Hi, this is my first post to this website. I recently acquired a Benelli 828U, and I just wanted to share my thoughts and respond to some of the negative reviews and statements I’ve seen here and other websites.
What attracted me to the gun was the innovative design. The engineering creativity expressed in this gun is amazing. I wont go into the all the details that make this such an innovative design as many others have already done this and the Benelli website does a good job of marketing just how different this gun is from any other over/under on the market. Also, instead of going out and subcontracting another Italian or Turkish firm to slap the Benelli name on a pre-existing gun, Benelli built one from the ground up. It is not classical in its looks or function. I think this was incredibly brave and deserves respect and kudos.
With regard to the 828’s aesthetics… For me, form follows function, but there is also beautiful function. The Greek notion of arête means excellence in function, which is, in and of itself, beautiful. The 828U does not fulfill my aesthetic sense of what a classic shotgun should look like, but I admire its function and this gives it a unique beauty in my eyes. Much the same way I found beauty in Simone Biles’ floor exercises or Sean White’s tricks despite the fact that neither gymnastics nor snowboarding are my cup of tea.
When I took it out of the box, the first thing I noticed is that I scored big in the Walnut lottery. Second, when I assembled it and put to my shoulder with eyes closed, when I opened my right I it was “right there.” I was seeing exactly the amount of rib I like to see. Third, when I shot it and banged out 25 straight clays on the wobble/oscillating trap: right out of the box with zero adjustments or tweaks. As for recoil, it did not soak up the recoil like a Perazzi but with light target loads--not awful.
Ultimately, the 828 is a field gun. It is meant to be carried, and it fulfills this role wonderfully. This gun carries like a 20 Ga or even a 28, but you get the 12 Ga firepower and this is important for a mediocre wingshooter like me. I shot it using Fiocchi 2 ¾ 1 3/8 #6 on pheasant and didn’t miss a single bird (2 pheasant and a Chukar). While shooting at birds, I didn't even notice the recoil from this stout load. It handles beautifully without being whippy. Overall, I love this gun and would encourage you to try one. Given that the innovative Blaser goes for about 4k, the 2k or so you spend on this isn’t so bad.
I would love to see Benelli come out with a stainless steel receiver “sporting” version of this gun with 30 or even 32 inch barrels. This would probably weigh a pound or so more. The increase in weight would be helpful to absorb some of the recoil when shooting clay targets. One advantage of this sporting 828 would be in the adjustability of the gun. You can purchase a raised rib and even raised comb for the stock as well make all kind of stock adjustments with the shim system. Another would be the ease of opening and closing the gun throughout a long day on the sporting clays course.
PRO: lightweight, excellent handling, fit me like a glove right out of the box. I usually shoot an o/u gun with a 1 3/8 drop at comb and slight cast off, but I didn’t even check the measurements on my 828 as I didn’t want to ruin a good thing with too much thinking.
Con: triggers pretty gritty and have some creep, recoil is a problem for an extended day of shooting clays. The forend push button is extremely tight on my gun.
What attracted me to the gun was the innovative design. The engineering creativity expressed in this gun is amazing. I wont go into the all the details that make this such an innovative design as many others have already done this and the Benelli website does a good job of marketing just how different this gun is from any other over/under on the market. Also, instead of going out and subcontracting another Italian or Turkish firm to slap the Benelli name on a pre-existing gun, Benelli built one from the ground up. It is not classical in its looks or function. I think this was incredibly brave and deserves respect and kudos.
With regard to the 828’s aesthetics… For me, form follows function, but there is also beautiful function. The Greek notion of arête means excellence in function, which is, in and of itself, beautiful. The 828U does not fulfill my aesthetic sense of what a classic shotgun should look like, but I admire its function and this gives it a unique beauty in my eyes. Much the same way I found beauty in Simone Biles’ floor exercises or Sean White’s tricks despite the fact that neither gymnastics nor snowboarding are my cup of tea.
When I took it out of the box, the first thing I noticed is that I scored big in the Walnut lottery. Second, when I assembled it and put to my shoulder with eyes closed, when I opened my right I it was “right there.” I was seeing exactly the amount of rib I like to see. Third, when I shot it and banged out 25 straight clays on the wobble/oscillating trap: right out of the box with zero adjustments or tweaks. As for recoil, it did not soak up the recoil like a Perazzi but with light target loads--not awful.
Ultimately, the 828 is a field gun. It is meant to be carried, and it fulfills this role wonderfully. This gun carries like a 20 Ga or even a 28, but you get the 12 Ga firepower and this is important for a mediocre wingshooter like me. I shot it using Fiocchi 2 ¾ 1 3/8 #6 on pheasant and didn’t miss a single bird (2 pheasant and a Chukar). While shooting at birds, I didn't even notice the recoil from this stout load. It handles beautifully without being whippy. Overall, I love this gun and would encourage you to try one. Given that the innovative Blaser goes for about 4k, the 2k or so you spend on this isn’t so bad.
I would love to see Benelli come out with a stainless steel receiver “sporting” version of this gun with 30 or even 32 inch barrels. This would probably weigh a pound or so more. The increase in weight would be helpful to absorb some of the recoil when shooting clay targets. One advantage of this sporting 828 would be in the adjustability of the gun. You can purchase a raised rib and even raised comb for the stock as well make all kind of stock adjustments with the shim system. Another would be the ease of opening and closing the gun throughout a long day on the sporting clays course.
PRO: lightweight, excellent handling, fit me like a glove right out of the box. I usually shoot an o/u gun with a 1 3/8 drop at comb and slight cast off, but I didn’t even check the measurements on my 828 as I didn’t want to ruin a good thing with too much thinking.
Con: triggers pretty gritty and have some creep, recoil is a problem for an extended day of shooting clays. The forend push button is extremely tight on my gun.
