SBE II vs. SBE I or Winchester X2 or X3

[huskers2024]

Guys, I'm thinking about getting rid of my SBE II for a shorter one or one of the above mentioned guns. My current SBE II has a 28" barrel with a kicks in it. I grew up shooting 24" at upland birds, so the long barrel is driving me nuts. So I'm trying to decide to get a shorter SBE II or something else. I like it ok, but not that married to it. Thanks

[Stallion1189]

Beretta Extrema 2, i have one and i love it

[Uno]

the Extrema 2 looks a hole lot shorter and feels a hole lot shorter to me, i would get it or a 26 inch sbe 2 if money is not a factor.

[Travis R. Bullock]

I decided to get a Winchester SX3 to test out this season and I was NOT dissapointed. That thing is a machine!

[Save Hens]

Why dont you just buy a shorter SBE 2 barrel?

[A'bomB]

With a few additions, my SBEII is a tank. Almost strayed in another direction a few months ago but I'm glad I didn't now.

[T.Mayer]

well if you like shorter guns i would definitely not go with the extrema 2 its alot bulkier, it has a thicker grip and in my opinion just an uncomfortable gun to hold...as far as what to get for a "short gun" well thats going to depend on you, if you have the extra money laying around and want to buy a new gun sure but if not then i would look into a new barrel for the SBE2....one thing to remember i dont know exactly what kicks your shooting but whatever barrel you get no matter how short your going to add a inch or two with the choke tube....if your shooting great now then i wouldnt worry about getting anyhting new...another thing to think about is benelli barrels are f'in expensive and if you have a camo gun holy cow you might as well buy a gun just for upland hutning....

im not a fan of browning/win. but i will tell you this the sx3 is a pretty bad @ss gun....super fast and super light i just dont like gas guns ive seen them fail time and time again...i know alot of guys on here are going to say that "theres hasnt missed a shot" and thats fine but ive seen it happen and theres nothing that will change my mind on that....BUT my ole man has had the SX2 in synthetic since they came out about 8-9 yrs ago and ive only seen his fail one time and it -20 and he ddint clean it the night before...
if you have any questions feel free to pm me...i sell guns and know alot about them..

[SBE II]

If you don't like the length have you tried changing the shims that the SBE II provides, for a different feel. I would do that before you go throwing money down.

[BadCaller]

Now I know this is going to sound nuts but we'll give it a try. The problem your having might be from the stupid step rib on the gun. At first the second you put your gun up it gives you a false blank spot then you begin to focus. Now you have deal with the next dumbest thing and that is the taper at the end of the barrel. If gives you a false sense that your barrel is long. The step was brought in from back in the say trap shooters AKA raised rib. HK had to keep up with the jones so they went with a step rib. When Beretta named them Benelle they kept that dumb thing on there also.
The new gun vinchi or whatever it is will have a plain rib. Did you ever shoot the gun for point of impact. POI This will be done at 16 yards with a full choke and you can use what ever load you like. Find a local range with a steel plate to do a POI test. Then each inch on the board will be 1\16th you want to move the stock towards the center having a 60% pattern high and 40% below the center. Try taking the bead off the gun and try it like that for a while can work wonders. As SBE II mentioned raise the stock.

The shorter the barrel the more whip your going to have and that is never a good thing unless your shooting grouse, woodcock once any target gets over 30 yards out, the longer barrel will give you an even sight plain. You can always have the barrel cut and re-threaded by a proven gunsmith, of course if you ever try to sell it 90% of buyers will walk away from it.

You have some choices to make and if you like trading guns up a Winchester x2 or x3 is going to give you a bath. I just hate my M2 26" to me the dam gun feels all whippy and is going to gunbroker this week sometime. All in all waterfowlers don't carry there guns far, so I would look for a gun in the 7.5 pound club on up. In the end it's only money and what is it really going to matter in 20 years hell 10 for that. Find the gun that feels good, makes you proud to own and most off all learn the true art of wingshooting.

[SBE II]

Always an informational post from BadCalller regarding guns. Now, how do you know a detail about the Vinci, I was just on the phone with Benelli CS last week and they knew nothing about it, I thought she was just pulling my leg but she was dead serious.

[BadCaller]

Three years ago they came out with a new Benelli overseas. That is where all the new guns are released. The Xtrema2 was out for 3 years before coming over here not to mention 30" barrel that hasn't hit here yet. Caesar Guerini is a US gun company that are made in Italy they offer there new goods as a test the water deal. Of course if your looking at a Perazzi there just built to order 8)

That step rib is the dumbest thing since sliced bread, but alot of guys love there Benelli's why IDUNNO but because joe says there the best they have to be. Take one down South America and run 1000 plus shells a day and then shoot a Beretta 391 you'll see real quick what a softer shooting gun is. Light gun wippy heavy gun soft and percise. Plus the Benelli has shorter forcing cones which is why those guns wallop on the recoil.

Off to the reloading bench to make up some 1oz nickle plated 7s for some barnyard decoyed pigeons this weekend.