Benelli 828 U

My friend that I go to S.D. with pheasant hunting every year has one and likes it. He has used it in S.D. the past 2 yrs. & hasn't had any problems with it that I know of.
 
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A guy at a field trial I was at a year ago had one and I really liked it. Kind of a unique looking gun. Maybe one of those that you either love it or hate it. They are not cheap as they run about $2,300 for the black receiver and $2,600 for the silver receiver. I really like the silver with the engraving. And they only weigh about 6.5 lbs.
 
Over on Shotgun World in I love my Benelli, there have been some problems reported about the 828 U trigger assembly dropping out, ejector problems and problems with the breech lock popping open.
 
I bought one about 3 years ago. I did get an exceptional deal on it. Somebody with too much money paid about $700 to take one shot with it and decide he didn't like it. I think it is a decent gun for the money I paid for it. I have the model with the silver receiver.

It is adjustable enough that you should be able to get it to fit you.

I haven't had any problems with my 828, but there are enough complaints about them, from appearance to trigger group problems, that I would only buy new realizing that if I didn't like it that finding a buyer or getting a really good trade in price might not happen quickly.

Personally, I think the 828 got an unnecessarily bad rap because some gun writers didn't like the design and the mechanical parts weren't traditional.
 
I bought one about 3 years ago. I did get an exceptional deal on it. Somebody with too much money paid about $700 to take one shot with it and decide he didn't like it. I think it is a decent gun for the money I paid for it. I have the model with the silver receiver.

It is adjustable enough that you should be able to get it to fit you.

I haven't had any problems with my 828, but there are enough complaints about them, from appearance to trigger group problems, that I would only buy new realizing that if I didn't like it that finding a buyer or getting a really good trade in price might not happen quickly.

Personally, I think the 828 got an unnecessarily bad rap because some gun writers didn't like the design and the mechanical parts weren't traditional.

I think you’re 100% correct in your assessments. I like the look of the 828 but am too cheap to buy one, even if I found a deal like yours.
 
I had the opportunity to shoot a guys Benelli 828 12 ga. at some clays yesterday. Very nice gun and I liked the slim profile, but didn't impress me enough that I would buy one. My Browning Citori White Lighting 16 ga. feels just as good in my hands and about the same weight.
 
My buddy bought one for a retirement present for himself. But I can't get him to bring it out. I don't think he wants to scratch it! I'll get my hands on it sooner or later and give my opinion on it. I don't particularly care for the looks but I'm old school. Every time I see him, I ask when I can shoot the space gun.
 
Shot one once at a game fair a couple years ago. Thought enough about it...not to ever think about it again. I've own 'B' guns, SKB's, and Rizzini O/U's. I have good things to say about all of them. They each have their strengths. On this Benelli O/U attempt, first thing I noticed was the triggers. Lots of 'creep' and pretty heavy...not knowing the formal measurement. The gun's main appeal is the weight, and it is light. Maybe it's just me but I'm not a fan of field O/U's with aluminum receivers. I personally have doubts about it holding up to heavy shells and shooting at volume. But again...it's hard to build a field gun with a steel receiver under 7.0 lbs in 12 ga. The Benelli does beat the weight issue, at some cost IMHO. It's an overly complicated gun. Doubles are supposed to find their appeal in durability and simplicity. Also, for the $$, there's a lot of quality gun options competing with it. Seems to me most of the guys shooting this gun are hard-core SBE shooters with a well developed sense of loyalty. Getting back to the shooting of the gun...on crossing targets this light gun will force you to focus on swing maintenance. Good amount of barrel lift and recoil in spite of the design. Again...I shot a very limited number of times. However, I once shot a CG O/U a few times and had to have one. The Benelli didn't fill me with the same inspiration.

My 2 cents.
 
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I’m a browning junkie for sure but I’ve handled but never shot the 828u but I think they are quality one guy said space gun kind of true just like when browning introduced the cynergy citori lovers just couldn’t except that look well I’m an avid citori owner having around six of them and I own two cynergy models feather 12 and field 20 I really like the cynergy low receivers handles very well but making that change is the milestone
 
Has anyone on this site purchased a Benelli 828 U? I'd like to hear from thoughts from some owners.
I have one I don't have a ton of experience with high end shot guns. ( I have shot several Beretta and browning guns never owned one). I like the Benelli and would buy it again. It's a great gun to carry all day. Once I adjusted the shims correctly for me Im shooting well on the sporting clays course. The trigger on my gun feels good. Reminds me of a good rifle trigger light and very crisp. I think it's adjustable but have not changed any thing on my gun. It also patters well with all the ammo I have tried. I have been running cylinder in the first barrel follwed by mod for quail hunting it's working great for me. It does have some recoil to it since its so light. I don't notice it all though when hunting. Personally I think it's the best looking 0/U in the sub 3000 range.
 

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