Many experts believe a shotgun is the ultimate arm for home defense. But should you choose a pump for it’s unwavering reliability or a semi-auto for its shootability, including recoil mitigation and fast shooting properties? For ages, that’s been the question among shotgun gurus.
With Benelli’s M3, however, you don’t have to choose because this convertible pump/semi-auto shotgun is both. With a simple flick of a lever near the magazine tube cap, it goes from Semi auto to pump in a second. In this way the shotgun is great for full power loads as a semi-automatic, but it can also cycle low-recoil loads and less-than-lethal rounds that don’t have the energy to cycle the stiff inertial spring hidden within the Benelli’s ARMI bolt system.
If you happen to drop the gun in sand or it’s becomes iced, don’t worry. Just convert it to pump and win the day. Why Benelli’s M3 Super 90 doesn’t get more notoriety is baffling. It’s perhaps the greatest pure defensive shotgun ever made. And it’s surprisingly affordable.