured 44.75 inches in length, with our team finding no fault in its heft or handling ability. It was the worst over under I've ever shot. Ridiculously overpriced. AgainI shot a very limited number of times. It was in the shop more than on the range. They each have their strengths. Lithe, purposeful and menacing in black, the 828U Sport looks like it's spoiling for a fight straight out of the box. The First Benelli 828u video of UK Stock and we thought. Has anyone on this site purchased a Benelli 828 U? It makes the gun handle, and perform better in the long term. The ammunition, too, obviously, plays an important part, and ours was, somewhat appropriately, an Italian-made. The other issue already mentioned is long term durability due to the alloy receiver. Though I wouldnt recommend it, I would love to see how it works with the other benelli pens. I do not recall the barrel length of this 828, it is at her place. My Browning Citori White Lighting 16 ga. feels just as good in my hands and about the same weight. Think I'll just order from soortsmans and they say i can always decline it when it shows up if it's not my cup of tea. YMMV. Poor patterns, weak target hits, and uninspiring features all contributed to our low grade for this shooting tool. I have the model with the silver receiver. The 828U and it's sporting counterpart are simply ill designed for heavy sporting use. A lip at the guards front engages a groove in front of the receiver well, and a spring-loaded plunger at the housings rear locks the unit in place. There are no cocking rods. Here's the inside story of what they found and how they're rebuilding an industry giant. When the new Benelli Model 828U was introduced, devoted fans of Benelli semiautomatics rushed to get more information. At the same time, and with a lot less fanfare, over/under manufacturer Browning Arms introduced a field version of its popular Citori Model 725, which is the latest in the Citori Model 25 line that dates back to the 1970s. In other words, the gun not only didnt get in the way of my shootingwhich is, admittedly, not of particularly high orderit carried through the entire process without being in any way disruptive. Benelli 828U Black Anodized & Blued 12 Gauge 3in Over Under Shotgun - 28in - A shotgun that feels and shoots like a Benelli from the moment you pick it up to the moment you break it open. Note the texture in the solid carbon-fiber rib and the recesses for the barrel locking pins that keep the action closed. Crio -treated chokes in C, IC, M, IM, and F are also included. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. In fact, it has been my favorite pen for so long. The 828U Compact, which weighs 6.5 pounds, features an engraved nickel plated receiver and has an MSRP of $2,999. They usually have a couple under glass for sale. The chambers are then machined directly into the monobloc to ensure precise chamber alignment and finish. That's harsh Randy, but I certainly appreciate the thoughts. In the field, my first shot on a live bird brought a similar, satisfying experience. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. You must log in or register to reply here. Head to the range this week with American Rifleman staff as they discuss a trim little repeater from Savage Arms that comes chambered for the .22 WMR cartridge. Elsewhere, we thought the stock, forearm, and barrel finish on the Benelli seemed to closely resemble the features of a semiautomatic, rather than exhibiting the typical look and style of an over-and-under in its price range. Along the way, it earned the respect of a new generation of hardcore duck and goose hunters beset by the same kind of weather and environmental conditions that had caused their fathers to rely on pump guns. I have only seen one of the sporting versions in use in the area I shoot. ozs. Thanks Sera- I appreciate the opinion. Getting back to the shooting of the gunon crossing targets this light gun will force you to focus on swing maintenance. If you're only going to drag it out for upland a dozen hunts a year or less I think one could justify it. Excellent - 95%+ condition with or without box. Where it stands now. I tried the 828U a couple months ago. It worked. My friend that I go to S.D. Better triggers - when they work - mine used to go 'click' fail to strike the primer , target lost. The silver receiver model, well it was not pleasant for me to shoot, and I've owned a few Benelli s/a's with no issues. I've seen/read a LOT more dissatisfied comments and very few positive ones. I shot 50 rounds and was impressively sore. Vignaroli used the term global comfort to describe the 828Us combination of weight, balance and ergonomics. Turning the lever to open the gun cams the bolt out of engagement with the monobloc, while at the same time uses a lever tipped with a roller bearing to press rearward on the chrome-plated wedge mentioned above, cocking the strikers. It is a pen that is also very expensive. The 828 is a design that had serious potential, but is extremely lacking in configuration and execution. Consider that we started from white paper. It is a nice color, and is the perfect size to comfortably hold in one hand. One of our test-team members scrounged up a heavier load (a 1-ounce, 1,230 feet per second shell) that did eject from the bottom barrel. Outdoor Hub, LLC (d/b/a Carbon Media Group), 30800 Telegraph Rd, Suite 1921, Bingham Farms, MI 48025 USA. Your email address will not be published. When I tried an 828U for real the felt-recoil was more than I'd want on a 100 target round - even on 24grm shells . Customer experience was, and still is, the primary focus, a key to the firms longevity and success. - Benelli. The benelli 828u pen is a small, high quality, battery operated pen. In the case of the Benelli 828U, it's a matter of 'easy if you know how', and even then both removal and refitting of the breach face baffled me for some time. It consists of a cast steel fire control housing pinned to an aluminum trigger guard. Nsca # 540300. I'll get my hands on it sooner or later and give my opinion on it. For a gun with some familiar features, such as a walnut buttstock and fore-end, the 828U also has quite a few unexpected innovations. You could do most of this research yourself. Read today's "The Armed Citizen" entry for real stories of law-abiding citizens, past and present, who used their firearms to save lives. But againit's hard to build a field gun with a steel receiver under 7.0 lbs in 12 ga. in front of their join at the monobloc to a point 2" from the muzzle. My daughter can't move the safety lever and it takes me some good pushing. When innovation and inspiration collided the 828U was born - the first over/under worthy of the Benelli badge. It's the OU that folks love to hate, I guess it bucks traditional builds and some folks just aren't receptive to that. It seems like the 828U Sport is a better gun than the original/field model 828U, certainly so for clay shooting. The 828U makes some guys turn into hostile teenage girls. Experience with both, shot a 725 Skeet for 12 months and put nearly 20,000 rounds thru it. Advertisement Barrel & Receiver The 828U comes with 26, 28, or 30-inch barrels that have three-inch chambers. My buddy bought one for a retirement present for himself. Be ready for some hate. Error Code pii_email_a42277285fa7a777ff7e Solved, Personally identifiable information PII doesnt belong in your email University Information Technology The University of Utah, How to Get Rid of the pii_email_e7ab94772079efbbcb25 Error. Doubles are supposed to find their appeal in durability and simplicity. Texas. You don't want opinions on the gun, but that's the truth. I have good things to say about all of them. Benelli 828U Sport The action was not at all stiff. But I can't get him to bring it out. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. When I first got the firearm it became stuck in the cracked open position not able to come apart or even be closed. The fore-end iron attaches in such a way that the fore-end itself is nothing more than a cosmetic cover. It is no stretch to suggest that the new gun offers appealing aesthetics, innovative engineering, precise manufacturing, intuitive handling and satisfying shootability. Make one with a steel receiver, adjustable rib 30" and 32" barrels, improve the trigger a little bit, and get rid the funky comb and people would be breaking down their door to buy one. I bought an 828U Sport May 2019 - 30" tubes, travelled some distance to buy one with a decent bit of wood - some of them look like they have stocks made from reclaimed pallets. The matte-blued barrels and receiver helped reduce glare and seemed to be of high quality. This caused the Benelli to be a little harder to move into targets similar to the movement required to push a semiautomatic through targets rather than the glide-through handling of a well-balanced over and under. The surprising part, though, was how nonintrusively it had done so. The floating breech block us intriguing, as are the re-designed ejectors. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. The stock A subject close to my heart, and one I can grasp more easily than the benefits of a replaceable breech face, is gun fit. The plate features four contact points with the barrel and moves forward and backward on springs as the shotgun is opened and closed. Thanks for the replies. Im hoping that my new pen is just like that. The 828U makes some guys turn into hostile teenage girls. I agree that Gunbroker is showing prices close to MSRP. 828U. You know, the funny thing is that I've probably spent hundreds of hours reading these forums over the last few years. Been loving this game since 01. She praised the guns appearance, calling it nice and light and adding that it balanced and came to the face well. Just to clarify, I am interested in the sport model (black steel receiver with SPORT written on the side). I.e Beretta, Browning, Ceasar. The God who gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time. Rather, pressures are contained by way of a 1 1/4" wide by 2316" high by 15/16" steel breech block. Its weak, problematic ejection, vulgar aesthetics, high recoil and annoyingly violent gun movement is topped-off with a nosebleed price. 8 shot and an average muzzle velocity of 1,200 fps. Her biggest complaint involved the force required to operate the opening lever: Because she had to press on its tip to gain an advantage in leverage, she found that the barrel selector on the safety button could be inadvertently moved to select the bottom barrel. It's an overly complicated gun. Good to see an honest and thorough review too many around that arent. The list of unusual features covers all aspects of the shotgun's operation, as discussed here. A ragged pattern that might only cause a chip to fly off a clay target is acceptable on the range, but a crippling shot on a bird in the field because of ineffective pellet trauma is not. Benelli's 828U shotguns deliver mandatory . I have held one at a gun store. Have only shouldered one, never had a chance to shoot one. Silver Reserve. In addition, the Model 828U has a unique lever that re-cocks the hammers when pushed to the right, rather than relying on opening the action to reset the hammers as in standard over-and-unders. JavaScript is disabled. Matine1 - I have the same issue on an 828U. I spend a lot of time at gun clubs and I have seen only one and it had 28 inch bbls. Through a thick Italian accent, the Benelli technical director and 20-year company veteran enthusiastically explained the ins and outs of the 828Us development, but it wasnt long into that conversation that I realized the 828U would require little translation to resonate with certain American shooters. The trade-off in the field is that most shooters will take a lighter gun that carries better, because just one extra pound adds up over several miles of kicking pheasants up. We did find that the balance point of the shotgun was slightly behind the lightweight, aluminum receiver, rather than the preferred point right between the hands as with the Browning. And that it does so confidently and beautifully is difficult to deny. And if Benellis track record is any indication, there are likely to be extensions to the new over-under linea scaled 20 gauge would be a neat trick indeedin the years ahead. The stocks exhibit figure and also have fish scale checkering in panels on the fore-end and pistol grip. That pattern was 13-87 percent, with 153 hits (28 percent) in the 20-inch center circle. The "U.S. Rifle, Caliber .30, Model of 1903," better-known as the M1903 Springfield, has become one of the most popular U.S. military small arms to collect. (12-gauge); 26, 28 in. Realize, too, that this was legitimate wild-bird hunting among wide-open crop fields and across rolling terrain that was as natural as pheasant habitat gets. A replaceable, solid carbon-fiber vented sighting rib measuring 0.280" wide is topped with an 0.078" red fiber-optic pipe set about 1" back from the muzzle. A colleague of mine had one of the sporting versions. That makes bringing it to the target nearly effortless. The Benelli 828U is a major disappointment and an outright embarrassment. I have a Beretta 686 for example. I shoot quite a bit, so I know that this should tell me something! I took "that" gun back to Scheels and showed them the issue and they like me knowing the issues I have had with the two different guns couldn't believe it either. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. It may not display this or other websites correctly. Recently, in a move unexpected by nearly everyone. " When a firearm manufacturer with a reputation of producing high-quality, durable semiautomatics ventures into the under/over market, a lot of shooters will take notice. Here are our findings: This is another in a long line of solid, fine-handling over and unders. Shooters of all ages seem to be fascinated with new toys from names they know particularly if the latest and greatest will help break a few more clays or help fill up the game bag a little quicker. I have been wanting to buy some benelli pens for a while now, so Im glad I bought it at a discounted price. We made allowances in our testing for the slightly better handling characteristics that are generally attributed to longer barrels and a heavier gun, ensuring these factors did not influence our evaluation. Estimated New and Used Values for a Benelli 828U Values are based on a basic model with no options or colors. I have no idea what I could be doing to cause this issue. When I first got the firearm it became stuck in the "cracked open" position not able to come apart or even be closed. It is designed to provide a stronger, tighter seal, but to our eyes, it looks like something that could be found in a semiautomatic shotgun. At this point, its worth noting that the 828U was designed for easy access to its breech. I have to admit I pondered getting a Benelli 828U as a 'wet weather gun' rather than taking the 'P' gun out on foul days - it's not like it comes to any harm but it's a beautiful tool that deserves better (maybe an owner that could match it's capabilities would help too ).). I have used it for hours at a time, and it is very comfortable to write with. Maybe it's not beautiful in every way, but the ability to adjust this firearm makes it a fine choice for . The Benelli does beat the weight issue, at some cost IMHO. The internal recoil system did nothing for me, although I have had 4 shoulder surgeries. But their final question was telling: What is the proper balance between tradition and innovation? The groups consensus advice, he said, was that Benelli must stay true to character. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. Once my eye adjusted to the height of its rib and the glow of its fiber-optic bead, I began to routinely connect with clays that were 30 or more yards out and receding rapidly from sightthats with a gun straight off the rack that had not yet been fit to my particular physique. The nearly seamless union is not adorned on its exterior as in many traditional guns. The new Benelli also features its Progressive Comfort recoil reduction system, a removable trigger group, Crio free-floating barrels, a carbon-fiber rib and red fiber-optic sight. The problem is, it is a very large pen that you have to get up really high to hold the nib in place while typing. With that being said, every gun I have bought I have shot beforehand, so it would be uncharacteristic for me to buy one without trying it, though it is clear there aren't many of these around. At first glance, there are only minor differences in the appearance between this field model and its sporting-clays cousin introduced about five years ago. Phillips-head screws hold the pad in place, which, once removed, allows access to the Progressive Comfort module. Thought enough about itnot to ever think about it again. Copyright 2023 National Rifle Association. The length of pull was 14.75 inches. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. I believe his 828 has 30's and that might have been by choice as he is a smaller guy. Further isolating the fore-end and barrels from the receiver are what Benelli refers to as impulse activated ejectors. Of course, if a barrel does not fire, the plate remains in its extractor-only position, and separate rods gently press back the extractors, allowing manual removal of that unfired shell. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. The pen is a nice color, and the metal nib has a nice texture to it. Benelli has very little experience with over/unders. The Benelli 828U Cannot for the life of me find one on the shelf to shoulder. Maybe one of those that you either love it or hate it. It utilizes Benelli's innovative Progressive Comfort Stock. Beretta A400 Xcel "Black" Cole Special - Beretta A400 Xcel 20 Gauge - Beretta A400 28 Gauge -. Barrel lengths offered are 26-, 28-, and 30-inch. Not a single hiccup. Realize, too, that this was legitimate wild-bird hunting among wide-open crop fields and across rolling terrain that was as natural as pheasant habitat gets. If you take a look at some of the videos that I have been sharing on YouTube, you will see that people are not always sure what they are doing. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. Buy, Sell, and Trade your Firearms and Gear. Only broken it down 2-3 times. They include (l.): a shim kit that offers 40 different combinations of cast and drop adjustment; the Progressive Comfort recoil-mitigation module that resides within the buttstock; and interchangeable cheekpieces that can be swapped out to provide proper stock-to-face fit. Ive been using this pen for several months now (since November or so). (20-gauge) One can speculate that the only 20 shotguns Benelli ever made that shoot to point of aim at 40 yards were sent to me, but the chances of that are slim to none, and Slim just left town. The Benelli 828U differs from its' break-open brethren in several ways. Was a surprise to see him with it as he typically shoots a Perazzi. Should not take a lot of force to snap closed. Hello I purchased a 828U several months ago in 12 gauge, and have had nothing but problems. As for the dimensions of the new introduction into the over-and-under market, the drop of the adjustable comb was set at 1.5 inches and drop at the heel was set at 2.25 inches when we assembled the shotgun for testing. 828U Sport, always black, steel action so heavier, better recoil characteristics. I just really like it. I dont have one, but have fondled one a few times at the local shop. I think the Sporting version does have an all steel receiver. So we had to pay particular attention to the right angle and the right ergonomics of this lever through its geometry, Vignaroli said. It handled very well on the clay-target course, excelled on the patterning board, and helps a shooter look sharp to his compatriots while serving as a solid shooting tool. That is always the answer before buying a new gun. I'm not sure why I need to get short and rude responses. The 828U Steel comes chambered for 2 3/4- and 3-inch shotshells in both 12- and 20-gauge. It has a nice weight and balance, and has a battery that lasts up to 3 hours. The Benelli 828U is a major disappointment and an outright embarrassment. This pen is currently only available for $39.95 at benelli.com, and it is available in 16 different colors. Written and photographed by Ralph Winingham, using evaluations from Gun Tests team testers. The internal recoil system did nothing for me, although I have had 4 shoulder surgeries. Over Under shotguns are considered to be out of style nowadays. I bought one about 3 years ago. 4 nickel-plated lead shot at 1485 f.p.s.not a particularly mild load for a 12 gauge weighing only 6 lbs., 9 ozs. They introduced a 20 gauge version this year. The company made its humble start in 1963in Gussago, Italywhen Giuseppe Pietta made a commitment to produce guns as authentic and true-to-original as possible. An added benefit of the levers graceful design is that the shooting-hand thumb can rest naturally alongside it atop the receiver. The block also contains spring-retracted firing pins that are impacted by strikers during firing. I had the opportunity to shoot a guys Benelli 828 12 ga. at some clays yesterday. A forum community dedicated to Shotgun owners and enthusiasts including the Remington, Beretta, and Mossberg shotguns brands. I even tried to tell her I wanted to buy her a new shotgun didnt fly when she saw the price tag. May just be magic beans but reading and listening to the reps the action design is very interesting and the first major divergence from the John Browning friction design. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. I forced it open and sent it in to Benelli who fixed it and sent it back to me. But if you look at the under side of the safety lever with the trigger group out and work it back and forth you can see studs on both sides that ride under spring arms. My understanding is that there is a major difference in handling and recoil between the 828U and the 828U sport. American Rifleman Assistant Editor Christopher Olsen, a dedicated hunter and clays shooter, described it as fast-handling and its balance as perfect. His sentiments were reinforced by his sister, Samantha, another NRA employee and a collegiate-level trap shooter. A U-shaped spring steel wire clip attached to the cocking plate automatically activates the safety when the gun is broken open, but can be removed by the user to deactivate that feature. Everyone that I know that has bought one of these got over them fairly quickly. A tool (below, r.) is included to detach the module from the gun. I did get an exceptional deal on it. Unfortunately, this is a gross misconception that needs to be rectified. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The most notable difference is that the 828 features a floating steel breech block within its' aluminum receiver. In fact, Benelli became so well-known for its semi-automatic shotguns that it found itself a bit typecast. I've own 'B' guns, SKB's, and Rizzini O/U's. This field shotgun provided a solid, well-balanced platform for handling clays and birds, as expected. One of the problems with using it is that I cant write without it, and it is really tough to write without it.