Brian Payne

$50.00 two wheel cart with milk crate strapped to the bottom. Two gun cases and brackets from an ATV store, and then make sure your shooting bags fit between the gun cases bolted to each side of the two wheel doll. Not pretty, but works good. Brought my wife with to the 3-gun nationals and she helped carry items (she loves to watch the shooting). She thought it would be cool to have a t-shirt with "Range B$tch" printed on it. She has a cops wife sense of humor . Hope that didn't offend anyone.

Forgot to add. Everyone that has handled this weapon said the same thing. It feels so light and well balanced. Truely a work of art.

Just got this in. I called Benny and told him that I wanted a 6" .40 S&W that I could use for 3-gun and USPSA competitions. Also told him that I was new to competition guns and asked only that he made sure to put in a long straight trigger and a green fiber optic front sight. He was given the OK to do anything else to it that he wanted and thought I might need. Received it in 12 weeks just like I was told. Have only had time to shoot about 20 rounds through it. Awesome. The recoil with factory 165 and 180 grain bullets was like shooting a 9mm. I never benched it but was easily able to shoot 4" metal plates at 40 yards free hand. I am sure it will shoot much better than I am capable of putting to good use. +100 for a great gun and a great guy to deal with. I could not be happier. Will now attempt to post a few pictures. They are of very poor quality but will hopefully give you an idea.

Steve, Good to see things up and running. Good job. Application enroute. Anxious to see how the rules pan out.

Wait until you try 3-gun. Thrice the fun! Thrice the money!

I would also like to know why the pistol grip would cause more problems. I have the pistol grip and when at a shoot over the weekend I had several malfunctions. The shell would not be all the way out of the mag. tube and the lifter was trying to take it to the chamber causing the gun to jam up. It is the Tactical version with the heavy recoil spring. When the gun jammed it was shooting 1 1/8th oz. shot over 3 1/4 dram loads. (not real light stuff). When I shot full power slugs it worked great. When I got home I changed the follower from the aftermarket metal one that came with the extended tube, back to the orange plastic factory Benelli one. Went back out to the range and shot 1oz. over 3 dram loads and they worked perfectly. Even loaded 10 into the gun and fired as fast as I could and I couldn't make it burp. Is the problem the pistol grip, the magazine spring (brand new), the heavy tactical recoil spring (standard one enroute from Benny Hill), or maybe just holding on too tight? Or could it be the inertia spring? I still haven't gotten 100 rounds through it yet either, that might help.

Same situation for me. I just wanted something fairly cheap (yet of good qualitiy) to hold me over until the new Mueller gets here. I have two Mueller scopes now and can't say enough about the company, customer service, and Rich himself. Great to deal with. I wanted a good look at that scope before putting down the cash on a number one scope. I had just read the threads about the Weaver scope also. Sounds like another option.

I am sorry. They are in my prayers.

There is a thought I hadn't come up with. I was hanging on pretty good. I did some shooting with my strong hand only and never had any problems. Then shot some with weak hand only and also never had any problems. Don't ask me why I was shooting with one hand only, just trying to make it jam I guess. I have the pistol grip stock so it makes shooting one handed very easy. Love the gun. Can't wait for spring to get here.

Brand new Benelli M2 Tactical. 18.5" barrel. Weather conditions: -8 degrees with -32 degree windchill. Shotgun is "lightly" oiled. Took it out for some test firing/break-in. 12ga. trap loads, 2 3/4 dram and 1 1/8 oz., 7 1/2 shot. Would not function 100%. A round would sometimes be left on the lifter with the bolt locked back. I thought this would be normal since the gun is brand new and it still has the tactical "heavy" recoil spring in it. Then tried some 3 1/4 dram, 1 1/8 oz., 7 1/2 shot. Worked perfect when shooting slow, but shooting very fast it would sometimes have an unfired shell in the chamber but the trigger would not drop the hammer. Like it had not been reset. I had to pull the bolt about 3/4 of the way back, let it go, then it would work. By then my fingers were frozen (not kidding, they were white and when I tapped them on the shotgun stock I could feel nothing , gotta love Minnesota) so I don't really know if I had let the trigger go all of the way forward to reset or not. This one puzzles me. #4 Buckshot functioned perfectly. I have a "regular" recoil spring on order to replace the factory Tactical "heavy" spring. I will also be having Benny Hill do his bolt lightening trick once I get a few hundred rounds through the gun. Any other ideas or helpful hints from the Benelli gurus of the forum?

CDNN and other places I have checked no longer carry the Simmon Pro Diamond scope talked about so much on this forum. What alternatives are there? Looking for inexpensive (not cheap) if possible.

I used to assist in teaching K-9's for Police work. Learned early on that it was much easier to dial down the aggression in an aggressive dog, and it was almost impossible to dial it up in a passive dog. Same sort of thing I would guess. Anyone can learn to be more accurate with practice, speed is something that is there or it isn't. It can be improved to an extent but is a little harder to obtain.

Which oversize carrier release ( I think that is what they call it ) would be the best. I have seen photo's of a type that looks to be a glued on device. How has that type held up to 3-gun competition. Brian Payne

Just picked up an M2 Tactical today. 18 1/2" multi-choke barrel. Pistolgrip stock and 7 round extended magazine tube. Rifle sights that I like better than the ghost rings. I have already modified the bolt so i can piggy-back (ghost load). I have praticed reloading a lot already and do not appear to have Benelli thumb problems. I load weak hand, don't know if that automatically cures Benelli thumb or if I have just been lucky. I have got to admit, this thing does shoot nice! What next? There appears to be a lot of material that can be hogged out of the loading area to make more room for loading. Anyone care to share pictures of the loading area of their finished weapon. I would also like ideas for a good two round carrier to go near the ejection port for brain-fart reloads. Any other ideas welcome.

Thanks for the info. guys. I think I will just keep using my 1100 until I can save the funds for what I really want. BENELLI

Has anyone converted a Browning A5 into a 3-gun shotgun? I was thinking of different ideas for a backup to my Rem. 1100 in case it were to go down at a match. I planned on driving to the different matches instead of flying, leaving me enough room for another weapon. While playing with different ideas I happened to pick up my old Browning A5 and found that it had the auto load feature, then reading Patrick Sweeneys book I see that he rates it very high for reliability. This gun is recoil operated instead of the more modern gas operated Browning Golds. Anyone know how much it would cost to cut down the barrel? Where to get a magazine extention? Any other parts I would need to look at replacing to make it work? I don't like the idea of molesting this gun since it is a family hand-me-down, but I see numerous ones for sale on gunbroker going for pretty cheap. Thanks in advance.

SR: If I had a Benelli M3, I could shoot it in semi-auto mode in the Limited (Standard) Division, and then also shoot it as a pump in the Heavy Metal (He-man) Division if I so choose? This would be legal? Is the M3 as easy to load as an M1. How is the recoil, just like the M1? or is this gas operated? Magazine extensions available to make it 8+1? I was looking for a back-up shotgun for my 1100 for Limited. If this gun fits the bill for both divisions it might be worth looking at. Thanks in advance.

I thought that you would need a second slide. I was just curious if the .45 GAP could be made to fit in the magwell/magazine of a .40 gun. Just take one top end off, and slide the other back on. Benefits - being able to compete in two different divisions with one gun. Able to practice with the exact same grip and trigger pull for both division. Cons - You actually have only one gun. ( I see this as a VERY bad thing)

I see where some people have a gun built that shoots .40 S&W for Limited, then have a second top end made in .38 Super or 9 Major for shooting Open. On that thought, is it possible to have a .40 S&W built for Limited in 3-gun then have a second top end made in .45 GAP (supposed to have dimensions of a .40 cal gun?) for use in Heavy Metal Division. I personally don't like the idea because I would much rather own two new guns, just had the thought so I figured I would throw it out there. Is the GAP even legal for Heavy Metal?

I flew to Vegas for last years 3-gun Nationals and had a great time. I didn't enjoy the flight due to the hassles with the airlines. This year I am planning to driving to the Nationals in Bend, the JP shoot at the Whitington Center, and of course just driving the 18 miles to DPMS Tri-gun challenge. My wife likes to come to these shoots so I am possibly purchasing a 24' 5th wheel travel trailer and wondering if anyone could tell me if there are campgrounds for a 5th wheel at Bend and at the Whitington Center? Thanks in advance.

All photo's appreciated, any of the 6" limited guns in attendance would be nice also.

I sit hear trying to think of words of comfort. "I'm sorry" is all I can think of. Tell your mother that you love her. Prayers are with you.

We have been married for 15 yrs. She puts up with me working nights, weekends, and Holidays due to Police work. She knows I love to shoot and came with me to two 3-gun competitions this year (I have just started shooting in competitions). She really enjoyed watching the shooting and visiting with the people. She is very observant of the whole shooting scene. Noting the different types of weapons, holsters, gear, and shooting styles. It really makes for a nice get away for the two of us. For a Christmas present she had me order myself a Benny Hill 6" fat free because she knew that I had been looking at this weapon for quite a while. Don't know what I can do to top that one. Oh by the way. She is a great cook, loves animals, and is also extremely pretty. The only thing I can say is.......Neener Neener Neeeeener. He He.

The VF's come in handy when firing full auto or burst. I like the elbows locked in and choked up feeling. Just seems easier to control when firing or when conducting a long search or entry. I also like to have it slung very tight. Doesn't work for crap in competition though.

Benny Hill, PM for you regarding an order on a 6" fat free.