The latest SBE 3 features Benelli’s A.I. barrel system, which debuted in the Ethos series last year. Benelli claims this design increases velocity and penetration downrange by as much as 50%. As bismuth and tungsten prices rise, a waterfowl gun that squeezes the best performance out of any shotshell, and especially affordable steel, is welcome—if it works. Spoiler: it does.
I recently put Benelli's latest to the test on my local skeet range, and I shot the gun into ballistics gel to test the company's penetration claims. Here's my full review.
Benelli SBE 3 A.I. BE.S.T. Specs
Length: 49”
Weight: 7 pounds with 28-inch barrel
Barrel: 28-inch barrels with stepped carbon-fiber vent rib, orange bead, five extended Advanced Impact System chokes.
Action: Inertia semiauto
Trigger: 6 pounds, 14 ounces
Capacity: 3+1
Finish: Gunmetal BE S.T.
Stock: Optifade Timber camo synthetic with ComforTech 3
Chambering: 3 1/2-inch 12-gauge (tested), 3-inch 20-gauge
Price: $3,199
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Benelli SBE 3 A.I. BE.S.T. Overview
With one glance at the barrel of this gun, you can see that it has a noticeably larger diameter than a standard Benelli barrel. It’s different on the inside, too, bored larger than a standard Crio barrel, with extra-long extended chokes. I’ll get to my results on the pattern board and in gelatin in a bit, but first let me back up and talk about the rest of the gun.
Besides a bigger barrel, the gun also features an enlarged bolt handle and bolt-release button. Otherwise, the gun looks like a BE.S.T. Super Black Eagle 3, with gunmetal barrel and receiver coated in Benelli’s very effective proprietary corrosion-resistant coating. It has Optifade Timber furniture with Benelli’s ComforTech chevrons and soft comb. The gun weighed almost exactly 7 pounds with a pleasing and not ungainly bit of weight-forward balance, even with the lightweight carbon-fiber rib. The trigger broke at a shade under 7 pounds. At the range, I did notice that my test gun had the old, stiffer Benelli magazine spring and latch, unlike my new M2, which is much easier to load.
Benelli SBE 3 A.I BE.S.T. Test Results
Out of the box, the SBE 3 cycled 1-ounce, 1160-fps B&P target loads perfectly, which is impressive for a 3 ½-inch gun. I shot skeet and 5-stand quite well with it, then, because we were in a fooling-around mood, my friend Rick and I set up some triples on the 5-stand. I broke the first with ease, then we set up a harder one, and I broke that, and couldn’t help looking down at the gun in surprise like How did that happen? So yes, it’s a shooter.
It was only after we were done with clays that I tried it on a pattern-plate. Typical of many Benellis, it shot at a minimum 70/30 high at 20 yards. So, I had to shoot some more clays just to see, and with the fact that the gun shot high rattling in my head, I missed a few before I got back on target and started crushing them again. In all, it’s an easy gun to shoot, and the high POI only bothered me after I found out about it. As long as I looked at targets and shot them, as you’re supposed to, I hit them solidly with the SBE 3. The high POI would definitely make me take advantage of the drilled and tapped barrel extension for an optic if I wanted to use this for turkeys, because I don’t need any help shooting over the top of a turkey’s head.
I was skeptical of the A.I. (stands for “Advanced Impact” not “Artificial Intelligence”) barrel, although I wanted it to work. I know it’s possible to attain a bit more muzzle velocity with barrel-boring wizardry, but I had a hard time believing that somehow this would result in much more energy and penetration at longer ranges.
Before I set up the ballistic gelatin, I patterned the SBE 3 A.I. alongside my own Crio-choked M2, both with IM chokes. With the same Kent Fasteel 2.0 #2 shot, both guns produced good 65% IM patterns with good core density at 40 yards. Shooting the two guns alternately, I noticed that the ComforTech stock really does work. There was noticeably less recoil vibration with the SBE 3 compared to the ComforTech-less M2. More important, the results in the gelatin blocks set at 45 yards were impressive. Size 2 shot from the SBE 3 A.I. penetrated 3 inches into the gelatin. The 2s from the M2 averaged about 2.8 inches. I also tried some Federal BBx2 loads, and the BBs from those shells penetrated 5 inches from the SBE 3 and about 4.5 inches from the M2. If you don’t think .5” of extra penetration at 45 yards matters, you and I are not shooting the same kind of geese.
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Final Thoughts on the Benelli SBE 3 A.I. BE.S.T.
Pros
A.I. barrel deliver increased penetration
Very shootable
Cycled light loads well
ComforTech stock reduces recoil
Cons
Heavier trigger
Stiff to load
Although my tests showed penetration from the A.I. barrel falls well short of the 50% increase claimed by Benelli’s marketers, it’s a real increase and would be a definite advantage in the field. Honestly, it’s exactly what I hoped to see: A.I. does work, but not so well that I have sell all my non-A.I. guns. However, if you are looking to upgrade your waterfowl-gun arsenal, the SBE 3 BE.S.T. A.I. is the highest-tech, hardest-hitting gun on the market right now.
