Any insight or advice other than "trade the gun" would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Buy a gas gun. Sorry couldn't help myself.

 

I would try to get some "cut to size" moleskin(used in archery a lot) and see if you can cut a piece to cover the part that bruising you. Might be tough to keep on especially if you waterfowl with it, another option might be to make a "ring" of sorbathane to wear on that finger. You should be pretty well broken in, otherwise I would get some cheap 3.5 inch steel to shoot thru it and wear gloves.
Personally I shoot a Beretta and the safety is well out of the way just in front of the trigger. My other gun is on old Model 21 that I plan to slay some ducks with this fall, just for the nostalgia of it.

 

I'm familiar with moleskin. I can't imagine it would be thick enough to help significantly. The sorbathane ring is an interesting idea. Any idea how I would get sorbathane to adhere to itself to make a ring?

I don't generally wear a glove on my right hand while shooting and if I do it is generally a very thin glove even in cold temps...or one of those glommit things that doesn't have fingers.

 

I like my SBE (I had it fitted, easy to clean), but after trying monster loads like you mention, only shoot 2.75 inch 1.25 oz 1300 fps Hevishot or low velocity 1 or 1.25 oz steel. I shoot a lot better and the trigger guard doesn't hurt me. I gave all my 3.5 in shells away (to a BIG friend who says he doesn't mind them.) When my few remaining lead shells for upland are gone, I'll go with the "cheap" steel there, too.

 

I have a SBE II.While goose hunting a few yrs back I was using 3.5" goose loads & pretty much the same thing happened to my trigger finger.Was raw & bruised by the end of the hunt.I haven't shot any 3.5"s since.

 

Yeah, mine was visibly swollen the next day compared to the same finger on my other hand. I think it bruised the bone because it still hurts when touched 10 days later.

 

I think 3.5 inch shells are overrated. They cost more money, usually don’t pattern as well as 3 inch, more recoil so more time to get back on target for 2 or 3 shot. Many friends shoot 3.5inch shells and I kill them just as far and just as dead as they do.

That being said it’s bs you have a gun that beats you up. Two of my friends bought the new sbe and both couldnt hit with it, took it to the range and pattern them and both were really low left. Took them back and found out many benellis screw in chokes weren’t tapped correctly. You might want to pattern yours. Also they thought the Benelli click was suppose to be fixed. If you set it down hard the bolt moves and you get a click. I guess that wasn’t completely true. They each got the new older model now. For an almost $2000 shotgun I would expect more from Benelli. I have shot theirs and did like them but will stay with my SX3.

 

Guys I do have some 3.5" magnum shells. I probably won't buy any more after they are gone even if I can figure out how to shoot them through this gun without breaking my finger.

However, the shells that I was shooting when this problem occurred were 3" mags, not 3.5". But they were 1.75 ounce. Won't do that again.

When I bought that case of 3" 1.75 ounce shells many years ago I was about to go on my first tower shoot, it was late in the season and that was all I could find. I've been shooting those shells once a year and this is the 3rd different gun I've used and first one that beat my hand up like that.

 

wish i could help, but that happened shooting a Vinchi so didn't buy one . If the trigger guard is some what the same on the SBE III then that may stop me from buying one ... I was only shooting 3". Sounds like i maybe going to the A400

 

To me the berettas and benellis have a real different feel and fit, even though they are the same company. There are tons of great guns out there go with what fits you. I suggest going to a sporting goods store and shoulder many of them. This sounds stupid but I would narrow it down and then have them hand you what you like randomly and handle them with your eyes close. Open eyes and see if it’s pointing where you are looking. My two cents on getting a new shotgun.

 

I have a SBEIII also and have not experienced that yet. I probably shot a case of 3" #3 HeviMetal loads and had no problems. I did have that issue with my SBEII though. Hurt like HELL with the same loads. I just did a google search for trigger guard bumper and found multiple products to help with this.

 

I just did a google search for trigger guard bumper and found multiple products to help with this.

Most of them clearly won't work for the funky design of the Benelli trigger guard.

I did find this, but it has mixed reviews:

https://www.mackspw.com/Creative-South-Bird-Finger-Guard

One reviewer says it cut their hand.

 

Does your SBE 3 have the comfortech stock? They are pushing the boundaries on those I'm told in terms of how much a stock can absorb/give, especially with heavy loads. The trigger guards are pretty similar on the 2 and the new 3, but the safety is different.

I have the SBE 2 with out the comfortech stock and have never had any issues shooting 3 1/2" shells at winter game with my middle finger hitting anything. With heavy clothes and the adrenaline factor I do not notice the recoil while hunting. I certainly DO notice it while shooting targets.

 

Does your SBE 3 have the comfortech stock?

Yes, I thought they all did.

 

My cousin who was shooting a Vinci had the exact same thing happen years ago when shooting the Remington hypersonic steel 3". I think it's a fit and recoil issue. Doubting you'll have the problem with shells that have a little less stank to em.

And yes, have you patterned the gun. Some low down rumors the sbe3 are shooting high, haven't heard the low-left until this thread.

I love my sbe2 and don't ever see me "upgrading".

 

I do not use 3.5s for anything because of the recoil even in my versamax which makes kick almost imperceptable for an old man. Long ago I found it better to keep my eyes open while shooting, it made me shoot much better. I used to laugh at the guys shooting 3.5s in TX when I did okay with a 20ga.

For me it is something like "mine is bigger than yours" so why take the punishment. Both are silly arguments!

 

I live inland of the Atlantic Flyway a little bit and geese around here are resident for the most part. The resident geese here are big birds. 15 -20 lb flying rats. They are very smart and most shots are 40+ yards.

 

Freeze, not to be off topic but I'd love to see a 15#, let alone a 20# Canada. Biggest I've seen weighed is just over 12.

 

The Double Gun crowd has been using trigger guard bumpers like the one pictured for years. I have one on my Francotte 3" gun. Easier solution is to cut a bumper from a foam ear plug and mount to trigger guard with electrical tape.

 

Having a gun I enjoy shooting and shoot well is really important to me, and life's to short to mitigate an issue...when I retired my old duck gun I wen't through two other guns before I found the one that fit and performed the way I need it to, I lost a few bucks, but I really like my A5.

 

Just curious, the new A5 waterfowl browning or the originals? And I agree, I wouldn't put a band aid on my preferred waterfowl shotgun of choice.

 

Freeze, we have big honkers of the local variety here also and I spent 12 years in TX shooting sandhill cranes and specs and snows at any distance with 3" cheapest I could buy, mostly 2s with some BBs mixed in and 20 ga for ducks and a few errant geese of the TX variety. Got a buddy in western NE who always shot a dbl tenner, did get some birds but found out he was a pretty good shot when he switched to a 3" 12 auto.

 

I usually shoot 3" #2 heavsteel when hunting snows and #3 on ducks. I only use my 3.5" BB on our local resident Canada's. I am surprised some of them can even fly they are so big and fat.

 

Have been lucky through the years and have shot a lot of ducks. This thread interests me because I have considered purchasing an SBE 3. I much prefer shooting 3" shells but the crew I hunt with now stretches the limit on shot distance. So I often load up with 3 1/2" #1's. That gives me a little more distance than my 3" #3 hevimetal and a dense enough pattern at 1 5/8 oz of shot to feel comfortable trying longer shots.

The SBE fits me better than any of the Beretta or Browning line. Have literally worn out both an SBE 1 and 2 and they are now single shots in wet conditions even with a new Sure Cycle.

My question is does anyone have an new SBE 3 that they like as well or better than the SBE 2?

Yes, I too experience the bruised bird finger with my SBE 2. My only solutions was 3" shells.

 

OP...I have no idea if this will help or not and apoligize in advance for the length, but here is my experience:

My son, who was 14 at the time and I both had SBE II shotguns for fowling. They were new. I bought 2 3/4" shells for him, I had some 3.5" left from the previous season, and I purchased some 3" shells. We spent 25-30 days gunning fowl in Arkansas the first year we had those shotguns. My son had previously used a Mossberg 500 Bantam pump and I traded a Beretta Extrema for the SBE II. ]

I am not a big guy. I'm 5'7" with boots on and at that time, my son was probably around 5'4". Those guns beat our fingers up horribly...same as you- middle finger. And it happened with all the loads we were shooting.

Both guns were completely factory with no modifications. I learned a few weeks into the season that Benelli made youth kickpads for the SBE II. I contacted my dealer and sure enough, he could get one but even selling it to me at his cost, the darn thing was $90! I balked and trued to find something else...I couldn't. I broke down and paid the ridiculous price for the youth pad for my son's gun. I knew it was too long for both of us- all factory guns are designed to fit the "average" guy- I believe I read average to gun makers was 5'10" and 185 lbs.

I'm a little slow lol, so I never recognized that my son was no longer having issues with the new pad. This pad is significantly shorter than the original- basically, you have no kick pad...it is simply an insert that covers the hole in the end of the stock. One Friday afternoon I was loading the truck for Arkansas and my son was not going this particular weekend. I retrieved "my" gun from the safe, cased it, and took off. You guys are smarter than me so by now, you've figured out what happened- I grabbed his gun instead of mine. After heavy shooting for a couple of days with his gun and youth kick pad, I called the dealer promptly when I returned and ordered another stupidly expensive youth kick pad- neither of us ever had another issue. Not even one time.

Additionally, I didn't notice a major change in the recoil, but my son did. So, I took a small sack and put about 5 oz of lead shot in the sack, removed his kick pad and placed the lead filled sack into his stock and replaced the pad. I didn't tell him. He shot the gun on the next trip and never complained or even noticed the weight, but he did comment that the gun kicked less. I shoot 3 1/2" hevi metal shells, some Winchester X tended Range 3 1/2 and all sorts of 3" shells through mine every season. Last year was terrible for us lol and I still managed to go through slightly more than a case- usually shoot 2-3 cases.

No idea how big an ole boy you are, but with us- proper fit solved the issue.

 

Mark, Cant help with the BLK 3 yet ... I ran into that with my SBE never replaced the Cycle tube. Gun smith took it apart and cleaned it.. Had it happen again this yr in the ice but have learned not to use certain cleaning oil and to clean it a little more often than i normally do.... hope to see ya at a few test this yr...

 

Will be running the young dogs this year so you should be able to catch me at the ranch. Judging some HRC also. Maybe run into y'all.

Breaking down the SBE & cleaning with gun scrubber then very little rem oil will give me a few trouble free days. Rainy days are good for 2-3 hours.