I know that GA State Police ordered 1,000 of them some time back. Does anyone know if they like them? I am wanting a good pump shotgun for deer, hogs, and "anything else", as well as looking at them for gift purposes this Christmas.
870P
Mossberg 590a1
Nova
They are all roughly the same price, but I am a Benelli fan. Can anyone comment from experience how they hold up in hard use/if they have any inherent issues?
I have one; it works very well. Never had any issues with it, and the design seems robust and well thought out. I use it for skeet and dove and really like the magazine cut-off feature on the pump.
I would not buy a vanilla Nova again, though. They are what they are and there's very little changing it - length of pull, stock, etc. If I had to go back and do it over, for a do it all shotgun I'd probably have gone with an auto.
I've run my 24" bird Nova hard with no issues at all.
My 18.5" house Nova has a factory +2 extension, 4 round side saddle and I cut 3/4" off the stock.
It too has run great in training and 3 gun.
I do zero maintenance on shotguns. The Nova runs like a Glock is supposed to.
"For a moment he felt good about this. A moment or two later he felt bad about feeling good about it. Then he felt good about feeling bad about feeling good about it and, satisfied, drove on into the night."
-- Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy --
Is the barrel chrome lined like their other models? I know some people don't like to clean a shotgun bore, but I scrape out tons of lead with a Tornado brush after a day at the range.Originally Posted by TR675
I understand the Nova Tactical is a fixed CYL, correct?
Also, while I realize it IS a $400ish shotgun, does it "feel" as solid and as quality as the M1, M2,M4, and other guns Benelli is known for, or is this something made in another factory/not as solid feeling for whatever reason/lower QA/QC to "fit a price point" kindof like Remington does with the Express guns as compared to the Police/Wingmaster models of yesteryear?
Last edited by Unobtanium; 08-21-2014 at 12:14 PM.
A Nova was my first shotgun, bought it to have something cheap to get my feet wet in 3-gun...decided I'd rather have a good pump than a sketchy auto, and I couldn't justify the $$$ for a good auto at the time. Very easy to load and operate, mine worked great. Was dead on with Tru-Ball slugs btw. I didn't really care for the safety location at the front of the trigger guard in competition, but not an issue for your intended use. My only suggestion would be to also consider the SuperNova for about $100 more, it's basically the same thing with a ComforTech stock which will shoot softer and is also more customizable with the different height comb inserts. After buying a ComforTech recoil pad for my Nova I was pretty much at the price of the SuperNova without some of the other extras. Too bad you hadn't posted a few weeks earlier, just traded mine in on an M2.
I ordered the wrong pad from Limbsaver for my M4. I just kept it. It interestingly is listed as also fitting the Benelli Nova. It's the new "Airtech" pad and seems REALLY NICE! Correct me if I'm wrong, but the only difference is the stock and looks, and I prefer the looks of the Nova.A Nova was my first shotgun, bought it to have something cheap to get my feet wet in 3-gun...decided I'd rather have a good pump than a sketchy auto, and I couldn't justify the $$$ for a good auto at the time. Very easy to load and operate, mine worked great. Was dead on with Tru-Ball slugs btw. I didn't really care for the safety location at the front of the trigger guard in competition, but not an issue for your intended use. My only suggestion would be to also consider the SuperNova for about $100 more, it's basically the same thing with a ComforTech stock which will shoot softer and is also more customizable with the different height comb inserts. After buying a ComforTech recoil pad for my Nova I was pretty much at the price of the SuperNova without some of the other extras. Too bad you hadn't posted a few weeks earlier, just traded mine in on an M2.
I've had one for over a decade, 18" barrel, never any malfunction or other difficulty. Used to be inexpensive (I paid about $200 new IIRC), dunno about currently.
"Therefore, since the world has still... Much good, but much less good than ill,
And while the sun and moon endure, Luck's a chance, but trouble's sure,
I'd face it as a wise man would, And train for ill and not for good." -- A.E. Housman
I'm on my second Nova. Picked the current one over a new 870 because it can use 3.5" shells, and I love the magazine cut-off button in the pump handle.
Shoots well, always works, looks good, doesn't rust, easy to take apart. The only thing I don't like--and it's a minor thing--is that the large pump handle is a bit rattly.
I think the Nova is pretty established by now as a solid, reliable, fast-handling gun without any major design or function issues.
'Tis true. Never had any other shotgun, pump or semiauto, that rattled so. Not good for "stealth".
"Therefore, since the world has still... Much good, but much less good than ill,
And while the sun and moon endure, Luck's a chance, but trouble's sure,
I'd face it as a wise man would, And train for ill and not for good." -- A.E. Housman
We have a couple of them. An 18.5" model that I used in three gun/pump gun matches for a few years. It's a great shotgun, shoots cheap slugs accurate enough for 50 yards. We also have a 20 gauge youth that is currently out on loan to another young'un. My oldest shot everything from doves to deer with it. Awesome shotgun for a kid, I really like the mag cutoff for unloading. As pointed out they can be noisy.
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