Benelli R1 (.308 Win)
Kim du Toit
May 3, 2005
12:00 AM CDT
There’s no reason why American sporting rifle manufacturers should have all the fun when it comes to semi-auto rifles. Although there’s nothing wrong with Browning’s BAR and Remington’s 7400 (to name but two), here’s one which looks really interesting: the Benelli ARGO (aka. the R1), in .308 Win:
You know, at first I was put off a little by the unconventional look of this rifle. But I have to tell you, the more I look at it, the more I like it.
No, it doesn’t look much like other rifles. Lamborghinis don’t look much like other cars, either.
Here’s what I know about these puppies.
They’re much lighter (as much as 2lbs lighter) than the BAR, thus making them a hair over 7lbs. Heavy compared to a boltie (and even then not much), and definitely not heavy compared to other semi-auto rifles.
The action is gas-operated, and that design is based on Benelli’s proven M4 semi-auto shotgun, rather than a typical semi-auto rifle design.
The R1 comes in two other chamberings: 300 Win Mag, and .30-06—in other words, they’ve pretty much got most hunting needs covered.
My only gripe is that the damn rifle doesn’t come with iron sights. (Kim’s Rule: All rifles except bull-barreled ones should have standard iron sights. Scopes break, and you need to have a backup.)
The rifles are not cheap, about $800 - $1,000 or so (this particular one is at Collectors), but in my case the eventual cost would come out higher than that, because the first thing I’d do is get a decent gunsmith to mount some iron sights on the thing.
And that wood is just flat-out gorgeous.
If the R1 cost $300 less, I’d go after one with a passion. As it is, I’ll have to wait until the damn lottery folks get their act together and pick my numbers.
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