Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

I’ve owned a few shotguns over the years. A Mossberg 500 at some point, and most recently a Benelli Super Vinci in Realtree Max-5 that I carried turkey hunting. These days the only one still in my safe is a .410 break-action my father gave me when I was young. I get out with a shotgun every so often, most recently some skeet at GunCon 2026.

So I’m not new to them. But I’ve never spent real time behind a tactical semi-auto, and that’s worth saying before I tell you what I think of one.

Benelli reached out and asked if we wanted to test and evaluate their new M2-G1 Tactical. One look at what it was and we said yes. They shipped it to Andy, a friend who has written for USA Carry and turned up in a few videos here, and he brought it out so I could put rounds through it. Benelli provided the shotgun at no charge. Nobody paid us for this coverage and Benelli had no say in what I write.

Here’s what caught my attention before it even showed up. That Super Vinci ran Benelli’s In-Line Inertia Driven system. No gas ports, no pistons, nothing to foul. Every M2 Benelli has built since 2004 works the same way. The M2-G1 doesn’t. It’s a gas gun, built on a new operating system Benelli calls Rear Piston Operated, or R.P.O. The name says M2. The guts say otherwise.

The change is where the gas gets pulled. Most gas shotguns tap it from a port partway down the barrel and hang the piston and recoil spring out front on the magazine tube, where carbon and moisture collect. Benelli moved collection back near the chamber, put two short stroke pistons there, and sealed the recoil spring inside the stock. Their reasoning is that gas closer to the chamber runs at higher pressure and burns cleaner, so less fouling reaches the parts doing the work.

Whether that holds up over a few thousand rounds, I can’t tell you yet. What I can tell you is that it shot smooth. Smoother than I expected out of a 12 gauge, and smooth enough that I want a lot more time behind it.

Benelli put out its own side by side chart pitting R.P.O. against the M4’s A.R.G.O. system, and the M4 wins three lines: auto-regulation, self-cleaning pistons, and gas cleanliness. Benelli calls the M4 combat proven and the M2-G1 duty ready.

More from USA Carry:

Specs are straightforward. All five configurations are 12 gauge, 18.5 inch barrel, chambered for 2 3/4 and 3 inch shells, with ghost ring sights on a Picatinny rail, M-LOK forend, enlarged controls, beveled loading port, parkerized bolt, QD sling points, and a 10 year warranty.

The gray fixed stock model runs $1,949 in either 5+1 or 7+1, with a 13 inch length of pull. Move up to the five position telescoping stock and upgraded pistol grip and you’re at $2,049 in gray, or $2,149 in MultiCam Black and FDE, with an adjustable 13.8 to 14.75 inch length of pull and about 8 pounds on the scale.

The full review comes we get more time at the range with it and get the round count higher.