Today, we're looking at an exciting and sleek shotgun from Benelli: The 828U Steel Field. This isn't our first 828U review. A couple of years ago, we reviewed the 828U Field. The main difference is that this one has a steel receiver (as the name implies) and the base model has an aluminum receiver. Because of this, your decision between the two may be based on your intended use of the gun. To learn more, keep reading on and make sure to check out our other 828U review (click here) Let's get into it! 

If you have experience with Benelli O/U shotguns please let us know your thoughts on the TFL COMMUNITY!   

The 828u was designed to be a general hunting shotgun 

BENELLI 828U STEEL FIELD

• Specs

  • 12 Gauge O/U - Available in 12ga AND 20ga (2 3/4" and 3")
  • 26", 28", or 30" barrels.
  • Comes with 5 flush chokes (C, IC, M, IM, F) This 828u runs the Crio choke system. Looking for aftermarket chokes? Check out Carlson's Chokes Use Code "targetfocused20" for 20% off.
  • The weight of this 828u is 7lbs 12oz (with the 28" barrel) This is about a pound heavier than the aluminum version. Pro: less felt recoil. Con: Increased fatigue in the field.
  • Our average trigger pull weight was 3lbs with a slight variation between the first and second trigger.
  • Length of pull is 14 3/4" - What makes this O/U different than many, is that this 828u comes with 7 shims to adjust stock dimensions.
  • Drop at comb in 1 1/2"
  • Drop at heel is 2 1/8" 
  • MSRP is $3,699
  • The 828u has an auto-safety.

• Ergonomics

  • The entire 828u lineup and platform has a very elegant and sleek feel to it.
  • The progressive comfort recoil pad is great. This unique pad doesn't just sit flat on the stock. This recoil system actually sits within the stock a couple of inches. This allows the pads fins to flex inside the stock. We're not sure exactly how it works, but Benelli is pretty confident that their progressive comfort system reduces recoil. We will test this in Recoil & Reliability.
  • Because of the proprietary recoil system, adding an after-market pad may be difficult if not impossible. However, you can purchase alternate progressive comfort pads with varying lengths. The progressive comfort cheekpiece is also replaceable.
  • This 828u has nice-looking walnut furniture. The wood has a very unique fish-scale-like texturing throughout. This provides really nice grip texture while maintaining it's modern appeal.
  • The 828u is balanced a bit rearward. If you value smoother swing over gun weight, you may want to consider the 30" barrel.
  • The brushed nickel receiver looks amazing. The cherry on top is the receiver's gold accents and inlays. The top of the receiver has a very nice gold scroll-type artwork.
  • The trigger on this 828u is also gold.
  • You'll notice that this shotgun does not have a straight standard top lever. It's a bit over-sized and is rounded on its long edge: Kind of like a cresent moon. This ergonomic detail is in part due to the fact that the lever doesn't only open the gun. The lever motion is also mechanically responsible for resetting the triggers. Because of this, you'll find the lever requires more pressure to push when the triggers are not reset.
  • The safety and barrel selector is a bit larger than your typical O/U as well.
  • The barrels are black gloss and blued. The 828u has a small fiber on the front, and a carbon fiber rib. 
  • This shotgun has ejectors.

• Recoil and Reliability

  • As we mentioned, we have prior experience with the aluminum 828u. We can confirm that this heavier steel 828u certainly has less recoil than the aluminum one.
  • With target loads, recoil was minimal.
  • We were able to crush clays with this 828u very naturally. The added weight of the steel made a noticeable difference to our shooting experience.
  • We usually shoot target loads and hunting loads through every shotgun we review. Typically, we notice a pretty big difference between the two ammos. However, it seemed that the recoil gap wasn't as dramatic on the 828u. It seemed that the 828u managed the hunting load recoil better than the target loads relatively speaking.
  • If you can speak to the reliability of an 828u, please let us know how it's held up on the  TFL COMMUNITY!    

• Breakdown/Quality of Build

  • The question with any shotgun is "How does the build quality hold up relative to price?" This is a lot harder to tell right away with an O/U.
  • To disassemble, there is a button on the front of the forend. Just like every other O/U, once the forend is removed, the barrels can come off.
  • The 828u has a couple of unique build quality aspects. First, the trigger group is a pop out. There is a tiny hole on the bottom of the trigger group that will pop it out with the use of a pin or punch.
  • Inside the receiver, the trigger pin/hammer set up is quite unique. On most O/U shotguns, the pins are set back and build right into the receiver. On the 828u, the hammers actually float a bit. There is a plate that sits forward a bit in the receiver allowing room for the hammer component to slide back during a shot and absorb some of the recoil. This also reduces wear and tear on the receiver components.
  • There is no question whether or not Benelli makes a solid product with great design and innovative components. The question is whether or not it's worth the price. We think that the higher price of this Benelli is overall reflected in the build quality of the gun. It's very ergonomic, very fluid, and feels great in the hands. Not to mention we've loved crushing clays with it.
  • Another Benelli marketing point is that the 828U ejectors are fully integrated into the barrels.
  • We believe that the 828U build quality is reflective of the price.

• Speed Shooting The 828u

  • In every review, we typically do a speed shooting test where we hand throw 2/3 clays and record the time it takes to get on the clays, and shoot all of them. This test reveals a lot about the functionality of the gun such as mountability, target acquisition, trigger, recoil, and reliability. This may not be how you will use the gun, but with our trick-shooting background, we find this to be a fun and effective way to test every aspect of the shotgun through the lens of our experience.
  • We really enjoyed shooting this gun. The one thing that we hated during this experience was the auto-safety function. Removing this is easy if you also dislike auto-safeties.
  • Our fastest recorded time on 2 clays was one second flat. We were able to get .16-.18 splits.
  • During this test, the rear-ward balance and whippy barrel became much more prominent. As we previously stated, we'd probably opt for the 30" barrel to combat this.
  • Speed shooting was an overall success. The highlight during this segment was the gun's ergonomic and feel in the hands. It felt quite natural to shoot.

This Benelli 828U Steel Field was an awesome shotgun to get hands-on with. We liked the added weight of the steel as it provided us with a smoother swing. If you like the 828U platform but don't want the added weight of the steel, be sure to check out our aluminum 828U review. This shotgun could make a good hybrid gun for clays and hunting. We'd opt for the 30" barrel if we wanted to prioritize clays. This is a great shotgun, and I think that the 828U" Steel Field is worth your consideration!

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