I wrote some time back about a 20 gauge Benelli Cordoba that was having jamming problems. I had tried everything from cleaning to different lubricants and different ammo. It still had a jamming rate of about 1 to 2% on good days. This was unacceptable to me so I sent it back to Benelli.
I got the gun back with form letter saying that the gun was repaired and cleaned. I took it out to the skeet range for three rounds of skeet. Of course the thing jammed. I was disgusted and threw the thing in the trunk of my car and left. Nothing was fixed at all, just a lot of time wasted.
Yes, I heard all the arguments about using the right lubricant, the right ammunition, and the one I love, shouldering the gun tightly! I love that one. It comes from gun writers reading each other and repeating the same thing. I have seen guys in Argentina shoot the old Benellis one handed like a pistol and no jams. This is with Argentinean ammunition, the worst I have ever used. Not properly shouldered, yeah right!
The ammunition thing gets me too. The gun was supposedly designed to use in Argentina where you shoot a 1,000 or more rounds a day without cleaning the gun. Benellis are the only autoloader most of the ranches rent out, that is the old Benellis. The ammunition, like I said, is crap, well unless you want to pay a lot more for imported ammunition. My Cordoba would jam on AA, Federal, Remington, everything. It would be a joke with Argentinean ammo. Actually it was a joke as is. A $1500 single shot.
Anyway I happen to own part of a metal shop so I took it there and had them weld up the rear most notch and mill it down even. Now it looks and works like the old Benellis. Yes, it will float a fourth shell on the carrier now but what is important it hasn't jammed once in over 400 rounds. I even tried some extremely light reloads and no problems. I am not going to say it is cured until it goes a thousand rounds without a jam or cleaning but this is the best run it has ever had.
For those that don't know this change in the gun happened, a few years back the USFW threaten to ban the importation of Benellis if the company did not change the design so it could not float a fourth round. Benelli at the time explained that this was not meant to be a cheat feature but rather an anti-jam feature. They were correct. The guns are no longer as reliable as they were. It can be easily fixed though as I did.
As far as being able to float a fourth round goes, well if someone wants to load more than 3 rounds it is damn easy to do without floating a cartridge on the carrier. Simply unscrew the forearm cap and remove the plug. It can be done in less than 20 seconds and then you can load 5 rounds without floating one on the carrier. I have no idea why USFW got so bent out of shape about the floating fourth round. If people are going to cheat, they are going to cheat. Hunters are for the most part on their honor anyway. There aren't enough game wardens to watch everyone.
If the change I made in the gun is illegal well USFW can kiss my a--. I bought the gun to use in Argentina where there are no shell limits and the USFW has no jurisdiction. Really they can go to hell for screwing up a good gun with their petty rules and fear of someone cheating. Just a bunch of bureaucrats of the same ilk that are screwing up the Gulf of Mexico with their rules of what can and cannot be done.
I got the gun back with form letter saying that the gun was repaired and cleaned. I took it out to the skeet range for three rounds of skeet. Of course the thing jammed. I was disgusted and threw the thing in the trunk of my car and left. Nothing was fixed at all, just a lot of time wasted.
Yes, I heard all the arguments about using the right lubricant, the right ammunition, and the one I love, shouldering the gun tightly! I love that one. It comes from gun writers reading each other and repeating the same thing. I have seen guys in Argentina shoot the old Benellis one handed like a pistol and no jams. This is with Argentinean ammunition, the worst I have ever used. Not properly shouldered, yeah right!
The ammunition thing gets me too. The gun was supposedly designed to use in Argentina where you shoot a 1,000 or more rounds a day without cleaning the gun. Benellis are the only autoloader most of the ranches rent out, that is the old Benellis. The ammunition, like I said, is crap, well unless you want to pay a lot more for imported ammunition. My Cordoba would jam on AA, Federal, Remington, everything. It would be a joke with Argentinean ammo. Actually it was a joke as is. A $1500 single shot.
Anyway I happen to own part of a metal shop so I took it there and had them weld up the rear most notch and mill it down even. Now it looks and works like the old Benellis. Yes, it will float a fourth shell on the carrier now but what is important it hasn't jammed once in over 400 rounds. I even tried some extremely light reloads and no problems. I am not going to say it is cured until it goes a thousand rounds without a jam or cleaning but this is the best run it has ever had.
For those that don't know this change in the gun happened, a few years back the USFW threaten to ban the importation of Benellis if the company did not change the design so it could not float a fourth round. Benelli at the time explained that this was not meant to be a cheat feature but rather an anti-jam feature. They were correct. The guns are no longer as reliable as they were. It can be easily fixed though as I did.
As far as being able to float a fourth round goes, well if someone wants to load more than 3 rounds it is damn easy to do without floating a cartridge on the carrier. Simply unscrew the forearm cap and remove the plug. It can be done in less than 20 seconds and then you can load 5 rounds without floating one on the carrier. I have no idea why USFW got so bent out of shape about the floating fourth round. If people are going to cheat, they are going to cheat. Hunters are for the most part on their honor anyway. There aren't enough game wardens to watch everyone.
If the change I made in the gun is illegal well USFW can kiss my a--. I bought the gun to use in Argentina where there are no shell limits and the USFW has no jurisdiction. Really they can go to hell for screwing up a good gun with their petty rules and fear of someone cheating. Just a bunch of bureaucrats of the same ilk that are screwing up the Gulf of Mexico with their rules of what can and cannot be done.
