Nershi wrote:Deet FWIW my buddy has a first gen SBE and other than a late season hunt when the gun got full of sand he has had zero jamming issues. He is the reason I bought mine but I've always had a bad case of the lemons with expensive stuff.
That's what I'm running now without issue. My benelli ownership evolution has gone something like this....
Bought a Gen 1, H&K Super 90 back in the 90's and it never once failed me. Sometime in the early 2000's I sold it to upgrade to a gen 1 (non-H&K) SBE as I thought I needed the 3.5. This gun never failed me either. Once the new SBE2/M2 came out with all the recoil reduction and crio freezing clever marketing got the best of me and I "upgraded". It was a disaster with many of the same issues you are having. Multiple trips back to the store/gunsmith.... one shipment back to benelli and nothing ever got remedied. Eventually after one season I sold it, found a gen1 H&K NIB and have shot it ever since. It is the only shotgun I've ownerd that has literally never had a hang up minus a model 12 pump also. 870's, my A5, etc... have all jammed from time to time, sometimes it's been due to crummy shells, cleaning, etc... This current H&K has seen hell and highwater and still runs like a champ.... If, and that's a big IF, it ever wears out I'll pay triple the cost of a new one for a NIB H&K if I can find another because they're that good.
I'm not an anything fanboy. Unless I'm contractually sponsored/obligated to promote something I won't commit to a "I'm a ford guy" or "I'm a benelli guy" but I do know (not just my experience but many, many of my friends also) the gen2's have had this major flaw since benelli tried to fix what wasn't broke. Some are great, others aren't.... but for $1800 that's a tough pill to swallow. Quickly trying to reminisce I think I've had appx. 15 buddies shoot M2/SBE2's over the past decade. Only 1 of those individuals I can think of still is. If you held a gun to my head and told me to pick a brand new model shotgun off the shelves today, I would have to say (based on everyone's reviews and comments) that beretta has hit a homerun with their unico extreme's and are probably producing the best semi-auto's being made right now. That's a completely unbiased opinion from someone who's learned alot of lesson's the very hard way.