benelli supernova questions

[crunchiespg]

i just got my new benelli supernova tactical 14" today. and reading the manual it describes how to load the shotgun, saying the shotgun should be cocked before loading the magazine tube. but this seems somewhat silly for wilderness carry as to quickly shoulder and load a round requires the action release button to be pressed. which is not something you want to be doing when facing a bear or similar.
now I've mainly used 870's before, and this wasn't the case, you could dry fire, and then load the magazine, leaving the action free to be racked in a hurry. but on the 870 it wasn't wise to carry with one in the chamber as the 870 is not drop safe and can discharge if you fell over or something.

so, is it safe to carry the SN with one in the chamber, safety on, strapped to a pack or on a sling?
if not, is there any issues dry firing before loading the magazine, thereby leaving the action free to be racked without pressing the action release?

also, how do you remove the telescoping stock? it says in the manual simply push the button more firmly and pull it off, but this doesn't seem to work.

also, what are you guys using to loosen the round nut with holes in it? the one that needs to be slackened to loosen the pistol grip to remove the trigger group for cleaning? should the shotgun have come with some sort of round rod to do this?
what slings have you found that work well with the telescoping stock?
thanks for any tips..
just need to get a nice aimpoint T1 for it now

 

[crunchiespg]

oh and one other thing I've noticed. when the shotgun isn't cocked the fore grip will not stay in its most forward position. it always jumps about 1cm back and slightly relaxes the action. is that normal or is it just because its brand new?

 

[supernova]

Though Ive never dropped mine Im pretty sure the SN is drop safe due to the really heavy hammer spring and long amount of creep. As for carrying with one in the chamber I do it all the time and only clear the chamber when I carry it on the quad. When you say "not cocked" do you mean after dry firing? It is normal for the action to spring back slightly, its the bolt head pushing off the barrel. I just checked with mine and you can dry fire then load the mag, no issues. So whichever way you prefer is gtg. I like a round in the chamber then all I have to do is shoulder and flip the safety off. For the telescopic stock stay tuned for Dsiwy's post, he knows them well (I dont own one)

 

[crunchiespg]

Though Ive never dropped mine Im pretty sure the SN is drop safe due to the really heavy hammer spring and long amount of creep. As for carrying with one in the chamber I do it all the time and only clear the chamber when I carry it on the quad. When you say "not cocked" do you mean after dry firing? It is normal for the action to spring back slightly, its the bolt head pushing off the barrel. I just checked with mine and you can dry fire then load the mag, no issues. So whichever way you prefer is gtg. I like a round in the chamber then all I have to do is shoulder and flip the safety off. For the telescopic stock stay tuned for Dsiwy's post, he knows them well (I dont own one)

Thank you. And yes by not cocked I meant action relaxed after dry firing.

 

[crunchiespg]

Anyone got any pointers for removing the stock?

 

[F22_RaptoR]

Anyone got any pointers for removing the stock?

The telescoping stock on mine is a real PITA to get off. I had to use a .45ACP FMJ bullet (just the bullet, not a cartridge) and a small vice with towels on the pads to clamp the bullet down enough to remove it.

There isn't any point to actually removing the stock anyways, to get the pistol grip "off" or loosened off to do a field strip you need some sort of special tool for it.

I have a CAD design for one but in order for them to be cost effective I'd need to make at least 30 of them, so I'm thinking of talking to Stoeger Canada and see if Benelli has the tool in their inventory to buy.



As for carrying the gun with a round in the chamber, I'd say go for it! But if you're going to be quadding around and stuff then leave the chamber empty. It has the neat little "magazine bypass" button you can use to drop a shell in without taking anything from the mag tube.

 

[crunchiespg]

The telescoping stock on mine is a real PITA to get off. I had to use a .45ACP FMJ bullet (just the bullet, not a cartridge) and a small vice with towels on the pads to clamp the bullet down enough to remove it.

There isn't any point to actually removing the stock anyways, to get the pistol grip "off" or loosened off to do a field strip you need some sort of special tool for it.

I have a CAD design for one but in order for them to be cost effective I'd need to make at least 30 of them, so I'm thinking of talking to Stoeger Canada and see if Benelli has the tool in their inventory to buy.



As for carrying the gun with a round in the chamber, I'd say go for it! But if you're going to be quadding around and stuff then leave the chamber empty. It has the neat little "magazine bypass" button you can use to drop a shell in without taking anything from the mag tube.

Hmm. It is a pain for sure to remove. Kind of defeats the purpose of it being easy to field strip.
I was thinking of cutting the head off a screw driver that's a tight fit in the ring.

 

[F22_RaptoR]

Hmm. It is a pain for sure to remove. Kind of defeats the purpose of it being easy to field strip.
I was thinking of cutting the head off a screw driver that's a tight fit in the ring.

You also need one for both sides I think to unscrew it. The little pin-tool on the cap of the mag tube fits nicely into the holes, but you can't get enough torque on it. I also used a 3/16ths roll pin punch which fits very nicely into the holes and it wouldn't budge from just the 1 side. If you look through the back, you can see 3 little cuts into the backside. This is I think where a tool would work to unscrew it. The one I have designed is short enough to fit into the back of the pistol grip with the stock fully extended (so you don't need to take the stock off), and has wrench flats on the bottom end so you can get enough torque to unscrew it.