My shop has a MR-1 for sale for $899. It looks funky, but feels solid. This one has the fixed stock with pistol grip and 16” barrel. I think the normal rifle stock would clean up the lines a bit. I read that the supernova’s collapsable fits. I can’t find much info, so usually that’s bad news. I know it uses the same Argo system as the M4. Anyone have one? Any info would be appreciated. Is this worth it, or pass?

Not sure how helpful I will be but I own a wooden stocked R1 in 30.06 and really like it. It is an ingenious design that you can completely disassemble without needing any tools! Nice shooter and more accurate than I am.

I had a MR1 and sold it long ago. The LOP was too long (a common complaint on Benelli M series Tactical shotguns, and the MR1 uses the same type stock). The mag release buttons were too far forward. The need to get the nut that held the handguard on over the muzzle to take it down for cleaning meant that you couldn’t add a muzzle device, assuming you had the barrel threaded. Virtually no aftermarket, other than a Beretta CX4 Storm style forearm saddle with a couple of short pic rail sections. Also, seem to remember reassembly could be a bit fiddly (something to do with the piston IIRC). All in all, poor ergos and an extremely limited and proprietary gun pretty much killed it for me. The only appeal I could see was for a featureless gun in a ban state, but even at that, there are better and cheaper options.

I don’t think they were around very long, likely because they were probably dismal sellers.

quote:

Originally posted by Dwill104:
The only appeal I could see was for a featureless gun in a ban state, but even at that, there are better and cheaper options.

Yep. Nowadays, something like an Ares SCR would be a better option than the MR-1, with much greater aftermarket support due to its use of primarily AR15 parts.


As weird as it looks, I kinda like the MR-1's appearance. But then I like the looks of funky .223 rifles like the FNC, AR-180, AR-70, ARX-160, etc. However, any of those rifles would realistically just be range toys, due to stuff like suboptimal ergonomics and lack of support.

quote:

Benelli MR-1

For $899 I'd rather grab a mid-tier AR pattern rifle. At least there's a million and one aftermarket parts / support for them.

I've always thought they were really cool and about a year ago, got a wild hair and decided I should try to find one. Folks here talked me out of it. I think it's an interesting piece for some niche collections, but outside of that, it wasn't a winner for the reasons mentioned and I believe more besides.

Bought one years ago to be cool and match my shotgun. It's neat. Ergos make no sense, but I didn't buy it to be a fighting rifle. Take down is no problem, I feel it's so overbuilt it could shoot 20mm projectiles with almost no modifications. Stock trigger is excellent. I ended up purchasing the non-pistol grip stock from Benelli just to have on the off chance I NEED to have a featureless/compliant style rifle in the future. LOP is long, so don't buy it if you're a little shrimp.

I also liked the design when it first came out but decided not get one due to possible issues in the future and trying to find parts when/if available. It's kind of like the Beretta ARX rifle that I want to get, but again, issues with parts in the future prevent me from getting one.

My nephew has one in .223. He really likes it and has had no problems with it. That it doesn't look like an EBR is a plus in some areas too.

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Originally posted by patw:
I also liked the design when it first came out but decided not get one due to possible issues in the future and trying to find parts when/if available.

Yep, I'm already playing that game with a Fabarm FP6. I got it back in 2007, and parts were already about impossible to find. That situation has not improved. Scarcity of parts is one of the things that put me off the MR-1.

Converesly, that just makes your parts more valuable. With Benelli's they can be worth a good deal more in pieces than as whole firearms. Something breaks and you can't replace it, you part it out and get your money back and maybe then some.

I'm not too worried about it's future serviceability. At this time it's not my primary fighting rifle. However being a Benelli I feel pretty good about it's ability to function long term if need be.