New Benelli, bad day....

S

Sphawley

New member
Here it goes...

Okay so I bought a used Benelli Nova (12 Guage) at the gun show this last weekend. Its in great shape and is like new, showing almost no signs of use! Not to mention I got a great deal!! So I was very excited.

So I took it out trap shooting today, and did horrible! I couldn't figure out why? I shot with a 28inch barrel and and a modified choke(The choke tube extended and extra inch past the barrel). I normally shoot a Winchester 1200 with a 28in bbl and a screw in choke(Choke does not extend past tip of bbl). Last week I shot a 19 at the 22yd line with my Winchester and today with my new Benelli I was shooting like 13 at the 16yd line!!!

I have been shooting trap for about 4 months so I'm relatively new to this, but a little flustered about my performance today. Was it because of the new gun? I did four rounds and one round even took out the choke and changed to a full to see if it was just the extended choke, but still bad shooting...The new gun felt great and fit really well, I just couldnt hit anything.

Is there something special about this gun? or brand? Any input would be great....

Help!
 
Did you pattern it ?

Maybe try a different brand of ammo.

Balance point maybe a little different from what your use to.

Maybe just one of those days.
 
He means to shoot your trap loads at known distances (15yds/20yds/25yds/30yds/etc) on paper to see how tightly the load patterns (groups). If it has a pattern the size of Texas at 20yds, it's probably a good idea to switch choke tubes and/or ammo. If you have an area in the middle of your pattern with no holes, then switch ammo and/or choke tubes.

Even shotguns have loads that work better than others. Buy a few different boxes of trap loads and a couple dozen poster boards and head to the range.

Your issues are most likely caused by using an unfamiliar gun. Give it a few sessions for you to get used to it and then watch your scores climb.
 
It's not just to see what the pattern is, but even more importantly, WHERE the pattern is in reference to where you're looking at - POI/POA means Point of Impact vs. Point of Aim.

When you get to pattern board, draw a small mark in the center - use that as a reference point. After shooting at it, examine where the majority of your pattern is - is it centered with the mark? (Good thing) - Is it higher, lower, to the right, to the left? If so, you will most likely need to make some stock adjustments to bring it back in line with your sight picture. (I'm assuming you have already determined your eye dominance in relation to your shooting eye).

Another thing - just because a choke has some laser-etched designation on it does NOT mean that is the constriction it is shooting. I have IC chokes that pattern more like Modified and vice-versa.

As also mentioned, this stock dimension's will be different than what you are used to shooting. Get the shims and play around with that if need be.

Good luck!
 
ammo_pattern_spread.gif

shot_patterns.jpg
 
The drop at the comb and drop at the heel - and maybe length of pull on those 2 shotguns is probably different ...

Making adjustments to those dimensions - making a gun "Fit" - so it hits where you look is what we mean by "Fit". Like others advised / you can't tell unless you shoot it at a "pattern board". You need to make sure the Point of Impact is where you are looking. Check the Point of Impact with a Full choke at 25 yards by putting a 3" dot on the board / hold steady and shoot at the dot. Do it 3 times - to make sure your mount is consistent.

My hunch is you have a combination of "mount" and Gun Fit issues ...

Shotguns do not come in one size fits all .... Be patient / it may take a few times to get the point of impact right / stock adjustments right.
 
It could be very possible that the winchester is a better trap gun than the benelli due to how it fits you and how far uphill it shoots... There is a learning curve to each gun..
 
All shotguns are not created equal.
RoscoeC provided a link to Dave McC's posting on patterning. It's surprising how many folks, who wouldn't shoot without first zeroing their rifles and/or handguns, will take their shotguns out without first patterning them to see where, and how, they hit.
 
Well I most definetly will go and pattern the new shotgun....


But how do you make stock adjustments? What do you do? or how do you go about that if you need it?
 
Benellis have shim kits that allow you to move the stock with some minor adjustments. Short of being professionally fitted and your exact measurements determined, this will be a trial and error program on your part. it will allow you add cast on or off, change the drop, etc by small increments. They may seem minor, but they will make a difference. If you still need more adjustments, (maybe you're very short/tall, extra long/short arms, extra long/short neck, etc - in short you don't fit the "average" dimensions, there are stock butt plate devices and adjustable combs that will allow you to dial in the perfect fit even more
 
If you bought a Nova, you aren't going to be adjusting anything with a shim kit. It uses an integrated stock and receiver.

If you bought a Super Nova, then yes, a shim kit is available (comes with a new gun) and you can do some adjustments to get a better fit.
 
It's been mentioned but any shotgun should first be patterned by the owner before assuming what the choke is or where the actual point of aim is in relation to the shot pattern.
Get some butcher paper larger than a 30" circle you will inscribe around the 40 yard pattern using a pen or pencil and a string measuring 15" attached near to the point of the pen or pencil.

Try 7 1/2s, 6s, 8s and see where they go in relation to your aim. You set up the butcher paper on a wire fence or something 40 yards away and have a mark in the middle to aim at.

After you circle the largest number of pellet hits you can inscribe in the 30" circle you compare the center of the pattern to your aiming point.

Calculations about percentage of shot inside the circle will tell you what the "real" choke is.

The Nova is a fine shotgun.
 
If you want to do a rough check on your shotgun's fit, Mount the (UNLOADED!) gun with your eyes closed. Open your eyes without moving your head and check whether you're looking down the rib, or slightly high, low or to either side.
I'm guessing that this test with your Winchester will show a close-to-correct fit (tweaking the stock to raise your eye a bit higher may well improve your trap scores, BTW. Trap stocks tend to have a higher comb, so a dedicated trap gun will usually put most of its pattern a little higher than point-of-aim). Try it with the Benelli and I bet you'll find it's off a bit for you.
The stock can be adjusted to shoot higher or more to the left (for a right-handed shooter) with material added to the comb and cheekpiece. There are several lace-on cheekpieces that should fit your guns. If (again for right-handed shooters) you need to move your pattern right, your only options are to shim the stock to angle it slightly right, or to remove material from the left side of the buttstock.
 
Pattern it against a still target so you can see what you're dealing with. If the pattern looks ok, you'll have to work on your trap shooting :rolleyes:
 
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