Do benellis pattern high?

[njonesy_07]

This may be a stupid question but I've heard once or twice that benellis pattern high, as in a 60/40 patterns. Is this true? I was patterning my M2 the otherday and got to thinking about his...lol.

Thanks guys.

[ddwaterdog]

i purchased a sbe 2 2 years ago and the gun shot 1 foot high at 30 yards the gun smith had to bend the barrel to point of impact

[phutch30]

Mine shoots straight. When i first got my SBE I notice that the barrel looked like it angled a little high the way I put it up. I Just changed the stock shim to one with less pitch and to better fit me and Ive never had a problem

[njonesy_07]

I have been fortunate enough to not need to mess with the shims, I shoot my M2 really well and i hit birds and clays evenly well. I remembered reading something about this somewhere, about their barrels being engineered to specifically shoot 60/40. Taking into concept that most clay shooters prefer a slightly higher shot [such as 60/40] that way they can see the target as they pull the trigger...versus having to 'cover up' the target with the barrel in order to hit the intended target. I see how this is an important feature and some people may or may not like this style of 60/40, but is it true? Do benelli's fire 60/40?

[jrode237]

Mine shoots right where I point it. Pretty sure that's where the shim kit is supposed to come into play if you're having problems

[waterfowlhunter]

I shimmed all of my Benellis for a proper fit and they all shoot nice centered patterns on the board for me.

[njonesy_07]

Mine shoots right where I point it. Pretty sure that's where the shim kit is supposed to come into play if you're having problems

I haven't had any problems with fit or hitting targets at all, my M2 fits me like a glove. I was just curious about the 60/40 pattern

[phutch30]

Not sure about the 60/40. But I will say this. Every year I swap out the "C" shim I use for waterfowl hunting with the "A" shim for shooting my trap league. The "A" shim seems to works best on the clays as they are rising as they fly vs the "C" shim which is more straight down the barrel and works best (for me) on waterfowl crossing level or dropping in.

[Netstar1]

Right now I have the "C" shim installed in my M2 and I've been patterning some new steel reloads. The gun seems to be shooting a little low, so I'm going to pattern again using the "B" shim. When I first patterned my gun it had the a thicker recoil pad and I have since replaced it with a thinner recoil pad. Will a thinner recoil pad change your point of impact?

[phutch30]

It shouldnt unless its causing you to hold in a different way and changing the fit

[apexhunter]

Ribbed barrels will typically shoot "high" as the ribs are at a slight angle to the bore. How high a particular barrel shoots is dependent upon the amount of angle built into the rib and the particulars of the barrel's boring specifics and harmonics. Typically speaking trap guns shoot the highest followed by target (sporting clay) guns and lastly field guns shoot the least amount high. This is intentional so that the target (bird) can be rested "on" or just above the rib instead of blocking it out as was done with non ribbed barrels. Granted there are some barrels that just do not shoot to a proper POI and these must be replaced or professionally altered by a competent smith (or the manufacturer).

Shims and adjustable stocks are intended solely to assist one in making the gun fit them better so when shouldered the eye is looking down and parallel to the top of the rib or barrel. They do not change the actual POI of the gun as that geometry is fixed by the plane of the rib versus the bore. Mal adjusting an otherwise properly fitted gun to change the POI by can potentially be useful as it can alter the effective POI of the gun, but is a band aid of a fix as the gun is not properly fitted if one's eye is not looking "down" the barrel.

When patterning a gun it is imperative that one be looking down the barrel with a proper sight picture as that is how shotguns work...the eye is the rear sight and if it is not properly and consistently positioned the resulting POI will be off. Along those same lines, the gun must be properly fit in order to provide the shooter with a consistent placement of the eye in order to assure the gun is shooting where he/she is looking. If they are not looking parallel to the rib it is virtually impossible to have a proper sight picture and the resulting POI will be inconsistent, at best. Similar to sighting in a rifle or pistol with iron sights...if one does not use a consistent sight picture of the rear sight, front sight and target it is impossible to assure good and consistent accuracy. That said, someone can definitely mal-adjust a shotgun to obtain a certain POI when pointing and shooting it...but that improper sight picture will be very difficult to duplicate time after time as they have lost part of the visual reference of looking down and parallel to the only fixed part of that picture...the rib.

If a gun is "shooting high" one would have to increase the drop of the stock in order to lower the muzzle. By doing so they would not see the rib and possibly remove the bead from their sight picture. There the problem is that they have NO point of reference to establish a consistent sight picture. If the gun is shooting low and they reduce the drop (or add to the comb to raise the eye position) the problem is that they are now looking at the rib as a rising plane (they see the front bead and the entire rib at an incline to the plane to the target) and the amount of rise isn't something easily distinguished.

[Flyingbrass]

mine shoots way high!

[phutch30]

Especially with 3 1/2 dead coyote shells

[waterfowlhunter]

if the gun is shooting low and they reduce the drop (or add to the comb to raise the eye position) the problem is that they are now looking at the rib as a rising plane (they see the front bead and the entire rib at an incline to the plane to the target) and the amount of rise isn't something easily distinguished.

That makes sense to me for patterning the gun but in actual sporting clays or hunting conditions I never even notice the rib or the front bead. The only thing I concentrate on is the target and that is how I was taught, never look at the bead, barrel or gun just the bird and if the gun fits properly you will be on. So if you raise or lower the comb (or drop) to get the pattern where you want it you should be able still concentrate on the target and make good hits no matter what the sighting plane looks like IMO.

[goosemiller]

A larger front bead will help you lower the point of impact. To me, a "properly fitted" gun is one that shoots where I am looking. The early M1's actually had a tendency to shoot low. Often waaaaay low.

[Ducks Rx]

Had an M1 with 26 in barrel and it shot very low....tried aftermarket choke tubes changed stock shims no luck..sold the gun and went back to shooting my 1100 that is dead on

[sherlockbonez]

I like my gun to shoot a little high. I think of it as a bit of built in lead for rising / over head birds.

[Uncle Jesse]

Apexhunter nailed it! If there is any question whether it is intended to shoot high, then look at the ramped rib... high at the back and low at the front.

My sbe shoots different poi with different brands of shells. Even though most say that's impossible, I say it's true. With winchester xperts and a hi-viz front bead I'm dead on, but with kent I could shoot at a decoy at 30 yards and never put a hole in it. I'm not complaining though because xperts are pretty much the lowest cost shells out there.

[sherlockbonez]

Apexhunter nailed it! If there is any question whether it is intended to shoot high, then look at the ramped rib... high at the back and low at the front.

Ok here's a question for all of you that shoots with a raised rib. What's your sight picture when you look down the barrel. I'm talking about when you mount the gun and look down the barrel, not when you're shooting. One of my buddy and my cousin say they look down the long part of the rib ( the downward sloping section). When I mount my gun, I see the front bead sitting on top of the short ramp section (the section that's going up).

I never thought that there were more than one way to interpret the sight picture until I talked to them. I guess it's all personal preference, but interesting to me never the less.

Sorry for the highjack.

[njonesy_07]

Apexhunter nailed it! If there is any question whether it is intended to shoot high, then look at the ramped rib... high at the back and low at the front.

When I mount my gun, I see the front bead sitting on top of the short ramp section (the section that's going up).

Sorry for the highjack.

Thats what I see when I shoot. All is see is the red-glo sight sitting on top of the ramp.

[Uncle Jesse]

Ok here's a question for all of you that shoots with a raised rib. What's your sight picture when you look down the barrel. I'm talking about when you mount the gun and look down the barrel, not when you're shooting. One of my buddy and my cousin say they look down the long part of the rib ( the downward sloping section). When I mount my gun, I see the front bead sitting on top of the short ramp section (the section that's going up).

I never thought that there were more than one way to interpret the sight picture until I talked to them. I guess it's all personal preference, but interesting to me never the less.

Sorry for the highjack.

Very interesting indeed. Also I wouldn't consider it a highjack. I look down the rib, as in being able to see the tiny mid bead if it is installed because I usually take them out. If the mid bead is there then I don't stack them in a figure 8 like some say to do, because this will cause the gun to shoot even higher.

If I'm understanding this correctly, then your eye would be lower to see the sight picture that you are seeing, thus causing the gun to shoot lower or actually straighter.

[njonesy_07]

I don't know if this is relevant or not, but since its my thread....why not??? lol

I noticed that when I'm shooting trap or sporting clays, I tend to get more consistant and more solid hits w/ my target if I actually aim a bit under the flying target. Correct me if I'm wrong but my sight picture when im wingshooting is this: I see the end sight resting ontop of the rib....in other words, I don't see the rib at all. Just the sight. So when I take aim at a target, I place the bead just under the intended target and I seem to connect just fine.(hopefully that made sense??)

This could possibly be the result of a 60/40 pattern?

[sherlockbonez]

I find I do that sometimes, but I think it's because I rush the mount on some faster targets and end up mounting the top of the pad in the shoulder. When I get a good mount I end up shooting where I look. This happens more when I shoot my sxs more than my auto because of the longer LOP.

[RedLab]

My wife bought her first gun, a Benelli Nova youth 20 Gauge. It shoots about 2 feet low at 25 yards. I e-mailed Benelli about it and got no response. Can't shim the stock becase it is one piece stock and reciever. Don't think I can drill and Tap it because the reciever is plastic. I took this gun up Moose hunting to defend the camp from Ruff and Spruce grouse I would literally blow a hole in the ground a cou[ple yards infront of the grouse if I didn't remember to aim a couple feet above them. This gun is a total P.O.S. I firmly believe Benelli is all hype I think marketing goes along way. Every $2000.00 Super Black Eagle has about a $1000.00 of marketing in it. How much do you think they pay all the guys on all the T.V. shows and waterfowling DVD's to shoot these junk guns. Every time I read about these guns on forums confirms that marketing works and the average guys are eating it up. My wife now shoots an old Rustmaster 12 gauge and kills everthing.

[njonesy_07]

My wife bought her first gun, a Benelli Nova youth 20 Gauge. It shoots about 2 feet low at 25 yards. I e-mailed Benelli about it and got no response. Can't shim the stock becase it is one piece stock and reciever. Don't think I can drill and Tap it because the reciever is plastic. I took this gun up Moose hunting to defend the camp from Ruff and Spruce grouse I would literally blow a hole in the ground a cou[ple yards infront of the grouse if I didn't remember to aim a couple feet above them. This gun is a total P.O.S. I firmly believe Benelli is all hype I think marketing goes along way. Every $2000.00 Super Black Eagle has about a $1000.00 of marketing in it. How much do you think they pay all the guys on all the T.V. shows and waterfowling DVD's to shoot these junk guns. Every time I read about these guns on forums confirms that marketing works and the average guys are eating it up. My wife now shoots an old Rustmaster 12 gauge and kills everthing.

If people are using them and happy with the product I wouldn't call them junk guns...myself included. Take that nova back or send it in, there is no way you should be dealing with that. Benelli's customer service has been more than pleasant to deal with in my case. I sent them an email months back about getting a replacement retaining pin for my M2, and I had two replacement parts at my door within a week and a half