Benelli Nova 12 Gauge
Model: 20000
Benelli Nova 12 Gauge
Model: 20000
Full Specifications
About This Firearm
The Benelli Nova's defining feature isn't on the spec sheet — it's structural. The receiver and stock are a single molded fiberglass-reinforced polymer shell over a steel skeleton, not two separate components fastened together. There is no stock bolt to loosen, no junction at the receiver tang for water to wick into, and no failure path for stock cracking under repeated heavy magnum recoil. Benelli has been building this design since 1999 and owners with 25-year-old Novas report no cracking or separation, even after sustained 3.5-inch magnum use. For a working waterfowl gun that lives in a duck boat, this construction is genuinely different from every conventional pump in the price class.
The other structural distinction is the 3.5-inch chamber, which is uncommon at any price under $700 in a pump and singular in this batch. Standard 3-inch pumps like the Mossberg 500 and Remington 870 Express simply will not accept full-length steel waterfowl magnums. The Nova ships in field configuration: 28-inch vent-rib barrel, IC/Modified/Full Crio chokes installed, red-bar front sight with mid-bead. It is not, configured this way, a home-defense gun — at 49.5 inches overall it is awkward in interior spaces, and the supplied chokes are tighter than ideal for buckshot.
Where the Nova loses points is weight. At 128 oz (8 lbs) it is the heaviest 12-gauge pump in this batch and the heaviest gun overall. Compared to the 108-oz Mossberg 500 field, that's a 20-oz difference noticeable in any all-day upland walk or turkey hunt. The mass works in your favor when running 3.5-inch steel loads — recoil with a 1-3/8 oz steel load is genuinely manageable — but it is a working-load gun, not a carry-all-day gun. For a hunter who lives in a duck blind or layout, the Nova is the right tool. For an upland hunter walking 8 miles a day, the M2 Field or any 6.5-lb 28-inch field gun is the more comfortable choice.
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Strengths & Limitations
- One-piece polymer-over-steel receiver/stock has no seam to absorb water or crack under sustained heavy magnum recoil — owners report 20+ years of waterfowl use with no structural failures.
- 3.5-inch chamber is uncommon at this price in a pump. The Mossberg 500 and Remington 870 Express are 3-inch guns and cannot fire the longest steel waterfowl loads.
- Three Crio chokes (IC/M/F) ship installed and ready to use, which the budget Mossberg and Remington field guns typically don't match at this price.
- 128 oz is 20 oz heavier than the Mossberg 500 field model and 8 oz heavier than the steel-receiver Remington 870 Express. The mass damps recoil but adds up over a day of carrying.
- The integrated receiver/stock means buttstock swaps for length-of-pull or recoil-pad changes are limited to Nova-specific options; conventional 870 or 500 stocks do not adapt.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can I get the Nova with a shorter barrel for home defense or deer hunting?
Benelli sells a separate 18.5-inch tactical Nova barrel that drops into the same receiver, and rifled slug barrels are also available. Capacity is limited to 4+1 regardless of barrel. Worth knowing before buying: with the standard buttstock and 18.5-inch barrel, the Nova is heavier than a dedicated defensive pump like the Mossberg 500 (108 oz vs. 128 oz). For a single-gun owner who wants one Nova for ducks and home defense, the swap works; for a buyer planning to dedicate a pump to defense, a standard 18.5-inch Mossberg 500 or 870 Express is the lighter starting point.
How does the one-piece polymer stock hold up over decades?
Benelli has been producing the Nova design since 1999 with no major changes to the construction. Owner forums and long-term reviews consistently report no cracking or separation, even on guns running thousands of 3.5-inch shells. The steel skeleton inside the polymer prevents the flex-fatigue failures that purely-polymer designs sometimes show. The trade-off is that any stock damage (deep gouges, broken recoil pad mounting, etc.) requires Nova-specific replacement parts ordered through Benelli.
Will the Nova cycle light target loads or only magnums?
The Nova is a manually-cycled pump, so unlike a semi-auto it doesn't depend on a load's energy to operate the action. Any 2-3/4-inch, 3-inch, or 3.5-inch 12-gauge shell from light target (1,150 fps) up through 3.5-inch steel magnums cycles via your forend stroke. The 3.5-inch chamber is backward-compatible — running 2-3/4-inch target loads through it is mechanically identical to running them through a 3-inch chamber.
