SHOT Show 2023 – Day 4: New products from Canik, Derya Arms, Taurus, Benelli, Leupold, MAK, Nextorch

Benelli: new Montefeltro, M2 Field, Super Black Egale as well as new calibers for the Lupo in the wood variant

Revised shotgun classic from Benelli: one of the most important innovations of the Montefeltro is the Easy Locking Bolt system.

The Montefeltro inertial system operated, semi-automatic shotgun is one of the flagship products in the Urbino-based Italian company’s catalogue. It had not seen a substantial update since 2004. The main change introduced on this new model is the “Easy Locking Bolt” system, which ensures maximum reliability even when firing shells with borderline light lead loads. The feeding system has also been updated, and thanks in part to the flared loading port, it makes loading the tubular magazine even more comfortable. The outer profile of the trigger guard has been contoured so as not to interfere with magazine reloading. The bolt release button with split lever makes it quick to lock the bolt and even easier to unload shells from the gun. New design also for the cocking handle and manual safety, which are now even easier to operate, ensuring maximum smoothness, speed and safety in firing operations. The ergonomic design of the guard allows the hunter to reach for the trigger instinctively and naturally. The trigger assembly has been redesigned and ensures a light and fast release with consistent characteristics over time. As for the completely redesigned gunstock, both shoulder stock and forend ensure a firm and secure grip on the shotgun and efficient handling. The Benelli Montefeltro is available with either a wood stock featuring a satin finish or a polymer stock, and in both cases the grip surfaces feature the exclusive and extremely grippy AirTouch checkering. The Montefeltro’s barrel is available in 61/65/70/76 cm lengths with flat metal rib and high-visibility fiber optic sights. The interchangeable chokes feature cryogenic technology, ensuring greater quality, durability, compact and uniform patterns, and overall excellent ballistic performance. Five chokes are delivered with each gun. The Benelli Montefeltro is proof-tested for steel shot ammunition. The new Benelli Montefeltro is available chambered in 12- and 20-gauge, and right- or left-handed versions.

Premiere at SHOT Show 2023: the all-new Benelli M2 Field is available in a variety of color options. Here in Mossy Oak Bottomland.

Benelli M2 Field

A breath of fresh air also for the Benelli M2, which like the Montefeltro had not undergone a major makeover since 2004. On a general level, on this 12-gauge Magnum semiautomatic shotgun specifically built to appeal to wetlands shooters, the same technical updates of the Montefeltro have been implemented, starting with the “Easy locking bolt” system. The inertial system guarantees maximum reliability of operation with both the lightest shells and the most powerful Magnum loads. The main modification made on the Benelli M2 concerns the handguard with a tapered profile, allowing hunters with hands of all sizes to comfortably use this gun. The Benelli M2 field is available chambered in 12 and 20 magnum gauges, with 61-, 66- and 71-centimeter barrels featuring ventilated ribs and high-visibility fiber optic iron sights. The new Benelli M2 Field is also available in a “mirrored” version for left-handed shooters. A feature that will be appreciated by those hunting in wetlands is that the corrosion-resistant recoil tube and the recoil spring and the tube in which it slides, made of stainless steel, are easily accessible by removing the ergonomic quick-release recoil pad for easy maintenance. One of the strengths of the Benelli M2 Field is the wide variety of finishes and color patterns specific to different hunting grounds, which especially in the United States can range from the frozen prairies of the Great North to the most impenetrable swamps of the South. Therefore, in the Benelli catalogue, in addition to the basic version with black polymer stock and hard-anodized receiver in the same color, the manufacturer offers versions with stock and action equipped with Gore Optifade Timber, Mossy Oak Bottomland and Realtree Max 7 camouflage patterns . All versions feature the exclusive AirTouch finish on stocks and forends, and ComforTech recoil pads that reduces felt recoil.

The Benelli Super Black Eagle is a particularly popular shotgun in the USA. Especially the variant in 12-ga Super Magnum (12/89).

Benelli Super Black Eagle 3 Performance Shop

The Benelli Super Black Eagle is an extremely popular model in the US, especially in the 12-gauge Super Magnum chambered version, which makes it a perfect hunting scattergun for geese and other game species that require shot sizes at the limit of the ballistic possibilities offered by a smoothbore gun. Prominent among the many versions in the catalog is the Super Black Eagle 3 Waterfowl Performance Shop, which, as its name suggests, is elaborated by Benelli’s “racing team” that took up the challenge of improving a hunting gun that was already at the apex of the market, perfectly functional and appreciated by American hunters as it is. Performance Shop engineers began by making an oversized bolt cocking handle and an oversized bolt release button to allow hunters to use the gun even while wearing heavy winter gloves. A conspicuous CompSight HIVIZ sight has been mounted near the muzzle for better vision in low-light conditions, while a secondary pearl sight is placed at mid-length of the ventilated rib. The forcing cone in the barrel has been lengthened and polished, and the gun include three Rob Roberts Triple Threat chokes to ensure uniform and reliable patterns even well beyond average shooting distances. All SBE3 Waterfowl Edition models are tested with a computerized shot pattern analysis machine to ensure compliance to Benelli’s stringent consistency and uniformity specs. The Benelli Super Black Eagle 3 Performance Shop is also available in 20 and 28-gauge, with Confort Tech 3 stock featuring Gore Optifade Timber finish, barrel with “Labrador” gray finish and matte black anodized receiver. Pricing in the US starts at $3,099.

New calibers for the Lupo Wood rifle

Until now, the Wood version, ie, with a walnut stock, of the Benelli Lupo hunting carbine was available on the US market only in .300 Win. Mag. and 6.5 Creedmoor, but from early 2023 it will also be available in two additional popular hunting calibers: .308 Winchester and .30-06 Springfield. Both chamberings are available with 56-centimeter (22-inch) barrels featuring cryogenic technology and BE.ST surface finish found on many Benelli long guns, including the award-winning Super Black Eagle series rifles. The BE.ST coating finish offers superior protection against rust, corrosion and abrasion and comes with a 25-year warranty.