Loving my Affinity 3 so far. First time out with it was on a pheasant hunt and the performance was flawless. I used Kent fastlead 2 3/4 and Kent faststeel 2.0 in 3 inch.
I’ve got Franchi, Browning, and Beretta, and I’ve learned the hard way. All the 3.5’s can at times have issues with 2 3/4 light loads. Simply Use a 3” chambered gun for the dove fields and skeet range, and use 3.5” chambered guns for ducks and geese.
Unfortunately he is right. Bought this gun in 3.5” as 3” was not available and it really struggles with low brass 2-3/4”. So as much as guys tell you it will shoot them I would steer clear. Only buy a 3.5” gun if you plan on shooting 3”+ ammo.
I’m looking into getting either this gun in the video or a beretta a400 xtreme plus. Just can’t make my mind up which one. The franchi is 899 used and the a400 is 1840 out the door brand new. This is my first shotgun other than my corn on the cob Winchester pump.
@Bigd100037 I have also shot the A400 extreme and that gun performs flawlessly. However I do prefer the overall feel of the affinity more. Mine is in at the stoeger service center at the moment. I'm hoping they can resolve the double feed issue. I think if you get the Affinity in the 3" for that price you can't go wrong. Pretty sure I just got a lemmon.
Nice review. I will add my 2 cents since I own a couple Benellis and recently handled an Affinity 3. Best I can tell, this is essentially a re-badged Montefeltro. The one that I handled had wooden furniture and "black" hardware. I think the main reason for the price difference between the two lies mainly in the overall finish differences between them. So far as that goes, the grade and finish of the wood on the Affinity was not as nice as the Montefeltro, but still nice nonetheless. The barrel also appears, to my eyes anyways, to be parkerized instead of blued, which I do not see as a bad thing. Parkerized finishes have a penchant for soaking up oil, which is great for protection from rust. The barrel also has a stepped rib. You'll need to step up to a Silver Featheweight or Ultralight to get that on a Montefeltro, and those start around $1600. The stepped rib on the Affinity also appears to be a little taller than that on the higher end Montefeltros, which would probably be a welcome addition for those with a longer neck. It would probably also help make the gun a decent trap shooter. So far as fit goes, I think the quality of fit is every bit as good as a Benelli. My only dig against this shotgun is that it appears to have a proprietary recoil pad. It has a weird shape to it where it attaches to the stock. If you don't like the recoil pad and want to change it, I don't think you are going to have any luck finding an aftermarket option. While these may be considered a "low budget" Benelli, considering what they sell for ($1100 in my neck of the woods) I personally hardly consider them low budget. In fact, I've seen the entry level Montefeltro at the same price. The last thing that I will add is a slight correction. These are in fact made in Italy. Benelli's U.S. headquarters in Accokeek Maryland serves as the U.S. importer for their firearms, and I believe also as their warranty center.
I am somewhat new to semi-autos and I had always heard that 3.5 guns won’t cycle 2-3/4 shells. I bought the affinity 3.5 because a buddy of mine had one and swore by it. Took it to shoot clays this weekend and it failed to cycle every time. Is there any way around this? I bought the gun for crane/goose/Turkey hunting but I’d like to be able to shoot clays as well.
I rarely have any trouble with it cycling 2 3/4 shells. Get some rem oil and spray a little inside the chamber and then wipe it clean. If it’s brand new it may just need to be worn in. Definitely let me know if that helps!
These guns need to go through a break in period. I have a 3.5 and a 20 gauge affinity. They both had failure to feed and failure to eject the 1st 100 or so rounds. I think Franchi recommends 3 inch loads to break it in. After the break in both of mine are fantastic guns. I use the 20 gauge more lately even for turkey. I cant recommend the 20 gauge affinity enough!
Do you have issues cycling shells like heavy metal or kent shells that have the rounded brass my affinity 3.5 doesn't like to cycle them even if they are 3.5 inch shells
I have the affinity 3 and I can’t remember it ever jamming I shoot kent 2.0s my buddy has the 3.5 and doesn’t trust the Kent 2.0s so I think it might just be the 3 1/2 inch that has problems cycling
I jave a stoeger 3500 and it looks identical to yours even when you dissassembled it the parts look exactly the same. Probably made in the same factory.
Stoeger shotguns are manufactured at the Vursan factory in Turkey, except for the barrels which are made in Italy and shipped to Vursan. Franchi shotguns are manufactured in Urbino, Italy... at the very same factory as Benelli & Beretta shotguns. Beretta is the parent company that owns; Benelli, Franchi, and Stoeger Turkish shotguns made in Vursan have many similarities to their Italian cousins, but the build quality is inferior and they only have partial parts compatibility.
@@moustache6622 Do not think the Franchi and Benelli lines are similar, my cousin works for Benelli and they are not. Funny thing, he is not allowed to talk with Franchi people except outside in the common areas and not about business. Call Benelli and ask, they will tell you that. Strange. Stoeger is the 3rd rung down - Benelli, then Franchi, then Stoeger.
@@Ay_Boogie Are you able to hold a good pattern with that choke and is it a modified or improved cylinder. I have a couple boxes of 3 1/2 in.0000 buck, made by War Wolf, that I’ll be pushing through it. Gonna try the different chokes that it came with and if that doesn’t do it, I’ll look into the one you mentioned
I’ve had a couple buddies have this issue…it always seems to boil down to what she’ll you’re using! Heavy metal seemed to not mix well. I’d also recommend completely disassembling and cleaning it.
Mine also started double feeding after first 100 rounds or so. Was able to remove shell latch and slightly bend out. This certainly helped. However now I’m having failures to feed. I’m sure this gun works great with higher velocity shells. But certainly not with cheaper skeet shot.
Mine was the waterfowl cerakoted edition and it was around that. But it came with 3 Trulock chokes in close, mid, far and I can take birds way better than I could wirh my Benelli SBE2 that was darn near $2k
Loving my Affinity 3 so far. First time out with it was on a pheasant hunt and the performance was flawless. I used Kent fastlead 2 3/4 and Kent faststeel 2.0 in 3 inch.
I’ve got Franchi, Browning, and Beretta, and I’ve learned the hard way. All the 3.5’s can at times have issues with 2 3/4 light loads. Simply Use a 3” chambered gun for the dove fields and skeet range, and use 3.5” chambered guns for ducks and geese.
Unfortunately he is right. Bought this gun in 3.5” as 3” was not available and it really struggles with low brass 2-3/4”. So as much as guys tell you it will shoot them I would steer clear. Only buy a 3.5” gun if you plan on shooting 3”+ ammo.
I’m looking into getting either this gun in the video or a beretta a400 xtreme plus. Just can’t make my mind up which one. The franchi is 899 used and the a400 is 1840 out the door brand new. This is my first shotgun other than my corn on the cob Winchester pump.
@Bigd100037 I have also shot the A400 extreme and that gun performs flawlessly. However I do prefer the overall feel of the affinity more. Mine is in at the stoeger service center at the moment. I'm hoping they can resolve the double feed issue. I think if you get the Affinity in the 3" for that price you can't go wrong. Pretty sure I just got a lemmon.
Just bought a 3.5 and I have only shot #8 clay rounds through it and I haven’t had one single eject failure
My SBE (Original) has no problem from light dove/target to monster 3.5 mag's. I did bring it this past dove season and put two cases through it.
Because of the spring location in the forearm, I like the balance of the gun.
Nice review. I will add my 2 cents since I own a couple Benellis and recently handled an Affinity 3. Best I can tell, this is essentially a re-badged Montefeltro. The one that I handled had wooden furniture and "black" hardware. I think the main reason for the price difference between the two lies mainly in the overall finish differences between them. So far as that goes, the grade and finish of the wood on the Affinity was not as nice as the Montefeltro, but still nice nonetheless. The barrel also appears, to my eyes anyways, to be parkerized instead of blued, which I do not see as a bad thing. Parkerized finishes have a penchant for soaking up oil, which is great for protection from rust. The barrel also has a stepped rib. You'll need to step up to a Silver Featheweight or Ultralight to get that on a Montefeltro, and those start around $1600. The stepped rib on the Affinity also appears to be a little taller than that on the higher end Montefeltros, which would probably be a welcome addition for those with a longer neck. It would probably also help make the gun a decent trap shooter.
So far as fit goes, I think the quality of fit is every bit as good as a Benelli. My only dig against this shotgun is that it appears to have a proprietary recoil pad. It has a weird shape to it where it attaches to the stock. If you don't like the recoil pad and want to change it, I don't think you are going to have any luck finding an aftermarket option.
While these may be considered a "low budget" Benelli, considering what they sell for ($1100 in my neck of the woods) I personally hardly consider them low budget. In fact, I've seen the entry level Montefeltro at the same price.
The last thing that I will add is a slight correction. These are in fact made in Italy. Benelli's U.S. headquarters in Accokeek Maryland serves as the U.S. importer for their firearms, and I believe also as their warranty center.
Thanks for the input! I hope others read this through!!
Spot on!
Your in the algorithm now. Found you in my feed
we love to hear that!
Does chuck mobile fit this shotgun?
Good review, Thanks! ,,, I believe the gun is made in Italy, imported by Benelli, owned by Beretta
Did you buy it new or used? You said both !!
I use mine for coyotes and it delivers dirt naps out to 60 yards.
I am somewhat new to semi-autos and I had always heard that 3.5 guns won’t cycle 2-3/4 shells. I bought the affinity 3.5 because a buddy of mine had one and swore by it. Took it to shoot clays this weekend and it failed to cycle every time. Is there any way around this? I bought the gun for crane/goose/Turkey hunting but I’d like to be able to shoot clays as well.
I rarely have any trouble with it cycling 2 3/4 shells. Get some rem oil and spray a little inside the chamber and then wipe it clean. If it’s brand new it may just need to be worn in. Definitely let me know if that helps!
@@otdrgear you’re probably right it was the first outing and it was Winchester white box target loads.
These guns need to go through a break in period. I have a 3.5 and a 20 gauge affinity. They both had failure to feed and failure to eject the 1st 100 or so rounds. I think Franchi recommends 3 inch loads to break it in. After the break in both of mine are fantastic guns. I use the 20 gauge more lately even for turkey. I cant recommend the 20 gauge affinity enough!
Adjusting how you shoulder the gun makes a huge difference in inertia guns
Which model number is this gun? It has a number? Because franchi has so many similar one.
Muy excelentes arma amigos excelentes
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Got one
Do you have issues cycling shells like heavy metal or kent shells that have the rounded brass my affinity 3.5 doesn't like to cycle them even if they are 3.5 inch shells
I have the affinity 3 and I can’t remember it ever jamming I shoot kent 2.0s my buddy has the 3.5 and doesn’t trust the Kent 2.0s so I think it might just be the 3 1/2 inch that has problems cycling
Well done sir.
Where did you get the choke from?
Mine broke in the first 25 rounds. First it double feeds. Now the bolt stays back.
Same issue sent the gun back to them 4 times they are finally replacing it and itll be getting sold as soon as it get to the gun dealer from franchi
I jave a stoeger 3500 and it looks identical to yours even when you dissassembled it the parts look exactly the same. Probably made in the same factory.
Stoeger shotguns are manufactured at the Vursan factory in Turkey, except for the barrels which are made in Italy and shipped to Vursan.
Franchi shotguns are manufactured in Urbino, Italy... at the very same factory as Benelli & Beretta shotguns.
Beretta is the parent company that owns; Benelli, Franchi, and Stoeger
Turkish shotguns made in Vursan have many similarities to their Italian cousins, but the build quality is inferior and they only have partial parts compatibility.
@@moustache6622 Do not think the Franchi and Benelli lines are similar, my cousin works for Benelli and they are not. Funny thing, he is not allowed to talk with Franchi people except outside in the common areas and not about business. Call Benelli and ask, they will tell you that. Strange. Stoeger is the 3rd rung down - Benelli, then Franchi, then Stoeger.
How’s the buckshot pattern and what choke do recommend to hold the pattern tight?
I shot SumToy chokes w/ 000 buckshot in my Franchi Affinity 3.5
@@Ay_Boogie Are you able to hold a good pattern with that choke and is it a modified or improved cylinder. I have a couple boxes of 3 1/2 in.0000 buck, made by War Wolf, that I’ll be pushing through it. Gonna try the different chokes that it came with and if that doesn’t do it, I’ll look into the one you mentioned
Yes it hold excellent pattern. It’s custom choke and I told company I wanted it to shoot tight 4:13
I started have double feeding issues with mine after 2 years. Very disappointed.
I’ve had a couple buddies have this issue…it always seems to boil down to what she’ll you’re using! Heavy metal seemed to not mix well. I’d also recommend completely disassembling and cleaning it.
Mine also started double feeding after first 100 rounds or so. Was able to remove shell latch and slightly bend out. This certainly helped. However now I’m having failures to feed. I’m sure this gun works great with higher velocity shells. But certainly not with cheaper skeet shot.
@@adams402 I traded mine in and now have a SBE3. I cant stand unreliability in a shotgun.
They have 7 year warranty. Go return them back and tell them what’s going on and they will fix it for free
Dang, who’s paying 1,200? I just bought the Elite affinity today and paid $1100.
Mine was the waterfowl cerakoted edition and it was around that. But it came with 3 Trulock chokes in close, mid, far and I can take birds way better than I could wirh my Benelli SBE2 that was darn near $2k
I think it all depends on location.
$997.49 at Academy Sports with the 5% discount card
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