BENNELI SBE 3

I have the SBE 2 Performance Shop Waterfowl Edition and love it! i just bought the SBE 3 in Black and although there are not a laundry list of changes the ones they did make are very beneficial, the gun swings great points great and is flawless like we have come to expect from the SBE line. Comes with a nice array of chokes and even the case got a needed update. If your looking for a new waterfowl gun this would be the one to get..

I got the SBE 3 in black last week. 26" barrel. I had read some reviews that the SBE 2 would sometimes struggle with light (cheap) loads. So I wanted to see what the 3 would handle, since I like to buy cheaper stuff for practice when it goes on sale. I put 7 boxes, different brands, 1 oz. 2 3/4 dram to 1 1/8 oz. 3 1.4 dram equiv. loads through it. Winchester, Remington, Estate, Federal. Ran them all flawlessly! Love it. And I even killed a few clays!

I came in to buy a 12 ga M2 as I already have the M2 in 20 ga and love it. I sold my 12 ga Montefeltro to a friend so the M2 was the intention to buy. The SBE 3 had just come out and they suggested I check it out. I liked the feel of it. I do not have a need for a 3-1/2 magnum but it's a great feeing gun. I took it trap shooting and it doesn't like 3 dram 1-1/8 oz loads yet. That is what the owners manual says is the minimum. I bought some 3-1/2 dram to fire during the break in time. Otherwise great shotgun

I bought the SBE3 about 2 weeks ago. Since then had it to the skeey range and put about 300 shells through it. First time i had it out I was shooting 1-1/8 loads and cycled everytjing fine. Today i had it out and grabbed some 1 ounce loads on accident, much to my surprise it cycled them great as well. All around great gun.

I purchased this gun recently at Cabela's, wonderful service from the Outfitter in the gun department. My advice is read and follow the manual. First, in order to hit what you are shooting at, the gun must fit you. Utilize the shim pack to assure a good fit. There is good information available, both the written word and on line describing a good gun fit. Simply, when you mount the gun, you should be looking directly along the rib. If you see exposed rib you will shoot high, and conversely if the rib is hidden you will shoot low. Second, take the time to strip and clean the gun thoroughly to clean the protective shipping grease, then lube according to the manual, with the provided oil in the hard case. I have no issues with cycling light 1 1/8oz loads, up to the heavy 3 1/2" thumpers. I hope this helps, and you are as pleased with your purchase as I am.

I have not had a problem with this gun, I read some reviews and if those people stayed in the loop they’d see that Benelli put some bad barrels on some of the sbe 3 and if you had one that shot high they’d replace your barrel for you. Keep the gun and get a new barrel I’ve put 1000s of shells through it and never had one problem. Hunted in -20 degrees and have shot target loads and it always cycles

I spent years debating on spending the money on a sb3 and this past fall finally pulled the trigger. The only regret I have is that I waited so long to buy one. I use this gun for everything from skeet shooting, upland bird hunting and water fowl hunting and it has not let me down yet. On the skeet range I run 1oz 8 shot and it cycles everytime. Worth every penny.

I've shot hundreds of boxes through mine over the past year. No complaints whatsoever, I shoot better with this gun that with any other

Was excited to get this gun, until I noticed i could not hit anything al the target range. While the shims help, they do not do enough to get the gun to shoot straight. Always high and to the right, even used my shotkam to try to help zero it in. I have shot M!, M@, Super VInci, and SBE 2's, and can shoot them all with out any problems, just the SBE 3. Also Beware I have noticed Cabellas taking the bad reviews down, I make this review multiple time because it is a known problem. Make sure you shoot the gun a good amount before you buy it! Or you will regret it like me.

When I saw the SBE3 in the Cabela's Fathers Day sale, I decided it was time to 'treat' myself, so I bought one with the 26" barrel (that's still quite a bit of barrel in a turkey blind). For twenty years, my Winchester SX2 has been my primary all around shotgun and definitely a great turkey gun. Right away I noticed that with no gas piston, the SBE3 has a center of gravity closer to being between my hands as I put it to my shoulder. So far I have shot one round of skeet with it and it cycled one ounce loads with no problem, shot one grouse with it, and have been sighting it in with Winchester Long Beard 3.5" shells and a Carlson's Long Beard choke. At 45 yards my turkey target gets knocked over with around 10 pellets in the kill zone, looks like a great turkey gun with this combination. I put a Nordic oversize bolt handle on it and that is handy. Bought the high comb for the stock because I may be putting a dot sight on it as well. Yes, I like this gun, glad I bought it.

I’ve shot these and they are nice buuuut if your handy Andy skills are ok buy a stoeger m3000 and tweak it with a couple after market parts such as oversized round bolt handle and release button aluminum magazine follower and a sims limb saver butt pad for 200 bucks in parts and a gun price of around 500 bucks you got a Benelli in a stoeger the inertia system is the same and Benelli owns Berretta and Stoeger they run the same inertia system slight differences in recoil spring feed placements stock vs forearm areas

I bought this in the left handed version (thank you Benelli for realizing that left handed people do matter). It’s been an incredible gun. I’ve taken it duck hunting many times and it’s never failed me. I’m not sure why there is a single bad review on this honestly. The gun is so lightweight and easy to pack in and out of the blind. If it came in more color options for lefty’s I’d buy another one.

I have been trap shooting with a Browning CRX with consistent scores in the mid to high teens. Absolutely driving me nuts! I bought the Benelli SBE3 a week ago and I cant miss a clay. Unreal,.. equipment really does matter. The toughest part was learning how to assemble and unassemble, but after 30 minutes of taking it apart and putting it back together, it's easy!

The gun shot high to the right regardless of the ammunition used...I noticed after looking at reviews a few others had the same issue...I traded the SBE III for a Browning BAR...I replaced the Benelli with a Stoger inertia action...Just as good for half the money...

Buyers Beware: The recoil pads on these shotguns are notorious for falling off. I found many forums stating that other hunters lost their entire pad and assembly on the SBE 2 and it continues to occur with the SBE 3 models as well. (Maybe something Benelli should have considered when engineering the new SBE 3 guns?) The screws that attach the recoil pad do not attach into the stock itself. They have a separate "friction fit" assembly that holds the pad in place and can completely fall out of friction is lost within the stock housing. I found out the hard way while out small game hunting with my brand new SBE 3 I bought in January 2021. The entire assembly and pad fell off and I backtracked trying to find it with no luck. When you pay $1700+ dollars for a high end shotgun you'd think the last thing to fail on it would be a simple recoil pad. Now it's two weeks from waterfowl season and Benelli agreed to send be a new one but they don't know how long it will be until I receive it. "Could be a few months" they stated.

This review is a continuation of my previous review when I said I was getting a 4th SBE3 and would report on it. I received the 4th one and pattern tested it... first at 10 yards free hand and the POI was about 3/4 inch high from POA. At 25 yards free hand the POI was about 1-2 inches higher than POA. At 40 yards free hand, the pattern was about 60/40 and at 50 yards from a table and rest, the pattern was about 60/40 again. I am not honestly able to say much about POA and POI at 40 and 50 yards other than I was trying to aim at the bullseye, but at those distances, the front sight more than covered the bullseye. I’m a novice shooter, but in my opinion, I do not believe this one shoots high either. I hope this helped some people.

I’ve heard the many stories about how this model “shoots high”, but I have always been very pleased with any Benelli shotgun I’ve ever owned or used, so I bought this one. When it arrived, I adjusted drop and cast to fit me and I replaced the front bead with a waterfowl high viz sight and it did not shoot high. I bought 2 more and did the same thing and got the same result... they did not shoot high. I just ordered a 4th one and I’ll let everyone know if that one shoots high or not, but I doubt it will. (Sorry to those that had the “shoots high” issue) The SBE3 fixes the issue of the infamous “Benelli Click” although personally, I have never experienced the click. The SBE3 is an amazing shotgun. It is sleek, streamlined, well balanced, has great ergonomics, light for a 3.5” 12ga, disassembles easily, cleans easily, loads easily, comes in a quality hard case with 5 chokes and has the best warranty in the business. The safety is easy to find and the trigger guard is large enough for when you wear gloves and the trigger is lighter than the gun. I tested it with different loads from 1 1/8 to 2 1/4 and it cycled all of them nicely. (I only shot a few 1 1/8 rounds though). There are 2 things I don’t like about the gun... the safety is rounded and smooth. (I favor the SBEII style safety) and although the fore end cap is easy to remove, the end of it gets beat up if you use a sling with metal that connects it to the stud. I wish the stud was on the bottom of the cap instead of the end. These are expensive semi autos, but if you can afford one, you should invest in one.

Hunters shotgun. Points and shoots as a shotgun should. Cycles reliable and is a dream to shoot. Birds beware. Only down side is the price. But, even at the price none are available? Perfect hunters shotgun. A lifetime investment in sporting arm.