Benelli Ethos Sport 28ga Shotgun Review

 Howdy!

I've concluded my hunting trip out west and I'm more than happy to be back. In fact, I'm back right in time to share this review with you: The Benelli Ethos Sport. In complete honesty, this may be on my top ten "Most Attractive Looking Guns" list. With that said, It's certainly not on the "Best Looking Price Tags" List. So today we're here to put that price to the test, and see if this Benelli Ethos is what you've been looking for for the range, or even the field! This is the Ethos Sport and comes in 28 Gauge, So I'm interested to see how the recoil and reliability holds up.

The full in depth review is on my YouTube Channel (Target Focused Life) but if you prefer to read, here's a quick breakdown on paper.

MSRP

• This Benelli Ethos Sport is going for about $2,269
• I was able to get it at REEDS SPORTS well below that (Check it out here)

 Quick Specs

• 28 gauge (Sport in 12, or 20 as well) - Inertia operated 
• This one is the sport model - meant for skeet but Is light and versatile enough for the field as well. There are hunting designed models
• 3" chamber 
• 28"  Barrell 
• 5lbs 6.4oz - Very light 
• Length of Pull 14 3/4" Out of the Box - Butt pad cannot be easily altered
• Drop at comb 1 1/2" - Shim kits available
• Drop at Heel  2 1/4" - Shim kits available
• Drop at Comb is adjustable with shims
• Comes with 5 extended chokes 

Ergonomics/Look & Feel

• This gun feel exceptionally well in the hands
• Balance is way rear-ward which is intentional for the light skeet design
• This Ethos has limited length of pull adjustability but feels super solid right out of the box
• Pistol grip is very comfortable, solid to grab, and is angled nicely so I'm not having to reach extra far to get on the trigger
• Forearm curves in towards the barrel, but also flares up - designed to fit natural hand placement. This also looks super cool
• The carbon fiber rib is raised and replaceable! This one is great looking and functional
• Safety is rear-mounted - nothing too special here but it works great
• Charging handle is nice and big with a super smooth, but long action 
• Bolt release is very easy and sized nicely - love this
• Loading port is nicely milled out
• Progressive comfort stock for recoil reduction purposes. The barrel is also ported for this same purpose
• Mid bead and front fiber bead 

Trigger 

• 5lbs 12.7oz (Average)
• Feels pretty good!
• This trigger has a clean break!

Quality of Build

• I always look at the quality of the build relative to the price. Everything comes together as expected, very, very nicely
• Nickle plated receiver - looks awesome
• Barrel is famously "Crio Treated" which prevents the molecular degradation and oddities that may occur with standard hammer forging. This process involves freezing the barrel, and results in a smoother, longer lasting, more accurate barrel 
• Overall phenomenal - not much else to say here!

Ease of Breakdown

• As expected this inertia gun came apart simple with minimal parts - hats off to Benelli for keeping it easy
• I found that there is no real need to fully detach the trigger group - all of its components are exposed by the removal of the top of the receiver - efficient design!
• Overall very easy, efficient, and smooth due to the very high quality materials

Recoil

• Feels different - I'm not used to the 28ga!
• Recoil may be a bit more than a 20 ga - honestly it's a wash - it feels great
• It has a longer impulse, but doesn't hurt. This is due to the smaller size of the 28 ga, and the gun is designed to ensure that your next shell will cycle
• Also note that the gun is ultra light - the minor added recoil is a trade off I'd take any day for the carry weight of this Benelli
•  I genuinely really enjoy how this gun is feeling

Reliability

• Keep in mind these loads are light! (3/4oz) This Benelli handles it with ease
• No real issues! First shot was a stove pipe but the gun is also brand new
• From the hip, the Ethos surprised me! Cycled them perfectly
• Over the head, it'd consistently cycle the first two shots
• I trust that this gun was designed with much time and effort to ensure the cycling of the 28 gauge shells. So far, this Ethos runs basically flawless
• I don't have too much more to say here except you should not have any trouble whatsoever

Speed Shooting

I find this evaluation valuable because it tests how all the moving parts really come together. From getting on target, having an appropriate trigger pull, recovering from the recoil, and cycling good enough to get back on target. 

• The fastest time I could accomplish with the Benelli Ethos Sport today was a 1.34
• I'm frustrated with how much I struggled with this gun - It looks too good - I cant stay mad
• The biggest problem I had was with the trigger reset and cycle time. Like I said, the action is a bit longer, and is designed to ensure the next shell comes through. I'm not used to this added time with my 12 ga shotguns. With that said and assuming nobody is shooting that fast, the bolt cycle is super smooth and elegant so I have to give points there
• I also noticed the lighter front end giving me a bit more muzzle flip, but it generally swung and mounted super comfortably
• Doing this speed test actually gave me good insight as to where I, the operator can improve. I think that the Ethos Sport is so fine tuned and quality that it exposed my imperfections rather than the guns imperfections
• At the end of the day it was super reliable, and didn't kill me with recoil

In summary, I love all the things that this Benelli Ethos has to offer. It looks amazing, and operated like a Rolls Royce. Mainly, the awesome build quality, beautiful design and the impressive reliability caught my attention quickly. I'd definitely recommend checking out the Benelli Ethos at REEDS Sports. 

Would you like to see a head-to-head comparison with another semiauto shotgun?

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