Is there any interest here at all for jumping on for a ride ?

I want one, sounds wonderful from the Y.T. vids I've seen.

But can't find but a tiny bit of justification for purchasing it.

I don't hunt.
And any target shooting that I would do would be 75 yards ,max.

I just want one.
And they ain't cheap.

Interesting looking rifle
Don't think it would sway me from my Tikka

That trigger/guard looks to be at an odd angle.

$1,700 list price puts it about a grand more, too.

Being lazy, I won’t look it up myself right now, but how does the safety work?

In the picture it looks similar to the safeties on other modern European rifles that engage automatically every time the bolt is cycled (as far as I can determine), and it must be manually disengaged before every shot. ?

Looks like a tang safety, didn't know about the auto-safe on cycling.

I am intrigued by them, there's lots of "ideas" about them I like. But I wouldn't buy a new one. Only if I found a used one at a real low price. Too much about it worries me in the long term. How the plastic and rubber bits will hold up, and knowing Benelli's customer service, their crazy parts prices and often lack of availability, I'd only buy one cheap... or at least a whole lot cheaper than they're asking.

My rule with SIG pistols was "never buy them new." I apply that to Benelli a little, I've owned nine, only bought two new and they were the "cheap" ones.

I believe I was wrong about thinking that some rifles had automatic safeties of some sort. That would require disengaging the safety after every time the bolt was cycled, and that’s probably something that even Europeans would object to. In any event, I couldn’t find anything indicating that the Lupo had anything other than a tang safety, and I’ve always liked that type.

There is something about the ability to to pop two liter bottles at 75 or 85 yards that appeals to me.

I desire to feel what that's like

A simple 22lr would do the trick for that, even.
I was able to consistently hit a steel silhouette with my Marlin 60 from 100yds with the stock irons.

A 2 liter should be doable with a bit more focus.

Over $1k to shoot centerfire at short distance seems overkill, but, n+1.

Unless, you meant to put 750-850yds.

My caliber of choice would be .243 Winchester.

I am not familiar with my abilities or that of this bolt rifle .

So you are saying that a novice like me could consistently hit
2 liter bottles at 150 yards?

quote:

Originally posted by bendable:
So you are saying that a novice like me could consistently hit
2 liter bottles at 150 yards?

Short answer: Yes, but it depends on many variables.

According to the ’net, a 2-liter soda bottle average size is about 4.33 inches in diameter by 12+ inches high (including the neck, I assume). Depending on how we’re shooting at it, that’s a pretty large target. Without going into my details, I have shot at a 3.5×5 inch target at 150 yards and at 130 yards from a cold start a recorded 11 times each since January 2018 without ever missing, and that’s nothing exceptional for a good shot with good equipment.

The variables are the rifle, ammunition, shooting position (prone, etc.), support (bench, bag, bipod), weather conditions (wind, precipitation, temperature), sight (scope, irons), and of course shooter skill.

It’s hard to know how accurate (precise) the Lupo would be from a firm rest, and much would depend on the ammunition. The 243 Winchester cartridge isn’t usually thought of as a long range precision or match round, so factory loads for those purposes aren’t too common, but I’d be very surprised if it wouldn’t produce at least 1.5 minute of angle groups with something like Hornady 90 grain ELD-X ammunition. A 1.5 MOA group at 150 yards would measure about 2.25 inches, or significantly smaller than the diameter of our 2-liter soda bottle. If I’m correct about all that, the precision of the rifle and ammunition should be significantly better than what would be required.

A 1.5 MOA gun/ammo combination, if not better, is a best case scenario that involves a firm shooting rest or position and minimal wind to deal with. If shooting from the prone with a bipod, things might open up, especially for an inexperienced shooter. If shooting offhand or even unsupported kneeling, one would have to be a good shot to hit the bottle every time.

Even at 150 yards wind might have to be taken into account. According to Hornady’s ballistics calculator with the factory data, a 10 mph direct crosswind would cause a 1.6 inch drift. Couple that with the inherent precision of a 1.5 MOA ammo and gun, and it should be taken into account. A 20 mph wind that caused a 3.2" drift would definitely need adjusting for. But that’s just part of the challenge (and satisfaction) of hitting small targets at distance.

If I had a Lupo in 243 and decent ammunition, I would definitely expect to hit a 2-liter bottle most of the time if I used a good rest and good shooting techniques. If I missed it should be possible to analyze and determine why, and correct whatever the cause was.

Added: I mentioned the sight. I assume you’d use a scope, and it would just have to have enough magnification and clarity to see the bottle clearly. Scope sight quality is another extremely complex subject, but you wouldn’t need a $4000 March or Zero Compromise to snipe 2 liters at 150 yards on a consistent basis.

I think a bolt action in something .22 caliber would make more sense to me at those ranges from a lot of standpoints…COST certainly being one of them. Go for a bolt gun in 7.62x39 if you want to plink “bigger”.

.22 LR
.22 WMR
.223/5.56
7.62x39

I usually limit my comments and suggestions to the original conditions, but if you’re planning to use the rifle for only target shooting of various types, I would really suggest considering a different chambering. The rifle is evidently available in several different cartridges, some of which are better for that purpose than the 243.

Based on what I have read about the cartridge, I’d recommend 6mm Creedmoor except for the fact that I believe ammunition might be hard to come by unless you handload. On the other hand, 6.5 Creedmoor is extremely popular and there are many excellent factory loads available for it. I see that Benelli guarantees sub-MOA precision, and although that presumably applies to the 243, I suspect that’s with hard to find loads. I have been extremely happy with 6.5 CM in the two rifles I’ve had chambered for the round, and when using Hornady ammunition.

Benelli isn't my first choice for a bolt action rifle. I'm not thrilled about the looks, but that's a personal thing.

The Lupo is built to be a hunting rifle. Not optimized for target shooting, but it should do OK. In these times a sub-MOA 3-shot guarantee is nothing to crow about -- many reasonably priced field guns can do that. Especially when limited to 3 shots groups.

It is easier to shoot accurately with lower recoiling calibers. 243 Win is definitely in the lower-recoiling ballpark -- more so than 6.5 Creedmoor and 308 Win. But so is 6 Creedmoor, which is a better target shooting caliber than 243 Win.

Years ago, factory ammo availability and price favored 243 over 6CM. No longer. Throughout the times of the pandemic, quality 6CM ammo was available in the web, at prices comparable to 243. As of this evening, Ammoseek had 496 hits for 6CM ammo, compared to 236 for 243 Win.

Inside a few hundred yards for the average shooter, 243 Win has adequate accuracy for larger targets -- especially when shooting the lighter grain varmint rounds. But 6CM's accuracy really comes into play when tiny groups are desired, and definitely at longer distances. Recoil is about the same for both calibers.

A better center fire caliber for the novice shooter is 223 Remy. Much less recoil, huge number of ammo options, lower cost of ammo, shoots with great accuracy out to a few hundred yards. Unfortunately, it does not appear that the Benelli Lupo is chambered in 223 Remy.

I recommend looking at a different rifle -- one that's been around longer, and that is chambered in 223 Remy.

That’s what I get for assuming that 243 would be more available than 6mm Creedmoor rather than checking. If I wanted the Lupo for whatever reason and intended to use it almost exclusively for target shooting, I would definitely choose the 6mm based on everything I have seen about it.

I appreciate your input.
I won't be out spending money any time soon.

It's better to learn now, before deciding to make a move to a new and different path.

Buy a Tikka instead and use the money you saved off the goofy looking Benelli to buy a better Optic. If you can't consistently shoot 2 liter bottles at twice the range you mentioned it will because of you and not the Tikka!

I would also suggest that you buy a 6.5 CreedMoor over a 243 Winchester. The 6.5 CreedMoor is a more accurate and more popular caliber. Ammo will be cheaper and easier to find. Recoil is similar and the CreedMoor is more versatile as a target and hunting caliber.

BTW I hunt with a Benelli shotgun, I'm not prejudiced against Benelli, I just think that the Lupo is goofy looking and overpriced. Lots of better options out there! Bergara, Savage, Tikka etc etc. And a 243 was my first High Powered rifle that I bought. I wish they would have had the 6.5 CreedMoor back then! :-)

Happy with my Tikka
In 243 or 223 it'd probably be an 'all day' shooter.
In 270 [mine, at only 8lbs with the Nikon on it], not so much.

quote:

Originally posted by bendable:
There is something about the ability to to pop two liter bottles at 75 or 85 yards that appeals to me.

I desire to feel what that's like

You can do that for a whole lot less than $1700... I have many hunting rifles and every one of them will do that, and a lot more, with ease. And without premium ammunition.

And I love my 243. No doubt it would do what you want with Remington Core-Loks all day long.

My bolt gun is in .243, and with handloads shoots sub-2" 5 shot groups at my 200yd range all the time, often enough sub-1" such that that is my goal when I take it out. Lots of excellent 6mm bullets out there to choose from, I'm using the 105gr Berger Hybrids currently. Next barrel may be a 6mm Dasher or Creedmore, but really need to find a place with more range to take advantage of that and would need to get all new brass, dies, etc. Not sure I want to do that given my current investment. While it may not be the best, 243 is a pretty damn good cartridge with significant versatility.

A 6mm 105 hybrid at 3090 fps from a .243 performs just as well as a 6mm 105 hybrid at 3090 from a 6 creed. But if you need to buy factory ammo, or even shoot a factory rifle, 6 creed is a better bet. Most factory .243 rifles do no not have the twist or the chamber to shoot heavy bullets well.