What is it that has enabled Benelli, a medium-sized Italian manufacturer only 32 years old, to capture technical leadership in auto loading shotguns from munch older and larger makers? 

     It's just sever parts. For decades, auto loading shotguns used one of four operating systems. Long-recoil operated guns were the first, beginning with Browning's 1903 invention. Short-recoil guns appeared in the 1950s, while short- and long stroke piston gas operation became popular in the 1960s.

     All the systems have been successful with millions of guns using them. but all have a common problem: they involve the barrel in the mechanical operation of the gun. Recoil-operated guns require the barrel itself or a barrel extension to move inside the receiver. This requires careful balance of barrel and receiver weight and limits rib options. Gas-operated guns need ports cut in the barrel

to drive the piston that initiates operation. The ports must be very carefully sized and positioned to allow function with different ammunition types, and even the best designs require a compensating system to fire different loads. 

     What if the barrel could be cut out of the operating picture and allowed to function only as a barrel? What if the operating system could be completely contained in the receiver, with no operating rods to drag in dust or pistons to require a bulbous fore-end? 

   That's exactly what the Benelli operating system does. A rotary bolt head with dual opposed locking lugs engages recesses in the rear of the barrel. It rides in a heavy bolt body with a curved track that rotates the bolt head as it moves forward and back.

    On firing, the gun begins to move rearward, but inertia causes the bolt body briefly to resist the rearward movement. Effectively, it moves forward, compressing a short, stiff spring between body and bolt head. After the moment of peak chamber pressure, the spring throws the 

Body rearward, turning the bolt head out of engagement with the barrel, allowing the bolt assembly to move fully rearward, cycling the gun.

     Simpler is almost always butter, and the Benelli system proves it. Not only does the shotgun stay cleaner, but cycling is faster, thanks to a reduced moving mass of parts. And perhaps most important, Benelli guns will operate with all sorts of ammunition interchangeable. there's no switching of recoil rings, no adjusting of gas pressure. A Benelli auto loader will shoot a mixed magazine of everything from 3-dram,11/8-oz.

target cartridges to the heaviest turkey loads without a bobble. The Super Black Eagle can add 3 1/2" 12-gauge ammo to the programs. 

The operating system alone would give Benelli shotguns technical preeminence, but it's just one of the features that make Benelli the choice of discerning shot gunners. Among the others:

• A "free" carrier allows quick and unobstructed access to the magazine for loading and unloading without having to push and buttons or activate and release levers.

• The "anti-jam" design allows the gun to cycle normally even if a round should accidentally slip between the carrier and bolt during loading
• A magazine stop allows the chamber to be cleared with disturbing the contents of the magazine. It is easy to make the guns safe before crossing a fence or quickly change form a duck to a goose load. Press a button and the stop releases a shell, readying the shell of chambering.
• Stock drop is user-adjustable, changing shims provides a customized sighting plain to fit the individual shooter's unique physical build and shooting style.
• All sporting and field auto loaders are supplied with cylinder, improved cylinder, modified, improved modified and full choke tubes. all barrels have chrome-plated bores and are proofed for steel shot.
• The safety button is easily reversed for the convenience of left-handers.

    Most importantly, every Benelli shotgun is designed by engineers with a passion for fine firearms, a flair for modern design and an aesthetic sensibility that makes Benelli guns as attractive in the gun room as they are effective in the field

The most comprehensive worldwide standard by which manufactures are judged is the ISO 9001 International Certification for quality management in design, development and manufacture. Its your assurance of reliability, value and unsuppressed performance with every Benelli firearm.

Benelli Armi S.p.A. has also been honored by NATO and the Italian Government for its high levels of achievement and excellence.