So I haven’t really been panic buying at all. My gun collection is at a “happy place” so to speak, meaning that if all I could have for the future is what I own right now, I’d feel comfortable.
That being said, I got the urge to purchase a SuperNova Tactical after handling a standard Nova Tactical with Ghost Rings. Well, I searched and searched and none to be found (not with a PG stock and Ghost Rings at least). Last night I step into my LGS and see a Benelli M4 that has been there for about a week. With all the panic buying I thought for sure all semi-auto shotguns would be gone. I handled it, and loved it, but wasn’t so sure about the $1,650 price tag as I had never looked up actual prices on the model. So, I put it down and left about 5 min before closing.
After researching the gun for most of the night, and also finding them out of stock and going for $2,200+ on GB and TOS classifieds, I decided it was a decent deal. If I was going to step into the world of autoloading shotguns, I wanted to be sure I was getting one “Most Likely to Achieve.” At worst, if I downright hated it I could get my money and then some back out of a sale. I was there first thing this morning credit card in hand and took her home.
Like every gun I buy, I have a strict policy of field stripping and cleaning/lubing before the first shot is fired and this would be no exception. I was absolutely astounded by the fit and finish on the weapon. The machining is smooth with no striations or tooling marks to speak of, the park/anodizing is consistent and even small details like the two piece hand-guards lock up nice and tight (tighter than any AR I’ve handled). I had high range expectations.
Off to the range I go. Kinda crappy weather here today so I hit up the indoor pistol range which also allows shotguns. The first handful of rounds I fire are Remington Buckhammer 3" Mag slugs. These have been sitting around for years, because all I can remember from the last time I shot them was that they HURT! Not the case here, very smooth recoil. Like a heavy thump versus a violent punch that I got when fired from my Winchester Defender. It should be noted, though, that this is not a fair comparison due to the fact that I had no other auto’s to test it against. The factory sights were dead-on, and I mean DEAD-ON out to 25yds offhand (max distance at this range). Repeatedly having groups where all rounds were touching was no problem. No malfs or hiccups to report.
Next up was buckshot. Again, I had some Remington 9-pellet 00buck kicking around. Patterning at 15yds with the stock choke were about the size of a closed fist. On FBI Q targets, the patterns made a nice circle around the Q.
I then ran a bunch of mixed ammo I had kicking around. Roughly 40 rounds of bird, buck, slugs of 2.75" and 3" variety, you name it, it ate it. Recoil from birdshot felt like that of a small caliber rifle more so than a shotgun, very light and controllable recoil impulses from all rounds fired today.
Overall, I am very happy with my purchase. I spent more on this shotgun than I could’ve ever imagined spending on any shotgun, but I believe I got one of the best defensive auto’s on the market. I look forward to putting it through its paces in the weeks to come and making some ergonomic and sighting changes. I have an Aimpoint M4 in the closet that will find it’s home atop the factory equipped pic-rail. I also plan to upgrade to the Mesa Urbino stock for the shorter LOP (all my current shotguns have gotten the 1" off hacksaw treatment to fit my stature and preferred stance) and optional cheek riser to gain a proper cheekweld when using the Aimpoint. A light/mount and sling will round out the gun quite nicely.
Anyone here with experience recommend any replacement/wearable parts to keep handy like springs etc? Also, any recommendations on slings?
