Benelli Super 90

Benelli are a gunmaker known largely only for producing semi auto guns. They are not as well known by the shooting community quite as well as Beretta or Browning although that is beginning to change due to the obviously good quality of their guns. And because they specialise in   just autos their guns are very good as they can concentrate their full attention in one direction.

The super 90 is a conventional looking auto, and is operated in the same way as most others; a cartridge is inserted into the chamber which is then closed by letting the bolt forwards. Other cartridges are then fed into the magazine by pushing them up from underneath under the floorplate. Where things start to alter is how the gun actually functions when fired.

These days most auto work by siphoning off gas through ports in the barrel as the gun is   fired. This gas then pushes a piston sharply backwards, which in turn pushes the bolt assembly backwards so taking the spent cartridge with it and picking up the next cartridge from the magazine as it goes forwards into the closed position ready to be fired again.

Where the Super 90 differs from this convention is that it has no gas system; it utilises energy from the direct backwards force of the fired cartridge to force the bolt backwards. There are one or two advantages to this:

There are far fewer moving parts in the gun so it is very simple, and there are less parts to clean.

Because the system doesn’t have a gas piston assembly, the gun stays cleaner for much longer because the gas that vents off to work the mechanism is in effect an exhaust gas which itself is dirty and corrosive if not kept in check.

Also because there is no gas piston assembly which in most other guns is under the forend and surrounds magazine tube, the forend wood can be a much slimmer fit, and will be no wider than a conventional OU, and in many cases slimmer than that.

They are also quite lightweight and so reasonably quick handling, in part due to the lack of internals and the fact that the action is made from an aluminium alloy.

The test gun is a little used nearly new model with a 26” barrel. 26” may sound a little short and were it an OU it probably would be but with an auto you have 8” or so of receiver that give the illusion and the pointing qualities of a longer barrelled gun. And as to the looks the 26” barrel appears well in proportion with the rest of the gun. The rib is a 6mm wide and ventilated. With a multichoke system that is the same style as that used by Beretta, other than they are black rather than silver finished.

The forend is, as I have already indicated, very slim for an auto, and is chequered around its belly to afford plenty of grip. It is held onto the magazine tube by a screw on end cap. This end cap in effect holds the gun together, as once it is removed, the forend will lift off and then the barrel will simply lift away from the receiver.

The action is quite plain although its lines are broken up by raised panels on the sides, but other than that it is a plain black finish. As a contrast the bolt assembly is left a bright silver and as a whole this makes the gun very attractive.

The action is also rounded from its top back down to the stock line. This smoother line seems to be favoured by most people, as it is easier on the eye.

The action can be stripped easily by most people to do a more thorough cleaning job. It is simply a case of removing the cross pin that goes through the action and secures the trigger plate in position. Then the trigger plate can be pushed forwards and lifted away from the receiver. The trigger plate assembly can then be cleaned as a whole, and blown clean.

The handle on the side of the bolt can then be removed by giving it a sharp tug, and the bolt will then slide out of the front of the receiver, allowing itself to be fully cleaned, and giving full access to the now empty inside of the receiver. Which can be easily washed out with a cleaner and then blown dry. I find an air line works well for blowing away loosen dirt that will lay inside the action.

The woodwork is fairly plain as is often the case on an auto, but is in virtually new condition n this gun. And although plain it is not without figure. The finish is a polyurethane type of varnish, which although very durable does tend to mark quite easily.

Stock dimensions are variable on this gun as it is supplied with different shims that can be fitted to increase or decrease drop as required. Though it is set to a standard 60mm. Stock length is approx. 14 5/8 “ and is finished with a thin plastic butt plate.

Benelli are becoming far better known in the UK thanks to efforts of their distributor Beechwood equipment. There is a full range of autos, which includes interestingly a true left hand model, apart from the Remington the only one that I know of.

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