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shotgun upgrade
thinking of buying a used super black eagle - the original, not the II
gun appears to be in great shape, haven't put my hands on it yet....hopefully heading to KTP thursday
anyone have any experience?
typical used gun issues aside, any benelli specific issues to watch for?
not sure of the year yet, but it is post-benelli usa, so it is newer than 1995; i'll get the actual 2 digit stamp to age it when i get to see it
gun appears to be in great shape, haven't put my hands on it yet....hopefully heading to KTP thursday
anyone have any experience?
typical used gun issues aside, any benelli specific issues to watch for?
not sure of the year yet, but it is post-benelli usa, so it is newer than 1995; i'll get the actual 2 digit stamp to age it when i get to see it
Fly Fishing in Maine - www.flyfishinginmaine.com
Replies
I found this.
To answer your first question about price, it's kind of hard. I think you need to know what the price of a new SBE II in your area is and kind of base it on that. Also, will you get all 5 of the standard factory choke tubes and the hard case with the gun? What I'm really getting at is that you need to gauge the "savings" in price you might get by buying a used gun instead of new.
But on the other hand, I really believe the differences between the SBE and the SBE II are significant. I'm an avid waterfowler and I have an all black SBE II. One of my avid waterfowling buddies has the original SBE in all black. We have both shot our guns side-by-side to see what the differences are. Here's our opinions:
1) The checkering on the original SBE synthetic stock is sharp and can chafe your hands after shooting it a bit if you don't wear gloves. While the SBE II synthetic stock has the "AirTouch" texture which is not at all sharp yet gives you plenty of grip even when wet. My buddy and I both highly prefer the new SBE II "AirTouch" versus the original SBE checkering (although, we both normally wear gloves when hunting and target shooting, so it really isn't that big of a deal).
2) The ComforTech stock on the SBE II has a significantly softer gel-pad butt pad versus a hard rubber butt pad on the original SBE. Both my buddy and I agree the SBE II is better. But concerning the reduced muzzle climb effect of the ComforTech stock, my buddy and I have differing views. I really notice a marked reduction in muzzle climb and faster recovery with the SBE II versus the original SBE. On the other hand, my buddy said he doesn't really notice any difference. So this is very much a personal/subjective thing.
3) The SBE II receiver comes drilled and tapped and ready for mounting optics while the original SBE does not. With the original, you'd have to get a "saddle" type mount or get the receiver drilled and tapped if you want to mount optics, say a red-dot for turkey hunting. So, do you plan to mount optics? If so, keep this in mind. I haven't wanted to mount any optics, but my buddy had wanted to try putting a red-dot on his original SBE but ended up not because he didn't want to pay a gunsmith for the drilling and tapping and he didn't really want to mess around with a "saddle" mount.
4) Concerning the bigger trigger guard on the SBE II versus the original SBE, I never had a problem with either gun wearing gloves, neither has my buddy.
5) Concerning reliability, my buddy and I have both had 100% reliability with our guns with 2.75" field loads for shooting clays and with 3.5" steel loads for waterfowling.
In summary, both my buddy and I prefer the SBE II over the original SBE mainly because of the ComforTech stock and the drilled and tapped receiver. Although my buddy really loves his original SBE and has no plans to replace his with an SBE II.
If you can get a significant price saving of buying the used SBE over a used or new SBE II (and you don't plan to mount optics), then that could make your decision easy.
Good Luck,