Benelli MP-90 .32S&W Long WC feedback

I am considering buying the MP-90 .32 and would like some feedback from other owners. 

What is your overall satisfaction?
Issues - any parts failures, spares that I should consider?
What reloads?

Thanks,
Dave

I have one. They are nice pistols. But, .32 SWL is a finicky round. You will likely need a new barrel to get the right twist rate. 

The recoil is not as light as I expected. If I'm going to shoot a center fire gun, I prefer the 9mm 1911.

dronning wrote:I am considering buying the MP-90 .32 and would like some feedback from other owners. 

What is your overall satisfaction?
Issues - any parts failures, spares that I should consider?
What reloads?

Thanks,
Dave

Hey Dave,
The groups in the ammunition thread regarding the .32 Pardini I posted were shot with a model 95 Benelli .32.  You can see what kind of accuracy you can expect with reloads. I have a Morini grip on it but other than that, it is stock. I do have a model 90 but in .22. Both have been trouble free for the 10 or so years or so I have had them. Just make sure you replace the buffers when they are no longer effective.

Most mp90 will barely hold black at 50 yards, many that use them have Dave Wilson build them a accurate barrel so they will shoot ten ring at 50. these guns were built to be accurate at 25meters and thats about where it ends stock. I had one with the wilson barrel and it was very accurate and fun to shoot.

I don't know for sure but I thought the barrels on the 90 and 95s are the same. In any case, my 95 with the stock barrel will do 3" groups at 50 yards and sometimes better. I have a MP3S and a FAS 603 and they too shoot very well. If a Benelli with no problems won't hold black at 50, I would suspect ammo issues as they are ammo fussy.

yes the barrel's are the same, difference in a 90 and 95 is the 90 has a better trigger group and comes with a premium Nill grip, other than that they are the same, if yours shoots good at 50 yards you are an exception to many others and please tell us what load and info on the ammo you used.

DavidR wrote:yes the barrel's are the same, difference in a 90 and 95 is the 90 has a better trigger group and comes with a premium Nill grip, other than that they are the same, if yours shoots good at 50 yards you are an exception to many others and please tell us what load and info on the ammo you used.

It is snowing out now but just to do it, I shot 15 shots @ 50 yards.  Just resting the butt on a sandbag, using a dot sight, it shot a 5-shot group in 3" and a 10-shot group in 3.25". I am confident I could shave at least 0.5" off those under better conditions with a better rest. This is using a Remington case, WW primer, Magtech 98 HBWC and 1.5 of WST.  My go-to load is 1.7 of AA#2 and a Lapua 98 WC.

Load info and 50 yard results is what I am looking for!
 
With the feedback posted here and some PM's I have received my interest in the MP-90 in .32 is slipping away.

The used MP-90 I was looking at was taken off the market and I was dead set on one so I decided to buy new but now I am going to take a step back and consider other options.  The MP-90 still looks like a great pistol but I don't want to have to re-barrel one to be competitive.

Dave

the accuracy issue of a beneli 90 and 95 is well documented on the target talk forum, like i said if yours shoots that good, yours is a very rare exception to most benelies with stock barrels. Many loads tested by many people even using factory match lapua and others.

DavidR wrote:the accuracy issue of a beneli 90 and 95 is well documented on the target talk forum, like i said if yours shoots that good, yours is a very rare exception to most benelies with stock barrels. Many loads tested by many people even using factory match lapua and others.

I have had two Benelli 95s in .32. I traded one off to get another free pistol because I did not need two. I could not tell any accuracy difference between the two of them, both shot very well out to 50 yards. I also have a MP3S Benelli and a FAS 603; they all shoot. I can't comment on what others have done.  I do believe the .32s are more challenging to load for good accuracy. Now I will admit that I have not shot the MP3S and the 603 much at 50 yards but they group as well as the 95s @ 25 yards with the same loads so would expect them to do as well. With the 4 .32s I have actual experience with, they are accurate. I can't comment about what others post on the internet. Here is a quick picture I took of the two 50 yard targets I shot in the snow with a dot sight off the bench. The conditions were snowing, 19 degrees, and nasty. The left 5-shot target is 3" and the 10-shot on the right is at 3.25" in these less than ideal conditions. They do better than that in normal conditions. Today, I wouldn't have done better with my .45. YMMV

Thats  good for a stock barrel, but with a wilson in it  they will shoot 1'', 3.25 @ 50 yd target off a bench rest, out of your hand would probily be 5'' or larger, its only 3.20'' from the X to the 7 ring @ 50 yds and that is not IMO exceptable accuracy in bullseye. No need debating that your guns shoot good or not if your happy with them thats great but many demand much better from target grade pistol.

DavidR wrote:Thats  good for a stock barrel, but with a wilson in it  they will shoot 1'', 3.25 @ 50 yd target off a bench rest, out of your hand would probily be 5'' or larger, its only 3.20'' from the X to the 7 ring @ 50 yds and that is not IMO exceptable accuracy in bullseye. No need debating that your guns shoot good or not if your happy with them thats great but many demand much better from target grade pistol.

No pistol with any barrel, no matter how special, would be doing 1" @ 50 yards under those conditions. The Benelli will do 2.5 or better under good conditions. While many guns are advertised to shoot great, something seems to happen when they are under actual conditions. I do agree there is no need to debate it as I have been doing this long enough to know that 1" 50 yard center fire pistols are very uncommon no matter how much they cost.  The actual distance from the X ring edge to the leading edge of the 7 ring is a little over 4 5/8".

My centerfire pistol is capable of less than a 1'' at 50 yards, granted im not capable at present to hold it there. I shoot my 45 for centerfire as do the majority of shooters and as the test target shot just this last weekend from a ransome rest shows measured from outside to center is .99, it is only .94 measured center to center. Not sure what 50 yard targets you shoot but mine, edge of X to seven ring 3.20....

A good .32 will generally do better than just hold the black @ 50 yards.

...you got peanut butter on my chocolate....you got chocolate in my peanut butter...

I will point out that the 7 ring starts at about the 3.2" mark on that ruler and ends at about the 4 5/8" mark.

Here is my take - everything is measured from dead center (taken from NRA rulebook).

5 ring......................19.68 in

Any gun I consider as accurate MUST hold the X Ring.  A  1" group would be fantastic a sub 2" group might be acceptable.  A gun that shoots 3 1/2" even if you are holding hard you will shoot too many nines and will never make High Master and Master may be a stretch. 


Dave

The weather was clear today. I took off the red dot and put on a cheap 6X scope. The .32 grouped just under 2" @ 50 yards off a sandbag. I was around 2.5" before but I followed a suggestion to use a 0.314" expander and that seems to help. The .32 is a fine little cartridge but it is not the easiest to load for accuracy and I would not recommend it for a beginner. Hope this helps someone out. 

nice target, hold that good and you should shoot some good center fire scores!

Saleen,
Keep up the testing! It'll pay off.

Wes Lorenz wrote:Saleen,
Keep up the testing! It'll pay off.

Wes,
Thank you for the tip about the 0.314 expander. It was a big help!

Does anyone have a number or email for Dave Wilson. Does he work on 90s. I have a .22 and would like someone to tell me if I need a barrel.

Where did you find the 0.314 expander?

DeweyHales wrote:Where did you find the 0.314 expander?

I got mine from midway. Lee Expander Plug

wingnut wrote:Does anyone have a number or email for Dave Wilson. Does he work on 90s. I have a .22 and would like someone to tell me if I need a barrel.

His email address is FC60net at Comcast dot net
His skills are second to none.

wingnut wrote:Does anyone have a number or email for Dave Wilson. Does he work on 90s. I have a .22 and would like someone to tell me if I need a barrel.

or post to FC60 on target talk forum, post in bullseye section. he checks it daily. he doesnt do gun repair as he is not a FFL, but he might replace your barrel, not sure about 22 but he will make a 90 or 95 32 a tac driver with his barrels.