Benelli has been known as the premier, top-of-the-line shotgun for shooters of all disciplines for quite some time. The price of their guns reflects the standard they've stood by for so many years. The Montefeltro Stands out as the more affordable option for someone looking to get into a Benelli semi-auto without paying the SBE3 price. Today we're going to put it to the test and see if it lives up to the Benelli name. 

BENELLI MONTEFELTRO SEMI-AUTO

This Benelli has as MSRP of $1,299 - I got mine for EVEN LESS than that at Reeds Sports

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QUICK SPECS

• 12 gauge (20ga available)
• Finished in walnut (Black synthetic also available - no camo options)
• 3" chamber
• 28" Barrel (26" and 24" available)
• 7.1lbs  
• Length of Pull 14 3/8" 
• Drop at Comb 1 1/2"
• Drop at Heel 2 1/4"
• Comes with 3 chokes (IC, M, F)

TRIGGER

• 5.7lbs (Average pull weight)
• I like this weight! It's right in that sweet spot I usually look for
• I'm hopeful that this feel/weight will help a lot in speed shooting

ERGONOMICS

• The first thing I noticed was that all the Benelli lines seem to sport a different shaped forend. This one is mostly straight but has a slight contour inward on the top for grip
• The checkering was definitely decent and easy to hold
• I'd call the pistol grip medium size, which I like - I usually like it pretty narrow, but for an all-around gun, it feels good 
• It mounted OK. Felt a little bit rear heavy (may result in barrel whip)
• While mounting, I also noticed that this gun is just a hair short out of the box for me (Shims kits are available!)
• The trigger guard, receiver, and loading port have a pretty typical Benelli design - the trigger guard is not oversized
• Triangular cross-bolt safety on the back 
• The bolt release is quite tiny and hard to push
• The butt pad looks like their "comfort tech" one, but the Montefeltro doesn't have the comfort tech package
• The rib is flat with the receiver - I prefer a stepped-up rib, personally but that may be due to my long neck and skinny face.

Breakdown/Quality of Build

• The breakdown of this Benelli honestly wasn't much different than any of their other guns - super simple inertia build!
• I couldn't help but say in the video that "This looks exactly like every other Benelli shotgun"
• The similarities between this gun and a lot of the other Benellis make me want to take them all out and test the differences...Let me know if that sounds interesting!
• As far as build quality, It's a Benelli... They're known for this stuff
• I also noticed this was a super clean running gun. Maintenance should be a cakewalk

RECOIL/RELIABILITY

• The first thing on recoil I noticed was that it liked to jump into my face a little bit. This may be a gun fit issue too
• These inertia guns also have more recoil than a gas gun, so consider that
• As far as reliability, I am pretty impressed. Inertia guns would normally struggle cycling from unconventional positions. This one rocked it
• This gun definitely feels decent. Reliability is an absolute win for me
• Recoil is sometimes relative to gun fit, so you may experience recoil different than me - OR you could invest in a recoil reduction pad like a Falcon Strike
• I haven't had this gun long enough to test its "Reliability" to the fullest extent, but It shot fine for this review - If you have this gun, let me know how it's holding up!

SPEED SHOOTING

• I was able to accomplish shooting three hand-thrown clays in 1.09 seconds

I am not exaggerating when I say I could not miss with this gun. I am often attempting this test using multiple boxes of Federal but with this Montefeltro, I was crushing clays the whole time! 

In summary, I think that this Benelli Montefeltro can seriously pull some weight right alongside the SBE3/Ethos lines. As I said, I could not miss! This should be a serious consideration if you don't want to spend the $1,800 plus that a lot of Benelli's are. The only downsides (for me) would be the flat rib and lack of camo options. If those aren't necessarily important to you, then check out the Benelli Montefeltro at REEDS!

Whether our targets in the field or our targets in life, we will only hit what we are focused on so live the #targetfocusedlife 

Stay Target Focused,

Steve