# SBE Question ?



## Mike L (Sep 8, 2003)

Ok, here's the issue that I'm not sure of. My friend has a SBE 2....He's hunting, wing shoots a hen, see's what he's done so he try's to shoot her twice on the way down. So that automatically opens the slide because he's empty. He puts another shell in the chamber, pushes the button to load the shell into the chamber/barrel pulls up to fire and all he gets is a click. IMO the gun should fire...but it's not.
The only way it will fire again is to reload from the bottom and re-rack. So my question is ? Is his gun malfunctioning ? Or is there a built in safety feature that blocks the firing pin from shooting the shell if it's not reloaded from the bottom.


----------



## R.J.M. (Jun 10, 2007)

Sometimes my sbe will do this but it seams that the slide does not move fast enough or with the energy needed to seat the bolt . Tells me it needs to be cleaned . Unless it’s very cold out than it’s just a oil gumming up issue . But when it happens it sucks


----------



## Rockydawg (Dec 8, 2019)

I had the same thing with my SB2 to the point I put it away for a couple years and went back to a pump. To solve it, I cleaned it top to bottom with gun scrubber. I removed the spring from the stock and cleaned that thoroughly. After everything was good and cleaned, I lightly lubricated with CLP break free. Since then, I've had no issues including -10 temps in North Dakota. I haven't had a gun issue since switching to CLP.


----------



## HRCHLab (Jan 14, 2008)

RockyDawg is spot on. Give it a good clean...and fire away!


----------



## AaronJohn (Oct 18, 2015)

thorough clean and polish the bolt and bolt carrier so that gun can enter into battery. 

classic in a gun that has been fired many times.


----------



## Mike L (Sep 8, 2003)

Thanks guys, much appreciated. Will pass your advice along.....


----------



## craigrh13 (Oct 24, 2011)

Google Benelli click. It’s a known problem that only Benellis have.


----------



## Far Beyond Driven (Jan 23, 2006)

If I paid $1700 for a fussy bolt action I'd be pissed.


----------



## Wolverine423 (Dec 3, 2013)

Remove spring from the stock and cleaned that thoroughly. This is where the big problem starts. Don’t have to do shat to the bolt action..


----------



## fowlpursuit (Jan 20, 2012)

Yep. Benelli click.. clean the bolt slide and inside rails and the recoil spring and tube. Lubricant lightly.
I’ve had that issue . I also upgraded to a wolf power spring.. no more issues... 
Also tell him if the shell catch isn’t in an upward position on the rotating bolt your gonna get a the “click”


----------



## fowlpursuit (Jan 20, 2012)

Far Beyond Driven said:


> If I paid $1700 for a fussy bolt action I'd be pissed.


I happen to like to challenge.. nothing like hearing the “click” on a group of rapidly descending mallards .. dismounting the gun to recharge while retrieving another shell from my belt stuff it in the gun and still managing to drop a triple as they retreat towards the heavens..
How much fun would it have been if the gun woulda just shot right away...


----------



## Pat P (Nov 19, 2013)

As all the other bennelli guys have stated, cleanliness and cold temps can cause some terribly frustrating mishaps. Nothing like a $2K gun that wont shoot. 

Here is how I fixed it:
On that gun the butt pad snaps in and it allows water in the stock if you set the butt in the water. The recoil spring is in the stock in a tube and that needs to be kept clean and dry. 

I replaced my spring with a high powered wolf spring. When I did that I cleaned out that spring tube and lightly oiled the new spring. Also there is a steel nut on the end of the tube that was rusty for me so I replaced with stainless. 

For prevention, *after every hunt I pop the but pad off my gun and let it dry out.* Try keep your stock out of the water as much as possible. I try rest it on my boot instead of the ground but I still end up with alot of water in the stock. 

This has worked for me for the last few years, but try remember to put the butt pad back on before you go hunting again, I've been on a few hunts without it...


----------



## Pat P (Nov 19, 2013)

You can see how much crap got in from sitting in 2” of water yesterday.


----------



## Far Beyond Driven (Jan 23, 2006)

fowlpursuit said:


> I happen to like to challenge.. nothing like hearing the “click” on a group of rapidly descending mallards .. dismounting the gun to recharge while retrieving another shell from my belt stuff it in the gun and still managing to drop a triple as they retreat towards the heavens..
> How much fun would it have been if the gun woulda just shot right away...



Sitting in zone 37 at Shiawassee last week of season. Greenhead piles in at 25 yards on my buddy's side. SBE up, click, dammit kill that bird. 30 year old $130 Mossberg 20 comes up one and done.

Buddy says "did you see the band?"

My only mallard band was a gift from a Benelli click.


----------



## BumpRacerX (Dec 31, 2009)

$2k gun and you gotta pop the recoil pad off the stock after every use?


----------



## fowlpursuit (Jan 20, 2012)

I know it’s fun to bash to gun.. but it is a workhorse and bullet proof no gas ports to worry about.... the majority of snow goose guides still choose the SBE2 because it’s reliability with minimal maintenance.
I choose It simply because it fits me. Which is something few waterfowlers seem to take into consideration these days instead opting for what the internet says they shoot shoot.
My gun points where I’m looking which is the main principle of wing shooting... if you have to “aim” or look at the bead your already loosing


----------



## Pat P (Nov 19, 2013)

BumpRacerX said:


> $2k gun and you gotta pop the recoil pad off the stock after every use?


Go ahead rub it in. I almost pitched the thing at one point, but the gun has slowly won me over again. Mine was a hand me down and I love it, however I'd think twice about buying another one.


----------



## TSS Caddis (Mar 15, 2002)

BumpRacerX said:


> $2k gun and you gotta pop the recoil pad off the stock after every use?


No.

The less you F with the spring the better. Start oiling it etc... is when it starts to cause most people headaches.


----------



## AaronJohn (Oct 18, 2015)

damn inertia guns, gas is the way to go


----------



## BumpRacerX (Dec 31, 2009)

TSS Caddis said:


> No.
> 
> The less you F with the spring the better. Start oiling it etc... is when it starts to cause most people headaches.


That's what I was getting at. There has to be a better solution than that. 




Pat P said:


> Go ahead rub it in. I almost pitched the thing at one point, but the gun has slowly won me over again. Mine was a hand me down and I love it, however I'd think twice about buying another one.


Not rubbing it in. See above.


----------



## lastflight (Aug 16, 2005)

Far Beyond Driven said:


> My only mallard band was a gift from a Benelli click.


I've killed two banded mallards this season, both with my SBE2. 

Benelli 1 : Mossberg 0

Your move.


----------



## Jerry Lamb (Aug 3, 2015)

chednhy said:


> I learned when loading first shell, the one ur counting on. Put it all the way into chamber thumb it in there with bolt locked back, then let bolt slam home.


Good suggestion


----------



## Far Beyond Driven (Jan 23, 2006)

lastflight said:


> I've killed two banded mallards this season, both with my SBE2.
> 
> Benelli 1 : Mossberg 0
> 
> Your move.



That changes the way I got the one on my lanyard how? It's completely irrelevant to my story unless we go back to 2017 so you can shoot it.


----------



## Pat P (Nov 19, 2013)

Im not saying one gun is better then the other just trying to help with the how to solve the problem of a benelli that goes click. I actually shoot a Cordoba, its slightly different vs the SBE and maybe is was designed as more of a dove gun then a duck gun but the thing swings great and has almost no muzzle lift on follow up shots. There are advantages to pumps for sure, I still love my 870 20 gauge and use it time to time and can probably shoot a better trap score with it. 

In 8 seasons of hunting with the benelli I only had the one issue. It was -10 and I was hunting from shore in lake huron surf. Every ones gun had issues that day. The BPS next to me had a frozen firing pin. I lubed the sh**t out of my gun and had more issues the next week. 

A good clean and very light oil on the internals has worked for me. As a precaution i still pop the butt pad off to let moisture out if the stock was submerged at all (don't know if anyone else does this or its just me). Benelli will not recommend the wolf spring but I love how hard it slams the bolt shut.


----------



## Abi13 (Mar 6, 2018)

Mike L said:


> Ok, here's the issue that I'm not sure of. My friend has a SBE 2....He's hunting, wing shoots a hen, see's what he's done so he try's to shoot her twice on the way down. So that automatically opens the slide because he's empty. He puts another shell in the chamber, pushes the button to load the shell into the chamber/barrel pulls up to fire and all he gets is a click. IMO the gun should fire...but it's not.
> The only way it will fire again is to reload from the bottom and re-rack. So my question is ? Is his gun malfunctioning ? Or is there a built in safety feature that blocks the firing pin from shooting the shell if it's not reloaded from the bottom.


I have a Vinci and had a SBE. It's fouling right where the shell enters the barrel. There is not enough spring pressure to reload the shell. I missed my dream bird, right in the decoys, because I was shooting Black Cloud as water swat shot follow ups. The was so much fouling in the barrel that the shell would not load. I cleaned the barrel and have not used Black Cloud since then and the issue went away.


----------



## lastflight (Aug 16, 2005)

Far Beyond Driven said:


> That changes the way I got the one on my lanyard how? It's completely irrelevant to my story unless we go back to 2017 so you can shoot it.


It doesn't. It also doesn't change the fact that my SBE2 has been flawless with minimal cleaning (once ever 500 rounds or so) for the last 14 years.

However, if we could go back to 2017, I would love to shoot the duck for you.


----------



## AaronJohn (Oct 18, 2015)

Abi13 said:


> I have a Vinci and had a SBE. It's fouling right where the shell enters the barrel. There is not enough spring pressure to reload the shell. I missed my dream bird, right in the decoys, because I was shooting Black Cloud as water swat shot follow ups. The was so much fouling in the barrel that the shell would not load. I cleaned the barrel and have not used Black Cloud since then and the issue went away.


that has nothing to do with BC


----------



## babs2699 (Nov 10, 2011)

have a original SBE BPS pump Field shot tons of rounds through both have a Maxus and Winchester SX4 i found out long ago to rub a little bore butter on everything run some through the Barrel everything runs smooth ! The barrel after a few boxes of shells is still pretty clean run a few cleaning cloths through it shines right up ! not saying it will work for everybody but works for me..


----------



## TSS Caddis (Mar 15, 2002)

highcaliberconsecrator said:


> Lots of people bashing a gun they know nothing about. I’m on 19 years on one of my sbe’s and never had an issue. Continue to buy every decently priced used one I can. Only issue was my fault due to over lubrication. IMO most sbes with issues are not from the recoil spring itself. Yet the first thing people do is go out and buy an aftermarket stainless spring and continue to be frustrated.


I’m on 25 with my HK M1. Never an issue really other than what you might expect at that age. Broken firing pin spring, broken lug at 20 years that was replaced at no cost.

That’s probably 20k rounds through it. 30 + saltwater days in there also between AK, Maine, NC, RI.


----------



## SWMbruiser (Jan 25, 2012)

My SBE2 collects tons of gun powder in the recoil spring. Gets cold and doesn't want to cycle well. Along with regular quick field cleans, when middle of November hots and temps start to go down, recoil spring gets a thorough cleaning and makes it fine until the end of season. Always amazes me how much crap is down in that butt

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk


----------



## TSS Caddis (Mar 15, 2002)

SWMbruiser said:


> My SBE2 collects tons of gun powder in the recoil spring. Gets cold and doesn't want to cycle well. Along with regular quick field cleans, when middle of November hots and temps start to go down, recoil spring gets a thorough cleaning and makes it fine until the end of season. Always amazes me how much crap is down in that butt
> 
> Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk


which shells are you shooting? I’ve shot xperts for the last 15 years and super clean. Have 3 cases of Fed Blue box for guests to use and after each day the gun and front of the layout is crazy dirty. Xperts I can make it an entire season with just a little WD now and again


----------



## SWMbruiser (Jan 25, 2012)

TSS Caddis said:


> which shells are you shooting? I’ve shot xperts for the last 15 years and super clean. Have 3 cases of Fed Blue box for guests to use and after each day the gun and front of the layout is crazy dirty. Xperts I can make it an entire season with just a little WD now and again


Federal blue box

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk


----------



## Deadeyedeek (Jan 7, 2019)

SWMbruiser said:


> Federal blue box
> 
> Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk


Had 2 Nellis in my lifetime..they are to say the least fussy about cold and cleaning. Now I have had them all, met some older guys that shared a snow goose pit with us, they owned an Import gun business. They gave us all(3) a new Hatsen Escort to shoot and was told not to clean, just fill out field test stuff every 6 mo..I have 5 now, but the 1st one I still shoot. It cycles faster than anything I have ever known, never jams or misfires, the best part 400 bucks..try one and you will love it..DD


----------



## highcaliberconsecrator (Oct 16, 2009)

TSS Caddis said:


> I’m on 25 with my HK M1. Never an issue really other than what you might expect at that age. Broken firing pin spring, broken lug at 20 years that was replaced at no cost.
> 
> That’s probably 20k rounds through it. 30 + saltwater days in there also between AK, Maine, NC, RI.


You are probably due for an ejector.


----------



## AaronJohn (Oct 18, 2015)

remember when everyone hated the versamax. now all the SBEs have a list of issues.


----------



## TSS Caddis (Mar 15, 2002)

SWMbruiser said:


> Federal blue box
> 
> Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk


Change shells and you will be shocked how much cleaner your gun will stay


----------

