Well I went shooting this morning at the gun club to do some patterning and on the second shot out of my Benelli Nova Tactical the front sight came off and after looking for an hour I was not successful in finding it. Here is what I have now - the good news is this barrel is NOT threaded for screw in chokes. The bad news is Benelli USA said because the shotgun was made in 2000 they do not have a replacement front sight and it is not under warranty.

Anyone have any ideas on what I could do as I love this shotgun but I must have a front sight. Could a gunsmith drill a hole and mount an optic sight? I really do not want to spend a lot to fix this since this will soon be a future gun for one of our grandkids. Here are two borrowed pictures of the sight that came off and a couple of pictures of my current barrel.

Thanks in advance for any help/suggestions/recommendations.

TruGlow makes a snap on fiber optic sight that might work. Amazon has them for 20 bucks. Reviews are fairly positive. Might be an easy fix.

Yooper - Thanks Sir. I just looked at what you referenced and this could work great. Question now is can I JB Weld or Super Glue it on the spot where this one came off as a reenforcement to ensure it does not slide off? Not sure it either bonding agent would work on a steel to plastic bond but for $20.00 it is worth a try.

Thank again for this idea. Mark

quote:

Originally posted by sigarmsp226:
Yooper - Thanks Sir. I just looked at what you referenced and this could work great. Question now is can I JB Weld or Super Glue it on the spot where this one came off as a reenforcement to ensure it does not slide off? Not sure it either bonding agent would work on a steel to plastic bond but for $20.00 it is worth a try.

Thank again for this idea. Mark

I was doubtful about it when I bought it, but I have a fiber optic sight on the vent rib of my Benelli M2 that is attached via adhesive. I left the original sight in place in case it ever came off, and I thoroughly prepped the metal with rubbing alcohol before I stuck it on. It has remained in place for ten years and countless 3 gun matches now. If I recall correctly, it was a Truglo.

It came with adhesive on the bottom, removed the cover strip just like a decal and stuck it on.

Indiana - Thanks for your feedback. With this information I just ordered a unit and will post a photo once it comes in and I get it mounted.

Thanks again to both of you for your posts. Mark

YooperSigs and IndianaBoy - THANK YOU Both very much. I spoke to Benelli USA and they were super supportive related to how they would need to handle fixing this 24 23 year old shotgun. Benelli said this shotgun was made in Italy and shipped into the US in early 2000. After looking around they were able to locate a used barrel that would fit but I was required to ship the entire gun into Benelli for fitting and function testing (I respect how they approach these type fixes ensuring the shotgun will function as designed if they change out anything) but at a total cost of slightly over $200.00 to fix a missing front sight with a replacement used barrel, knowing this old Nova (not a Super Nova) only has a used value of about $300.00 (with a barrel with sights) I decided to give your idea a try.

Pictures sho how GREAT your $20.00 recommendation looks and should function. As you can see I move the barrel clamp up a little to provide this snap on sight that needed extra resistance against moving. I also put three small pieces of Gorilla Glue Heavy Duty two sided tape between the snap on sight and the barrel. And now we can see this front sight so well with the green Hi-Viz fiber tube.

Anyway - Greatly appreciate your recommendation and guidance. Range trip next week to ensure this one stays on and in place. Mark







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This message has been edited. Last edited by: sigarmsp226,

Try contacting Benelli, I’d be willing to bet they make it right. They fixed my neighbor’s 20 gauge Nova and turned it around in 2 weeks last year. Otherwise, there are 2 part epoxies that can be used along with a clamp for 24 hours.

Dking - I still have not been able to locate the sight that came off but I continue to look. It came off at my gun club in a pistol bay that the ground is covered with spent brass, gravel, shotgun shells, and grass. My plan is to go back again tomorrow and look again for it. So far I have been on my hands and knees for 90 minutes with no luck. If I had any idea which way and maybe how far a front sight might “fly” when it decides to come off of a barrel, this would help narrow the search area. Right now I am looking in a circle that is 20 feet across center.

Thanks for your recommendation. I did talk to a Benelli and they are being super supportive and helpful - it is just a 24 23 year old gun with a “tactical fixed choke barrel from Italy” so my options with Benelli are somewhat limited.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: sigarmsp226,

That part was epoxied on by the factory?

Para - Yes - I think so by what it appears. I purchased this shotgun NIB from my local gun store in early 2002 and the sight that I showed in the earlier photo that I copied from an ad on GB was the same sight that was on my barrel until last week. I went to the range but after the second shot (I was patterning several different 00 buckshot factory loads) when I went to shoot the next round the sight was gone.

Benelli said they could not fix this barrel (guessing they no longer carry this specific front sight in their parts department) but would replace it with a lightly used barrel that was the same. Cost is going to be slightly over $200.00 after shipping, used barrel, and labor. Benelli said it would take about four weeks to complete the work which also included test firing to verify functionality.

I have an RMA number from Benelli (provided to me today) so I am keeping that option open until I can get back out to the range next week with this Hi-Viz sight to see if it will stay on after 25 rounds of firing. I love this old gun and it has been our home defense gun for 15 years but with my loving wife and son telling me that I will be getting a Benelli M2 for Christmas from them, I hesitate to spend any more than is necessary on this one.

I am going to go back out tomorrow again to see if I can find the front sight. If I can find it then I may be able to JB Weld it back on. Mark

quote:

Originally posted by sigarmsp226:
Benelli said they could not fix this barrel...

There would have been no need to fix it if it had been done right in the first place, by brazing the sight onto the barrel, and if they had a competent gunsmith in-house and wanted to do it right, they could have fixed it.

I have a Benelli M1 Super 90 made in 1988 and I can guarantee you that the front sight will never come off the barrel, because they installed it correctly.

If I can just find the sight then it will open up some other possible less expensive options like you said - have someone braze it on.

The wife suggested I hang a note and ziplock bag on one of the bay cover posts that says - If you find my missing front sight from my shotgun, please leave in this ziplock bag. She is a smart lady (not sure how I got so lucky).

UPDATE - Saturday (10/04/23) I went to the range this morning with knee pads, gloves, and a 600 lumen headlamp. Arrived at sun up and crawled around on my hands and knees for 90 minutes looking again for this front sight. No luck. I did run 10 rounds of buckshot and 20 rounds of birdshot through the Nova with the new Hi-Viz sight and it did not move. I will make a separate range trip to re-pattern the Nova with this new sight in the next week or two. I did not have the time today.

I did leave a note in a sealed sleeve and a ziplock bag asking if anyone finds the sight to please put in ziplock bag that is taped to the pole and text me on my cell that they found it. Time will tell if it is ever found.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: sigarmsp226,

Is the sight steel? If it is, it may be worth a trip to harbor freight to get one of those 2-wheeled “magnet brooms”, or whatever they call them. You will likely have to pick through a bunch of steel shell cases, but you just might find your sight.

It looks a bit like it was silver soldered. That’s normally how they do it, but that has a dark gap in the back, so not well done in the first place.

Rainmaker - Great idea - We have a HF in our town so I may give this a try. Thanks for the recommendation. Mark