As there isn't a whole lot of information online about this shotgun, I thought I would share my experience using this gun over the last year. All google searches lead to years-old threads on this forum, so I hope this information finds its way to google searchers who may be researching this gun.
I purchased the Benelli Bellmonte 1 Mk 2 in Max-7 camo last sprint from Ellwood Epps. I learned as much as I can from the fine folks there before "pulling the trigger". As far as anyone could tell, the barrel was still made in Italy, but the gun itself is assembled in Spain with no mention of where other parts of the gun come from. However, barrel and action are pure Benelli. The Bellmonte seems to be a gun that's exclusive to Canada and parts of Europe, but I could be wrong there. However, Bass Pro Shops appears to have been the original exclusive retail partner. How I ended up purchasing it at Ellwood Epps I can only speculate that it was not a popular seller for Bass Pro with there being asbolutely no information anywhere on this shotgun. Understandably, people would be hesitant. Something I hope to rectify with this user review.
Fit, Finish & Feel:
The Max-7 camo is a pretty standard waterfowl pattern. Nothing new on that front. On the gun, there are no rough edges, sharp corners or untrimmed plastic burs to have been found on it. The checkering on the synthetic stock is rough and grippy which is a good thing, especially when wearing gloves. The gun feels solid and weighty when shouldered and is overall balanced very well. The barrel doesn't want to dip forward and similarly, the stock doesn't want to fall backwards. Its centre of gravity is such that it enables the user to shoulder it steady and hold target for a long time without becoming tired. The only area which I think could be improved is the engraving of the "Benelli" and "Bellmonte 1 mk 2" on the receiver ejection port-side of the gun. The lettering is rough and the lines unclean. It's a cosmetic gripe to be sure, but this is, after all, a Benelli. The red fiber bead is tiny and problematic, which I'll get into in a bit. And the recoil pad is... there.
On the Shot:
I took it out to a county forest*** and cycled a box of target load through it to get a feel for it. The gun cycled reliably every single time with no jams caused by the action. Benelli's advertised reliability of the Intertia system was certainly on full display. If there was any guessing between which is better - Inertia or Gas systems - in a semi-auto, I'd put my money on Benelli's Intertia system. Any jams or issues were purely the result of my own user error in not being familiar with how semi-auto shotguns cycled, having only ever used a Mossberg 500 pump action.
However, the recoil pad leaves a lot to be desired. And I mean A LOT. It's very thin and doesn't absorb much recoil at all, putting the majority of the recoil into the shoulder. Even with target load, my shoulder wasn't happy to have this shotgun pounding away at it. A slip on recoil pad fixed that problem and since I'm a bigger guy with long arms, extending the length of pull helped make this shotgun fit me better as well. Though I haven't taken it waterfowling as of yet, I've used it for turkey both last spring and in the current season and put down 3 birds with it***. With a Turkey choke, it still patterns tightly at 45 yds and the birds died quickly. While patterning isn't an issue, the single tiny fiber optic sight bead makes sight positioning and target acquisition slower than the only other shotgun I own, which is my Mossberg 500's dual bead system. I hate to admit that I missed my first shot on a bird by inches because I hadn't put my sightline low enough during target acquisition. While mostly not mission-critical for the average user with fair eyesight, a larger diameter bead would not go wasted on this gun. However, anyone with aging eyes or poor eyesight will absolutely want to budget additional funds for a bigger sight bead or a red-dot.
Reliability:
I am not kind to my shotguns. I don't baby them. I'll drop them a few feet on the ground. They'll get muddy. They'll get dirt in them. I'll rarely clean them. I demand the highest levels of reliability from my shotguns. They need to withstand the worst hunting conditions because I'm the kind of hunter who doesn't not go out because there's a bit of rain or snow in the forecast. I also don't spend a majority of my time in a cosy blind with a buddy heater. I'm hiking through rough terrain, wading through rivers, up steep hillsides, through thick timbers. If any gun, and especially a shotgun, can't take the same beating my body gets when hunting, I don't want it.
The Benelli Bellmonte has so far met the bar for what I consider a reliable gun. Since purchasing it last spring and shooting it a handful of time and not cleaning it once, it's still cycling on every shot, still patterning tight (with a turkey choke) and still taking a beating. No misfires, no fail to ejects, no jams and no misfeeds. Would I say it's a reliable gun? Hell yes, I would. Am I done abusing it and ready to start treating it with a modicum of respect? Not even close. Am I gonna clean it after turkey season is over? Hell no. It'll continue to get put in the dirt. It'll continue to get rained and snowed on and it'll probably get dropped in shallow bodies of water (there, it'll get cleaned that way). If it fails as a result of any of my abuse, I'll be sure to update this thread.
Overall Thoughts and Conclusion:
I understand the hesitency that some people may have buying a gun they can't find any information about and falling back on the devils we know. The Bellmonte has proven to be an effective turkey killer and a reliable hunting partner thus far for me. The downsides to this shotgun are the small sight bead and recoil pad, both of which can be rectified with aftermarket parts. However, in its price brakcet, it's competing with the Winchester SX4, Weatherby 18i, Beretta A300, Franchi AFFINITY 3 and a really tempting Browning Silver Field Composite. Having handled the Winchester SX4, the Franchi AFFINITY 3 and the Browning Silver Field Composite, the Bellmonte feels more like a $1199** gun than a $1499** one. All but the Weatherby would be easier to recommend over the Bellmonte, which is most likely why more of these guns aren't in the wild. The Bellmonte is competing in a higher price bracket than it deserves to be in. I like the gun, but if I could go back in time, I would probably choose the Winchester or Browning over it. I do think Benelli is on to something here, but the premium for the Benelli name and the licensing cost for the Realtree Max-7 camo is pushing the price of the gun higher than it should be. The risk Benelli is taking with this gun would be worth the reward if they lowered the margins and targeted volume sales at that $1199** price point.
Still, if you want a somewhat affordable Benelli that's a good all around gun, this fits the bill. Just know that there are better options.
**All mentions of prices are in Canadian Dollars
***All shooting and hunting is done on public/crown land in Ontario
I purchased the Benelli Bellmonte 1 Mk 2 in Max-7 camo last sprint from Ellwood Epps. I learned as much as I can from the fine folks there before "pulling the trigger". As far as anyone could tell, the barrel was still made in Italy, but the gun itself is assembled in Spain with no mention of where other parts of the gun come from. However, barrel and action are pure Benelli. The Bellmonte seems to be a gun that's exclusive to Canada and parts of Europe, but I could be wrong there. However, Bass Pro Shops appears to have been the original exclusive retail partner. How I ended up purchasing it at Ellwood Epps I can only speculate that it was not a popular seller for Bass Pro with there being asbolutely no information anywhere on this shotgun. Understandably, people would be hesitant. Something I hope to rectify with this user review.
Fit, Finish & Feel:
The Max-7 camo is a pretty standard waterfowl pattern. Nothing new on that front. On the gun, there are no rough edges, sharp corners or untrimmed plastic burs to have been found on it. The checkering on the synthetic stock is rough and grippy which is a good thing, especially when wearing gloves. The gun feels solid and weighty when shouldered and is overall balanced very well. The barrel doesn't want to dip forward and similarly, the stock doesn't want to fall backwards. Its centre of gravity is such that it enables the user to shoulder it steady and hold target for a long time without becoming tired. The only area which I think could be improved is the engraving of the "Benelli" and "Bellmonte 1 mk 2" on the receiver ejection port-side of the gun. The lettering is rough and the lines unclean. It's a cosmetic gripe to be sure, but this is, after all, a Benelli. The red fiber bead is tiny and problematic, which I'll get into in a bit. And the recoil pad is... there.
On the Shot:
I took it out to a county forest*** and cycled a box of target load through it to get a feel for it. The gun cycled reliably every single time with no jams caused by the action. Benelli's advertised reliability of the Intertia system was certainly on full display. If there was any guessing between which is better - Inertia or Gas systems - in a semi-auto, I'd put my money on Benelli's Intertia system. Any jams or issues were purely the result of my own user error in not being familiar with how semi-auto shotguns cycled, having only ever used a Mossberg 500 pump action.
However, the recoil pad leaves a lot to be desired. And I mean A LOT. It's very thin and doesn't absorb much recoil at all, putting the majority of the recoil into the shoulder. Even with target load, my shoulder wasn't happy to have this shotgun pounding away at it. A slip on recoil pad fixed that problem and since I'm a bigger guy with long arms, extending the length of pull helped make this shotgun fit me better as well. Though I haven't taken it waterfowling as of yet, I've used it for turkey both last spring and in the current season and put down 3 birds with it***. With a Turkey choke, it still patterns tightly at 45 yds and the birds died quickly. While patterning isn't an issue, the single tiny fiber optic sight bead makes sight positioning and target acquisition slower than the only other shotgun I own, which is my Mossberg 500's dual bead system. I hate to admit that I missed my first shot on a bird by inches because I hadn't put my sightline low enough during target acquisition. While mostly not mission-critical for the average user with fair eyesight, a larger diameter bead would not go wasted on this gun. However, anyone with aging eyes or poor eyesight will absolutely want to budget additional funds for a bigger sight bead or a red-dot.
Reliability:
I am not kind to my shotguns. I don't baby them. I'll drop them a few feet on the ground. They'll get muddy. They'll get dirt in them. I'll rarely clean them. I demand the highest levels of reliability from my shotguns. They need to withstand the worst hunting conditions because I'm the kind of hunter who doesn't not go out because there's a bit of rain or snow in the forecast. I also don't spend a majority of my time in a cosy blind with a buddy heater. I'm hiking through rough terrain, wading through rivers, up steep hillsides, through thick timbers. If any gun, and especially a shotgun, can't take the same beating my body gets when hunting, I don't want it.
The Benelli Bellmonte has so far met the bar for what I consider a reliable gun. Since purchasing it last spring and shooting it a handful of time and not cleaning it once, it's still cycling on every shot, still patterning tight (with a turkey choke) and still taking a beating. No misfires, no fail to ejects, no jams and no misfeeds. Would I say it's a reliable gun? Hell yes, I would. Am I done abusing it and ready to start treating it with a modicum of respect? Not even close. Am I gonna clean it after turkey season is over? Hell no. It'll continue to get put in the dirt. It'll continue to get rained and snowed on and it'll probably get dropped in shallow bodies of water (there, it'll get cleaned that way). If it fails as a result of any of my abuse, I'll be sure to update this thread.
Overall Thoughts and Conclusion:
I understand the hesitency that some people may have buying a gun they can't find any information about and falling back on the devils we know. The Bellmonte has proven to be an effective turkey killer and a reliable hunting partner thus far for me. The downsides to this shotgun are the small sight bead and recoil pad, both of which can be rectified with aftermarket parts. However, in its price brakcet, it's competing with the Winchester SX4, Weatherby 18i, Beretta A300, Franchi AFFINITY 3 and a really tempting Browning Silver Field Composite. Having handled the Winchester SX4, the Franchi AFFINITY 3 and the Browning Silver Field Composite, the Bellmonte feels more like a $1199** gun than a $1499** one. All but the Weatherby would be easier to recommend over the Bellmonte, which is most likely why more of these guns aren't in the wild. The Bellmonte is competing in a higher price bracket than it deserves to be in. I like the gun, but if I could go back in time, I would probably choose the Winchester or Browning over it. I do think Benelli is on to something here, but the premium for the Benelli name and the licensing cost for the Realtree Max-7 camo is pushing the price of the gun higher than it should be. The risk Benelli is taking with this gun would be worth the reward if they lowered the margins and targeted volume sales at that $1199** price point.
Still, if you want a somewhat affordable Benelli that's a good all around gun, this fits the bill. Just know that there are better options.
**All mentions of prices are in Canadian Dollars
***All shooting and hunting is done on public/crown land in Ontario
