Zoals je ziet is deze review in het Engels. Dat heb ik gedaan omdat ik niet zozeer moeite heb met Nederlands maar met veel termen niet lekker uit m'n woorden kom. In het Engels komt het over zoals ik het bedoel, dus vandaar deze beslissing. Bij deze, het review van de Benelli Supernova. Er zijn een aantal onderwerpen die ik persoonlijk belangrijk vind en daar besteed ik dan ook iets meer tijd aan. Als je vragen hebt en je kunt ze hier niet posten, probeer dan het 'Geweren' forum via het Forumoverzicht. Er komen nog detail foto's, voor nu even actie foto's.
Esthetics:
The Benelli Supernova is a truly intimidating machine. Most firearms with black synthetic stocks are but don’t have this particular accentuating design. Haven’t seen this style before and stands apart from the popular Remington 870 and Mossberg 500 series. The most distinctive part of the Supernova is the slide. It contains curves, straight lines and pointy edges which sounds repulsive, but I have to say it looks really cool. The slide and action look ‘fatter’ and I happen to like the feel, combined with a good grip which remains in wet weather conditions. Even the trigger guard is larger and is very stealthy looking. The stock is a piece of art on its own. It carries the Comfort Tech System and gives the stock a new look derived from chevrons in the stock, new grip patterns and the vented recoil pad. I’ll elaborate on these in a bit. Overall, some think the design is bud-ugly, others such as myself, know that this is a cool looking gun!
Benelli Supernova ejecting hull.
Features:
The field configured Supernova is typically meant for hunting purposes and has a couple of neat features. Starting with chamber size, it fits all from 2 ¾”, 3” to 3.5” shells and therefore loads any shotgun shell you can think of. The barrel is rib ventilated and is equipped with a mid bead and red sight at the muzzle end. The neat part is that the action has a ‘strip’ that leads straight to the rib vent, consequently meeting the mid bead and red sight. This strip could make target acquisition easier and thus faster. The shotgun comes with standard interchangeable choke tubes; Improved Cylinder, Modified and Full.
The Supernova in this particular configuration weighs in at 3.55 Kilograms empty. (A little less than the website suggests). A recreational shooter shouldn’t have to get overly concerned about it, the hunter might want to. As you know, carrying firearms for longer hikes can get heavy; whether 3.5 Kilograms is heavy or light is up to you, you know yourself best. Firepower sits at 4+1 with 2 ¾ “ shells and for hunting (regionally)I have to put the mag stop in place, making it a 2+1. So far, the standard features.
Some new ones, innovations from Benelli, include the ‘Comfort Tech System’ integrated into the stock, there also is a ’Push-Button Shell Stop’ function.
Comfort Tech System:
The name makes sense: Comfort and Technology all in one System! From how I understand this systems works, is that it consists out of multiple components. For recoil reducers we start with those diagonally placed chevrons that give the stock more flexibility. Second, the specially designed vented recoil pad absorbs quite a bit as well. The recoil pad and comb are available in different sizes and can easily be replaced to adjust for ‘length of pull’ and cheek (slap) comfort.
Then there is the included ‘Comfort Tech Shim Kit’ to adjust cast and drop. These are polymer shims that can be placed between the stock and action to acquire your personal fit. Besides all the other options, I have to say that this shim kit truly completes the versatility of the Supernova. It converts to all types of shotguns, it shoots all shells and on top of that, it fits all! Beneficial.
Benelli claims this entire system to reduce 48% of felt recoil and a 69% faster recovery. Sounds impressive but in all honesty, it doesn’t tell me a whole lot. For example, I might like a harder kicking shotgun more than a recoil reduced shotgun that just doesn’t work for me, because it all comes down to the experience and personal preferences. They are data points coming from a new and exciting system that took my interest, so why not try it?
Push-Button Shell Stop:
This button is located on the bottom of the slide and is activated by pushing it in while opening the action. Rackin’ that slide back! Consequently, the shell or spend hull is ejected without feeding a shell from the magazine tube. It might come in handy during a hunt, when your Supernova is loaded with shells that aren’t sufficient in protecting you from the bear that just showed up close range. It allows you to chamber whatever type of shell you want, whenever you want. Does this feature make the Supernova a better shotgun? No, but it does add functionality.
Other Supernova’s have tapped and drilled actions to mount additional sights, this particular model does not. Again, we’re talking about a field configuration where the barrel with mid-bead and red sight is sufficient and above all, very effective I found. Acquiring your target both eyes open while the red dot blends into the picture very nicely, leading or ‘advanced aim’ becomes an easier job. Unfortunately I can’t compare it with a bare bead but I can however tell you that this system works pretty damn well.
Ergonomically:
The Supernova comes up very nicely and mounts well but the balance sits a bit forward. I’m actually surprised, not because I thought it to be perfectly balanced, but because of the following. As fantastic the ‘Comfort Tech System’ is, it makes the (hollow) rear end very light while still having that 28” barrel and magazine tube reaching out there. Seeing it from this perspective, the little forward balance is impressive, yet … still some forward balance.
The trigger pull is alright. It’s a bit on the heavy side and creeps a little when compared to a typical target shotgun. Trigger pull could have been a tad lighter, overall it’s not bad. Like I mentioned before, the trigger guard is larger and offers 30% more finger room. Some argue that it’s hazardous because twigs snag the trigger more easily this way … why carry a chambered gun in the first place? Yes, there’s a safety feature but out of a safety precaution, I just don’t count on it to function properly. I’d really look at what it is designed for, gloved hands. Good point applicable to any type of shooter. The hunter in cold weather conditions would love some warm hands and the tactical or recreational shooter might prefer increased grip through gloves.
Shooting is good. Patterning went well and point of impact is just perfect. I was a little concerned about recoil since the synthetic shotgun was so light … I guess the Comfort Tech System does its job. Recoil isn’t much different from a Remington 870. (Admitting that I haven’t used them side by side much). Maybe a future project. I think it would be a good comparison since the 870 is so well known and used by many.
The safety is located in front of the trigger and neatly integrated into the trigger guard. It’s a safety and precautionary measure and believe that it should not only make the firearm ‘safe’ after engaging but also during the process of doing so. In this regard, the location of a safety becomes more interesting. With the Supernova, my fingers automatically move away from the trigger. (Other than a Remington 870 where the safety sits behind the trigger …). To turn the safety off for fire, it’s readily accessible with the trigger finger; to turn the safety back on it gets a little tricky. I would have liked to see a thumb controlled safety on top of the action but I understand why Benelli opted for the bolt type safety.
The philosophy behind Supernova is purely based on simplicity. Similar to the Glock design, it’s fool proof. Take it out hunting with possible rain, sandy or muddy conditions, the shotgun might very well get dirt inside. It comes apart in seconds without tools, you can literally dump the parts in a bucket of water to rinse debris out and put it back together without a pain or problem. Having little mechanisms, such as a top safety, you easily flush sand into that mechanism and is now bound to fail. The reverse is true too. Leave it sandy or muddy and because of its simplicity it will keep working. Therefore, I take the safety for what it is and consider it a ‘safer safety’ with the intended use in mind.
The action release is located in front of the safety bolt and thus further away from the trigger. I hear lots of people say, “Well, it’s not within my trigger finger reach, it sucks”. In my opinion, if you have a need for the action release, you probably don’t need your hand by the trigger anyhow. I think the position is just fine and again, takes fingers away from the trigger when the action release is required.
Durability:
Supernova is durable! Yes, the polymer frame will heat up during fire and no, it’s not going to melt, crack or deform. Like I mentioned before, the synthetic stock and action makes this shotgun an ‘any’ weather gun. Not saying that you can scrap your cleaning routine but a rainy day won’t hurt this machine. If you’d just take care of the barrel, and that alone, it’s pretty much fine. How do I know? I know people that do so! Not for me though, cleaning after a session or camping trip is of utmost importance in my book. People have dumped this shotgun in muddy puddles, rinsed it out with water and haven’t had a single problem. Whether you use the Supernova as a defense or hunting gun, to name two extremes when it comes down to durability and reliability, I believe that this shotgun does best.
Beautifully disintegrating clay.
