I grew up on double-barrel shotguns. This probably explains why I can pick up about any over-under or side-by-side and shoot it reasonably well. Not so with the semiautomatics. Subtle differences in the way autoloaders of various brands and models handle and feel, differences that might go unnoticed by most shooters, can greatly influence how well I shoot a shotgun. And it seems like I always do a better job in the field with small-gauge guns. To me, the trimness of a really good 20- or 28-gauge autoloader, compared to one of larger gauge, is what gives it the dynamic qualities required of an upland gun. After a while, it becomes a part of the shooter rather than an uncomfortable appendage.

Benelli 20-Gauge Cordoba ComforTech

One autoloader I have always been able to shoot quite well is the Benelli. Hot or cold, morning or evening, early season or late season, I can usually hold my own, and it doesn't seem to matter which particular variation I'm shooting, so long as it is in 20 gauge. I have managed to pull off some pretty fancy shots with the most expensive Legacy, but I've shot the less expensive M2 Field equally well.

How A Benelli Works
As the advertisements tell us, Benelli shotguns are Inertia Driven, which is a fancy way of saying they are recoil operated. But this particular design comes with a twist that John Browning may not have thought of. To help you better understand how some of those design differences work when the Benelli action cycles during firing, I'll break it down into four steps.

Chambering: As the bolt moves forward into battery, a steel control pin moves along a curved track in the bolt body, and this causes the locking lugs to rotate into engagement with the barrel extension. When lockup is complete, a red dot on the drop lever located just forward of the trigger comes into view. Pulling the trigger fires the shell in the chamber.

Firing: During firing, everything except the bolt body of the gun moves to the rear. And since the curved guide track in the bolt body is, in effect, moving forward relative to the rest of the gun, it presses against the control pin and that causes an even firmer engagement between the rotating bolt head and the barrel extension during peak chamber pressure. At this point in the cycle, the inertia spring is compressed between the head and body of the bolt, and in preparation for the next firing, the cartridge lever shifts up to allow a shell to move from the magazine into the bottom of the receiver.

With Benelli's Inertia Driven mechanism, as the bolt moves into battery, a steel control pin moves along a curved track in the bolt body and causes the locking lugs to rotate into engagement with the barrel extension.

During firing everything except the bolt body of the gun moves to the rear. At this point in the cycle the inertia spring is compressed between the head and the body of the bolt and the cartridge lever shifts up to allow a shell to move from the magazine into the bottom of the receiver.

When the recoil cycle nears its end, chamber pressure drops and the inertia spring forces the body of the bolt to the rear. The spent hull is extracted from the chamber and forced against the ejector.

As the fired hull is flipped from the receiver, the bolt moves all the way to the rear, cocking the hammer and compressing the recoil spring.

Recoil: As the recoil cycle nears its end, chamber pressure drops and rearward travel of the gun slows down. At this point the inertia spring forces the body of the bolt to the rear, and as its head rotates to the unlocked position, the spent hull is extracted from the chamber and forced against the ejector.

Case Ejection/Reloading: As the fired hull is flipped from the receiver, the bolt moves all the way to the rear where it cocks the hammer and compresses the recoil spring. Then as the spring begins to propel the bolt forward, the carrier lifts a fresh shell to chamber level, and it is forced into the chamber as the bolt completes its forward travel to the locked position. A pull on the trigger fires that shell and repeats the cycle as long as the magazine holds shells.