After 20 years with my trusty 1300 and two bad experiences with Mossberg, I realized that it was no longer time to cheap out, and went out and bought a new proper shotgun. The Benelli Nova was going for $549 and I grabbed it while I could. I knew when I bought it that it would be a long lasting gun that I could do anything with.
First impressions when I took it out of the box was that this is a fairly heavy gun, weighing around 8lbs with a 28' barrel. I dont mind that though, I like hefty guns. It incorporates a skeleton frame over molded with durable polymer. The stock and receiver are all one piece. This is a feature a lot of people dont like, but as Im not into the tactical scheme with all of these fancy pistol grip stocks, it dont matter at all. It do feel like a solid gun, a lot better than my former gun, the Mossberg 535. I feel like I could enter a war with this gun. It has a red fiber optic front sight with a mid bead, and a fairly highly raised ventilated rib. Mine came with 3 removable chokes, F, M, and IC. I however, prefer a really tight pattern so I put on an Undertaker HS Strut super full extended choke tube, which proves very effective. Instead of traditional checkering, Benelli have added molded in lines on the grip and forend, which look and feel good. Mine is the black synthetic model, although there are Realtree APG and Max-4 camouflage models if thats what you prefer. The Nova do not have the Benellis famous Comfortech system, but being and 8lb gun, the gun isnt that bad recoil wise. Even with 3.5 inch magnums, its manageable. Although, if you are sensitive to recoil, you have the option of the Supernova, an upgraded version of the Nova. I have put about 500 rounds through this gun, and I have had no failures to cycle or fire. It has been flawless, even when I was working it as fast as I could, it kept pumping those shells.
Overall, I think this is a great shotgun and I would recommend it to anybody looking for a tough, long lasting gun.
First impressions when I took it out of the box was that this is a fairly heavy gun, weighing around 8lbs with a 28' barrel. I dont mind that though, I like hefty guns. It incorporates a skeleton frame over molded with durable polymer. The stock and receiver are all one piece. This is a feature a lot of people dont like, but as Im not into the tactical scheme with all of these fancy pistol grip stocks, it dont matter at all. It do feel like a solid gun, a lot better than my former gun, the Mossberg 535. I feel like I could enter a war with this gun. It has a red fiber optic front sight with a mid bead, and a fairly highly raised ventilated rib. Mine came with 3 removable chokes, F, M, and IC. I however, prefer a really tight pattern so I put on an Undertaker HS Strut super full extended choke tube, which proves very effective. Instead of traditional checkering, Benelli have added molded in lines on the grip and forend, which look and feel good. Mine is the black synthetic model, although there are Realtree APG and Max-4 camouflage models if thats what you prefer. The Nova do not have the Benellis famous Comfortech system, but being and 8lb gun, the gun isnt that bad recoil wise. Even with 3.5 inch magnums, its manageable. Although, if you are sensitive to recoil, you have the option of the Supernova, an upgraded version of the Nova. I have put about 500 rounds through this gun, and I have had no failures to cycle or fire. It has been flawless, even when I was working it as fast as I could, it kept pumping those shells.
Overall, I think this is a great shotgun and I would recommend it to anybody looking for a tough, long lasting gun.