Im a huge fan of inertia driven shotguns now.
+1
I've shot a few rounds of clays with an early production Versa Max, owned the SBE/SBE2 and a Super Vinci. The Super Vinci is without a doubt the better shotgun of the three in my opinion. It is a remarkable shotgun in so many ways, you have to own or use one to truly appreciate the subtle yet significant differences that make this shotgun special.
Here's a few reasons why I like the Super Vinci.
1. Benelli/Stoeger warranty and customer service is as good as it gets. For folks who are comfortable working on their shotguns, one phone call, and the part will be at your doorstep. Fortunately, their shotguns are typically reliable and problem free.
2. It's accurate, a tack driver. (6'oclock POA on a target).
3. The shotgun patterns consistently and as it should with the 5 included factory Crio chokes.
4. It has eaten everything I've fed it, from 2 3/4 1oz low brass to 3.5 magnums, with ZERO break-in.
5. It's Inertia driven, a significant advantage when hunting in water, rain, mud, or most importantly, wet environments in sub-freezing temps.
6. The inertia bolt mechanism is simple to maintain, easy to access, and contained entirely within the upper receiver. If the shotgun is flooded with water/mud, it's a simple matter to clean it in the field, unlike most other inertia shotguns that have the recoil spring mechanism protruding into the buttstock.
7. It's EXTREMELY simple to break down and clean, easily the simplest shotgun to deep clean that I own. It takes 30 seconds to break down; push in the detent on the bottom of the foregrip, rotate the barrel nut 45 degrees, and it's apart. It breaks down into three pieces somewhat similar to an AR; The Upper Receiver/Barrel, the Buttstock/Lower Receiver/Foregrip, and the Barrel Retaining nut. Reassembly is just as easy.
8. Excellent trigger, nice and crisp. My example breaks at a little over 3.5oz.
9. Beautiful fit and finish. Absolutely gorgeous shotgun.
10. It's been on the market long enough that it's a known entity. Plenty of reviews online.
The Super Vinci had great reviews, though I have to admit it's appearance and design took some getting used to. Initially, I didn't care for it. But the more I read about it, the more I realized Benelli might have a winner. What sealed the deal was the opportunity to use one last season for waterfowl. After spending a few days shooting one in some extremely difficult conditions, I knew I had to retire my new, 2 yo A5 and get one. The A5 is a good shotgun, but the Super Vinci is so much more advanced than the A5 and other shotguns that I've owned and/or used in many ways.
Randy Wakeman reviewed the Vinci a while back, the Super Vinci being identical in every respect save for the ability to handle 3.5in loads. This is an excerpt from his review....
What the Vinci is, is the most significant advance in the autoloading hunting shotgun in the last fifty years, certainly the most inspiring and important autoloader I've witnessed in my lifetime. It dwarfs the designs of many fine autoloaders (including some of Benelli's own product) substantially.
The Vinci accomplishes this not by living up to its hyperbole, but in several ways that define balanced hunting performance and reliability. Forearm nut issues are gone. Barrel ring and barrel hangar issues are gone. Unwanted stresses to the receiver and receiver wear are gone. Barrel extension issues are gone. Stress to the magazine tube is gone. Forearm vibration inflicted on the shooter is gone. Cracked gas pistons, fractured struts, and broken breechblock links are gone, as are rusty mainsprings and bent mainspring tubes. Balance issues and rattles associated with long underbarrel linkages, rods, and action parts are gone as well. They are all gone for good, and all associated issues are now off the table as well. The inline action, integrated with the barrel itself, does all this.
The Benelli stock system introduced on the Vinci is significant as well. As our comparative testing with the Cynergy showed, the current "ComforTech II" stock is an advance. The recoil pad and its softer durometer have been changed to better compliment the range of payloads actually used in hunting: 1-1/8 oz. - 1-3/8 oz. The larger and softer chevron pieces integrated with the stock clearly do some good-- of note in particular are the larger sections appearing on top near the butt and below near the receiver. For too long the ground-up garbage can lids presented as "synthetic techno-polymers" have done nothing functional in shotgun stocks. Here, the Vinci showed us that the stock and the recoil pad may combine to dynamically adjust to load intensity-- something that wood is just not equipped to do.
The Vinci is not the fastest action. The Vinci has more speed than you can use, though-- an important distinction. It isn't the softest shooting shotgun, either. That characteristic will likely go to a ponderous 14 pound trap gun, not to a responsive 7 pound field gun. More to the point, it is exceedingly comfortable to shoot for its weight-- and gets even more impressive as the payloads and velocities are upped beyond the wimpier clay target loads. This again substantiates the field prowess of the package.
It is an inspired design, destined to be amplified and further explored. I'd not be at all surprised if the Vinci gave birth to an entirely new line of shotguns using this platform as a springboard; it well should. The Vinci achieves a real-world, practical system of combinatorial excellence. For those that feel that statement is quite a mouthful, I tend to agree. I'm happy to just call it just a really great shotgun. It eliminates the weak spots of other autoloaders without adding new issues of its own. In the process, the Vinci brings the field autoloader to a whole new level. It is for all of these reasons, cited here in detail, that the Benelli Vinci has been awarded "SHOTGUN OF THE YEAR" for 2009 by myself, and the Guns and Shooting Online Staff. The Vinci is the best new hunting shotgun introduced in modern times.Benelli was thinking WAY outside box when they designed it and it shows. It's unlike any other shotgun I know of with performance on par with the best shotguns on the market. The Super Vinci is a remarkable shotgun and in my opinion, well worth the cost.
....my $.02, and worth as much.