Benelli Vinci

[Retiredbirddogman]

Okay, I am almost ready to pull the trigger. I found a new Benelli Vinci for $1125.00 plus 6% tax = $1192.50 out the door. 5 chokes and a case.
This 12 gage will be around 2 pounds lighter than my older ruger red label 20 gage. 5.5 vs. 7.5 approx.
Does anyone have any negative comments on the vinci? What do you think about the price?
P.S. This price is $200 less than my local gun shop quoted me when I was in their store earlier today. How sad is that. (to be fair - difference of 3.25% in tax)

[mcbosco]

Some reviews. The Vinci is like Fergie, you either think she is smoking hot or you don't.


North American Hunter, October 2009: "Benelli really did come up with the shotgun of the future. The Vinci is so balanced that it is like shooting a high-dollar, fitted, over/under shotgun. Muzzle jump was slight, and I could get back on targets as fast as I could pull the trigger. I shot 170 boxes of shotshells, 4250 shots, without a malfunction. The Vinci is one of the best-swinging, fastest-pointing wing guns I have ever used."

American Hunter, September 2009: "The Vinci is a gun that must be shot for its ergonomics to be appreciated. It just feels pointable. To shoot this gun is to love it. It balances between the hands, where it should. Recoil was quite negligible. I put 7550 rounds of dove loads (more than 300 boxes) through the Vinci and had zero failures to feed. Extended magazine tubes will be available in the future. The recoil spring is relocated into the receiver behind the new In-Line Inertia-Driven bolt, allowing for a variety of stocks in the future."

Hunting, September 2009: "The Vinci carries like a 28, recoils like a 20, and shoots like a 12. I averaged shooting the Vinci six hours per day under dusty field conditions for three consecutive days, without cleaning, and my fired-shell count was 6375 rounds. A virtual absense of muzzle jump makes doubles on doves easy; triples or fours required only concentration. I've been shooting shotguns for so long that it takes something far beyond the ordinary to excite me, but I had to occasionally pinch myself that I was actually shooting the Vinci rather than just dreaming about it. The light, recoil-operated Vinci is a softer-shooting shotgun than heavier, gas-operated autoloaders. And since the barrel and the receiver are ridgedly joined together, the Vinci will be incredibly accurate with slugs."

Mr. Randy Wakeman, member of ShotGunWorld, September, 2009: "The Vinci is the most significant advance in the autoloading hunting shotgun in the last fifty years, defining balanced hunting performance and reliability. Forearm nut issues are gone. Barrel ring and barrel hangar issues are gone. Hot barrel elongation issues are gone. Stress to the magazine tube are gone. Forearm vibration inflicted on the shooter is gone. Cracked gas pistons, fractured struts, and broken breechblock links are gone, as are rusty mainsprings and bent mainspring tubes. Balance issues and rattles associated with long underbarrel linkages, rods, and action parts are gone as well. They are all gone for good, and all associated issues are now off the table as well. The inline action, integrated with the barrel itself, does all this. The Vinci is exceedingly comfortable to shoot for its weight, and gets even more impressive as the payloads and velocities are upped. It is an inspired design, destined to be amplified and further explored. The Vinci well should be the springboard platform for an entirely new line of shotguns. It brings the field autoloader to a whole new level."

Shooting Times, September 2009: "On the first day out, I fired 2200 rounds with not a single malfunction of the Vinci. That's 88 boxes of shells without a single bobble! And unlike a gun that refuses to fire when the trigger is squeezed unless the bolt first slams noisily forward, the Vinci autoloader will fully lock up even when the bolt is gently and quietly eased forward on a chambered round. That feature came in handy one morning before daylight during a turkey hunt, when I forgot to chamber a round before sneaking up about sixty yards from a flock of roosting birds. And good news for deer hunters, turkey hunters, and especially duck hunters, who have to walk a long way across the marshes with a load of gear: quick-detachable sling-swivel posts are molded into the buttstock and forearm. And the modular stock has no recoil spring tube so it could be switched with a possible future tactical stock, with the extended grip preferred by some turkey hunters and by those in law enforcement."

Sporting Clays, September 2009: "One Benelli staffer on our dove hunting trip to Argentina shot one Vinci 20000 times in eight days with essentially no malfunctions. And using the low finger grooves on the wider, rear portion of the fore-end is ideal when a lot of swing is required for the target presented, while using the higher finger grooves farther away along the thinner, front portion of the fore-end is ideal for pointing out straightaway targets."

Turkey Country, September 2009: "I expect a shorter-barreled turkey Vinci. I appreciated the greatly reduced recoil as the Vinci with an X-Full choke produced excellent patterns with Federal, Remington, and Winchester turkey loads. Based on conversations with others, it slams turkeys down with authority. I shot one more than 4000 times on a dove hunt in Argentina, and it is a joy to carry, being lightweight and perfectly balanced."

Shotgun News, August 2009: "The camo patterns being offered indicate that the Vinci is being marketed toward the waterfowler. Everyone seems to ask why this gun was not offered in 3.5" 12 gauge. The Super Black Eagle has been a hugely successful gun, and remains king of the Benelli line. My guess is that Benelli sees no need to cut into SBE sales by offering the less expensive Vinci in 3.5" configurations. If you are concerned solely with bagging the maximum number of birds with maximum speed and comfort, pick the Vinci."

Guns & Ammo, July 2009: "In eight days, our twelve Vincis pounded through 87950 shells. There were no malfunctions that I saw, save for a few duds with some local Argentina ammo that we had. Some guys are going to be wishing for a 3.5" version of this one. Not me. Benelli has already got a pretty good platform for those mega-twelves with the Super Black Eagle II. And even if you are a fanatic turkey or goose hunter, I will never be convinced that there is enough advantage in 3.5" shells to make up for the kick and cost factors. And the hoary contention of many shotgunners that Benelli inertia guns kick more than gas guns is a dead issue, because the ComforTech Plus buttstock chevron system works. The only discomfort I had was a bit of tiredness from hoisting the light 6.9 pound Vinci to my shoulder a few thousand times in three days. It's a safe bet that there will be offshoots from the Vinci, for example, a ported clays model, a tactical variant, and a rifled-barrel saboted slug version could only be the beginning."


Read more: http://www.shotgunworld.com/bbs/viewtop ... z1YRe6vbbJ

[nj gsp]

Looks like someone has been thinking about getting a Vinci...

A friend of mine has a VInci. He bought it to hunt ducks and he loves it. Another friend has an SBE and he loves it. I bought a Winchester SX3 for waterfowl hunting, and I absolutely love it. What it boils down to is they all cost about the same, so if you pick the one that you like best you probably won't be disappointed.

[postoakshorthairs]

The Vinci is like Fergie, you either think she is smoking hot or you don't.

If it was like fergie I'd say 95% of her is smoking hot....then there's her head! LOL

[Retiredbirddogman]

Thanks to those who have posted replies already. I value your input and it will help me give up hard earned money, for a great gun. I haven't seen any real negative posts so far. I love the humor too.

[nikegundog]

Try an get a feel of the safety on it, its farther forward than any gun I that I have had. I believe it would take some time to get use to, maybe.

[nj gsp]

OK well if you really want negatives, for what it's worth here's mine - although they are not Vinci specific:

I think it's ugly. And I'm not a fan of Benelli's non-existent customer service (just try and get someone on the phone at their headquarters!). They didn't even answer my e-mails when I was trying to find info on a replacement stock for my wife's Franchi 720. It was on back order for 6 months and the answer I finally got through the distributor was: "They don't know when they will be available." So I cancelled my order. And this was for a model in current production. So now you couldn't pay me to own anything Benelli makes or brands, regardless of model. Between that bad personal experience and the fact that I think the SX3 is just a flat-out better gun, I bought a Winchester.

If you are a Benelli guy and you like the way it looks, I'd bet you'll love it. It's just not for me.

[Retiredbirddogman]

NJ GSP, thanks for the input. I want to hear all opinions. I have never owned a Benelli. Always had Ruger, Winchester, Browning etc.
Again, thanks for your post.

[phermes1]

My dad has a Vinci and has let me use it a few times. Really nice gun, you won't regret it.

[quackaddict]

Try an get a feel of the safety on it, its farther forward than any gun I that I have had. I believe it would take some time to get use to, maybe.

I just bought a Franchi 720 a couple of months ago. It's safety is forward of the trigger, and it hasn't slowed me down yet. I have never had a problem adjusting to safeties that are in different positions. It takes me shouldering the gun and flipping the safety a couple of times for it to become second nature.

[mcbosco]

I am only a few blocks from Beretta Gallery, maybe I will go look at them I am intrigued.

[nikegundog]

Try an get a feel of the safety on it, its farther forward than any gun I that I have had. I believe it would take some time to get use to, maybe.

I just bought a Franchi 720 a couple of months ago. It's safety is forward of the trigger, and it hasn't slowed me down yet. I have never had a problem adjusting to safeties that are in different positions. It takes me shouldering the gun and flipping the safety a couple of times for it to become second nature.

I have struggle a little bit between the safeties in front or back of the trigger, however that is not exactly what I was talking about. I believe the Vinci's safety was farther away than guns with the safety in the like position, so much so I had thought it would be tough to deal with for individuals with smaller hands. I could be wrong about this, but thought I might point it out.

[Jordan]

I really dig my Vinci.

It's been subjected to everything from extreme cold weather and snow to being 100% submerged in a backwoods Georgia marsh and always performs. Someone noted about that the safety location is in a bit of a non-traditional spot. No doubt it takes getting used to.

Here are a few shots of me with the Vinci...

Georgia snow hunt either Christmas day or the day after, can't remember:


...with my buddy's Golden

[Jordan]

An appendage to the post above...

I have to disclose that I did have one FTF experience with my Vinci. I have a tendency to press check my firearms. I suppose it comes all my range time behind AR's and handguns. I press checked my Vinci on a very wet sub-30 degree hunt. I let the bolt go forward assuming that it would drive itself home. It didn't. It went just far enough into battery to where the trigger broke clean, but the shell did not fire. I checked the shell for evidence of a primer strike. Nothing.

If you press check(pulling the bolt back just slightly enough to see brass insuring you have a loaded firearm), be sure to give the bolt a push to make sure it's all the way into battery.

[Retiredbirddogman]

Update on my quest for a new Benelli.... After spending a good amount of time shouldering the Vinci, and then shouldering the Ultra Lite, I concluded that the Vinci just did not feel comfortable to me. I noted the location of the safety, and didn't think it was something I couldn't get used to. What I discovered was the trigger guard was so large that my hand felt uncomfortable trying to move forward to the safety. I do have small hands. I was a bit surprised that I couldn't get myself to "like" the Vinci, but did listen to your comments and my own gut feel. The Benelli Ultra Lite - 12ga just seemed to fall into place for me, and the safety was the same as what I have been shooting.
I can't wait to take it to the range this weekend to try it out.
Thanks for your input.

[brad27]

Congrats on the new gun.

[Ryman Gun Dog]

Brad,
Congrats on your new gun, either of the two weapons are nice guns, my only problem with the weapons is the under mounted safety, I hate em.
RGD/Dave