For some weeks now I have been thinking about purchasing a new shotgun. In the course of these weeks I have read many field tests and opinions of other hunters on the subject and have now narrowed my research down to the Super Nova from the Italian gun makers Benelli.When I look to purchase a new product it has to fulfill a few criteria and being all the new hype is not one of them. First and foremost the product has to be safe to use, followed by quality / price relation. The gun I am looking for has to keep up with my style of hunting. I don’t like to be “careful” because the product might fall apart when I accidentally knock it against a tree or rock. Preferably the product should serve several purposes; I never saw much sense in purchasing different guns for different hunting styles. The gun should be reliable without to many gizmos and fancy attachments that are bound to fail me in the field. And finally the gun has to stand up to different weather conditions without having to completely take it apart in order to dry it out after a heavy rain.
For me the gun that has thus far measured up to my expectations seems to be the Benelli Super Nova. I say “thus far” because the final and deciding moment will come when I visit a friend in the next few days that owns a Benelli Super Nova. He kindly offered me to take his gun to the range and put it through its paces. Once I spent a day pumping different loads and shell sizes through it I will decide to give it the thumbs up or down.
For now I leave you with some of the Benelli Super Nova’s specs that in my opinion make it my kind of shotgun.
I am partial to pump action shotguns. What I like about that type of action is the simple rugged reliability plus the fast and worry free handling but that alone does not make the Super Nova my choice. Here is what does:
The Super Nova is made by the Italian company Benelli. One can say what one likes, but the Italians know how to build good solid quality shotguns at an affordable price. And that is exactly where the Super Nova shines bright. The Super Nova is well built with the customarily good workmanship common to most Italian guns and has a lot of good and new ideas added to it.
- The Super Nova is chambered for 12 gauge 3 ½-inch shells and also can be loaded with 2-3/4-inch and 3-inch loads making it a truly “load all” gun.
- A newly designed synthetic “Steady Gripä” and ComforTechä Polymer molded stock makes this gun almost waterproof and in addition reduces the heavy recoil associated with magnum shotguns up to 45%, making it a moderate recoil gun.
The gun comes in two finishes: matte black or camouflage. The SuperNova’s newly styled trigger guard, similar to the Super Black Eagle II, allows for 30% more finger room for a gloved hand. In addition, a new, larger safety button provides easy acquisition and quick, positive function.- The nicely ribbed barrel of the Nova is finished in a dull black color that matches the black polymer of the stocks and receiver perfectly. Barrels are available in 24", 26" and 28" lengths complete with three screw-in choke tubes, and a 18.5" rifled slug barrel is available with open sights. This makes the Super Nova one of the most versatile shotguns on the market today.
- And finally, with a price tag of $380.00 to $410.00 this is a very affordable gun built to a high quality standard.
I read of a duck and dove hunt outfitter down in Mississippi that uses 20 Super Nova guns as loan guns for his clients. He claims that on average they shoot up to 10’000 rounds in one hunting season with these guns and never had a gun yet that failed them or gave then any trouble whatsoever. Anybody that went on a dove hunt knows that the shooting can be fast and furious and adding to this is the fact that these guns are shot by many different people - so you get an idea as to what the Super Nova’s have to stand up too.
That’s it so far and like I said before, sometime next week I will be able to actually shoot the Super Nova. After this final deciding test I will make my mind up if this is the gun for me. Stay tuned here, as I will let you know how the Super Nova behaved and handled at the shooting range.
Tags: Shotgun, Benelli Super Nova, Turkey Hunting
Tags: Benelli, Shotgun, Turkey Hunting
14 comments:
Sound like a great shotgun at a reasonable price.
got a new post up about you and changed my link, I am sure that you will have all your blogs jumping soon.
Rex
Thanks for stopping by Matt. So far what I have read about the Benelli Super Nova sounds real good. I am still waiting to actually try the shotgun out on the range.
Thanks for plug on you blog Rex. Well you know how it is with blogs. The moment you stop posting for more than two days it goes downhill. I seem to be one of the lucky ones since I did not lose many visitors.
-Othmar Vohringer-
I own a Benelli SuperNova and it's the best shotgun I've ever shot...
I just one about a month ago, and it works great here in Alaska for all the game birds that are around. I'd recomend getting the extender for the chamber. They also sell a choke that makes the gun even sweeter. Its called the truglo choke..extendes the barrel couple inches.
a gentleman handed me my first 12 ga.shotgun at a store last fall...a Benelli supernova!! I have never owned one and I don't think I'll ever to buy another. With almost 1500 rds through it in less than one year I too can hit three hand thrown skeets and am going fur 4 and 5.. not bad fir a ROOK!!!BENELLI FIR LIFE
Where do you find a supernova for $380-410? on their web site they retail for 499-599
Prices have gone up since 2007 when I wrote the review.
-ov-
I am looking at this shotgun and I am so far very impressed. I am 15 years old and am getting into pheasant hunting and this gun is turning out to be the perfect match for me.(plus the price is reasonable)
I have the super nova also and have yet to give it a try. i had a question about the 3 chokes that it came with. which ones do you use for differnt kinds of hunting. im going to be doing mostly turkey/pheasan/dove but i dont know what choke to use.
Hi Danny. On my gun I use a full choke for turkey hunting and a modified or improved choke for dove and upland bird hunting. Each gun performs a little bit different depending at the ammunition brand/size and pellets you use. I therefore always recommend to buy as many different ammunition as you can and try different choke and load combinations at the range until you find one that delivers the desired pattern from close to your maximum shooting range.
Hope this helps and good luck.
-ov-
I own a 26" Black Benelli Supernova. I use it mostly for shooting clays at the range, and I am looking forward to the upcoming turkey season. As an owner of a Supernova, my favorite feature by far is the ease at which I can disassemble and clean the gun without any tools aside from a cleaning kit.
My first day on the range, I compared it to an auto-loading Remington which was apparently built for skeet. The Supernova's polymer stock felt much larger than the Remington's wooden stock, so that particular Remington was somewhat easier for me to shoulder than my Supernova. My Supernova was somewhat lighter, and yet it kicked slightly less than the auto-loading shotgun I compared it to. I can't say for sure how much good the comfortech stock really does. I can shoot 1 oz. loads all day without feeling a thing, but I start to get a little sore after about 50-100 rounds of 1 1/8 oz loads using 3 drams of powder.
I've fired about 400 rounds out of it so far and haven't had a single problem. I'm still afraid of shooting the giant 3 1/2" turkey loads or slugs out of this 8lb gun.
The factory chokes that come with it (IC, M, F) make excellent patterns as far as I've seen.
Overall, the Supernova was a great choice for my first firearm and I do not expect it to ever break or fail on me.
Great info. here!
Hello all. I'm one of those "city dudes". I haven't shot a gun in years, but am familiar enough with the "do's and don'ts".. Anyhow, I have poured HOURS of research into which shotgun to buy (comparing reviews, youtube vids, analyzing specs, etc.) primarily for home defense. As a result, I now am a proud owner of a Benelli Super Nova Tactical, 18.5" barrel, w/Pistol Grip & Ghost Ring Sights. Can't wait to try it out with my gal who I expect will learn how to use it.
Can someone straighten me out on understanding barrel length? The short barrel makes for a wider burst of buckshot, but what about the 1oz. rifled slug shotshell for the short barrel? My 18.5" is Fixed choke.
What are the generally accepted combinations of choke types & barrel length w/different shell sizes and types? I'm assuming a "rifled slug" shell from a 18.5" barrel would give you the greatest distance that one could expect from the shortest barrel, and birdshot would be best for close-range home defense. Are my assumptions correct?
Would would be the ideal "starter set" of shells to try out at the firing range the first time? I'm pretty sure I won't have my gal try to fire the 3 1/2" turkey load. LOL! Since the pistol grip w/strap adapter in the stock isn't the comfortec, is the kick greater?.. I guess you can absorb some of that with the pistol grip hand huh..?
Anyway, too many questions, I know, but any advice regarding my particular model would be appreciated. Although just a shotgun, my Benelli Super Nova (Model 20160) is very "assault" looking straight out of the box.
I plan on getting the Nordic mag extender.. Makes for 7+1 using 2 3/4" shells. Not bad! (Seen too many bad reviews for the TacStar as it has a failure rate).
Any tidbit of advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!
I want to purchase my first shotgun and have decided to go with the benelli supernova. I will use this mainly to shoot clays but also want the tactical capabilities. My question is can I buy the field version and tactical barrel as well, can they be switced out ? If you can help please e-mail me at jonjon4311@aol.com .
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