Hi all,
I figured I would post a review of this excellent 12 gauge I picked up a few months ago. I have currently put 500 shells through it so I am fairly certain I have a decent understanding of it now.
As the title says, I am also a newbie, so keep that in mind while you read this.
As this is a Benelli, it is an inertia action. It also comes with the so called progressive comfort system, which is basically a set of plastic springs in the buttstock to reduce recoil.
The wood stock and forend looks beautiful, and the silver engraved receiver is tasteful and not over the top. At least to me anyways. The gold plated trigger looks nice, but I don't understand the reasoning behind it being gold. The front sight is a fiber optic on that is easily switched out, and it has a mid bead, which I like very much to my untrained eye.
If you want the full details and specs you can go here - www.benelliusa.com/ethos-shotgun
So when I picked it up it came in a really nice fitted hard case. My buddy, who has infinitely more experience than me with firearms commented on how nice it was. Inside was the actual shotgun itself in 2 pieces, the manual, a shim kit, 5 chokes and wrench, and a bottle of oil.
After a full wipe down to get rid of all the excess grease, I put it all together. Pretty simple process actually. Insert the bolt assembly, fit the barrel, then tighten up the endcap. Done.
So off to the range I go to shot a few rounds of skeet. I was using Winchester Dove and Clay 1-1/8 - 7.5# 1350 fps shells.
So the first thing anyone will notice is just how light this gun feels compared to a gas action shotgun. It shoulders nicely and my eye lines up with the front and middle beads perfectly every time. However I will admit that I need more practice mounting the shotgun correctly. LOP seems quite good for me, so I don't think I need to change anything there.
So now to shooting. Loading was easy enough, so I won't go into detail there. The safety is a small button located behind the trigger, which I found to be more natural than the ones in front of the trigger that I have tried. But thats a personal preference.
The muzzle swung easily towards the target and was very easy to handle, being as the gun is fairly light at just under 7 pounds. The recoil though was fairly heavy. Not uncomfortable, but enough to make you notice. I went through the first round with no problems, and once I got accustomed to the feel of the shotgun I got slightly better with my score.
However, once I got to about halfway through the third round, the recoil was really starting to get to me, to the point where I was flinching before each shot in anticipation of the recoil, thereby making me miss most of my targets. I decided to do a fourth round, and that was just a complete waste of shells.
Now I am going to attribute some of this to my being new to shotguns, and not having the proper mounting technique yet, and this actually turned out to be partially true. As I have practiced more and learned more about proper ammo, the felt recoil has dissipated slightly. I am now running 1oz loads at 1200 fps #8 shot, and that shoots much better for me.
The 4th round though is still a bit of a killer.
So after putting 100 shells through, I take it home, strip it down and clean it. The bolt and action were crystal clean with out any dirt or fouling at all. The bore cleaned out quickly too. Just a few patches and No.9 bore cleaner is all it took. Guess thats the inertia system keeping the action clean.
Overall I am happy with this shotgun, and I imagine over time I will get better with it. That being said, the Ethos is definitely not a sporting shotgun. Its a field and waterfowl gun. Its light enough to lug around all day in the field or marsh without wearing you down. And putting 12-25 shells through it would be fine. Heavy turkey loads would probably kill you though!
On the clay range though, the recoil will probably wear you down quickly, and the fun will just go away after about 3 boxes of shells.
Pros:
Beautifully done shotgun. A real pleasure to look at
Super easy to maintain with the inertia action. No gas fouling
Lots of included accessories
Light weight, easy to haul around in the field
Cycles anything. from light 7/8 oz loads to heavy game loads
Cons:
Heavy recoil
Price. The top end 12 gauge is about $2800 CDN
If I had to do it over again , I am not entirely sure I would buy the Ethos. Its a beautiful shotgun, but for a sporting shooter like me, I am not so sure it was the correct choice. However, I will enjoy it as long as I can!
I figured I would post a review of this excellent 12 gauge I picked up a few months ago. I have currently put 500 shells through it so I am fairly certain I have a decent understanding of it now.
As the title says, I am also a newbie, so keep that in mind while you read this.
As this is a Benelli, it is an inertia action. It also comes with the so called progressive comfort system, which is basically a set of plastic springs in the buttstock to reduce recoil.
The wood stock and forend looks beautiful, and the silver engraved receiver is tasteful and not over the top. At least to me anyways. The gold plated trigger looks nice, but I don't understand the reasoning behind it being gold. The front sight is a fiber optic on that is easily switched out, and it has a mid bead, which I like very much to my untrained eye.
If you want the full details and specs you can go here - www.benelliusa.com/ethos-shotgun
So when I picked it up it came in a really nice fitted hard case. My buddy, who has infinitely more experience than me with firearms commented on how nice it was. Inside was the actual shotgun itself in 2 pieces, the manual, a shim kit, 5 chokes and wrench, and a bottle of oil.
After a full wipe down to get rid of all the excess grease, I put it all together. Pretty simple process actually. Insert the bolt assembly, fit the barrel, then tighten up the endcap. Done.
So off to the range I go to shot a few rounds of skeet. I was using Winchester Dove and Clay 1-1/8 - 7.5# 1350 fps shells.
So the first thing anyone will notice is just how light this gun feels compared to a gas action shotgun. It shoulders nicely and my eye lines up with the front and middle beads perfectly every time. However I will admit that I need more practice mounting the shotgun correctly. LOP seems quite good for me, so I don't think I need to change anything there.
So now to shooting. Loading was easy enough, so I won't go into detail there. The safety is a small button located behind the trigger, which I found to be more natural than the ones in front of the trigger that I have tried. But thats a personal preference.
The muzzle swung easily towards the target and was very easy to handle, being as the gun is fairly light at just under 7 pounds. The recoil though was fairly heavy. Not uncomfortable, but enough to make you notice. I went through the first round with no problems, and once I got accustomed to the feel of the shotgun I got slightly better with my score.
However, once I got to about halfway through the third round, the recoil was really starting to get to me, to the point where I was flinching before each shot in anticipation of the recoil, thereby making me miss most of my targets. I decided to do a fourth round, and that was just a complete waste of shells.
Now I am going to attribute some of this to my being new to shotguns, and not having the proper mounting technique yet, and this actually turned out to be partially true. As I have practiced more and learned more about proper ammo, the felt recoil has dissipated slightly. I am now running 1oz loads at 1200 fps #8 shot, and that shoots much better for me.
The 4th round though is still a bit of a killer.
So after putting 100 shells through, I take it home, strip it down and clean it. The bolt and action were crystal clean with out any dirt or fouling at all. The bore cleaned out quickly too. Just a few patches and No.9 bore cleaner is all it took. Guess thats the inertia system keeping the action clean.
Overall I am happy with this shotgun, and I imagine over time I will get better with it. That being said, the Ethos is definitely not a sporting shotgun. Its a field and waterfowl gun. Its light enough to lug around all day in the field or marsh without wearing you down. And putting 12-25 shells through it would be fine. Heavy turkey loads would probably kill you though!
On the clay range though, the recoil will probably wear you down quickly, and the fun will just go away after about 3 boxes of shells.
Pros:
Beautifully done shotgun. A real pleasure to look at
Super easy to maintain with the inertia action. No gas fouling
Lots of included accessories
Light weight, easy to haul around in the field
Cycles anything. from light 7/8 oz loads to heavy game loads
Cons:
Heavy recoil
Price. The top end 12 gauge is about $2800 CDN
If I had to do it over again , I am not entirely sure I would buy the Ethos. Its a beautiful shotgun, but for a sporting shooter like me, I am not so sure it was the correct choice. However, I will enjoy it as long as I can!
