When at the meeting held at the booth Benelli during the IWA of March 2016 the official presenter of the production, the Commercial Director Dr. Lucio Porreca underlined how the novelty of the company was the over-under Benelli 828 U there was not the slightest bewilderment among the bystanders: it is true that the official presentation had been made in the same event last year, but among all those present he was perceived as the statuesque rifle, the son of a genetics in some ways absurd, was still and continuously "the novelty". We verify the absurdity of genetics immediately: let's imagine the struggle between the project computers and the characters who imaginatively dance around it, led by Eng. Vignaroli, characters of merit as discreet in appearing as extraordinarily real in their works and elegantly amiable and kind in offering, with disarming simplicity, the fruits of their work.
Let's imagine the physical and electronic minds that conspire to damage what for fifty years (one more year for the auspicious anniversary) was the prototype archetype of their work, the inertial semiautomatic: we dare not think about the contortions of thought to cage in a new project a desire so distant from that trace that has always made the saying its own Benelli, later on, always. Now, however, going forward involved strange thoughts and so an over-and-under leaped from the screens first and then from the workshop that has the appearance of a semi-auto like a boxed castle (carcass is also a technical term, but it has always seemed to us a derogatory cacophonous), precisely because of that genetic absurdity which we have just mentioned. This strange starting shape is modeled to take on lines suited to a receiver by accommodating a pair of overlapping barrels, an opening key and fixing itself to the stock and forend.
Benelli 828 U - The internal mechanics.
A similar starting point has seen some parameters such as weight within 3 kg, optimal balance for prompt intervention in every situation, pleasantness of use, all enclosed in a revolutionary whole for appearance and for different functions. We start from the closure derived from Hunter, but covered by a new patent, which implements the basic work of the L-shaped block inserted in the receiver and the strikers obtained in the breech block in which the barrels are fixed. The pieces are made of steel with the vertical segment of the L equipped with two short lateral struts and an upper profile with double convexity, while the lower one has an arch closed between two recesses. The functions of the monobloc are different with the complementary seal thanks to two pockets obtained in the upper extensions of the breech where the aforementioned convexities are housed; a flange protruding from the lower barrel fits into special mortises of the horizontal arm of the block where the semicircular profile of the lower barrel is positioned.
Finally, we still observe the pair of half-pins and trunnions plus two cylindrical struts, moved by the key, inserted in special round mortises made in the breech extensions. The forces to be counteracted are those which tend to separate the breech face of the barrels from the block, to make the barrels rotate, to project them forward: the block and barrels together are already a stable complex, still supported by additional details for safety and a completely reliable stability. The stems of the extractors located in the monobloc are spring loaded and the release is carried out by pistons inserted transversely into the barrel and expanded by the pressure of the firing gases. Another peculiarity: the cartridge chambers are obtained in the monobloc and only a few mm are needed to weld the barrels.
The actuation of the key with an arched shape and offset with respect to the center line of the rifle not only makes the barrels tilt, but also arms the firing pins of the launched type, of reduced mass and equipped with great speed with the intuitive advantages in the readiness of fire and in the absence of the classic referral mechanisms: The crosshead linked to the rod remains, as an element of registration of the draft of the weapon and therefore of its functionality.
A mention of the 65 or 70 cm long rods and made according to the type Power Bore with cryogenic treatment as well as the Chokes Crio Chokes while the rib is in carbon for lightness and heat dissipation. The stock features a grade 3 and 3 super nut equipped with the Progressive Comfort system with a synthetic back, which dampens energy and vibrations, and a butt pad with an internal system for gradual recoil disposal. To conclude, the supply of plates to optimize the posture of the stock in relation to the shooter offers a truly unusual range extension.
Benelli, always ahead: try a little 'to say no.