Franchi 48 AL 20 Gauge Versus Benelli Montefeltro 20 Gauge

Jamie Rice · Post by **Jamie Rice** » Mon Mar 17, 2003 4:00 pm

Alright folks, ole tight wad here has finally come to the decision that I need a new rabbit gun. I've tossed around the idea of over and unders, but can't find one light enough for me. Nothing sucks more than toting around a heavy gun all day. Therefore I'm come down to deciding whether I want a Franchi or a Benelli. A relative has a 12 Gauge Montefeltro, which I like a lot. However that $850+ price is kind of hard to lay down. The Franchi price around here is close to $300 cheaper, which attracts me. Weight wise both are similar. For those of you that have either, please give me your opinions on each. Hows the draw quickness compare to each? Quick to the eye? Etc. Hows one hold up to the other as durablity, etc.

Thanks....

PS: Would still consider an over and under if I could find a 20 gauge around 6 pounds.

Post by **Bev** » Mon Mar 17, 2003 8:24 pm

Fuzz, I shoot a Franchi 48 al 20 ga. When I bought it, I also looked at the Benelli Montefeltro 20 ga. It is a beautiful gun. Shinier blue metal, glossier stock, just a Cadillac, but you will pay the extra for it. I decided to get the Franchi (also made by Benelli) because there wasn't that much difference in the two except for the eye candy. Had I paid the $799.00 for the Benelli, I think I would regret getting it in the briars. The Franchi is light (5.5 lbs) and the grip small (enables me to easily carry it). Ralph liked mine so well he went and bought the 28 ga. He put down the rabbit with the first shot from it. Swing up light. The only trouble I have with it is loading/unloading the shells, I'm retarded and want to eject the shells the same way I do my Mossberg and I'm not used to having to hold two things down simultaneously to load it. Fortunately it comes factory with the 3-shell tube and I do like the gas-powered semi-auto feature. The gas operation absorbs kick on a gun that light (not that there's much kick to a 20 anyway). I use #6 high brass loads. I'm pretty sure that both the Benelli and the Franchi need to be adjusted for high brass loads. The Franchi did.

Stone Cold Beagles · Post by **Stone Cold Beagles** » Mon Mar 17, 2003 9:06 pm

Fuzz

I prefer the Browning Gold Hunter 20 ga with a 26" barrel. Light weight fast swing and quick to sight. It has a 70/30 pattern which allows you to keep your eye on the game instead of covering it with the bead. An overall outstanding fire arm whose reliability, durability and versatility are unequalled. I know this is not the fire arm you were asking about, but it is another option for you to look at.

RES · Post by **RES** » Mon Mar 17, 2003 9:54 pm

Bev, are you sure you have the Franchi 48 AL? Every one that I have seen is recoil operated. Not gas operated. The barrel moves back into the receiver to eject the spent casing. I believe the Franchi 48 is a copy of John Brownings Auto 5, except with an aluminum receiver.

Post by **Bev** » Mon Mar 17, 2003 11:15 pm

RES, I may not explain this very well so bear with me. The 48 AL (both 20 & 28 ga) use the shot shell's gas pressure to recycle the recoil action. The barrel and bolt move backward together until the pressure is relieved and the spent shell ejects. The spring pushes the barrel back forward while the bolt picks up the next shell. That's the way I understand it. I may have my terminology wrong. I basically just do a lot of aiming, shooting and missing, but I know the barrel and bolt recoil instead of the entire gun and it cushions the jolt quite a bit. The only downside is that I have had it not eject the shell one time and I haven't shot the gun that much. Ralph hasn't had this happen with the 28 ga. Don't know about the Benelli - never shot one.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Mar 18, 2003 12:46 am

I like the 620 Franchi auto-gas, light & easy to point. The AL has a bit of a double kick to get used to with the recoil of the barrel but nothing harsh. The gun comes with shims to adjust the stock angle. Put a sling on it, pull out the magazine plug and your set to go...

Bev., you have to put in the IMP choke to open the pattern up. The Mod. & Full are so tight that I shot the ears off one and he's still running around today. Ha,ha...

Happy shopping...Patch

Benelli Dealer · Post by **Benelli Dealer** » Tue Mar 18, 2003 10:11 am

Franchi is a separate company from Benelli but owned by Benelli. They are manufactured in different facilities. The Franchi AL 48 uses the Browning designed long recoil system [both barrel and bolt recoil into the receiver to cycle the action] while Benelli uses a short recoil system [bolt only moves in the action]. This results in a considerably faster cycle time in the Benelli action. Neither are a gas operated system meaning that cleaning is much easier and less frequently required. The Franchi should seldom if ever jam but the Benelli will NEVER jam regardless of light or heavy loads. Both guns in 20 gauge will weigh about 5.5 pounds. Personally, I prefer the Benelli M-1 Super 90 Camo in 20 gauge for hard use in the brush and wet weather. The camo finish on metalwork combined with the synthetic stock result in a nearly rustproof weapon that will never jam as most autoloaders are bound to do. This gun will take more abuse than the elements can dish out regardless of weather and temperature, but you will pay roughly $1,000 for the "Ferarri" of shotguns. Benelli's motto is "Performance worth the price" and it is just that. The black synthetic version will save you about $100 over the camo model but will be a bit less rust resistant on the barrel. All are excellent guns.

Post by **Bev** » Tue Mar 18, 2003 1:09 pm

Thanks for the clarification. I knew Benelli owned Franchi - just assumed they mfg'd them too. I see many sources of sales literature and websites that advertise the 48 AL as a gas oprated recoil system. I may be misunderstanding the mechanics of this gun.

Would the gas used from spent shell in the 48 AL be different somehow than a normal gas operated gun? I'm no "Inga-Neer", just going by what my literature and instructions tell me about my gun. I did find the Franchi website that explained the barrel/bolt action much better than I did. Here's what they had to say:

"The long recoil design uses all of the shot shell's gas pressure to cycle the action. the bolt and barrel travel rearward while locked together until the pressure drops. then, they unlock allowing the spent case to be ejected. The barrel moves forward under spring pressure while the bolt picks up the next round from the magazine prior to returning to battery under the power of the bolt return spring. "

http://www.franchiusa.com/al48/

Fuzz, you should check out this info in Franchi's new Alcione SX O/U. Nice looking, but not as lightweight (naturally) as the AL 48. http://www.franchiusa.com/alcione_sx/

Jamie Rice · Post by **Jamie Rice** » Tue Mar 18, 2003 2:10 pm

Bev and others. Thanks for the replies. I like the looks of those Franchi O/U, but I'm not about to drop $1000 to $1400 for a gun. Personally the $850 my dealer asked me for the Benelli Montefeltro is out of my range. I like the gun a lot, but just have a hard time dropping that much cash for a gun I'm going to beat through the bush with. Way I look at is this if I buy it I'm going to use it for what it's intended for. It's just 5 something sounds a lot better than 8 something. I'm going to look into Charles Daly's too. Friend of mine bought an semi-automatic a while back. May trek over to his humble abode to check it out this week. The prices wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have new kennels that are going to dig into the pocket book. Anyone want to make a donation?

I didn't think so... Ha ha. Thanks again for all the positive replies. Nice to know you can still turn to a few people and get positivity.

Benelli Dealer · Post by **Benelli Dealer** » Tue Mar 18, 2003 2:17 pm

All autoloaders use gasses generated during combustion to function the action, however, conventional gas-operated designs bleed some of the gasses through a port in the barrel into a piston containing an operating rod linked to the action. This tends to put quite a bit of carbon into the action and eventually may plug the port resulting in a jam. The Browning design uses the recoil of the powder charge to drive the barrel and bolt rearward into the action as Bev described while in the Benelli the bolt alone moves rearward. In these actions, no gasses are bled from the charge and there are no gas ports to plug resulting in a much more reliable system. The only other system as reliable would be break action single shots or double guns. Charles Daly contracts some very nice Spanish side by sides that weigh in at about 5.5 - 6 pounds in 20 gauge for about $750. They are the best buy I've seen in double guns if you don't want to take out a mortgage to go rabbit hunting. Everyone has a favorite but I hear more and more people say that gun weight becomes an issue as they gain in years. Manufacturers have responded with extremely lightweight guns but they don't forget to charge for them. Sigarms has contracted the famous Rizzini house to build their wonderful "New Englander" over / under which tips the scales at just over 5 pounds in 28 gauge and 410, but you'll dig out $2,000 for one of these little beauties. Once you've carried one of these featherweight guns though, it's awfully hard to go back to those 7 and 8 pound guns we all grew up with.

Robert W. Mccoy Jr · Post by **Robert W. Mccoy Jr** » Tue Mar 18, 2003 2:54 pm

My vote goes towards the Beretta.

I have a Beretta xtrema and that gun is the best shotgun I have ever owned. Very dependable

The ukira 20 ga weighs 5.9 lbs.
Not much more than the benelli

http://www.berettausa.com

mdbeagler · Post by **mdbeagler** » Tue Mar 18, 2003 10:05 pm

I had a toss up over the berreta urika model and the bennelli Montefeltro. I settled on the bennelli and paid almost $1000.00 for it.
I purchased it this fall for rabbit hunting. I love it, its a great gun worth the money. Its very light weight even after carrying it all day. The only problem is getting that nice finish all scratched up. I was told to put a coat of shellac on it to protect the guns finish, after getting a few unwanted scratches on it. It is a very nice shooting gun, and it comes with 5 choke tubes and a case.

beaglebill · Post by **beaglebill** » Wed Mar 19, 2003 4:07 pm

I had a Franchi 20 guage that would not eject all the time then finally the stock busted while shooting. I still have a 12 guage that im crazy about. I love the weight the older i get. I think i was shooting a heavy load that caused the problem with the 20 guage. It is very light ....

clippy · Post by **clippy** » Wed Mar 19, 2003 8:06 pm

i have a remington 1100 lt 20ga it is the most dependible gun ive owned in 5 years light swings great it cost around 800 but an awesome gun for the money....

dirtydawg55 · Post by **dirtydawg55** » Wed Mar 19, 2003 11:44 pm

Ijust bought a benelli nova pump black synthetic for $280 plus tax plus a sling .It is very light and swings fast with 24 inch barrel. The only thing i can find wrong with it is i had to fight my 13 year old boy every time we went hunting.I fixed that this weekend i bought him a 12 with the camo for his birthdaybut that is not till september. it cost me $350 so it will be for xmas also. Doug

The American Beagler Forum

Franchi 48 AL 20 Gauge Versus Benelli Montefeltro 20 Gauge

Franchi 48 AL 20 Gauge Versus Benelli Montefeltro 20 Gauge

Gun

Franchi

Franchi vs Benelli

Mdbeagler