Home Reviews Benelli M3s90 TM Benelli M3 Super 90

TM Benelli M3 Super 90

by Arnie

 

(click
for a larger image)

Stock
Specifications
FPS
280-300
fps (stock fps may vary)
Length: 1040
mm
Weight: 2000
Kg

Ammo
capacity:

30
Rounds (Standard Mag)

TM
Benelli M3 Super 90
by
David Jones (aka Inferno)


TM M3 Techmanual


What?

Okay,
Arnie wanted a Benelli review, and now he’s gonna get one. A long one. So
for those of you who think you can brezze by this is in the five minutes before
work, or while you’re trying to hold your bowels, forget it. Let’s get it
on! The Tokyo Marui Benelli M3 is based on the Benelli M3 Convertable. Many
large departments use this baby, but the $3000 price tag means that your local
sheriff’s office will be toting a $300 Mossberg.

In any
case, this baby is called a “convertable” because it can fire semi-auto
or pump-action, the latter for low velocity non-lethal rounds that don’t have
enough powder to cycle the sucker in semi. It comes in the full-length 19-inch
barrel for civies, and a shorter 14-inch “Entry” variant for LE
(Law Enforcement) only. The Marui Benelli comes full-length with a 30-round
shell, tube-type loader, about 200 rounds of .25 ammo, and a catalog and manual.
The hop-up is fixed for .25 ammo, and you’ll get about 120 feet of straight-shooting
range when new. The .20’s will hit and spread higher and wider, and .12’s
will bring down birds and jumbo jets due to the “over hop”.

The sights
are easy to use, open rifle type… not that confusing hole-and-post crap
on the SPAS 12. The sling mounts are friendly to everyone, lefties & righties,
but not all slings will fit. If you’re planning on using some sports bag strap
with the snap-type hooks, they won’t fit. A simple nylon strap and locking
will do, available at most sports stores. The shell itself holds thirty BB’s,
and they’re loaded much like standard AEG mags are. I bought six extra shells,
so should you… reloading with that tube while getting shot at isn’t fun.
In any case, thirty BB’s will give you ten shots, with three BB’s for each
trigger pull.

There’s
a limiter catch that keeps you from double-pumping and putting six BB’s into
some poor schmuck. Back to the Benelli… there’s a lot of metal on this gun,
up to par with the Marui AEG line… not like their springers, thank goodness.
The trigger, safety button, sling mounts, magazine tube, barrel, sights, mock
breech and cocking handle, locking collar, and a bunch of other little things
are metal. As for internals, the piston shaft, trigger system, feed system,
cylinder, and other parts are plastic. Okay, we know what she’s made of, but
can she fight? Let’s find out…

I took
her out to her first game some two years ago; she’s been kicking @$$ ever
since. I’ve named her “Kasumi”, and it’s clear with my g/f that
our first daughter will carry that same name and reputation of @$$ kicking.
I like being able to take Kasumi out without worrying about hi-caps jamming
or batteries dying. At two years of age, I use .20 ammo to keep the same
range I used to when shooting .25’s brand new. She packs a punch, and
I find that most of my kills take place within fifty feet of me. Kasumi
is very accurate, 75% of my first shots find their mark. When up against
upgraded AEG’s, it’s nice to know that you probably won’t have to fire
a second time. In fire-fights where people get careless and let their
foot or elbow stick out, you can nail them. Even through the brush or
bunker holes, one of the three BB’s will get through.

One guy at the last game
I was at was surprised at her power & accuracy. He took a shot in the
face when trying to take me out in a medic game, and related how the “bite”
Kasumi gave had convinced him that the Benelli would be his next buy. I like
knowing that my baby leaves an imprssion. Just so long as you remember that
you can’t go out like Rambo blazing in full-auto, you’ll be fine. Think of
the Benelli as a close-range sniper rifle, use her to nail guys who are too
busy sh!tting plastic all over your friends. Now you know how to play. Sorta.
Let’s get into mods…

The first thing I did
to Kasumi the day I got her was a chop-job. It’s simple enough, I covered
it on my site: http://www.infernoindustries.iwarp.com.
This will take about five inches off of the barrel and make her a lot easier
to wield in the field. There are after-market parts available if you want
to replace the stock with a pistol-grip only, but it takes from the accuracy
and speed of cycling. After running like hell, you’ll be shaken and breathing
fast; the stock will keep your sights on target. I’d suggest keeping it on.

If you have some white
paint, do the sights. It helps speed up target acquisition. There’s a way
around the thirty-round capacity, you mod the shell to mesh with an AEG hi-cap,
but it involves taking the shell door off. As for power mods, don’t bother.
First off, taking her apart could cause problems later, namely the issue of
BB’s not feeding into the upper barrel. Second, a stronger spring will cause
either the trigger catch assembly, cylinder, piston shafts, or any combination
of the above to break – this is bad.

The only safe mod is installing
three 6.04mm “tight-bore” barrels, which might give you another
3-5 extra feet-per-second in velocity. It doesn’t really show much, but you’ll
notice a tighter grouping of your shots. I don’t care much for it, the top
barrel will be dead-on while the other two will spread just enough to nail
the guys balls… if I did install a tighter barrel, it’ll be just the top
one. For realism, paint the shell door catch silver with a red dot center,
just like the real-steel ones. You’ll see the recession for the red dot. If
you have some matte-black spray paint, remove the stock and paint it. Without
it, the stock and receiver are the same color, and it takes away from the
realism. Finally, you’d might want to pick up some shells and a good shell
holder. I mount mine on the stock, but the receiver would be another good
spot. For me, keeping them anywhere else is just a pain. In the pocket takes
too long, and bandoliers sway around too much with the weight.

In conclusion, this is
one damn good gun for the money. If I had to choose between this and an MP5K,
I’d take the Benelli. Better range, power, and accuracy make up for the lack
of a high ROF. Furthermore, I’ve dealt with the K on several occasions, and
changing that tiny battery in the field and trying not to lose the pins is
a pain in the @$$. In any case, player or collector, you’ll enjoy the Benelli.

Conclusion

Appearance

3/5

Build
Quality

3/5

Performance

4/5

Value
for Money

4/5

Overall
Potential

3/5

The benelli gets
low scores in the first two areas because the receiver cover is plastic
(and it shows!) and the internals on a few Benellis’ are in question
as they have some feeding problems.

by
David Jones (aka Inferno)

External
Links:

Team
TANGO

Custom M3-S90 Shotgun review by Skuzz
Ilendil’s
Airsoft Page: Benelli M3 Super 90 CQB Shorty
– An excellent
review of a DEN custom shotgun of similar design
http://springer.airsoftretreat.com/reviews/benelli_sarge.html
http://www.defcon-4.freeserve.co.uk/benm3rev.htm
RedWolf’s
First Impressions of the M3

Comment
on this review in the forums


Last modified:
Wednesday, May 9, 2001 9:37 AM
copyright 2001 ArniesAirsoft




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