Benelli M1 vs M2

[Climberman]

I have been considering getting an M2 and a friend offered to sell me an M1. Anyone know much about the differences between these two and which is “better”?

 

[NKD]

Not a shotgun expert so just my opinion:
The M2 is an improved version of M1. Slightly lighter, trigger slightly better, etc. Redesigned furniture. And I think it's easier to get barrels etc. So I would personally get that.

But M1 is supernice (get it? Super90 lol) and if the price were right I wouldn't rule it out.

 

[Climberman]

Anyone else with an opinion about the benelli M1?

I figured we had more shotgunners around here.

 

[Rob01]

I bought an M1 about 10 years ago to shoot 3 gun with and it's a real nice shotgun. My buddy uses a M2 and is very happy with his so really no wrong answer. I agree if the price is right on the M1 I would grab it but if not then get the M2.

 

[turkeydance]

my M1 is my turkey hunting shotgun.
Improved Modified is the best choke.
it has been flawless. wish i was.

 

[JustKeepSwimming]

Anyone else with an opinion about the benelli M1?

I bought my HK/Benelli M1S90 new in 1995 and it has been flawless since day one. Granted, I don't shoot it much any longer but I shot the crap out of it the first 10 years or so and it ran like a top. Didn't matter if it was slugs, clays, etc. Pulled it out of the safe last year after a long hiatus and it ran perfectly. I wouldn't hesitate buying an M1.

 

[NCFubar]

I too have a HK/Benelli M1S90 and I’ve taken it to many classes where I’ve run tons of bird shot (high brass), loads of 00 Buck and slugs … it ran it all. It’s Inertia Drive is very clean running … usually I break it down and just wipe it with a CLP cloth and it’s good to go. It’s ghost ring sights are accurate and make it effective @ 50 yards plus. The Inertia Drive does have a little push than the Benelli M4’s ARGO gas system but I’m so use the the M1S90 that I don’t really feel it … and the M1S90 is about 8 to 10 ounces lighter. I would be hard pushed to sell 35 year old tech gun for anything else and if I had grab a shotgun for work it would be my 1st choice.

 

[Dan0311]

Or, you can go old school!

Benelli M121



I've been watching this thread, as I'd like to know the answer also. I have a couple of M1S90's and the 121, but wouldn't mind adding others like an M2, M3 and M4 to the collection.

Here's the first thing that came up on a search:


The main differences between the Benelli M1 and M2 shotguns are:

• Receiver not lightened on M1
• Trigger housing Aluminum alloy not plastic on M1
• Barrel rib a bit taller on the M1 (easier to fit a flip up 10-22 type sight)
• Barrel lug support shorter on the M1 (that's why you need to open up the M1 foreend to fit an M2 barrel)
• M2 comes with Crio choke tubes, barrel, comfortech stock, gel recoil pad and of course the M1 did not.
• M2 receiver is tapped for optics, M1 is not.
• M2 has Comfortech stock as an option.
• M2 has a cryogenically frozen barrel with longer choke tubes.
• M2 has a redesigned trigger guard that is made out of plastic, and the stock and forearm have a little different shape than the M1.

Some more info here:

https://thegunzone.com/what-is-the-difference-between-benelli-m1-and-m2/

 

[NKD]

Or, you can go old school!

Benelli M121

View attachment 763489

I've been watching this thread, as I'd like to know the answer also. I have a couple of M1S90's and the 121, but wouldn't mind adding others like an M2, M3 and M4 to the collection.

That is beautiful! Hadn't seen one of these. Do you know if it is related to the beretta 1201?

 

[Dan0311]

That is beautiful! Hadn't seen one of these. Do you know if it is related to the beretta 1201?

I'm not too sure how much Beretta took from the original Benellis, but here's a quick history from the interwebz - sorry for the thread hijack!

The 121: Benelli’s First U.S. Import​

The 121 was the first auto-loader Benelli imported to the U.S.
The 121 started it all for Benelli here in America when it was brought to the U.S. in 1969. Billed as the fastest cycling shotgun ever made, the 121 began as a 2¾-inch inertia-driven 12-gauge, and evolved into several variants, including the more well-known tactical 121 M1, which had a short 18¾-inch barrel with a fixed improved cylinder choke. The 121 also spawned the SL201—Benelli’s first 20-gauge—in 1973 and the SL80 (1974), a 3-inch 12-gauge that was also offered in a myriad of models: 121, 123, Special 80, and Extra Lusso (the fixed choke barrels where interchangeable between each variant). The SL80 was such a solid design that Beretta—known for its gas-driven autos—later modeled an inertia-driven shotgun, the Spanish-made Pintail, after it.

I’ve never had the chance to fire a 121 series auto (they are very rare in the States), but have seen videos of the guns being shot, and the action, which had no rotating bolt head like modern inertia shotguns do, ejects shells incredibly quick. There are legendary stories of the platform being able to cycle through five shells before the first empty hull hit the ground. The recoil was stout on the 121s as there was no recoil reduction system or buttstock pad. Since the gun weighed under 8 pounds (some were as light as 6½ pounds), it could be difficult to stay on target by the time you emptied the magazine, particularly if you were shooting the M1 tactical that held eight shotshells. The gun’s ability to shoot quickly would have given recoil less time to disperse and the shooter less time to recover. One quirk with this gun: there was initially no magazine release lever on the auto-loader, which meant you had to load the first round into the chamber manually. You could load the magazine tube with shells but could not drop a shell into the carrier from the magazine, and rack the bolt to load it like you can with modern semi-auto shotguns. It was done as a safety measure so the magazine could be loaded, but if someone unfamiliar with the gun picked it up, they would not know how to operate it unless they knew a shell needed to be withdrawn from the magazine tube and inserted into the chamber.

The 121 M1 is recognized by more American shooters than the field variant.
Eventually, a “Benelli Button” was engineered so a shell would drop into the carrier when pressed, meaning shooters no longer had to manually load the gun. The two-piece receiver of the 121 is still being used today in the SBE platform. Removing the trigger group was slightly more complex though. To drop it out, you had to slide the group past a solid piece of metal on the underside of the receiver. Retay has a similar design with its Turkish inertia guns, and it can be a little tricky to re-insert the trigger assembly.

The 4 Benelli Shotguns That Inspired the Super Black Eagle

There were four important Benelli shotguns that came before the Super Black Eagle that made the iconic gun successful.

www.outdoorlife.com

 

[NKD]

Appreciate it. I had read that after seeing your pic and doing a search, lol.
It reminded me of the 1201FP, which I had an opportunity to run a little bit. It makes a M-2 feel like a soft shooter! Definitely the stiffest recoiling shotguns I have tried.