Benelli's Story: Motorcycles, the Inertia Action and the M4

A mother, six sons and a workshop

The Benelli name on a home-defense shotgun traces back to a family decision in Pesaro, on Italy's Adriatic coast. According to the history of the Benelli motorcycle company, it was founded in 1911 after the death of Teresa Boni Benelli's husband. She "invested all of the family capital into the business," hoping it would give steady work to her six sons: Giuseppe, Giovanni, Francesco, Filippo, Domenico and Antonio, known as Tonino.

The business became a motorcycle maker, and the youngest son made it famous.

Racing made the name

Tonino Benelli raced the family's machines and won Italian championships in 1927, 1928, 1930 and 1931. A crash at the Tigullio Grand Prix in 1932 ended his career, and he died after a road accident in 1937.

The bikes kept winning. In 1939, Britain's Ted Mellors won the 250cc class at the Isle of Man TT on a Benelli single. In 1950, Italy's Dario Ambrosini won the 250cc world championship on a Benelli, the company's first world title in the class. For a family firm from a small coastal city, that was a big deal, and it made "Benelli" a name associated with precise, fast-moving machinery.

Benelli Armi, 1967

In 1967 a new company appeared: Benelli Armi, based inland in Urbino, the Renaissance hill town in the Marche region. Wikipedia describes it as "founded in 1967 as an offshoot of the Benelli motorcycle factory." The gun company and the motorcycle company went their own ways, and today they are separate businesses.

What Benelli Armi needed was a reason for shooters to buy an Italian semi-automatic shotgun instead of the established names. It found one in a design by Bruno Civolani.

Bruno Civolani and the inertia action

Most semi-automatic shotguns of the era used either long recoil, where the barrel moves back with the bolt, or gas, where a little of the propellant gas is bled off to work a piston. Civolani's design took a different route. Many Benelli shotguns, Wikipedia notes, use an inertia-operated action that he designed.

The basic idea: when the gun fires and recoils backward, the heavy bolt body tries to stay where it is. That relative motion compresses a spring between the bolt head and the bolt body. The spring then pushes the bolt body back, unlocking and cycling the action. There's no gas port and no piston, so there are fewer parts to foul and clean.

The trade-offs are the flip side of the same design. Because it relies on the gun's recoil, an inertia gun needs the shooter to provide a firm shoulder for the action to work, and very light loads may not cycle it. That's worth knowing if you're considering a Benelli and plan to use reduced-recoil buckshot. Our Beretta 1301 vs Benelli M4 post touches on why that matters at home.

The Super 90 line

Benelli's tactical reputation came with the Super 90 series, produced since 1986. The line includes:

• M1 Super 90. The first to showcase the inertia system, in 12 and 20 gauge.
• M2 Super 90. The updated inertia gun, in 12 and 20 gauge, and the one most often seen today as a tactical or field model.
• M3 Super 90. A hybrid, produced since 1989, that switches between semi-auto and pump action with a ring at the front of the forend. Pump mode lets the shooter fire low-power rounds, such as rubber bullets, that don't generate enough recoil to cycle the semi-auto action.
• M4 Super 90. The gas-operated outlier, and the one that went to war.

The M4 and the M1014 contract

Here's the twist in the title: the most famous Benelli tactical shotgun doesn't use the inertia action at all.

In May 1998, the U.S. Army's Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center at Picatinny Arsenal put out a solicitation for a 12-gauge semi-automatic combat shotgun. Benelli designed a new gun for it and, in August 1998, delivered five samples to Aberdeen Proving Ground. Its operating system was "auto-regulating gas-operated," or ARGO, a proprietary gas system built specifically for this weapon.

The M4 won the testing. In early 1999 the contract for the M1014 Joint Service Combat Shotgun was awarded, and the first 20,000 went to the U.S. Marine Corps. Heckler & Koch's U.S. subsidiary handled importation. Wikipedia's Mossberg 500 entry notes the Marines adopted the M1014 in 1999 and it was standard issue by 2001.

The military version holds 7+1 rounds of 2¾-inch shells; the civilian version is listed at 5+1, with an 18.5-inch barrel. Wikipedia lists users including the armed forces of Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States, plus many other countries and U.S. law enforcement and SWAT units.

Beretta, and Benelli today

Since 2000, Benelli and Benelli USA have been owned by Pietro Beretta SpA, according to Wikipedia. So the two Italian semi-autos that dominate home-defense shotgun debates, the Benelli M4 and the Beretta 1301 Tactical, now sit under the same corporate roof while competing for the same buyers.

The Benelli line has also grown well beyond tactical guns. The Super Black Eagle waterfowl series, Wikipedia says, was among the first semi-auto shotguns able to fire 2¾-, 3- and 3½-inch shells, though that claim is flagged in the article as needing a citation.

What it means for a home-defense buyer

If you're considering a Benelli for the house, the history explains the choice you'll face:

• M4 (gas): designed to a military reliability standard, generally more tolerant of a range of loads, heavier and more expensive.
• M2 (inertia): lighter, simpler to clean, with fewer gas-system parts, but it needs a firm shoulder and loads with enough recoil to cycle.

Either way, function-test your chosen buckshot in your gun before trusting it. Semi-autos of both types can be choosy with reduced-recoil loads. A full-power load with a modern wad, like Federal's full-power FLITECONTROL 00 buck or Hornady Critical Defense 00 buck, which Ammunition Depot lists as loaded for reliable cycling in all shotgun types, is a sensible place to start. If you want something softer, run several boxes of Hornady American Gunner Reduced Recoil first.

A quick buyer's checklist

1. Decide gas or inertia first. If several people in the house might fire the gun, including smaller-framed adults who may not mount it firmly, a gas gun like the M4 is the more forgiving choice. If one experienced shooter will use it, an inertia gun's lighter weight and simpler cleaning are appealing.
2. Check the stock fit. A semi-auto only softens recoil if the stock fits. Shoulder it in the shop and confirm you can reach the forend and trigger without stretching.
3. Plan the light. A home-defense shotgun needs a light you can work without shifting your grip. Our shotgun lights post covers forend and rail options.
4. Confirm your state's rules. Magazine-tube capacity and some features are regulated in parts of the country. Check before you add an extension.
5. Function-test with your exact load. Run several boxes through it, including from a full tube, before it goes in the safe.

For more on choosing between action types, see our 1301 vs M4 comparison and buckshot buyer's guide.

Editorial note: This is an independent editorial overview built from manufacturer specifications, retailer listings and published sources. We have not performed hands-on testing of the products discussed, and nothing here is a performance guarantee. Verify specifications, compatibility and the law where you live.

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