Benelli ETHOS Shotgun - Manual (Page 37)

36
Introduction
Benelli Armi is proud to present the new
Raffaello. Its exclusive technology and signifi-
cantly restyled looks have been especially chosen
to allow Benelli Armi’s most popular family of
shotguns to establish itself as a true hunting
classic with a modern, high-tech heart.
Thanks to the constant commitment of Benelli
Armi’s Research and Development Centre, the
new Raffaello incorporates Benelli’s superb and
innovative Progressive Comfort system in addi-
tion to all the usual benefits of Benelli shotguns.
The Progressive Comfort system is the only
recoil damping system for wooden stocks that
adapts its action to match the power of the car-
tridges used and damps recoil progressively. The
Progressive Comfort stock combines with the
comb to form the Benelli Full Comfort system.
The new Raffaello sets the highest standards and
represents a truly precious addition to Benelli’s
vast range of firearms.
Operation
The new “Benelli” semi-automatic shotguns oper-
ate on the same basic principle of inertial oper-
ation, with fixed barrel, utilizing the kinetic energy
of gun recoil, today still the most important, inge-
nious feature of our guns.
As you know, this system requires no outlet for
gas or barrel recoil, but operates by means of a
spring freely interposed between bolt head and
bolt.
During firing, due to the recoil of the gun, the
(inert) bolt moves about 4 mm forward, in re-
lation to the power of the cartridge, compressing
the spring. When this is fully compressed, it
extends, making the whole bolt assembly move
back, thus permitting the cartridge case extrac-
tion and the gun reloading according to the con-
ventional system.
Spring pressure is designed to delay the opening
of the action and regulate the different pressures
produced by cartridges of varying power, with no
need for braking.
We have added to this system a simple shape
and robust rotating bolt head which with only 2
locking teeth, closes the breech axially and per-
fectly, withstanding any pressure of the cartridge.
The new line of shotguns features a loading
system designed to:
- make it possible to shift cartridge manually
from the magazine tube to the barrel for quick
and easy ammunition changes;
- ensure even faster and safer automatic re-load-
ing;
- check whether the hammer is cocked and
ready to shoot.
The new loading system features a special car-
tridge drop lever, the outer portion of which pro-
trudes below the receiver and is thus easily reach-
ed by the trigger finger.
Upon shooting, the hammer spring forces the
cartridge drop lever upwards to disengage it from
the carrier latch which, pulled by the carrier
latch spring, rotates clockwise to allow a cartridge
to exit from the magazine.
As the cartridge falls into position on the carrier,
it presses against the carrier latch, which rotates
in the opposite direction to prevent a second car-
tridge from exiting.
When the bolt is operated the carrier rises auto-
matically to position the cartridge for introduc-
tion in the chamber.
In the meantime, the hammer spring, which was
compressed during cocking, has freed the car-
tridge drop lever to return to its rest position.
In this way, the carrier latch is obliged to hold the
remaining cartridges in the magazine until the
next shot is fired.
The end of the cartridge drop lever which pro-
trudes from the receiver is marked with a red
point. When the red point is visible, the hammer
is cocked and the gun is ready to fire; otherwise
the hammer is not cocked.
Like all Benelli automatic shotguns, the fully
automatic operation of the new shotguns
depends on its recoil.
This eliminates the drawbacks of the systems
with barrel recoil (barrel vibration during firing,
KEY TO ARROW COLOURS
colour description
red stripping sequence
green assembly sequence
blue location
yellow action