Review: Benelli Nova 3 Tactical Shotgun

I remember when the original Benelli Nova was introduced way back around the year 2000. I’d been hunting ducks with Benelli’s Super Black Eagle since it was released about eight years earlier, and so I was a fan of the company in general, but I didn’t much care for its futuristic-looking polymer pump. One of my hunting buddies bought one, and though I didn’t tell him, it just felt cheap to me, like plastic sliding against plastic whenever I worked its action. Very light for any shotgun, much less one capable of shooting 3.5-inch magnum loads, it also kicked like a mule. So, when I was asked by the editors of this magazine to review Benelli’s new Nova 3 Tactical version now, 25 years later, I wasn’t all that, uh, pumped.

But, before I get to the guts of this story, I’ll tell you that after reviewing it I was pleasantly surprised. Although the overall look of the original and the new version remain similar, the new Nova 3 is upgraded with enough features to make it a truly new gun (although it loses a couple things, too) and it should serve as an excellent home defender.

In essence, the Nova 3 Tactical is a 12-gauge, pump-action shotgun featuring an 18.5-inch barrel, an extended seven-shot magazine (after the included mag-tube extension is installed by the user), ghost-ring sights, a Multicam Black finish and a bunch of other features. But, let’s begin with the gun’s overall build.

Most notably, the Nova 3 uses a combination of polymer and steel to create a single, monolithic, one-piece receiver and buttstock assembly. Benelli calls its construction “Poly Mod.” This construction aims to improve efficiency in manufacturing, assembly and maintenance, while also making the shotgun lighter and incredibly strong for its weight. In essence, the steel forms a cage in the shape of the gun’s stock and receiver that is reinforced—and protected from the elements—by the polymer molded all around it.

While I can’t argue with this modern manufacturing technique for its simplicity, durability and cost efficiency, I do believe it has several downsides. One is aesthetics: Just as the gun’s futuristic, all-polymer look was shocking 25 years ago, it hasn’t aged well, in my view. Back then, it looked like something from a “RoboCop” movie, and it’s still an ugly duckling to those of us who prefer a more traditional look. But, more importantly in terms of practicality, the new monolithic stock/receiver does away with the old Nova’s optional ComforTech stock that contained a gel-comb insert that helped reduce felt recoil. I can only guess at the reasoning for the Nova 3’s omission of this feature, but I’d bet it has to do with the cost and complications of incorporating this technology now that the stock and receiver are made as one piece. The new buttstock does feature an effective buttpad, of course, but I sure miss the cushy comb.

The other feature that it eliminates is any chance for a shim kit/stock-fit adjustment. Because Benelli’s shim kits are designed to change the angle of the stock where it mates to the rear of the receiver and therefore the drop-at-comb/drop-at-heel measurements, the monolithic design of this new stock and receiver prevents installing any such shims. That said, the Nova 3’s fixed stock measurements (2.38-inch drop-at-heel, 1.5-inch drop-at-comb) fit me just fine and, based on pure averages, will likely fit you, too. But, the gun’s inability to be adjusted must be mentioned. As for positives, the new stock features aggressive, molded grip panels on the pistol grip, as well as two integral options for mounting a sling.

Likely the central defining feature of the Nova 3 is its return to a 3-inch action, rather than the 3.5-inch action of the Super Nova. The 3.5-inch shell is all but dead for everyone except the most eccentric turkey hunters. This is great news for home defenders, because what the longer action did was make the gun longer overall by elongating the action, which means more time spent sliding the action back and sliding the action forward when working the pump. While a half of an inch of both sides of the cycle might not seem like much on paper, you can immediately tell it both in terms of quickness and effort expended on the tactical range.

Internally, the Nova 3 incorporates a rotating bolt head borrowed from Benelli’s M4 bolt. While I can’t definitively state that this bolt is more reliable in terms of lockup or strength, it is spring loaded, something that helps initiate the pumping action and therefore makes it slightly faster, much like Winchester’s tried-and-true “Speed Pump” design. Indeed, when holding the gun pointed up or horizontally, one push of the action-release button causes the action to slide halfway open on its own. The action itself features dual steel action arms that disappear into hollow recesses formed by the receiver’s polymer build, but for whatever reason, the Nova 3 doesn’t have nearly the plastic-on-plastic feel of its predecessor when the action is worked.

Regarding the fire-control system, both the crossbolt safety and the action-release button are located on the forward portion of the polymer trigger guard. This is fine for people with big hands, but I personally don’t prefer it, instead preferring the safety to be positioned on the rear portion of the trigger guard so I can reach it easily without releasing my grip. The trigger itself is typical for a shotgun; it’s reliable, but nothing to wow anyone.

Finally, the action comes with a 4.5-inch Picatinny rail mounted atop it, as well as a robust polymer adjustable rear ghost-ring sight installed. The sight is quality, with the adjustment screws being recessed and the steel ring being protected by curving polymer wings.

While I bagged on the gun’s redesigned buttstock a bit, I commend its redesigned molded polymer fore-end that incorporates several new features rather than omitting any. First, it is molded in a way that features two thicknesses; a thicker portion at its rear and a thinner portion at the front, with a transition that serves as a grippy point of reference for the hand to find in the same manner each time. The forward portion of the fore-end contains six M-Lok slots—two on the right, two on the left and two underneath—for accoutrements such as a flashlight. Finally, the underside of the stock features a unique recess that houses the action’s magazine-cutoff button.

I love this feature. It allows the shooter to quickly unload the shell that’s in the chamber without messing with the shells in the magazine—all without changing grip. It’s exceptionally well done, and could become the standard when it comes to magazine-cutoff buttons on shotguns.

The Nova 3 Tactical (all versions) comes with an 18.5-inch barrel that wears a shrouded front sight and is threaded for its included choke tube (on some models, or a standard fixed-cylinder choke on others). The barrel is thin, light and of the high-quality befitting a Benelli shotgun. The test unit I chose was the 922(r)-compliant model that comes with a three-round mag-tube extension that increases the shotgun’s magazine capacity from four to seven rounds.

In testing the Nova 3 Tactical, I was pleasantly surprised. First, the shotgun, at right around 6 pounds, is incredibly light, nimble and easy to maneuver. But, light weight often comes at the cost of increased recoil. And, let me not mince words here: the Nova 3 does exhibit serious recoil—just as any pump gun does—when loaded with full-power loads. But, it was not as bad as I was expecting. Its grip, stock fit and recoil pad obviously do a good job of mitigating recoil as well as can be expected. While the gun’s light weight was a downside for most waterfowlers who shoot lots and lots of very heavy loads, for the average home defender I think lightweight at the cost of a little more recoil is desirable. The shotgun is so light, in fact, that I can actually hold and fire it using only my trigger hand. I could see how this could come in handy during a real emergency.

The other area in which I was pleasantly surprised was the new Nova’s action; specifically a couple of its features: First, the action just feels better, both in terms of its solid, smooth feel and the fact that the new rotating bolt head actually initiates the pump action for you after each shot. Inasmuch, I believe it’s one of the naturally faster pump actions on the market. Reloading was also made much quicker compared with most shotguns thanks to the design of its loading gate/elevator. I know this may sound wimpish, but historically most loading gates—including my beloved Super Black Eagle—feature a gap in the gate where it meets the receiver’s edge that is just big enough to pinch my thumb if I’m not careful. It sounds trivial, but it’s not; it’s why most competitive shooters take a Dremel tool to their shotgun’s loading gate so they can reload as fast as possible without fear of losing a thumbnail.

Benelli engineers took a different tack, however. Instead of reshaping the gate, they designed it to remain in the up position when it is first pushed up by the initial shell to be reloaded. In this way, it never comes in contact with the reloading thumb at all. It’s glorious.

Finally, the magazine cut-off button is a necessary feature for any shotgun and one I use often whether on the range, loading the gun for home-defense staging and even for hunting. For example, if you wish to swap a buckshot round that’s in the chamber for a slug round without dumping and then reloading the whole magazine, you can easily do it. Most cutoff buttons are located on the trigger guard where an extra movement must be made to use it. I love the ingenious location of the Nova 3’s button. It’s recessed enough that it won’t be pushed inadvertently, but central enough that it’s intuitive with practice. 

In testing the gun, I shot 350 rounds without a jam, a misfire or even a hang-up. Spent hulls ejected with authority, and the new Nova 3 Tactical delivered pellet-rich patterns to its sights’ point-of-aim time after time. The only complaint I had was my personal taste in safety locations—it was a stretch for me to depress.

All in all, the Benelli Nova 3 Tactical is one of the lightest, easiest-to-reload pump shotguns I’ve fired. It’s also damn-near impervious to the elements due to its polymer build (though certainly you shouldn’t be fooled into thinking its internal metal workings can be neglected). Also, I think its subtle Multicam paint job looks cool. Perhaps best of all, it doesn’t wear the extreme price tag of most Benellis. This one’s actually affordable. Thanks at least in part to that, it has suddenly become a whole lot more attractive.