Test: Benelli Endurance Wood hunting rifle with adjustable comb in .30-06 Springfield

The baying of hounds in the woods is still a memory or a hope to be relived, but in the meantime nothing can stop the curiosity and passion of hunters and, for us at all4hunters.com, the work in the field to test and show in action the new products available for the next season. In this case we are talking about the Benelli Endurance semi-automatic rifle in the Wood version, equipped with a wooden stock and, in this latest update, featuring an adjustable comb that allows hunters to customise the gun and find the best alignment with the aiming devices for a more instinctive and accurate shot in driven hunts. Circumstances and environments in the woods often dictate quick and safe shouldering, and fleeing wild boar usually allow only a few moments of visibility for shooting. The possibility of having a quick, well-set gun at the shoulder can make all the difference in both the success of the shot and the safety given by the greater and more instantaneous control in aiming. The Benelli Endurance Wood is available in the most popular calibers for wild boar hunting: .30-06 Sprg., .308 Win., .300 W.M.

Endurance Wood: signature details of the Benelli semi-automatic rifle

The Montecarlo style stock and fore-end of the Benelli Endurance Wood rifle are made from oil-finished grade 2 walnut wood with Wood Touch checkering and sling swivels. With regard to the new height-adjustable comb, it should be specified that from the neutral position, it can be raised by several clicks to a maximum height of 40 mm, enhancing visibility and aiming. The Endurance rifle provides the possibility of munting various optical devices, from the red dots widely used in driven hunting to optics, but it is also equipped with metal sights consisting of a raised carbon fiber rib with two fiber optic insers, and an adjustable front sight, also with high visibility fiber optic insert.

The cryogenic barrels are 51 cm long and muzzle threaded for the possible mounting of muzzle brakes or silencers, where permitted by law. The Endurance Wood features the Endurance rifles' double stack magazine, which holds up to 5 rounds and ensures accurate and consistent feeding thanks to the internal foil that separates the cartridges and guides them towards the chamber. The Benelli gas-operated system with BE.ST. treated gas piston guarantees reliability in hunting and durability of the mechanical parts. The weight of the gun is low thanks to the Ergal receiver and the use of selected steels and new geometries developed by Benelli in the construction to obtain a handy but stable gun that is easy to carry with its 3.3 kg.

Our test with Benelli Endurance Wood rifle, Steiner Ranger 4 scope and Sako Super Hammerhead ammo

We tested the new Benelli Endurance Wood in .30-06 Springfield in running boar shooting, with the moving target at a distance of 50 meters.

We shot at two targets, the first to get an immediate feel of the rifle on the shoulder and to find the right height set-up of the new comb, the second one with the rifle already set up according to our needs. We found the gun already fitted with a Steiner Ranger 4 scope with 1-4x24 variable magnification, which surprised us with its brightness and clarity of field of view, and which proved ideal for the moving shots at medium range that are typical of driven hunting.

The ammunition we used was the Sako Super Hammerhead with a 150-grain bullet, a perfect compromise with a 51-cm barrel to achieve effective and accurate performance even when hunting, avoiding excessive loads and negative effects caused by the rifle compactness. After the first shots all within the boar's silhouette we opted for a slight raising of the comb in perfect alignment with the optics, achieving a very satisfactory result with a tight group on the second target with two magazines. The trigger release, which has been revised and lightened in this model to a weight of 1.8 kg, is excellent: clean but also very natural. We can say that with the new stock, Benelli has found a very successful compromise between the aesthetic elegance of wood and the functionality given by gun customisation to the benefit of comfort and accuracy, which will certainly make the difference when hunting to the satisfaction of hunters.

Benelli Endurance Wood technical specifications

For more information on the Endurance Wood semi-automatic rifle with adjustable comb, visit the Benelli website.