Great video, I think it answers a lot of questions that beginning multi gun shooters have. Stoeger is also owned and operated under the Beretta/Benelli arms group. The Stoeger is exactly what Benelli thinks a Stoeger should be. The Affinity just represents the middle of the road option, somewhere between Honda Civic and Nissan GT-R.
Been on the net and youtube looking for reviews on the franchi affinity. Never seen a comparison so complete, didn't have the money for the m2 and i was looking for the stoeger m3500 but after your review i will definitely put some more money for the franchi.
I've now shot 5 matches with the affinity with absolutely no failures. I've installed all of the Taran bits, including the safety, carrier, springs, etc. I'm in love with it! My next step is to order a replacement bolt carrier and experiment with some cutting, mostly just for visual effect. For the money, I don't think there is a better shotgun for 3-gun out there. I've seen a lot of JM930's and M3k's fail on the range and am really pleased with the Franchi. I wonder if the Stoeger 24" barrel would fit in the receiver?
Thanks ! great info, especially for someone just about to buy a first shotgun. A nightmare trying to decide. Funnily enough I've looked Benelli nova, a Franchi, Beretta xrtreme2... which I liked a lot, Mossberg 500 and a couple of others.... " aaaarg !"
Very good Vid...Lots of information about the similarities between the Benelli and the Franchi. I love my Franchi... The manual has a lot to be desired, and is virtually useless. Thanks again...
Shadetree Armorer Your review was excellent...subbed. M2s are unstoppable. My HK branded super 90 seems to be self cleaning, all I do is run a snake thru, done. Funny story about manual. One of my former careers was A&P mechanic in the 90s...long story short: Airbus manuals in "English" were written by Frenchmen. Their syntax was confusing at times and we had to request clarifications fairly often. Thankfully common sense and experience kept airplanes from falling out of the sky.
The Franchi Elite Affinity has all the things you said was needed. I will get a Franchi Elite Affinity and get a 26 inch barrel for upland and doves and use the 28 inch it comes with for waterfowl.
the Stoegers are heavy as a brick too. the Affinity is really light and feels well balanced ... it's lighter than my m2. I will never stop using the m2 I love it and it fits me perfectly but the Affinity fits me just as good I went and checked one out today... to me it's the "poor mans" m2. like you said it seems like so many of the parts are least based on the same design as the m2 if not the same parts in some situation with different finish.
The Affinity balances under the handguard and the M2 balances back towards the pistol grip. IMO this makes the Affinity ideal for strong hand quad loading, and the M2 ideal for weak hand quad loading. The M2 swings easier as well. Depends on what you're looking for.
Absolutely, the M2 balances right under the action and swings easier whereas the Affinity or M3K is front heavy. Depending on what you're used to, one could be preferable to the other. I prefer the M2 for 3-gun type stuff but I could absolutely see arguments for the Affinity/M3K style setup. Most semi-autos are far more front-heavy than the M2 and similar Benelli shotguns.
I'm 14 years old and currently have a stoeger m3000. I am no longer using it because the length of pull on it is WAY to big. I am in love with the new browning a5 but an 800 price tag is a lot better than 1400. I would love to have an affinity but was wondering if you could adjust the length of pull. Keep in mind i'mi 14 and am looking for a waterfowl/deer inertia autoloader that I can use for quite some time
The Affinity *Compact* 12ga in this video, model 40840, has a very short LOP and would be perfect for you. It comes with spacers and can be adjusted from 12 and 3/8 inch length-of-pull to 13 and 3/8 inch, in 1/4-inch increments. When the time comes, you can also swap for a full-size Affinity stock which is 14 and 3/8 inch. For reference, a standard M3000 length-of-pull is 14 and 3/8 inch.
Awesome video. I recently purchased a compact Affinity for my 11 year old son and the stock carrier is eating him up. Did the Taran Tactical carrier work out for your project? Did it require additional modification like the Stoeger or perfect drop in? Thanks!
TTI carrier is a perfect drop in fit and works great. I broke the edge off the slot in the middle to stop it from taking little bites out of your thumbnail, but that's totally optional.
Hello from Australia Shadetree Armorer, Excellently detailed video. I am wondering if you know if the carrier latch\ shell stop is interchangeable between the Affinity and the M2? Thanks.
Curious to know if the extractor between the two is the same. I know it is different on the Stoeger but you can swap it out for a Benelli extractor (which I would advise). Would be great if the Benelli and Franchi were the same.
I'd be shocked if they weren't interchangeable. I think most of the parts are made on the same equipment in the same factory wherever possible, the bolts looked identical.
Happy Wednesday! Dumb question...when you are comparing the 2...did you by chance try and switch the barrels? Just wondering if the extension is the same? I would love to run a 22" or a 24" barrel for the Franchi
While the part of the barrel that goes into the receiver looks very similar (the part you'd call a barrel extension on an AR) the M2 and Affinity have different length magazine tubes. This means the rings on the barrel that slide over the magazine tube are in two different positions. 26" is a fine length for 3-gun and you see them in use more and more though.
Wonder if the Stoeger barrels would mount right up? We just ran a 250 round scattergun match and it was almost all under 25 yards...just thought that a 22 or 24 would swing a little easier, but I don't think it would help that much :) I just picked up a M1 90S for $500 to use as a spare for my Franchi
It's probably closer in terms of magazine tube length, but I just don't know about everything else. What struck me in looking at the Franchi, Benelli, and Stoeger is how similar the Italians were and how much the Turks changed things.
lol...I bet! I noticed on Midwest that they changed a lot of the pricing on the parts for the Franchi...still not as high as the Benelli, but now they are higher than the Stoeger. Was thinking about ordering a Stoeger Bolt Carrier to play around with machining some weight off of it. I think I just have too much time to play with it :-P
All of your affinity mod videos are outstanding. Other than the stock are there any other differences between the affinity and the affinity compact? I would like to purchase one and modify it for 3 gun but my LOP is 13 1/4.
Great video, subscribed! I was wondering if the forend caps were interchangeable? I have the camo version and would like to have a camo forend cap like the benelli.
+Shadetree Armorer Does that mean that the threads on the Affinity match the Benelli Supernova? Thanks for the video I have the Supernova already and was looking for an autoloader for IPSC, the Affiinity looks promising.
Thanks for the video. I just got the affinity and enjoying it. I know you mentioned about the but stock, if I was willing to go through the trouble. Can the but stock be swapped out for another one, does not have to be a comfort stock.
Watch the video and you'll clearly see why they cannot interchange. There is no mechanism on the M2 hidden under the handguard, as the recoil spring goes into the stock. On the Affinity, there are rails that go under the handguard to engage a recoil spring that sits on the outside of the magazine tube. On top of that, they are different lengths.
I just picked up an Affinity to turn into a 3 gun shotgun. Question for you, will the Nordic or MOA Precision +6 tube extension get me even with the end of the barrel on a 26 inch barrel?
Not sure. I wouldn't worry about being even, I'd worry about packing a good capacity for your division. If you shoot a division that allows you to only be 8+1 at the start but no limit after the buzzer, it's a good idea to have at least a 12+1 tube in case there's a better opportunity to load the gun at the start of the stage. Having a magazine tube that's much longer than the barrel isn't an issue, I ran my 18" M2 with an extension that was over a foot longer than the barrel, no issues. My current setup is a M2 26" barrel and a tube that's about six inches longer than the barrel for 12+1 capacity.
The Benelli forend is slimmer because there's nothing under it. On the Stoeger and Affinity, the bolt carrier and action spring are under the forend. They do not interchange.
Runs birdshot from Wally World just fine. Recoil is very similar, the balance is different though. The Franchi balances at the handguard whereas the M2 balances closer to the trigger guard because of the difference in the action spring setup.
I’m trying to change my front bead on my Franchi but it can’t seem to come out. Did you ever try to remove it? I also my need a gun smith for it but idk. Thanks
I have been looking at the Stoeger 3020 versus the Franchi Affinity 20 guage. So, would you forgo the Affinity for the Stoeger based on price? Or is the quality of the Affinity superior to the Stoeger 3020?
+Si_Vis_Pacem Para_Bellu It currently has a Taran Tactical extended M2 carrier and it runs great. It also ran great with my M2 carrier that was welded/extended by C-Rums.
+Si_Vis_Pacem Para_Bellu I have yet to see an instance of 922(r) being enforced against an end user. There are plenty of examples of it being enforced against manufacturers.
+4reverse4 Thank you for replying!! It's good to know that I can just use M2's parts on the Affinity! I think there is a list for the 922r, and I remember this does not fall into that category. Anyway, I'll write to ATF and get a definite answer
+Si_Vis_Pacem Para_Bellu I've installed the Taran Tactical carrier, taran tactical safety, bolt handle, Nordic tube extension, etc and everything fit perfect! The safety could probably have the trigger guard cut a little, but it still functions perfect. I have run about 400-500 rounds through the affinity and I've used every trick from the benelli guys and I haven't suffered any issues in a match that wasn't caused by me / operator error. My friends with M3k's can't say the same.
I just bought a Franchi Affinity 20 ga compact, but have an issue. Shells are very difficult to seat into the magazine. It's very hard to force the shell rim over the shell stop. I don't know if this is normal, if it will correct with use, or if it needs to be replaced. Any thoughts?
@@ShadetreeArmorer so you have no issue with the 12 ga? My problem is just when the rim of the shell contacts to over ride the shell stop. Also my 20 ga is impossible to unload manually by reaching in and depressing the shell stop because the shell stop is kept from rotating because it contacts the carrier on the opposite end.
I did not. You'd need to find a way to extend the tube that extends from the rear of the receiver into the stock, because this is what the stock bolts to. The one on the SuperNova and M2 is longer than the one on the Affinity. It's possible that these tubes are swappable, since they screw into the receiver. The profile on the back of the receiver is also going to be somewhat different I think. I had to dremel the inside of my SuperNova stock to get it to fit up to the M2 receiver.
Shadetree Armorer from different pictures I found that's what I thought! Given that you have both guns, do you think the recoil of affinity warrants fabricating an extension to used the comfortech stock off my supernova? or a different question, do you find the affinity kick harder then the supernova?
I don't personally think it would be worth the trouble. I guess it depends on what you're shooting, I rarely shoot full power loads in 3-gun shooting. Even my slugs are similar in recoil to low brass birdshot. So the recoil on the Affinity didn't bother me (not my gun, just borrowed for the video.)
Hi guys ! Does anyone know if the barrels are compatible between the M2 and the Affinity ? I was thinking about purchasing this gun too and I would like to be able to swap from the 26" barrel to a shorter one for home defense purposes. It looks like franchi doesn't offer shorter barrels....
Shadetree Armorer you mention the difference in the chromed portion of the barrel, I didn't notice other discussion about barrel interchangeability, did I miss that part?
Supernova stocks can be made to fit M2s (mine has one) so there's a chance, but I've never even seen an M3 in real life. I wasn't aware that anyone actually bought one of those.
For 3-gun, I'd say it depends on your loading style. The M2 is pretty optimally balanced for weakhand quad loads, whereas the Affinity is more optimal for strong hand. Neither is a deal breaker.
Benelli is a good gun however the Benelli has one problem it's too damn expensive. A Mossberg 930 does the same stuff as a Benelli but at a cheaper price. And bash again against Turkey isn't needed. Turkey makes some really good shotguns and for a really good price. Even the Stoeger is a good gun for a good price.
The Mossberg 930 is cheaper because everything about it is cheap with lots of cheap plastic parts slapped together and with a horrible craftsmanship. Don't get me wrong, I am a fan of Mossberg 930 because it is cheap, and I used to own one. The Benelli is a much better gun. Better in terms of fit, finish, better internal parts, and better craftsmanship. Its like in buying a watch. The Mossberg 930 is like a Timex, while the Benelli is a Rolex. Sure, both the Timex and Rolex tells time the same, but man there is a world of difference in terms of satisfaction of ownership.
@@bioches except the Franchi also has a recoil spring. You could easily figure this out yourself by simply Googling "Affinity recoil spring" - but you decided to type dumb stuff into my comments section instead.
