Benelli Ethos Cordoba BEST 12ga Shotgun Review

The Ethos Cordoba BE.S.T is one of the most expensive semi-auto shotguns on the market. I recently reviewed the Ethos Cordoba BE.S.T to put it to the test and see what makes this shotgun different than the other Benelli's or even the other Ethos shotguns. 

One item that jumps out is that this gun has the "BE.S.T Coating" which stands for "Benelli Surface Treatment" They basically claim that this coating makes it very weather, rust, corrosion, and scratch resistant. This BE.S.T coating can be found on a few other Benelli Models, such as the SBE3.

The Cordoba name comes from a South American Province known for dove hunting. A few quick features you will find on the Cordoba include ported barrels and a stepped-up carbon fiber rib.

I break it all down in the video above, but if you want a quick snapshot, look at the Ethos Cordoba BE.S.T, it's all laid out below.

PRICE

This Benelli has an MSRP of $2,349 - I got mine for EVEN LESS than that at REEDS SPORTS 

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QUICK SPECS

• 12 gauge Inertia
• 3" chamber
• 28" Barrel 
• 7lbs 
• Length of Pull 14 3/8" 
• Drop at Comb 1 1/2"
• Drop at Heel 2 1/4"
• Comes with 5 chokes (C, IC, M, IM, F) Extended BE.S.T Chokes - At this price, I assume it includes laser-guided technology to make sure you hit every shot.

TRIGGER

• 6lbs 10oz (Average pull weight)
• I initially felt it had a bit of pre-travel, but the reset felt very great. From the time I picked up the Ethos and pulled the trigger, I believed I would be able to shoot it faster than most shotguns.
• It pulled a little bit heavy on the scale than I had expected. That's alright! The feel is a lot more important - I often am able to shoot some heavier triggers fast than some of my "lighter-triggered" shotguns

ERGONOMICS

• I think a lot of the prior stated specs fall right in line with where I'd expect them to as it is a  Benelli. I do truly believe that the Ergonomics (look, feel, function) is what makes this gun untimely rise above its Benelli counter-parts
• The grips (forend and pistol) feel very, very natural. The Ethos line performs well in this every time.
• Like I said in the intro, the BE.S.T coating is what really sets this ETHOS apart. I would LOVE to put this coating through a torture test and see how effective it really is.
• This Ethos sports the comfort tech (3) stock and butt pad. I love these cheek pads
• It has a super slick carbon fiber stepped-up rib that can be changed out.
• Red fiber sight (A bit big for my liking)
• The trigger guard and safety are adequate - the bottom of the trigger guard is a bit concave towards the magazine port to help load shells in more smoothly. It's a cool cosmetic design, but I don't beloved it's totally beneficial/necessary.
• Nicely sized bolt release - Not super east to hit on this brand new gun, but It's a good size
• There's a magazine window so you can see how many shells are in the gun - that's kinda neat!

RECOIL/RELIABILITY

• I like how this gun shoots. The recoil is initially what you'd expect. Still trying to find if recoil is going to be any different than the other Benelli Inertia shotguns.
• As I continued to shoot, this gun cycled super fast and reliably. 
• After a box and a half of shooting around, I was actually pretty impressed. The only misfires I had were when I was shooting one-handed over the head. Of course, the inertia system didn't work in that scenario, but in every other way, this Benelli shot perfectly.
• I also noticed that the ported barrel definitely helped lighten the recoil a bit. Muzzle jump was also decreased. Overall Impressed!

DISASSEMBLY/QUALITY OF BUILD

• Right off the bat - This is a Benelli. The name of the game is quality. This gun is definitely put together to that standard. 
• This ETHOS came apart just as easily as most inertia Benelli's do. A big difference is that on this gun, the top of the receiver comes off independently for super easy field cleaning down into the trigger group/bolt area without having to take everything apart.
• The ease of breakdown is always a win for me - this Benelli was super easy. The top of the receiver coming off is my biggest win for this category. 

SPEED SHOOTING

• I was able to accomplish shooting three hand-thrown clays in .94 seconds
• It took me .59 to get on in, .17 to hit the second clay, and .18 to finish it off. THIS IS MY FASTEST TIME EVER ON THREE HAND-THROWN CLAYS. 
• When I did the initial trigger pull test, I just knew I'd be able to shoot this fast. I'm seriously so impressed that I got it as quick as I did with this shotgun.
• You won't see it on video, but the one thing I'd have to "complain" about would be the trigger. The times I missed, It was because I was outrunning the trigger before even getting a shot off. This was frustrating, but all was good once I got into the rhythm

In summary, I think that this Benelli Ethos is an awesome gun. It has a great feel in the hands, points naturally, and it is fast! I really like the concept of the BE.S.T coating, but I would really like to do is put it through an extreme test to see how well it works. Now the question, is it worth $2300. That is always a hard question to answer. I think I will make an ultimate Benelli showdown to answer the question "if I could only have one Benelli, which one would I pick?"

Whether our targets in the field or our targets in life, we will only hit what we are focused on so live the #targetfocusedlife 

Stay Target Focused,

Steve