Shotguns: Benelli is synonymous with innovation, anticipating the application of new technologies. Model 121 is a semi-automatic born in 1969, which has undergone a series of modifications to adapt it to the most diverse needs in the hunting, sporting and military fields.
There are shotguns of all qualities, but few manage to get out of the box. This is the case of the Benelli model 121.
In 1911 the Benelli family founded the Fratelli Benelli Spa industry in Pesaro, entering the market for the production of motorcycles, mopeds and three-wheelers. Starting from the 20s, Benelli decided to enter the arms market, creating a side-by-side hammer shot in 1920; in 1941 it was the turn of the creation of a 12 gauge semiautomatic with a special light alloy castle and mechanics covered by four patents.
From this moment on, Benelli became one of the main Italian companies for the production of weapons for hunting purposes.
The Benelli brothers had the merit of developing the recoil energy exploitation project: a mass (bolt) which by inertia retains its position when the rifle recoils due to the effect of the shot. This system allows you to keep the bolt closed and allows it to open only when the pressure in the barrel has reached safety values.
A massive spring is inserted in the shutter, the true heart of the inertial system, capable of allowing the entire operating cycle: the recoil energy is first stored by the spring and then reused to perform the various kinematics, such as extraction and ejection of the spent cases, cocking of the hammer, introduction of a new cartridge and closing of the bolt.
This new system combined the advantages of owning a rifle with a fixed barrel to a faster rate of fire than the weapons on the market of the time. The Benelli rifles were thus able to fire 6 shots in less than a second. The fixed barrel compared to the swinging variant became a certain advantage for target acquisition.
One of the Casa Benelli products that most of all made history is certainly the 121 model.
Born in 1969, this semi-automatic, named 121, had an orange peel finish castle, available in 12 gauge in the 5-shot Normal and 4-shot Normal versions, as well as the Superleggero, with the identical tank capacity variants.
Model 121 was equipped with the historic St. Etienne barrels, obtained through a hot hammering process on an internal mandrel. Available with or without ventilated rib, these barrels had a 70 mm combustion chamber, the 121 had a weight of about 3.500 g. for the 5-shot version and 2.900 g. for the 4-stroke version with aluminum receiver and without rib.
The SL 121 models with a satin aluminum casing, SL 122 with a white or bronze anodised aluminum casing, SL 123 with a photo-etched aluminum casing and the Extra Luxury version, with a finely engraved aluminum or steel casing, are then marketed. deriving from 121.
For many insiders, the 121 model is considered the best of the semiautomatics ever built, to the point that the original version was modified to create, in 1979, the first semiauto intended for military use: the 121 ML model.
In 1978 Benelli launched a new semi-auto series, the SL 80 series. The latter includes the 121, 123, Special 80 and Extra Lusso series, each of which is produced in three versions: hunting, shooting and slug . The hunting versions had a 70 cm barrel. with chokes of 1, 2, and 3 stars and a 65 cm barrel with chokes of 2, 3, and 4 stars, for a total weight of about 3.100 g. with ergal castle.
The trap version had a 70 cm barrel with 2-star slotting, 10 mm ventilated rib, pistol grip, Montecarlo-type stock with double-vented recoil pad and beavertail fore-end, weighing approximately 3.450 g.
Finally, the slug version was fitted with a 55 cm cylindrical barrel without rib and with a blade front sight, ventilated rubber buttplate, beavertail fore-end, for a weight of about 3.250 gr.
The St. Etienne rods of cm. 70 / * had a very marked shrinkage, some up to 12/10 and the cone was designed with a special short and double slope profile. These barrels were designed to fire mainly heavy loads of large pellets, even under no. 3-4.
The Benelli 121 can be considered, together with its manufacturer, a precursor of many technological innovations, which have also been adopted by other Italian and foreign manufacturers.
Ultimately, the 121 model is the semi-automatic par excellence, which made history by anticipating the application of new technologies, first of all the inertial gas recovery system, a feature that is now indispensable in every semi-automatic.
Greetings. I am selling a hunting Benelli 121 SL80… .. semi new… .. price € .500,00 negotiable. -No time wasters.
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