Benelli M2-G1 Review: Hammer Time with a New Tactical 12-Gauge

The shooting range at my sportsmen’s club doesn’t allow shotguns, so I took my test-and-evaluation Benelli M2-G1 tactical 12-gauge shotgun to a friend’s farm, where he has a small private range.

The back of his range is bordered by a dirt farm road. Alfalfa cutting was in full swing, and tractors kept plying the road behind me. As I ran the M2-G1, more than one tractor driver stopped to watch me shoot. The wide-eyed looks and a couple of deep frowns revealed concern and some outright worry.

“He’s practicing shooting people?” several of those looks clearly telegraphed.

No. Also, well, yes.

Not actual people, of course. But I was blasting away at several life-sized silhouette targets.

I get it. Tactical shotguns make some people uncomfortable. We’ve previously put another high-end semi-auto through its paces in our Langdon Tactical Beretta 1301 review.

The M2-G1 isn’t an ornate over-and-under made for grouse hunting or missing clays at the club. It’s not great-grandpa’s double barrel that he and his faithful beagle used to bring home a brace of rabbits for the stew pot.

This is a shotgun built for defensive and professional use.

Benelli certainly has experience there. While the Benelli M3 Super 90 even features among the guns of Heat, the company’s M4 tactical shotgun has been used by the U.S. military, including during the Iraq War and close-quarters fighting.

“The Iraqis were terrified of [the M4],” said my good friend Darren J., a former Marine Corps captain whose unit participated in the Second Battle of Fallujah and other operations. “They don’t call it the ‘Room Broom’ for nothing!”

For civilians, that same basic concept translates readily to home defense.

Yes, I understood the fearful looks. But I kept shooting to find out just what the Benelli M2-G1 could accomplish if called upon.

One hell of a lot, is the answer.

Benelli M2-G1 Tactical Shotgun Specifications:

Meet the Benelli M2-G1

If you know Benelli and spotted the new M2-G1, you might think it was part of the Italian gunmaker’s M4 line of tactical shotguns. The resemblance is certainly there. Benelli has also continued updating its hunting lineup, including the upgraded SBE3 built for spring turkey hunting

But the M2-G1 stakes out its own place in the firearms world, starting with Benelli’s new Rear Piston Operated, or RPO, gas system.

Inside Benelli’s New RPO Gas System

Traditional gas systems are mounted farther forward of the chamber. That placement can push fouling deeper into the operating components. The RPO system uses dual short-stroke pistons positioned just ahead of the chamber to collect gas close to the source, reducing internal fouling for cleaner operation.

Inside, Benelli also Parkerized various operating components, including the bolt, for long-term durability and corrosion resistance.

The under-barrel magazine tube held seven rounds of either 2¾- or 3-inch shells. With one in the chamber, that gives the M2-G1 a 7+1 capacity.

The 18.5-inch barrel was made of tri-alloy steel, while the receiver was aircraft-grade aluminum alloy. On my test model, both sported an FDE Cerakote finish. The receiver also featured a beveled loading port for quicker reloads.

Controls, Stock and Sights

The five-position collapsible stock worked easily with the push of a button on the stock’s left side. I quickly pulled it out to full length for shooting at distance, and it collapsed just as quickly for use in tighter spaces.

Benelli’s pistol grip molded nicely to my shooting hand for a firm hold. The enlarged bolt release and safety controls snapped positively into and out of position.

The black polymer forend was M-LOK compatible, and the forend and buttstock featured a total of three QD mounting positions for sling attachments.

The trigger on my M2-G1 broke cleanly, but this wasn’t the ultra-light trigger of a competition rifle. It wasn’t designed to be.

My trigger averaged 5 pounds, 5 ounces. That required a deliberate press without feeling unnecessarily heavy—an appropriate setup for a defensive shotgun, particularly when firing rapidly and managing 12-gauge recoil.

The M2-G1 family encompasses five models, including a non-pistol-grip version for people living in states with firearm restrictions. That model has a 5+1 capacity. Available finishes include Gray, FDE and Multicam Black.

My test M2-G1 arrived with standard open sights. The ghost-ring rear sight adjusted for elevation and windage and featured white dots on either side of the ring to draw the eye. The white-dot front post sat between curved protective wings and could be adjusted for windage.

The sights were very functional, but given my eyes and the Picatinny rail atop the receiver, I mounted an EOTech EXPS3 holographic weapon sight on the M2-G1.

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Adding an EOTech EXPS3

Powered by a single CR123 battery, the EXPS3 featured EOTech’s one-dot speed-ring reticle, a quick-detach mount and 0.5-MOA elevation and windage adjustments. It also offered 20 daylight settings, and the reticle popped nicely even when I shot in very bright sunlight.

The EOTech EXPS3 was also night-vision compatible, with 10 NV settings.

At my friend’s farm range, I first ran the M2-G1 with 25 rounds of Federal Wing-Shot Upland Bird high-brass shells loaded with 1 1/8 ounces of No. 7½ shot. I used the field load to get comfortable with the shotgun and to better zero the optic. For more on shooting with 1X optics, check out our tips for shooting with mini red-dot sights.

I did the latter by firing at a decent-sized cardboard box and watching my shots slice through the grass nearly a foot in front of it. Several elevation clicks up got me drilling the box right in the center.

I also ran those field loads because Benelli recommends a 50-round break-in period for its semi-automatic 12-gauge shotguns, using high-brass field loads pushing 1 1/8 ounces or more of shot at a minimum muzzle velocity of 1,200 feet per second.

Once the Federal loads were done, I jumped the line on the 50-round recommendation and switched to shotgun slugs to check the zero on my EOTech. I fired from a rest at 20 yards, and the EXPS3 and my Winchester Razor Back 12-gauge slugs were right on.

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Testing the M2-G1 With Birdshot, Buckshot and Slugs

Over two more shooting sessions, I ran the M2-G1 with a variety of 2¾-inch shotshell loads, including:

• Fiocchi Exacta AeroSlugs, 1 ounce
• Fiocchi Exacta nickel-plated No. 4 buckshot, 27 pellets
• Federal Force X2 00 Buckshot
• Federal Personal Defense 00 Buck
• Remington Ultimate Defense Managed Recoil 00 Buck

Depending on the manufacturer, the 00 buckshot shells held eight or nine pellets.

I also used one 3-inch load, Remington’s Slugger 3-inch Mag, launching a 1-ounce rifled slug.

The M2-G1 handled all these loads without a hiccup. Accuracy was outstanding, too.

Buckshot and Slug Accuracy

For example, I taped two 3-by-5-inch note cards to rectangles of cardboard, white sides showing. At 15 yards, firing offhand, I shot three rounds quickly with the Federal Force X2 shells. Out of 27 pellets launched, 23 struck the white cards or the blue tape around them.

Federal Personal Defense did even better, placing all 27 copper-plated pellets into the cards and surrounding tape.

Fiocchi’s Exacta No. 4 buckshot, with 27 pellets per shell, simply chewed up the note cards.

Those Winchester Razor Back slugs were, unfortunately, discontinued many years ago. Yet the 1 1/8-ounce rifled slugs were still damned accurate, producing a 2.2-inch group during zeroing.

The Remington Slugger 3-inch Mags slammed home, too. I fired three rounds offhand at 20 yards at a cross made of blue painter’s tape and produced a 1.65-inch group. I later fired another pair at 15 yards, and the holes nearly touched.

Recoil and Reliability

Recoil? You bet.

Even with the semi-automatic gas system taking some bite out of it, the M2-G1 is still a 12 gauge, and buckshot loads push hard. Slugs thumped back even sharper, especially the 3-inch Sluggers.

You can see the difference between buckshot and Slugger recoil in one of the videos where I fire at a set of three targets. The pair of Sluggers were the final two shots.

But I fired nearly 100 shells, and my shoulder came out of the experience without a bruise.

Just as important, the M2-G1 ran everything I fed it without a malfunction.

Final Thoughts on the Benelli M2-G1

For home defense or professional use, the M2-G1 has a lot going for it. With the stock collapsed, it might also make one heck of a truck gun where legally appropriate.

It combines 7+1 capacity, a collapsible stock, excellent controls, optic compatibility and the new RPO gas system with the kind of accuracy and reliability I want from a serious-use shotgun.

And after nearly 100 rounds ranging from birdshot to full-power buckshot and 3-inch slugs, I had a pretty good idea what this new Benelli could accomplish if called upon.

One hell of a lot.