Most shooters think of recoil as simply force applied against the shoulder when as much, if not more, discomfort is applied to the face, which just happens to be one of the most sensitive parts of the human body. Benelli engineers took care of that by installing a shock-absorbing strip along the top of the comb. It is made of the same material as the recoil pad. That same material also appears in one other area: 22 slots cut completely through the sidewalls of the stock are filled with it.

Dimpled surfaces at the forearm and wrist help isolate the hands from shock and prevent slippage during recoil.

Making the wall of the stock thin at inception and then cutting the slots into its sides allows it to flex during recoil. The 22 rubber chevrons soak up part of the push before it reaches the shooter. In other words, the entire buttstock, and not just a recoil pad out back, serves as a recoil reducer.

Special test machinery developed by Benelli engineers revealed that when the same 12-gauge loads were fired in a Super Eagle with Air-Touch ComforTech and in a Super Eagle without it, the former reduced peak recoil by as much as 40 percent. And that's not all: energy delivered to the shoulder of a shooter was reduced over the entire recoil curve, not just during its peak.

The perception of recoil is a subjective thing and can vary quite a bit among shooters. I won't attempt to describe my personal experience with the recoil-reduction capabilities of the ComforTech system in terms of percentages, ft-lbs of force, or whether or not it might allow a bruise to appear on a young maiden's shoulder. Instead, I will simply say that I strapped a half-pound bag of shot to the forearm of my 5.5-pound, wood-stocked Franchi 48-AL in order to bring its weight up to that of the six-pound M2 with ComforTech.

SPECIFICATIONS
Manufacturer:	Benelli USA
Model:	M2 Field ComforTech
Operation:	Intertia Driven
Gauge:	20
Barrel Length:	24, 26 inches
Overall Length:	47.3 inches
Weight, empty	5.7-5.8 pounds
Safety:	Two positions
Sights:	Red bar
Stock:	Synthetic
Magazine Capacity:	3 rounds
Finish:	Black, Advantage Timber HD
Price:	$1175 (black), $1305 (Advantage Timber)

I then shot both guns side-by-side during several rounds of five-stand, starting with the lightest 7/8-ounce target loads I had on hand and progressing up in power with various other loads until finally working into heavy 23/4-ounce field loads with an ounce of shot at 1300 fps. I don't mind admitting that both guns were uncomfortable to shoot with the heaviest loads, which is to be expected from any six-pound gun, whether recoil- or gas-operated. I actually consider this a moot point because heavier guns are available for use with the heaviest of loads. I find far more use in the uplands for a light-gun/light-load combination than for a heavy gun shooting heavy loads.

When I dropped back in power to the typical 7/8-ounce field load during my clay target sessions, both guns settled down and became quite tolerable to shoot, but the M2 was noticeably kinder to my shoulder. To me, shooting a field load in the M2 felt about like shooting a target load in the 48-AL.

How much difference there actually was is difficult to put into words, so I will simply leave you with this: If you are in the market for a lightweight shotgun and plan to shoot it a lot, the ComforTech system is most certainly worthy of a serious look. It is available in black or camo and on 12- and 20-gauge guns. I've shot extensively two 20-gauge guns wearing the ComforTech system, the M2 Field and the Cordoba version of the Super Black Eagle. I like both so much I'm having a big problem deciding which to send back to Accokeek.