Benelli's Best Lupo Rifle? The Benelli Lupo HPR Hybrid

Shooting Times has reported on different variations of Benelli’s bolt-action Lupo rifle before, but the new HPR (High Precision Rifle) is Benelli’s big news for 2024. We received one of these new hybrid hunting/target rifles chambered in .300 Winchester Magnum, and since that cartridge is one of my all-time favorites, I was thrilled to get the assignment. Oh, and to sweeten the deal just a bit more, I got to use the newest iteration of Burris’s high-tech Eliminator laser rangefinder riflescope, too. (More about it later.) Working with both new products made for a very satisfactory day at the shooting range.

The Lupo HPR

You know a rifle is built to shoot when the company offers an accuracy guarantee right up front, and Benelli does that with the Lupo HPR. In this case, it’s 3/4 inch for five shots at 100 yards. The HPR is chambered for 6.5 Creedmoor, 6.5 PRC, .308 Winchester, .300 PRC, .300 Win. Mag., and .338 Lapua, and it comes with a straight-profile, heavy-contour, fluted Crio barrel. The barrel length is 24 or 26 inches, depending on the chambering. Our .300 Win. Mag. rifle has the 26-inch barrel with a twist rate of one turn in 11 inches (1:11), and the muzzle is threaded 5/8-24 and comes with a muzzle brake installed. The brake has three big ports on each side, and the barrel’s diameter at the muzzle right before the threads (not counting the brake) is 0.86 inch. The barrel and round receiver are finished in the company’s BE.S.T. (Benelli Surface Treatment) finish, which combines physical vapor deposition with plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition for corrosion and abrasion resistance. The Lupo HPR’s receiver incorporates an aluminum-alloy chassis, and it is given an anodized finish. On top, the receiver has a 30-MOA Picatinny optic rail, and it is also drilled and tapped for Remington Model 700 scope bases (interestingly, it takes two Model 700 rear bases). The bolt has three locking lugs, and the knob is threaded, which allows shooters to customize with an aftermarket knob of their preference. I like the factory-installed knob just fine, but I appreciate the option of shooters being able to switch it if they like. Another great user-friendly feature is that the bolt disassembles easily for routine cleaning and maintenance without requiring any tools.

It’s a smooth-functioning, innovative action to be sure, but I think the heart of the Lupo HPR is the user-adjustable stock system. For instance, the buttstock’s comb height, grip style, length of pull (LOP), and cast and drop can be fitted to the individual shooter via different LOP spacers, several cast and drop shims, and eight positions for the comb. The spring-loaded comb is activated by a pushbutton located on the right side of the buttstock, and total travel is about 1.5 inches. In addition, the grip angle can be straight or angled by switching between the hunter grip and the target grip inserts. (The accompanying photographs show the hunter grip insert.) LOP ranges from 13.8 inches to 14.75 inches with the factory-installed Progressive Comfort recoil pad, but a thicker recoil pad is available as an extra-cost accessory, and it lengthens the LOP to 15.2 inches. The buttstock also has pocket-style QD attachment points on both sides (complete with polymer covers), a Magpul M-LOK attachment point underneath, and a removable bag rider. The stock’s forearm is separate from the buttstock, and it, too, has many well-thought-out features. For instance, it has a wide, flat bottom with checkered and sculpted gripping areas. It has pocket-style QD attachment points and M-LOK attachment points on both sides, and there’s an M-LOK attachment point underneath, too. Finishing out the details of the Lupo HPR, I’ll mention the detachable polymer magazine holds four rounds of .300 Win. Mag. ammo. For other chamberings, the capacity is five rounds. The rifle’s safety is a tang-mounted two-position affair, replete with a visible red dot when in the forward “Fire” position. When the safety is in the “Safe” position, the bolt is locked, but the bolt can be unlocked by pressing the small tab that is located behind the bolt handle cutout. And the rifle uses a single-stage trigger. The one on our sample is excellent. Average trigger pull for a series of five measurements is 2 pounds, 9 ounces, and it is very crisp and clean. The variance between those five measurements was a mere 2 ounces, indicating just how consistent it is.

The Eliminator 6

No doubt the rifle is very high-tech, so now let’s take a look at the high-tech scope I used for the shooting sessions. Readers probably already know that Burris was an early pioneer in the field of laser rangefinding riflescopes and has been producing the company’s Eliminator scope for almost two decades. New for 2024 is the sixth iteration, and a range of characteristics set the rangefinding, ballistic-compensating Eliminator 6 apart from earlier versions. One of the most important ones in my opinion is that the Eliminator 6 looks like a normal riflescope, as opposed to earlier versions that were very boxy looking. This new version retails for $3,000, and it is a very sophisticated optic because by just pressing a button conveniently located on the left-side turret or by using the independent remote, the scope ranges and displays the distance to the target and swiftly calculates the exact aiming point. It has Bluetooth connectivity to the BurrisConnect app, which allows the shooter to combine ranging, environmental, and ballistic data (customizable by the shooter) to achieve the perfect shot.

Benelli Lupo HPR Specs

• Type: bolt-action repeater
• Caliber: .300 Win. Mag. 
• Capacity: 4 rds. 
• Barrel: 26 in. 
• Overall Length: 48.25 in. 
• Weight: 10.4 lbs. 
• Stock: Synthetic
• Length of Pull: 13.8 to 14.75 in. 
• Finish: Anodized aluminum, BE.S.T. steel, tan with black spider-webbing stock
• Sights: None
• Trigger: 2.56 lbs. (tested)
• Safety: Two-position
• MSRP: $2,949
• Manufacturer: Benelli

The scope can provide environmental monitoring via the built-in thermometer, barometer, and inclinometer, plus it automatically measures density altitude. And the scope’s heads-up display can present up to 10 data points, including primary value, secondary value, scope level, battery status, DA mode, ambient temperature, Bluetooth connection, bullet impact energy, bullet velocity at target distance, and shot call marker. I could go on about it for a long time, but I think you get the point that, like I said earlier, it’s very sophisticated. The Eliminator 6 can range reflective targets out to 2,000 yards and deer hide out to 1,400 yards. It is adjustable for parallax (25 yards to infinity) and has a fine focus capability. It has a 34mm tube and a 52mm objective lens. The reticle is located in the rear focal plane, and its illuminated dot has nine brightness settings. It’s powered by a CR123 battery, and it weighs 30 ounces. If you’re into the most modern up-to-date optics technology, you really should check out the Burris website to find out more about everything the Eliminator 6 can do.

Shooting Results

Let me first say that I don’t like recoil, so I really appreciated how the rifle’s weight, Progressive Comfort buttpad system, and muzzle brake combined to manage the felt recoil. For readers who don’t know about the Progressive Comfort system, it uses a series of interlocking “fingers” that compress to absorb the recoil. Of course, a muzzle brake makes for louder muzzle blast, so like most things in life, there’s a trade-off to using one. Luckily, I was the only shooter using the range on the February day when I conducted the shooting evaluation, so no one was offended by the blasts. Now for the accuracy results. As you can see from the accompanying chart, three out of the five .300 Win. Mag. factory loads I test-fired came very close to meeting or beating Benelli’s accuracy guarantee. My best accuracy came with the Hornady Superformance 180-grain GMX loading, and it averaged 0.65 inch for three, five-shot groups from the sandbag benchrest. The Winchester Expedition Big Game 190-grain AccuBond LR loading averaged 0.77 inch for its three, five-shot groups. And the Federal Big Game 200-grain Edge TLR loading averaged 0.79 inch for its three, five-shot groups.

The Federal Non-Typical Whitetail 150-grain SP loading and the Federal Power-Shok Copper 180-grain HP loading turned in sub-1-inch group averages, so all five loadings were under sub-MOA. This is one of the most accurate rifles I have ever fired. I’m not a PRS competitor, in fact, my shooting skills are nothing special—I’m a mediocre shooter. But even I shot the new Lupo HPR extremely well, and in the hands of a better shooter, I’m convinced the rifle could do better. I suspect that combining the individual-fit aspects of the HPR’s stock with the high-precision performance of the Burris Eliminator 6 scope accounted for me being able to shoot this rifle so well. Benelli says the Lupo HPR “answers the call of open-country big-game and varmint hunters for a rifle that delivers the far-reaching accuracy of a competitive long-range custom rifle with the agility of a true hunting bolt action.” I say that description is right on the money. 

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