Benelli's firmly established in the shotgun space, but most of the company's guns are workhorses: the venerable M2, the paddle-your-boat-with-it-tough Super Black Eagle, and the like. Benelli ventured into the "fine shotgun" world last year with the semi-auto Ethos, but this year's introduction of the 828U marks the company's first foray into the over/under market. The 828U has kept the feel of a Benelli but, true to the company's reputation for innovation, rethinks the way an over/under operates. The steel locking system is designed to address the weak spot (if you can call it that) of traditional over/unders: The hinge. It's also loaded with other features, such as pulse ejectors, a removable trigger assembly, precise drop and cast adjustment, an ergonomic recoil pad, and a gel comb pad.
This gun falls in the $2,500 range MSRP, a few hundred more for the nickel version. Read more about it at www.benelliusa.com/shotguns.