tappedandtagged
28 June 2015, 02:41
Recently I stopped by one of my favorite pawn shops in search of an old Wingmaster. They didn't have one, but the owner said he had something he knew I would like. He went to the back and came out with a Benelli M1 Super 90. It was one of the older ones with express type sights imported by H&K. After talking with him for a while, I bought it. That was Wednesday.
On Saturday, I finally got the time to go to the range. I went prepared (except for the rain storm), wanting to test the reliability. But, I guess the rain did help a bit with the reliability testing. By the time the rain let up, both the gun and I were soaked. I took a large variety of shells with me. They were as follows:
For light/target loads, I took some Remington STS Target, Winchester Super Target X-tra Lite, Federal Game Shok and some Remington Nitro Handicapped.
For buck, all 00, I took Spartan Arms (way cheap), Estate, Remington Express, Winchester "military" and some Federal LE with the flite control wad. I also found a 5 round box of 3" mag Remington.
For slugs, I took mostly Remington, with a few Federal Premium. I also found around 10 old Federal paper hulled slugs that came from my wife's great grandfather.
I first shot several Federal game loads to test it out. Not an issue. I figured IF I were to have a malfunction, it would be with the light loads. I cracked open the box of x-tra lite Winchesters and shot off 8 rounds without an issue. I then tried to "soft shoulder" the shotgun, still no issue. I then fired off a tube full from the hip, no issue. I then took an aggressive stance, leaned into the gun, with all 6'3", 250 lbs of me, and still couldn't induce a malfunction. The last test was firing the shotgun from my hip again, but this time, with the stock "shouldered" on my hip. With the light recoil, the gun barely moved me, but it still cycled every round and still locked back on the last round. This is when I began squealing like a little girl with excitement.
The rest of the rounds were used up "playing." I killed nearly 12 empty coke canes re-filled with water, ate the paint off a few steel targets, destroyed several plants that weren't supposed to be growing on the berm and just had fun.
The slugs were shooting a bit to the right and low at 40 yards. A quick adjustment got them shooting right on wind age wise. They were hitting around 2-3" low at 40, but that's not enough to make me break out a file on the front sight.
I really enjoyed all of it, except the five 3" magnums. Man, those were punishing. The recoil was so fierce that my charging handle became dislodged after the 3rd shot. Thankfully it fell basically at my feet. This was the only issue I had with the gun during my range session.
Out of ~200 rounds, they all cycled fine. Light, heavy, REALLY heavy, soft shoulder, firm shoulder/hip, whatever, the gun ran. I know 200 rounds is not exactly a long term test, but it was enough to make me confident the gun would work when I needed it.
I'm on vacation this next week and plan on shooting it a good deal more. I plan on getting to Wal-Mart and picking up a few different 100-round value packs and trying those out.
And yes, I'll post pics when I can. The camera stayed in the truck yesterday with all the rain, but I believe it is moving out of the area.
On Saturday, I finally got the time to go to the range. I went prepared (except for the rain storm), wanting to test the reliability. But, I guess the rain did help a bit with the reliability testing. By the time the rain let up, both the gun and I were soaked. I took a large variety of shells with me. They were as follows:
For light/target loads, I took some Remington STS Target, Winchester Super Target X-tra Lite, Federal Game Shok and some Remington Nitro Handicapped.
For buck, all 00, I took Spartan Arms (way cheap), Estate, Remington Express, Winchester "military" and some Federal LE with the flite control wad. I also found a 5 round box of 3" mag Remington.
For slugs, I took mostly Remington, with a few Federal Premium. I also found around 10 old Federal paper hulled slugs that came from my wife's great grandfather.
I first shot several Federal game loads to test it out. Not an issue. I figured IF I were to have a malfunction, it would be with the light loads. I cracked open the box of x-tra lite Winchesters and shot off 8 rounds without an issue. I then tried to "soft shoulder" the shotgun, still no issue. I then fired off a tube full from the hip, no issue. I then took an aggressive stance, leaned into the gun, with all 6'3", 250 lbs of me, and still couldn't induce a malfunction. The last test was firing the shotgun from my hip again, but this time, with the stock "shouldered" on my hip. With the light recoil, the gun barely moved me, but it still cycled every round and still locked back on the last round. This is when I began squealing like a little girl with excitement.
The rest of the rounds were used up "playing." I killed nearly 12 empty coke canes re-filled with water, ate the paint off a few steel targets, destroyed several plants that weren't supposed to be growing on the berm and just had fun.
The slugs were shooting a bit to the right and low at 40 yards. A quick adjustment got them shooting right on wind age wise. They were hitting around 2-3" low at 40, but that's not enough to make me break out a file on the front sight.
I really enjoyed all of it, except the five 3" magnums. Man, those were punishing. The recoil was so fierce that my charging handle became dislodged after the 3rd shot. Thankfully it fell basically at my feet. This was the only issue I had with the gun during my range session.
Out of ~200 rounds, they all cycled fine. Light, heavy, REALLY heavy, soft shoulder, firm shoulder/hip, whatever, the gun ran. I know 200 rounds is not exactly a long term test, but it was enough to make me confident the gun would work when I needed it.
I'm on vacation this next week and plan on shooting it a good deal more. I plan on getting to Wal-Mart and picking up a few different 100-round value packs and trying those out.
And yes, I'll post pics when I can. The camera stayed in the truck yesterday with all the rain, but I believe it is moving out of the area.