Benelli vs. Franchi

That's some mighty nice contact paper on a hard wood stock on those Franchi's. Too bad it isn't real wood. Cheap guns can be made anywhere and good ones can be also. Some of those Turkish guns being made today are of excellent quality and some aren't. I owned two Franchi's two years ago. They were so-so on quality and did not compare to my Benelli's in reliability. The Franchi's did not cycle 100% even with new ammo, the Benelli's always cycled. The internal systems were not the same. You do get what you pay for and I'll go back to my statement of "go to a sporting clays shoot and see what they're shooting". You won't see very many, if any, Franchi's or other "B" guns there simply because they aren't reliable enough and they just don't swing as well either. Spend a little extra up front and you'll be satisfied for many years afterwards.
 
It doesnt' matter which one you get.

Benelli owns: Franchi, Stoeger, Uberti.
Click to expand...

And Beretta owns them all.

IMO, while I know BigJim is a Benelli person, the Beretta's gas system makes them better for recoil reduction - both actual and perceived. The gun is heaver (actual), and the gas system(perceived), all both combine to make a very soft gun.

Even the new Xplor field gun with it's new stock and gas system, weighing 6.5# in 12 gauge was a joy to shoot - (friend just returned a K-80 and bought this instead)
 
I was in a gunstore yesterday ... and heard a clerk tell a customer to buy the Stoeger ( it was exactly the same internally as the Benelli ) ....

I didn't say anything ....but part of this issue is everyone is looking for some kind of confirmation of where the value is. I haven't taken a Stoeger / or a Franchi apart ... and compared the internals to the Benelli internals ...and even if they look the same ...how do any of us, as consumers, judge hardness of the metal, the quality of the stainless used ...etc.

They may in fact be exactly the same / or they may use parts that were not certified by the Benelli division ...don't know / and I don't think there is any well to tell / unless we each had the capability of putting 10,000 shells thru each gun ( same types of shells, same temperatures, etc ...) and none of us can do that either ....

So in my mind it mostly comes down to your gut instincts ...(you pay your money ...and you take your chances) ...and if you have an issue / it may or may not be covered by warranty ...and how long that would take ...is sure up for debate as well.
 
Two of my friends bought new guns in the last month. One bought a Benelli M2 and the other bought a Franchi i12. The M2 has been flawless, the i12 jammed on the first shot and has probably only operated correctly 4 or 5 times in 3 or 4 boxes of shells. It does work better with turkey loads, but based on what I've seen so far, even though the i12 is a nice gun, I'd stay away from them. After seeing the problems he's having, I did some research and it looks like the i12 is no stranger to jamming.
 
Benelli vs. Stoeger - Not even close

As some of you know I have had ongoing cycling issues with my Stoeger M2000. It has been back to the Benelli factory twice and the issue is still not resolved. You can't shoot 3 shells in a row without a jam, FTE, etc., etc.. Yes, I bought it used and personally like how the gun comes to my shoulder. It feels good in my hands and is easy to manage. But if it doesn't shoot reliably I don't want to take it squirrel hunting.

I did the 200 rounds of "hot" ammo to supposedly break it in and after shoulder surgery :D still no good. It wouldn't cycle the hot rounds reliably either. That experiment was quite a bit of money spent on ammo.

On the other hand I bought my wife a Benelli Montefeltro and it has never once failed to cycle, chamber, extract, etc. She has shot low noise/low recoil, high brass, slugs, etc. with zero failures. Is it prettier than the M2000? By all means. Should that make it a better gun? Not at all. I have an ugly Stevens single shot that always goes bang. :) Her gun has been flawless from the first shot with no required break in period.

While the inner working might be the same in the Benelli and the Stoeger I wouldn't say they are the same gun. There is a reason the price is different and that isn't only marketing.

I will however give kudos to Benelli/Stoeger for working on my gun twice even though it was purchased used. Just wish they would have fixed it. :(

Can't comment on the Franchi as I've not had one but I do have experience with the Stoeger. I agree with Big Jim, you do get what you pay for.
 
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