Benelli MR1

Green Skull

Regular
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Been looking hard at this one as my next edition to the collection. I think I like the telescopic stock. Looking for some pros and cons from some owners or people familiar with this rifle.
 
Pros:

Non-restricted
build quality is excellent
very reliable, shoots everything without a hitch including Winchest white box HPs that won't feed into my CQ-A
piston system stays really clean
thin barrel holds up well to sustained fire without the groups opening up (not sure how it does it)
accepts 10 round LAR mags - mine run flawlessly
telescopic stock allows you to adjust for LOP, different clothing or armour/no armour
excellent peep sights included

Cons

ergos suck with the action release in front of the trigger and the mag release on the side of the mag housing - not a "go fast" rifle
reciprocating bolt handle (I like them aka SKS but many don't)
top rail is short so mounting optics is tricky
no other rails though they sell an accessory rail set which seems to be made of unobtanium

I put a Redfield 2x7 with an Accu range reticle on it in Leupold see-through rings (so that I can still use the irons).

I have since added a Blackhawk cheek rest and a Vickers 2 point sling.

I shoot it way more than my CQ-A and since it is non-restricted it goes with me whenever I head into the bush.

Overall for me it was well worth the $.

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Thanks for the reply, I think I am going to pick one up. I was planning on running a Reflex sight so hopefully I won't have to much issue with top rail. And I was wondering about the 10 round mags that makes me want it more, it looks like we have the same taste in rifles. I just picked up that 10/22 you have there, and I have that air rifle as well.
 
Mine didn't like the Win white box HP's with LAR mags but they fed flawless thru the OE 5 rd mag. Anything spire point fed flawless thru LAR mags. IIRC a TRS-25 will cowitness with the irons. Geologist touched on pretty much all there is, they're reliable as an SKS, shoot well and keep groups together when hot. Ergos are pretty unique and not meant for speed. They have a nice 2 stage trigger, its a little heavy but crisp and clean.
 
I used the same scope mount setup as Geologist (thanks) and used an old Scope Chief 1.5 - 4.5 with the Command Post. It's old fashioned and low-tech, but it's a start. The rifle itself feeds everything, including some really spooky looking surplus. Watch the condition of the O-ring. It is best not to be a super tight fit. I got my rifle used and it may have had the wrong O-ring installed. Not having a Benelli dealer nearby, I went to the Caterpillar dealer. They had a good quality, high temperature, O-ring that works flawlessly and lives through takedowns for cleaning. Good luck.
 
Any problems or issues with the pencil barrel?

Aparently there arnt any. I would think shot stringing once the barrel heats up due to it being pencil thin. But it doesn't do that from what I read. I vaguely recall that Benelli does something to the barrel as a finishing treatment that prevents poi shifting. I cant recall the name of the process or what it entails and google isnt helping me find a name for it either.
 
Aparently there arnt any. I would think shot stringing once the barrel heats up due to it being pencil thin. But it doesn't do that from what I read. I vaguely recall that Benelli does something to the barrel as a finishing treatment that prevents poi shifting. I cant recall the name of the process or what it entails and google isnt helping me find a name for it either.

The barrels are cryogenically treated. It does seem to work well.
 
what's the typical accuracy of this rifle, say with American Eagle ammo?

With Fiochi ball at 100 yards off a front rest (no sand bags) it groups 5 rounds into 2". With sand bags it would do better.

At 200 yards I got a 5 shot 3.5" group.

At 2x it's almost as fast as red dot.

I was able to shoot accurately with the irons through the see through rings.
 
Ive been banging my head with mine. bought it new, put a leupold VX-R Patrol fire dot scope on it, and cant get it to group worth a damn. off a rest, using 50, 53, 55 and 60gr bullets. reloaded Sierra fmj and hp's, hornady match and fmj. different velocities etc etc etc. and even tried factory Winchester varmint loads to see if there was an issue with my reloads.
Im going to try heavier bullets and swap the 5X15 off my bolt gun and see if that makes a difference. The way my rig is performing right now.. I shouldn't have sold my mini14.
 
I'm loving mine more every time I shoot it - even after a year or so! I do like the stock sights, but I put a burris ar-332 3x red dot on mine. it's balanced really well and I do like the ambi bolt release infront of the trigger guard. my mr1 is not as reliable with lar15 mags, but never have a problem with pmags.





 
Love the rifle, hate the standard pistol grip stock (non collapsible, non comfortech).

Will pay happily for the comfortech stock, or trade my current stock for a comfortech and throw in some money and a cheek pad. But can't find the comfortech stock for sale anywhere.
 
There is one for sale at Milarm in Edmonton with the comfortech stock. I would try one for fit before I bought it though. The comfortech stock has a large grip radius that positions the hand further back from the trigger than the pistol grip stock. That may be fine for someone with large hands and long fingers, but smaller digited persons would likely prefer the pistol grip style. It also feels like it has a longer length of pull as well, but I didn't measure it.
 
I was going back and forth between MR1 and HK SL8 for months. I finally bought the SL8, but it was a close call. The deal breaker for me was 2 things with the MR1. 1) Stock angle - I put a scope on everything, so getting a good fit with that downward angle was going to give me heartburn, and 2) the bolt release in front of the trigger guard - it just didn't feel safe to me to have to use a pulling motion so close to the trigger.

I liked the fact that the mr1 uses lar mags, and does seem fairly light and well balanced. I still haven't ruled out ever getting one, but for now the SL8 seemed the better choice for what I wanted.
 
Love the rifle, hate the standard pistol grip stock (non collapsible, non comfortech).

Will pay happily for the comfortech stock, or trade my current stock for a comfortech and throw in some money and a cheek pad. But can't find the comfortech stock for sale anywhere.

Gobles in London has a comfort stock I think. At least they mentioned they did when I spoke to them on the phone on Wednesday. Be prepared to be ass raped over the price though. If memory serves me correct they quoted me 1950$ for it.
 
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