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When most duck hunters take into consideration Italian semi-auto shotguns, they assume Benelli or Beretta. Honest sufficient, these two gunmakers have produced superlative waterfowling shotguns for a few years and so they personal the highest finish of the market. However there may be one other Italian-made semi-auto to contemplate — the Breda B3.5SM.
I acquired my palms on the hefty, inertia-driven B3.5SM this summer time and I hunted with it via most of my duck season. As I burned via field after field, I started to love the shotgun an increasing number of. By the top of my season, I’m now able to declare it as a real contender to the Benelli Tremendous Black Eagle 3.
And in the event you’re a type of duck hunters who most popular the unique Tremendous Black Eagle of the early 90s to the fashionable model, then you definately’re going to like this Breda shotgun.
Right here’s how the Breda B3.5SM carried out within the discipline and on the vary — and why it’s grow to be one among my favourite duck weapons.
- Gauge: 12
- Motion: Semi-auto, inertia-driven
- Capability: 4+1
- Chamber: 3.5 inches
- Weight: 7.37 kilos (measured)
- Set off weight: 5.25 kilos
- Barrel Size: 28 inches (examined), 30 inches
- General Size: 49.25 inches
- LOP: 14.25 inches
- Sight: Purple bar
- Barrel End: Black cerakote
- Inventory End: Black (examined), Mossy Oak Bottomland, Realtree Max7
- Made in Italy
- Worth: $2,100
Key Options
- Snug, grippy inventory
- Dependable motion with rotating bolt head
- Drilled barrel
- 5 Included flush chokes: F, IM, M, IC, C (Crio Plus Suitable)
Overview Highlights
- Shot spectacular 50/50 patterns (50 % of pellets hit above level of intention, 50 % hit under)
- Wonderful discipline efficiency
- Minimal malfunctions whereas looking
The Breda Backstory
Breda (pronounced “bree – da”) just isn’t well-known within the U.S. however it’s a noteworthy firm in semi-auto shotgun historical past and within the European wingshooting world. Breda is at present importing shotguns to the U.S. via Banshee Manufacturers (the identical of us who work with Retay to import their Turkish-made shotguns).
Breda acquired its begin as an Italian locomotive producer within the Eighties. Quick ahead about 100 years and Breda purchased a portion of Benelli Armi SPA (Beretta bought a portion as properly). By the early Nineties Individuals started seeing Benelli-made Tremendous Black Eagles and M1 Tremendous 90s seem in duck blinds. These weapons had been initially imported by Heckler and Koch, and duck hunters liked them.
In 2000, Breda restructured and bought its share of Benelli to Bretta. Nonetheless Breda retained the manufacturing rights to each the unique SBE and M1 Tremendous 90, in accordance with Christian Helpful, chief government for Banshee Manufacturers.
“Our B3.5SM is actually a refined model of the unique SBE from the HK-imported Nineties fashions,” says Helpful.
A Dependable, Inertia-Pushed Semi-Auto
The B3.5SM works on the identical inertia-driven motion that powers the SBE 3. This motion was developed by Italian engineer Bruno Civolani in 1967 and has lengthy been a favourite amongst American waterfowlers.
The motion capabilities through the use of recoil from the shell along side the mass of the bolt to compress a robust spring, which then cycles the motion, tossing the spent hull and loading a brand new shell. Because the bolthead strikes into battery, it rotates and locks into place.
The overall consensus about inertia weapons at this time is that they’re lighter, slimmer, and cleaner working than gas-operated semi-autos. On the draw back they often have harsher recoil and may be finicky in the event that they get soiled or moist in frigid situations. In my expertise, Benelli shotguns have lived as much as these perceptions. However would the Breda B3.5SM?
Looking With the Breda B3.5SM
At first look, the B3.5SM is unremarkable. It’s a black, synthetic-stocked gun with outsized controls (which just about all duck weapons have as of late). After I shot clays with the gun I seen that it felt a bit heavy, which I appreciated. It helped the gun swing properly and diminished among the recoil. At 7.37 kilos, the B3.5SM is sort of a half-pound heavier than the SBE 3.
I instantly appreciated the texture and grippiness of the inventory, which has a rubbery, soft-touch end. Plus, I shot the gun naturally, so I made a decision to take it out for opening day of the Wisconsin duck season. Looking was gradual that opening morning, however I did kill a pair teal over the decoys and I made one heroic crossing shot on a distant wooden duck. That was sufficient for me to maintain the B3.5SM in my rotation.
I proceeded to hunt with the shotgun in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota. The extra I shot it, the extra I appreciated it. After I discipline take a look at shotguns, I hunt laborious with them and don’t clear them. I run every gun till it begins to jam — and with semi-autos I’ve discovered that they may all fail ultimately.
By mid-season I had run a number of hundred rounds via the gun and dropped it within the mud not less than twice earlier than I lastly acquired a a primary failure — the bolthead had not rotated all the way in which into battery and the gun went “click on” as an alternative of “growth.” After that hunt I cleaned the gun and resumed killing geese. Then on the ultimate hunt of the season I acquired my second malfunction — the gun fired the primary spherical however didn’t cycle the second.
In my expertise, two malfunctions over the course of a protracted duck season of laborious looking, with just one cleansing, is fairly rattling good efficiency from an inertia gun.
Most significantly, I found that the B3.5SM is an absolute duck hammer. Loaded up with Hevi Shot Hevi XII, 3-inch, No. 6 masses, I killed geese close to and much with all of it season lengthy.
There was the excessive flock of teal in North Dakota the place I referred to as “kill’em in the event you can,” and when my buddies chickened out on the shot, I popped out of the blind and dropped a drake greenwing from the heavens. There was the double on crossing goldeneys at dawn in South Dakota. There was that cautious greenhead in Wisconsin that simply wouldn’t commit, however folded on his third move anyway.
I’m certain that I missed some geese with the B3.5SM over the course of the season, however I can’t appear to recall any of these photographs now.
Patterning the Breda B3.5SM
I’m sure that my good experiences within the discipline have so much to do with how the gun patterns. Although “3.5SM” describes the three.5-inch “Tremendous Magnum” chamber, I used 3-inch masses for looking and testing. In my expertise (and people of different skilled shooters) 3.5-inch masses usually don’t sample properly out of a 12 gauge. They merely generate extra recoil with out placing any extra pellets on course.
So I shot the B3.5SM on paper at 40 yards with two primary 3-inch metal masses: Federal Velocity Shok No. 2 with a 1 ¼ ounce payload; and Remington Nitro Metal No. 2 with a 1 ¼ ounce payload. Utilizing the Modified choke that got here with the gun, I shot 4 patterns with every load and averaged them.
Common Pellet Strikes in a 30-Inch Circle
- Federal Velocity Shok: 127
- Remington Nitro-Metal: 130
For context, that is phenomenal efficiency. Beneath the identical capturing protocol with the identical ammo, my SBE 3 averaged 107 pellet strikes with the Federal load and 117 pellets with the Remington load. Of all one of the best duck looking shotguns we’ve examined, I’d put the Breda up towards any of them by way of sample efficiency.
Drilled Barrel
Breda attributes these nice patterns to their drilled barrels. The corporate makes use of a drilling course of for producing barrels (versus chilly hammer forging).
“A deep-bore-drilled course of entails taking a tube of bar inventory, minimize to the specified size of the ultimate barrel, putting the bar inventory in a lathe and manually drilling out the barrel from the middle and contouring and profile the barrel with lathe cutters,” says Rus Hinkle, a service lead for Breda and Retay. “This leaves the bar inventory in its unique, homogenous type because it was forged or cast from the manufacturing facility.”
Having a extra homogenous, constant barrel contributes to raised patterns general, says Hinkle. “With particular regards to shotguns, the extra uniform the vibrations of the barrel [as the shot is fired] correlate to much less destabilization of the pellets as they exit the muzzle.”
I can not say for sure if Breda’s rationalization for the sample efficiency of this gun is legit or not. However I do know for certain that the B3.5SM shoots killer patterns. Additionally, earlier this 12 months I reviewed the Retay Gordion Turkey, which makes use of a barrel constituted of the identical course of and that gun shot distinctive patterns as properly.
50/50 Patterns
It’s additionally necessary to notice that the Breda shot simply the place I pointed it. It produced constant, 50/50 patterns that means that about 50 % of the pellets hit above my aimpoint and 50 % hit under the aimpoint. That is simply what you need from a looking shotgun. It’s additionally noteworthy that many Benelli semi-auto shotguns are likely to sample excessive (generally as excessive as 90/10). This may be improved with shimming, however many hunters don’t take the time to mess with their shim kits.
Breda B3.5SM vs Benelli SBE 3
I’ve already began evaluating the B3.5SM to the SBE 3 so we would as properly go all the way in which now. Each are premium shotguns that work off the identical motion. The bolts from the weapons are almost similar.
One noticeable distinction between the 2 weapons is the profile of the rib. In relation to the receiver, the B3.5SM has a really low rib. So when wanting down the gun along with your head tight on the inventory, you’ll see that the rib form of disappears under the bead. The SBE 3 however has a excessive rib that raises properly above the receiver.
Past that, the flamboyant model of the SBE 3 has extra options, together with a recoil discount system, a carbon-fiber rib, and the sturdy BE.ST coating. It’s considerably lighter, sleeker, and has superior match and end. All these bells and whistles will value you although, because the top-end SBE 3 runs $2,499.
The B3.5SM is rougher across the edges. On my gun there’s a noticeable hole between the inventory and the rear of the rubber cheek pad. The outsized bolt-release button has a little bit of wiggle to it. The crossbolt security is just too small and unrefined.
However, the B3.5SM throws higher patterns and shoots straighter — not less than for me. If I needed to decide one among these shotguns for a high-noon duel with a greenhead, I’d go along with the B3.5SM with out considering twice.
Breda B3.5SM Availability
My most severe criticism of the B3.5SM is you can’t simply stroll into any huge gun store and purchase one. In response to the corporate web site, there have been solely 75 of those weapons allotted to the U.S. market this 12 months. And in 2025 there will likely be “restricted portions of the B3.5SM via choose sellers,” says Helpful. If you wish to verify one out, yow will discover Breda sellers close to you on the corporate’s web site.
Closing Ideas on the B3.5SM
The B3.5SM actually is a throwback to the unique SBE. It may not be essentially the most elegant inertia-driven gun available on the market, and for $2,100 I can see how some hunters would anticipate extra by way of aesthetics, match, and end. However, hoo boy, this child shoots. I might fortunately commerce appears for the sort of patterning and discipline efficiency that the B3.5SM delivers.
I do know that there are some diehard waterfowlers on the market who would quite surrender their duck canine than their SBE 3. However for the parents who need wonderful 50/50 sample efficiency out of the field, Breda’s B3.5SM is price a detailed look—assuming yow will discover one.
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