I put one on lay-away today, an HK marked example in decent condition for a fair price. I know literally nothing about them other than I really wanted it, and that was good enough for me. I like my 80’s and 90’s guns. It’s got a pistol gripped stock with a +2 extension (I think), and a slug barrel with iron sights on it, no ghost rings.

Are there parts I should be looking for in terms of spares one should have on hand? Anything a first time owner should know? Decent shotgun if I wanted to finally get off my butt and try some 3 gun?

Rad! I recently got an old M1S90 camo field gun so I’ll also want to know. From my limited research there appears to be two different buffer/springs.

I bought mine in 1988, HK-marked, serial number M060028. It has eaten everything- everything- I've fed it. I can't say enough good about the M1 Super 90. I've moved away from the scattergun and to the rifle, but if I needed a shotgun, this would be it, hands down.





BTW, this shotgun of mine will hold nine shells, including two 3" shells- one on the lifter, one in the chamber and seven 2 3/4" shells in the magazine tube. The one on the lifter- Benelli didn't intend for shooters to do that. You have to pull the bolt back just enough to be able to put the shell on the lifter. If you pull the bolt back too far, the lifter wants to rise when the bolt is closed, and that won't work when adding a shell on the lifter. You'll see what I mean when you get the gun.

Well. That’s definitely encouraging! I figured I couldn’t go wrong with a Benelli, but that’s high praise. I’m really looking forward to picking it up.

Show me a malfunctioning M1 Super 90 and I'll bet my last dollar the shells would be the culprit- old, damp paper shells out of the bottom of a fishing tacklebox, something like that. Mine eats everything, from low-brass trap loads to magnum buckshot and slugs. This is no exaggeration.

I had always envisioned this as a "riot" shotgun- seven shells of Federal Premium short magnum 00 buck in the tube. Two rounds of Federal Premium 3" number one buck (that's 27 .30 caliber pellets per shell) on the lifter and in the chamber. So, 7x12 + 2x27. That's 138 plated pellets- .30 cal and larger- you can put into the air in about 4 seconds.

I used to have a Giles sling on it, but I found it impractical for my purposes.

great weapon... just don't hang a side saddle on it. I prefer my M4 but M1S90 is still a stellar shotgun.

quote:

Originally posted by bolo4tom:
great weapon... just don't hang a side saddle on it.

Ah, yes, how could I forget. I put a side saddle on mine and took it off immediately. The mounting screws for the side saddle squeezed the sides of the aluminum receiver to the point of actually binding the bolt. On top of that, even if you were careful and precise enough to get the screw tension for the side saddle just right- tight enough to not come loose but not too tight to bind the action- you still have to deal with the laws of physics. The M1 Super 90 uses Benelli's Montefeltro rotating bolt locking system, which is inertia-operated. When you add the mass of five 12 gauge shells and a carrier to the receiver, you are screwing with the firing cycle of the gun.

I am told- though I've never tried it, of course- that if you place one of these shotguns with the butt on the ground or against a solid surface like a wall and fire it, the action will not cycle. The shotgun has to be able to move rearward in recoil in order for the gun to cycle. I imagine this tidbit of information came from Benelli or possibly HK. No sane person would try testing this on their own, but you get the point. Don't hang anything heavy on the gun. Hell, I'd even be wary of that WML in the pic. Of course, these days, you could mount a very small and lightweight (yet bright) WML on the mag tube.

We’ve had short barrel M1 Super 90s as our duty shotgun for almost 20 years. They run like a champ. No WMLs, no red dots, no side saddles.

Our duty load is Federal Flite Control reduced recoil shells.

quote:

Originally posted by Chowser:
We’ve had short barrel M1 Super 90s as our duty shotgun for almost 20 years.

For many years, I lusted after a 14" M1 Super 90. How about parts breakage? What has broken in these shotguns? Can you ask your armorer?

That's good to know as a side saddle was one of the things I was considering. Given that info, I'd imagine adding a buttcuff with shells would also possibly interfere with the cycling. I'll leave it as-is, I guess. At most, swap out the magazine extension for a plus whatever you've got on your gun there, Para. Maybe look into a lightweight LED light option as well. I don't want to hang a bunch of shit on it, one of the things I really liked about it the first time I picked it up was how light it was.

That info about loading an extra round under the carrier is interesting. I'm watching videos about the shotgun and came across this fella showing how to do it, embedded video set to play at the timestamp where he demonstrates it:

quote:

Originally posted by P220 Smudge:
At most, swap out the magazine extension for a plus whatever you've got on your gun there, Para.

Mine has a one piece, seven round magazine tube. The sectioned tube (three shells standard, plus a two shot extension to give you five, or a four shot extension to give you seven- came later in production- the early 1990s.

As for loading a round onto the lifter, well, I think Benelli got wise and made a design change sometime in the 1990s to prevent this. I don't know what is the serial number cutoff point.
Come to think of it- Surefire did provide a serial number cutoff pont for the use of their forend WML on the Super 90. Apparntly, Benelli made some changes to the gun and the forend was one of the things they altered. I wonder if that was when they went to the sectioned mag tube. Anyway, I'm thinking that the lifter change was made at approximately the same time. It's all academic, though. The way you'll know whether or not you can do this is when you get the gun in hand.

Thanks for the info. I took some pics of it before I left the shop, but didn't think to get a good picture of the proof marks. I read that the date code is in a proof with a square mark around the two letters. I guess that would've told me what I needed to know as far as that goes.

This surely looks to me like a sectioned tube with an extension on it, but I've been wrong plenty.

Yes. You can unscrew the two shot extension and you can put on a magazine cap (available from Benelli) and have a three shot magazine tube. There are also four shot factory extensions, and I'll bet you can find one on the used market.

Regarding inertia cycling, well, there's no free lunch: https://forums.benelliusa.com/...1-super-90-problems/

Light loads combined with a forend WML. That's the first pic I've ever seen of a malfunctioning M1 Super 90. I know, it's just a shotgun, but really, they are ultra-reliable in my experience.

Thanks again. Looks like the four shot extensions are easily available. I guess when I bring it home, I'll post a WTB ad here. Gotta be someone with one kicking around. Failing that, $120 plus shipping isn't exactly horrible.

You may like the gun better with the two shot extension in place. It would certainly give the gun a more lively swing without two extra rounds of 12 gauge hanging at the muzzle.

I have a M3 and waiting for the stamp on a M1 Entry, both HK imports with rifle sights. My M3 came with a 6-shell sidesaddle that worked 100% on semi-auto, but the forend wouldn’t move to the rear enough to function as a pump. I took a dremel to the saddle and cut a spot off (and the matching aluminum plate). Still functions 100% with every load I’ve put through it, plus now pumps correctly and can be used for Heavy Metal matches!

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:

great weapon... just don't hang a side saddle on it.

Ah, yes, how could I forget. I put a side saddle on mine and took it off immediately. The mounting screws for the side saddle squeezed the sides of the aluminum receiver to the point of actually binding the bolt. On top of that, even if you were careful and precise enough to get the screw tension for the side saddle just right- tight enough to not come loose but not too tight to bind the action- you still have to deal with the laws of physics. The M1 Super 90 uses Benelli's Montefeltro rotating bolt locking system, which is inertia-operated. When you add the mass of five 12 gauge shells and a carrier to the receiver, you are screwing with the firing cycle of the gun.
.[/QUOTE]

I'm a HUGE fan of the Remmington 870. Absolutely love that scattergun. That bad-mamma-jamma is probably the perfect shotgun.

Then I shot my friends Benelli M-1 Super 90.
Fell in love.
One of these days, I'll get around to buying one.

A few questions-

Would using Loctite on the screw work? Or a sleeve over the screw to keep the space between the receiver from binding on the bolt?
Or is it just plain counter-productive because the inertia-operated bolt?

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
You may like the gun better with the two shot extension in place. It would certainly give the gun a more lively swing without two extra rounds of 12 gauge hanging at the muzzle.

Yeah, that's a fair point. The smart thing is probably to give it a try before changing anything. I have a Fabarm FP6 (the other HK marked 12ga) that came with a standard four round tube and cap. Some years after I bought it, I ran across a +3 extension kit in a pawnshop that had been sitting in there for about a decade and I bought it for a song. I installed it and left it on the gun, but it definitely changed the balance and swing in a negative way. Now that I think about it, I don't have any idea where the factory magazine cap is and haven't seen it in a long time.

quote:

Originally posted by CPD SIG:
I'm a HUGE fan of the Remmington 870. Absolutely love that scattergun. That bad-mamma-jamma is probably the perfect shotgun.

Yeah, same here. I learned to shoot on my grandfather's Wingmaster and I can't imagine having a better tool to learn on for the time. That said, it'll probably sound like heresy, but the Fabarm FP6 is basically the 870, perfected. It's a damn shame that shotgun didn't catch on in the US. Absolutely love mine, and probably should have bought another one or two back in the early 2000's.

that old Surefire weapon light is bout the only one id put on a M1S90...its been through between 3-400 rnds of 00buck/slugs and never missed a beat. anything else, I wouldn't chance it.

my USSS contract 870 SBS with side saddle..im a big fan of shotguns and its close between this one and my Ithaca 37 DS in which I enjoy more.

Bolo,

BEAUTIFUL SHOTGUN!
I had one of those for a time in the Marines. Between that and the one from "Scattergun Technologies" with the composite stock, Surefire foregrip and ported barrel, (US State Dept issue) those are my favorite Shotguns! I did a week long course with the Shotguns years ago, complements of my favorite Uncle Sam. Slug, 000, 00, 0, 1, 4 shot, birdshot, Trap/skeet rounds... played with dental plaster rounds and powdered metal rounds for breaching doors. Cases of rounds, all day, every day! Beautiful course until day 3 when you couldn't lift your arm and your shoulder looked like raw hamburger! What made it more fun was push-ups!
IIRC, everything was high-brass rounds except for trap/skeet shooting where all we did was swap to a longer barrel.

(The 870 with the metal fold-over stock can kiss my Irish ass! As much as you try to "hug" that gun to mitigate the recoil, you always land up with a black eye and loose fillings in your teeth!)