In Casa Benelli the abbreviation SBE stands for Super Black Eagle, the powerful semi-automatic chambered for the 12/89 cartridge also known as 12 super magnums: a rifle created specifically for hunting large wild flying birds, such as geese and turkeys for which the reference market is certainly that between the United States of America and Canada, without forgetting the areas of Europe where there is no shortage of large anseriformes. Certain. Equally valid is the exceptional ballistics of this shotgun / cartridge binomial in other areas where aquatic of lesser caliber, but in exorbitant numbers, think of the flocks of mallards, require a highly specific shotgun and cartridge for a long-range commitment and a considerable number. of shots. At this moment, the citation of the flagship product in terms of ballistics, extreme, excellent and yet always very specific in hunting terms, serves to introduce an excellent lineage that, with the usual attention and sagacity, the House of Urbino has recently put on the market.
The SBE technical setting studied for the 12/89 caliber cartridge has been proposed with the necessary parameters in the 12/76 caliber which is today the most balanced cartridge for a wide range of solutions, both ballistic and economic. A visit to the armories is enough to see the variety of charges proposed in the 12 gauge, both with 70 and 76 mm cases to get an idea of what can be used in all hunts, from thrushes to ducks and also to the geese, already mentioned above, taking care to reach places from which they are shot at suitable distances for the charge of pellets. The care in the evolution of its shotguns anticipates in Benelli the impulses and choices that customers develop over time: the caliber 20/76 has just been followed by the caliber 28/76, that 28 Magnum that has already made a good show in the Raffaello of itself with amazing ballistic results. The chamber in the Black Eagle 3 offers a variety of details that make this weapon a optimum for technology and resistance to the ravages of extreme use.
Benelli Black Eagle 3
The Benelli Black Eagle 3 which brings back into play those lines that the Italian manufacturer has wisely shaped to make the new product perfectly in tune with the American taste, which then represents the reference market. We find that this combination has masterfully succeeded by adapting in many ways to the US style while retaining the imprint of the Italian matrix: ultimately a shotgun that is very popular on both sides of the Atlantic, and beyond. Here, therefore, the castle in ergaldove blend taut lines and rounding, with dihedrals and scratches aimed at connecting volumes and minimal angularities functional to the characterization of the complex through a completely personal style.
The upper connection between the rounded cap and the sides forms a V in lying relief borrowed from the SBE and precisely in this thickness, and in the angle that guarantees excellent resistance, the breech extension of the barrel is positioned: as always Benelli blends style and quality. elegance with maximum strength. The guard made from polymer molding is also very personal and in tune with the complex, with different thicknesses to accommodate the short and retracted trigger for constant pressure even by those with short hands, together with the button for unlocking the elevator of the cartridge and safety button. The fully rounded cocking lever is comfortable so as not to offend the hand, as well as the slide release button on the right side of the castle and the apical screw cap with an hourglass profile and spiral corrugation, partially recessed in the rod, for a firm grip of fingers during tightening or disassembly.
The barrel and the stock
The barrel is made from a perforated bar and then hammered for maximum uniformity of section and with elongated connection slopes so as to reduce the water hammer: it shows the slender profile given by the diameter of the chambered cartridge, a factor that is very favorable greatly reducing the overall mass to the advantage of the port and the swing: interchangeable chokes are available, some internal, others external slightly protruding from the muzzle live and with a deep knurling so as to replace them manually in the field, without the need for any tools.
The carbon rib is one of the technical refinements thanks to which the weight is limited by strongly attenuating the phenomenon of the mirage due to the heating of the rod; Added to this are the ComfortTech 3 recoil-absorbing stock, the CombTech 3 comb and the shock-absorbing pad: in the 28 gauge it may seem superfluous, but on the field, especially if you shoot from the platform, therefore with a number of shots between 25 and 50 (depends on skill) to complete a series of targets, this innovation also offers help and motivation deserving of maximum appreciation.
The repetition inertial operation is an additional element to soften the recoil sensation: the movement of the masses with the spring interposed between the head and the bolt body, and the times within which the compression and then the release allow the head fins to free themselves from the mortises obtained in the breech extension of the barrel, they favorably expand the application of force to the advantage of the shooter.
The gun grip is also comfortable thanks to the Air Touch system: the gripping surfaces have hemispherical grooves for a secure grip and no sweating of the hand. Two more fitting acronyms, Easy Loading, to define the work of the chromed lifting spoon and with a wavy profile for a lower friction surface, which facilitates the insertion of the cartridges in the tank, and then Easy Locking, for the closing of the trolley, silent and guaranteed that he avoids having to pull the trigger by only sending the bolt to the stop and letting the game escape next to the post.
To conclude
It is easy to say that the Black Eagle 3 in 28/76 caliber is really a new word in the field of shotguns and, in particular, in the semiautomatic ones of which it is usually thought that everything possible has already been said. We do not dwell on listing the advantages of this weapon, but we ask for a test: only in this way can we appreciate how much the combination of shotgun and cartridge is fun, satisfying, usable (a word that is very fashionable today), performing (same as cs) … and so on.
If at first you do not decide to buy, smooth out your trusted gunsmith and try a specimen on the platform: you will be amazed by your speed of action on the target and your accuracy in shooting. Lightness is a valuable aid, like the icing on the cake of the excellent ballistics setting. Experienced this test try to undermine pheasants, partridges and redheads in some beautiful reserve: we with cartridges of 7 and 5 of the Fiocchi were literally amazed at the results achieved.
