koreytm

Just a little heat on the receiver and the lock tight will let go. Then you just thread it out.

A Benelli wasn't in my budget, but I was making a similar decision between the Soeger M3000 or the M3K. I went with the M3K because I thought I was getting "more for my money" and would be able to "run it right out of the box" vs some of the things you'd have to do to the standard M3000. Having an oversized bolt, oversized bolt release, and polished mag tube are nice, but the safety was super stiff and the loading port still wasn't big enough for me and you still need to spend $100-$150 on an extended mag tube and a decent safety. I ended up porting it before I even shot it. Long story short, if I were to do it again I would get the M3000. I can have it set up the way I like it for the same price as a stock M3K, and the M3K still needs work/money put into it. So you might be better off just putting the money into your M1.

That's exactly what was happening. Sometimes it would pull the shell all the way back but not kick it out, sometimes it would pull it partway back (like the video), and sometimes it wouldn't pull it out at all (it would just load a new round right behind the old one).

Thanks for the input. The bulk of the porting was done on a mill, so easy to make it look nice. That just left a little hand work with a die-grinder and sandpaper to round the edges and taper the front edge into the follower. Based on what Tom from MOA has said on previous pages of this post, I'm guessing it's the filing/smoothing of the extractor channel. I've got 50 rounds left, so I'll try filing mine down and putting the stock parts back in. If that doesn't work then I guess I'll be ordering the Benelli parts. Thanks again!

So here's the breakdown on shooting light loads: I had a half case of Federal target loads left from trap season. These are the cheap option at my club ($63.30/case) and they are "lights"...1145fps, 8 shot, 1 1/8oz, 2 3/4 dram. I honestly didn't have high hopes based on what I've read, but was still hopeful. In the end I was disappointed. I've got the +6 tube, so I ended up shooting 7 sets of 12 rounds (10+1+1 ghost). The first set was flawless, all 12 rounds as fast as I could pull the trigger. Set 2 had one FTE in the middle of the set. The spent round remained fully in the chamber as if the extractor didn't touch it, with a fresh shell loaded behind it holding it in the chamber. (So the action is open, holding the new round up against the spent one that still in the chamber/barrel.) Set 3 had one FTE exactly like set 2, as well as 2 more FTEs where the spent round was fully withdrawn, but not ejected. The fresh shell under it was pushed up against it, holding it in place. Set 4 and 5 each had one FTE where they spent round was fully withdrawn, but not ejected, new round pushing up from the lifter. At this point it seemed like it was always the 4th or 5th round, but I think that was just coincidence. Set 6 had one FTE identical to sets 4 and 5, then 3 FTEs where the round was only drawn partway back before the extractor let go (see video). This set also had one FTF where the fresh shell was loaded, but it acted like the bolt was locked back or not fully into battery. Unfortunately I didn't realize it was an FTF, I thought it was another FTE and just pulled the bolt back to eject the shell without checking to see if it was fully forward in battery. Set 7 only had one partial FTE (same as sets 4&5, like the video) Set 7.5 A buddy traded me 4 (that's all his stock Benelli can hold right now) field/clay/dove loads that are just a touch higher power. I loaded 2 of those, then my last 2 Federal lights, then 2 more of his. Those 6 rounds ran flawlessly. I should also mention that it didn't matter how fast or slow I shot, it had just as many FTEs when taking one shot at a time as I did pulling the trigger as fast as I could. So as you can see in the video, I think the "lights" have enough power to operate the action. The bolt ends up going all the way back, but the shell lets go of the extractor. In all fairness, this is the stock Stoeger extractor, and I have not taken it apart. From what I read from Tom, it seems like the Benelli extractor and spring isn't the optimal answer. As far as the groove being a little rough where the extractor goes, again I didn't take the extractor out, but it did not seem to have any roughness when moving the extractor around by hand. My gut feeling is just that these cheap Federals are have such poor quality control/wide variance in shape. I still have 50 rounds left, so the next step is to measure them with a caliper...maybe I'll get around to that in another month...

So it's been awhile since I've been on here, but I'm finally getting a chance to catch up. In the past month I stripped the gun, ported it out, grooved the trigger guard, and filed down the front edge of the little lever that keeps the shell in the magazine. It loads great now. I'm probably going to strip it down again and cut a little farther forward to open up the follower more...I still have to push my thumb inside a little farther than I'd like. As for shooting, I ran about 125 full power rounds (Super Magnum turkey loads down through standard duck/pheasant loads) a few weeks ago. Last week I put 90 light rounds through it and had many FTEs. I'm pretty sure (based on what I've read on here) that it had more to do with poor quality shell casings as it did with power. I'll post a video of that in another post.

I'm glad you posted this answer...I took my charging handle out yesterday before ever even shooting it and noticed the spring rattling after I put it back together. I would've been pretty worried had I not seen this. I got the mag extension on and the MOA safety installed yesterday, took it out today and ran about 125 random rounds that I had laying around through it. I put about 60 high power 3" magnums, 60ish mid power 2 3/4" duck/pheasant loads, and then 6 left over ultra-light 2 3/4 1145fps 1 1/8oz AA's at the end. It only gave me one hiccup and it was a FTE one of the 3" super mag 2oz turkey loads. It also had 3 FTEs for my buddy during the same 11 round "run" that he shot with it....but I shot the other 50ish of those same rounds (10 at a time) without a single issue. I didn't have enough time to run any of my Federal 1145fps light trap rounds through it, but it handled those last 6 light AA's that I had laying around flawlessly.

Cool. I just ordered the +6, follower, and figured I'd try the double headed safety since it's supposed to be a little easier to push in and out.

What were Tom's thoughts/reasons for going longer? I'm sure it's the obvious "more is better", but just curious. I called there a couple times last week and nobody answered, left a message and didn't get a call back so that's when I came on here and started asking around. And the M3K makes perfect sense for you being a lefty. Did you see in a previous post where Tom had converted somebody's gun to a left sided charging bolt?

Yeah, I really don't think being able to start with 10 is going to be a factor very often. There aren't many places within an hour from me that have regular competitions. Seems like there is one place about an hour away that might have something once a month. Of the places that I've found online that are somewhat close to me, none of them really have very good websites/online information about their competitions. I checked out both WI and MN 3gun regulations and those both specify 8+1 to start, but as far as any other non-sanctioned matches that any clubs hold there is very little info. Like I said, I'm pretty much leaning towards the +6. Plus in another one of Jesse T's videos he was doing a review of the Stoeger and it had an overly long choke in it...He said it was from his M2, which is the Benelli Crio I think, but it fit the Stoeger. So I'm thinking (if they do actually fit) a Crio extended choke might come out almost flush with the +6. An that video is pretty slick. I wish you could see the other side!

Ha, same here

I completely get the advantage of a longer tube, but at the same time there has to be a point where it's just too long to be practical. (See Jesse Tischaier's video of the +18 extension on his Benelli for 23 rounds total with the ghost load) I think a +8 on a 26" gun, or even a 24" would be about the best compromise between capacity and maneuverability, but until I get the hang of things I don't see the need to deal with the extra length and weight, so I'm thinking the +6 on the 24" gun will fit my needs. On a side note, the 24" Stoger with extended choke is the same length as my 26" Browning Gold, so it's already a longer gun compared to some of the competition. I appreciate your input, but it did sound more like a smartass comment and not a helpful one.

Oh yeah, total sarcasm. For us new guys it really is a hard decision. We don't know what we're going to like until we try it out. I joined this site because I saw so many people on here helping other people, and I wanted to pick their brains. I don't want to end up buying 2 or 3 different guns, or tubes, or barrels, etc. over the next couple years. I want to get other people's input to help me decide what I think is going to work the best for me, since I don't have any personal experience to base it on. Heck if I hadn't found this sight I'd probably be putting a +4 and a synthetic stock on my grandpa's old 1100 and end up ruining it. That was my original plan until I started looking into it.

Thanks tips.

Hutch, I appreciate all your input over the last few posts. I'm pretty much on the same page as you with the +6 vs the +5, and I get what you're saying about reloading. Sounds like if you're going to load doubles or quads you want to be counting your rounds so you know you can fit multiples of 2 or 4 when reloading. The only thing I would argue (not that I'm arguing, just playing devils advocate) is that you need a +6 to get you that 10+1 (11 total) for matches that allow. With the Stoegers (and Benellies and Franchies) you can ghost load a 9 round mag for 9+1+1 to get the same 11 rounds as a 10+1. I still think the biggest sell for me on the +6 is that I can drop 2 in at the start if I need to. After that it kind of seems like a wash between a 9 round or 10 round total since your tube may not always be empty when reloading, and if it is you may not always be able to stuff 5 doubles in there before needing to shoot again. For anybody curious about really long tubes, I just stumbled across this last night: