All this talk about Comfortech stocks and my own positive experience with the M2 got me wondering about the Benelli R1 rifle; anyone have any experience with these?
http://www.benelliusa.com/r1-big-game-rifle
All this talk about Comfortech stocks and my own positive experience with the M2 got me wondering about the Benelli R1 rifle; anyone have any experience with these?
http://www.benelliusa.com/r1-big-game-rifle
Cool. 4 or 10 rd mags listed on Midway for under $100.
Cut down to 18" for a modern scout?
David S.
I've never even seen it. Pretty cool. Agree with @SteveB on cutting down to 18. Unfortunately, the barrel looks a little too thin to get threads and a suppressor, even when cut back. Sad, because the ARGO system seems perfect for a suppressor host.
Hoping he updates this evening, as SteveB got his R1 and had a promising initial range session with it.
Likes pretty much everything in every caliber.
Took an R1 in .308 to the range today. This rifle feels and handles very much like an M2, maybe slightly heavier. Barrels are interchangeable, and the upper receiver and barrel are a unit, so an optic can stay with a particular barrel. The rifle comes with a 5” pic rail; I used lightweight Talleys to mount up a 2-8.
Shooting the R1 is interesting; recoil is mild for the caliber. Seems like the Comfortech stock works as well here as it does on the shotguns. I like shorter LOP’s and this feels about an inch too long but it works with this rifle. The trigger feels like a Benelli shotgun trigger; not going to confuse it with a Model 70 trigger. So, shooting groups with the R1 takes some concentration, but it shoots fast pretty well.
I fired 30 rounds of mixed .308, ball, softpoints, Barnes, all functioned fine. Federal 150 TSX and Remington 150 Core-Lokt softpoints both shot into about an inch at 100 yards. I only had a 4-round magazine as I’m waiting for a 10-rounder to arrive. Inserting and ejecting the mag was a little stiff, but I expect this will improve over time.
The R1 has a 22” barrel, light profile, and would be handier if I lopped 4” off of it. With an Aimpoint or a 1-4X, I’ll give it a try as a semi-auto practical rifle. I’d consider a compact stock, but, eyeballing it, doesn’t look like the shotgun and rifle use the same stock. Anyway, looks like a project I’ll mess with a while.
Last edited by SteveB; 09-27-2017 at 08:40 PM.
@SteveB Fantastic, thanks for sharing. I'm looking forward to seeing this project progress. It certainly looks like it would make an excellent semi-auto practical rifle, especially if taking those 4" off. Any chance of there being enough girth on the barrel post cutting to allow threading for suppressor use?
This project also has me following closely. Ten rounds of semi-auto .06 with a T2 on top, would make a great walking around long gun.
Likes pretty much everything in every caliber.
Short answer is I don't know, but I did see a post on the Benelli forum where a guy had a muzzle brake installed on his 300WM R1 by these guys:
http://www.muzzlebrakes.com/
Just a Hairy Special Snowflake supply clerk with no field experience, shooting an Asymetric carbine as a Try Hard. Snarky and easily butt hurt. Favorite animal is the Cape Buffalo....likely indicative of a personality disorder.
"If I had a grandpa, he would look like Delbert Belton".