Benelli Super Black Eagle 3

Mark Heath is impressed with the performance and handling of this semi-auto, which is perfect for wildfowlers and pigeon shooters

This month, we assess the Benelli Super Black Eagle 3 semi-automatic as a wildfowling gun. Fowling and pigeon shooting are probably the two most common uses in the UK, other than perhaps law enforcement and military, for semiauto shotguns. If you turned up on a driven day with one, you might hear something like “Are you really sure that’s suitable, sir?” or “I think you’re in the wrong place, sir”.

In the US, they are widely used for wildfowling and in the competitive clay-shooting arena more often than perhaps in the UK. We do see them at the shooting school on occasion, sometimes when a client is going to the US, usually to shoot duck. We therefore cover the safety drills on how to shoot with a semi-auto.

Company background

In 1911, Teresa Benelli invested with her six sons in a car service and repair workshop. They expanded into the repair, and later manufacture, of motorcycles. In 1967 they acted on their passion for hunting and started making shotguns. They worked with Bruno Civolani, who was developing a revolutionary inertia-driven action for semi-automatic shotguns. The company is now owned by Beretta.

The Benelli Super Black Eagle became a favourite of wildfowlers as it was one of the first semi-autos capable of shooting magnum loads. They were also used by well-known American trick shooter Tom Knapp.

If you need any testament to the suitability of the brand to survive trips to the foreshore, the fact that its M4 is used by the military and police around the globe will persuade you. In 1998, the US Army invited manufacturers to submit semi-autos for testing. The M4 was the only one to survive and has since built a reputation for holding out in all conditions as well as being able to cycle a wide range of cartridges, with minimum maintenance.

There are a number of models in the Benelli range, including the Cordoba, which is designed for highvolume dove shooting in Argentina, and a Supersport for the clay scene. However, for wildfowling, the Super Black Eagle fits the bill, the most recent being the Super Black Eagle 3.

It has the inertia system for reliability and, with cold winter

Manufacturer

UK distributor

Model

Action

Barrel

Weight

Price

Benelli, Italy

GMK, tel 01489 579999

Super Black Eagle 3

Semi-automatic

28in

3.25kg (7lb 2oz)

£2,025

shooting days in mind, it has a larger bolt release and safety, together with a larger drop release to make it easier to operate with cold hands or when wearing gloves. The stock and fore-end is synthetic, easy to clean and impervious to foreshore mud.

It is fitted with Comfortech 3, a system that makes the shooting of heavy loads extremely comfortable,

“To say I had a disparaging view of semiautos was an understatement, but the Benelli changed my view in just 40 minutes”

as we found out during the test. From a technical point of view, the other feature that differentiates this gun from the rest of the Benelli range is the 3½in chamber for some monster loads. It is, of course, steel proofed.