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Benelli’s Super Black Eagle 3 is the combination of legendary shotgun performance with features recommended by Pro-Staff and hunters that make it better.
The sun had just begun to cast its golden hues across the vast, open prairies of Saskatchewan. It was a chilly morning, and the air was crisp with the promise of adventure. I stood in the middle of a sprawling field, breath visible in the chill of early morning. In my arm I cradled my trusty Benelli Super Black Eagle 3; a symbol of performance and engineering excellence in the shotgunning world. It’s a shotgun that has provided never-fail reliability whether I’m shooting light loads or the heaviest 3 1/2-inch magnums.
I was joined by industry friends who were equally equipped for the day’s hunt. I’d been dreaming of the Canada geese that flocked to Saskatchewan during their annual migration. The geese, known for their abundance in the area, were the prime targets, and we all were eager to bring home a bounty.
As the morning light grew stronger, we piled straw bales and camo around us creating a natural-looking structure that blended seamlessly with the surrounding terrain. Though the blind was make-shift, we could shoot from any direction the geese might come.
A two-piece carrier latch makes it quicker and easier to load the SBE3, even with gloves or stiff, frigid fingers.
It didn’t take long. The sky was still painted in shades of pink and orange when the first group of Canada geese descended from above, however, a thick blanket of clouds rushed the sky and an eerie fog rolled in with them. The distant, haunting honks announced our game’s arrival, and I could feel my heart quicken with anticipation. This was what we had come for, the rush of the hunt pattering fast in my heart as rapidly as the clouds tyrannized the sky.
I scanned the flock of geese as they glided in, their wings flapping in unison. Our guide whispered to us, “Get ready, guys.”
We sat low, our heads bowed, shotguns at the ready, hidden from the keen eyes of our winged prey. The geese descended in an almost hypnotic pattern, lining up for a final pass over the cut wheat field. I focused on a group of four, their black heads and white cheeks distinct against the gray, cloud-covered morning sky.
Tweaks to the ComforTech stock’s chevron locations further reduce felt recoil.
As the geese approached, we remained as still as statues, breath shallow and silent. The geese were within range, and when they were directly overhead, our guide whispered, “Send it!”
I rose from my seated position, shouldering the stock and placing my cheek firmly against the cheek pad. A shot rang out from down the line followed by a few more in quick succession. No pumping, no jamming, no malfunctions, just the promise of reliability afforded by the simplicity of an Inertia-Driven system that relies on the recoil of the gun and the inertia of the bolt instead of manual pumping or messy powder gases to load the next shell. Feathers scattered in all directions as several geese tumbled from the sky, hitting the ground with satisfying thuds.
A flurry of feathers,
The ground a-thunder.
O’ Canada,
What a beautiful wonder.
The remaining geese scattered, honking, flapping their wings hastily and were quickly out of range. We hunters shared triumphant grins and congratulatory pats on the back.
Over the next few hours, we continued experiencing moments of exhilaration and frustration.
Gun fit is paramount to hitting a moving target. Your eye is the rear “sight” and you adjust that sight up or down and left or right by way of the stock so that your pattern hits where you want. Instead of the time-consuming (and expensive and permanent) method of using a “try-gun” and permanently reshaping the stock, we used the SBE3’s QuadraFit adjustment to customize our shotguns’ fit to our individual builds so that they patterned where we wanted and were thus able to take down more geese with precise shots, while others proved more elusive. The geese were astute, seeming to adapt to our tactics with each passing flock. Sometimes they approached from unexpected angles, emerging from the fog, announced only by the echo of their honks, and other moments when they flat out veered off course before we could fire.
Combtech is simple but highly effective in reducing force transferred to the cheek area, resulting in a softer shooting gun that allows you to shoot better.
The morning turned into afternoon, and the sun began to pierce through the clouded dome. The temperature began to rise, and we could feel the sweat soaking through our camo. The promise of a successful day pushed us onward with an acute sense of accomplishment.
Our patience paid off as a few more small flocks of geese approached from the north. The geese descended, honking loudly. This was our chance of the day to make up for any morning misses and sparse skies between.
We knew we had to act quickly. We rose from our blind, shotguns secure to our shoulders and pointed our muzzles skyward. The geese were almost directly overhead when we opened fire. Our SB3s roared to life, and the sky was filled with the sharp cracks of gunfire—rapid shots made possible by recoil-mitigating stock features and the inherent reliability of a time-proven action. Feathers and down scattered, and geese plummeted to the ground, one after the other.
It was a breathtaking sight, a mix of chaos and precision. We reloaded and continued.
As the echoes of gunfire faded, we emerged from the hideout to retrieve the remainder of our downed geese. The field was a scene of triumph, with geese sporadically polka-dotting—a testament to our skills and experience combined with the peerless prowess of the Benelli Super Black Eagle 3.
Exhausted but elated, we gathered around the fallen geese. We couldn’t help but admire the beauty of these magnificent birds, their striking black and white plumage, and our distinctive calls that had lured them into this heart-racing pursuit.
The Inertia Driven System is a reliable and easy-to-use system that can handle a wide range of loads – from light field loads to heavy 3-1/2-inch magnums.
We packed up our gear, gathered our geese and made our way back to the lodge reflecting on the remarkable performance of the guns, delivering reliability, accuracy and power when it mattered most.
With the shotgun tucked safely away in its case, I imagined its steel barrel still warm from the day’s exertion. It was more than a tool; it was a trusted companion, a lifetime investment that would be around for generations.
By splitting the stock diagonally and utilizing shock-absorbing chevrons the entire stock was transformed into a recoil pad.
Benelli’s Super Black Eagle 3 clearly inherited the legacy of its predecessors but has the added advantage of design input from Benelli’s Pro-Staff and veteran hunters. Many might argue that the original Super Black Eagle was perfection from the start, but what you get with the SBE3 are improvements that come from experience—things such as tweaks to the ComforTech stock’s chevron locations to further reduce felt recoil, plus Combtech, which greatly reduces facial impact and vibrations. There are also an oversized bolt release and outward angled drop lever combined with a beveled port and two-piece carrier latch making it quicker and easier to load the SBE3, even with gloves or stiff, frigid fingers.
Clearly there is more to the SBE3 than merely “refinements.” At its current level of performance, it would be hard to envision a future SBE4 or even 5, but as demonstrated in the SBE3, Benelli is hardly satisfied when it comes to the ultimate in semi-auto shotgun reliability and performance.
