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Benelli & the Modern Waterfowl Gun: Innovation, Performance & DU Partnership · Ducks Unlimited Podcast

• 0:00
  Jeremy Smith: I thought once your Red Dot was on, it was always on, and I was proven wrong this year. And I I I'm going to remember that, I hope, for a very long time.
• 0:10
  Jimbo Robinson: I did make fun of him by Red Dot.
• 0:13
  Jeremy Smith: Oh, man. Look. 40 yards full strut, and I shot in front of his feet. I just trimmed his toenails.
• 0:19
  Jimbo Robinson: Oh. It's the ones you miss.
• 0:21
  VO: You're tuned in to the Ducks Unlimited Podcast. Conserving wetlands, restoring habitat, and working to fill the skies with waterfowl today, tomorrow, and forever. From field tested hunting insights to the biggest conservation wins across North America, this is your front row seat to wetlands conservation in action. The DU Podcast is proudly sponsored by Bird Dog Whiskey and tails. Whether you're wrapping up a hunt with your best friend or kicking back with your crew, Bird Dog brings award winning flavor to every moment. Enjoy responsibly.
• 1:01
  Jimbo Robinson: Welcome back to another episode of the Ducks Unlimited Podcast live. We're live here. It's not live recording from Ducks Unlimited's National Convention in Tampa, Florida. I'm your host, Jimbo Robinson, alongside Jeremy Smith, DU DU's director of corporate relations. And from Benelli USA, mister Lee Colquitt, vice president of sales, and mister Jeff Serner Cerner, channel sales manager, and we're excited to have
• 1:28
  Lee Colquitt: you all here. And we're excited to be here. Appreciate the opportunity.
• 1:31
  Jimbo Robinson: Absolutely. So got the team from Benelli USA, longtime Ducks Unlimited supporters in in a lot of growth in our events due to outstanding firearms that Benelli provides to many of our events and and and innovators in the waterfowl space and a brand that a lot of you have in the blind with you every season. So this is gonna be a ton of fun. Before we dive in, though, I always like to do a round of quick questions we call the flock shot. So we'll ask each of you some easy questions just like shooting to a flock of teals, I say, is spray and pray, fellas. So here we go.
• 2:12
  VO: The flock shot.
• 2:17
  Jimbo Robinson: Coffee drinker or not?
• 2:19
  Lee Colquitt: Coffee. Yes.
• 2:20
  Jeff Serner: Definitely not.
• 2:21
  Jimbo Robinson: Not. Alright. I've never liked
• 2:22
  Lee Colquitt: it. Cream? Black tiny bit of milk or cream.
• 2:26
  Jimbo Robinson: Okay. Alright. Not. I'm on that. Yeah.
• 2:28
  First shotgun.
• 2:30
  Jeff Serner: Remington eight seventy Wingmaster.
• 2:32
  Jimbo Robinson: Okay. Yep.
• 2:33
  Lee Colquitt: Winchester model twelve sixteen gauge. Really? Yes, sir.
• 2:37
  Jeremy Smith: Okay.
• 2:38
  Lee Colquitt: Still have it.
• 2:39
  Jimbo Robinson: Really? Yeah. That is incredible. Favorite color Gatorade? Probably probably just go orange.
• 2:45
  Pretty traditional. Well, then the next question is not as fun as do you know the flavor? It is orange.
• 2:51
  Jeff Serner: What about you? I'm I'm lime. Lime, Okay. By the
• 2:53
  Jimbo Robinson: Most people say yellow. They don't even know it's lime.
• 2:56
  Jeff Serner: It's lime.
• 2:56
  Jimbo Robinson: It's been like the fun question, white. Yeah. What's the flavor? White frost. Glacier cherry.
• 3:01
  Lee Colquitt: Oh. I had to learn them.
• 3:03
  Jimbo Robinson: I've had
• 3:03
  Jeremy Smith: to learn
• 3:03
  Jimbo Robinson: them along the way. Alright. Greatest of all time, Jordan or LeBron? Jordan. Jordan all day.
• 3:08
  Upland or waterfowl?
• 3:09
  Jeremy Smith: Oh, they're having to think about it.
• 3:11
  Lee Colquitt: Yeah. I probably have to say upland. Okay.
• 3:13
  Jeff Serner: I I like waterfowl. Love quail, though. I mean, it's it's close, but it's all good. How about that? There you go.
• 3:21
  Jimbo Robinson: Yeah. Country or rock music?
• 3:23
  Lee Colquitt: Rockabilly. How's that? Okay.
• 3:25
  Jimbo Robinson: Rock rock and roll. A little
• 3:27
  Jeff Serner: bit of both.
• 3:27
  Lee Colquitt: Yeah. I can listen to it all.
• 3:29
  Jimbo Robinson: Well, now in today's music, it almost the lot of them are almost mixed. Right.
• 3:32
  Jeff Serner: It's pretty bullied.
• 3:33
  Jimbo Robinson: What was your first car?
• 3:35
  Lee Colquitt: First car was a pickup truck. A '70 Chevy c 23 in a tree.
• 3:42
  Jeff Serner: Do you
• 3:42
  Jeremy Smith: know what that is?
• 3:43
  Lee Colquitt: Yeah. Alright.
• 3:45
  Jeff Serner: Chevy Eurosport, four door sedan. Yep.
• 3:48
  Jimbo Robinson: Do you want it back?
• 3:49
  Jeff Serner: No. Oh, I
• 3:50
  Lee Colquitt: would take that that pickup back. Sure.
• 3:52
  Jimbo Robinson: That's it's funny because most men I was reading a statistic that it's like 90 something percent of men want their first car back. One just like it as they get older. Mine was an '87 GMC Jimmy diesel. Nice. Yeah.
• 4:10
  Well, let's dive in a little bit for all of our listeners listening to the podcast and kind of go through what you do at Benelli and and kinda how you got to Benelli, and just give us a little bit of history of of your time there, and and then we'll jump right into the to the meat of the show.
• 4:30
  Jeff Serner: Lee Colquitt, vice president of sales. Actually, July coming up, I'll be six years with Benelli, so it's been it's been a good ride. I started right when COVID was launching, so the gun industry just took off like a rocket those first couple of years. But enjoy the the shooting sports industry. I've worked with a couple other brands in the space, and, you know, it it's I I say this often.
• 4:59
  I was just on a phone call earlier this morning with a friend and feel pretty lucky to make a living in an industry where it's also your passion and your hobby. So not a lot of people get to get to do that. So that's what's new about shooting sports.
• 5:13
  Lee Colquitt: Yeah. I would echo those sentiments for sure. This is year 12 for me at Benelli. Was in the industry for ten years prior to that, so actually probably even a little more. So it's been quite some time working in and around hunting, fishing, shooting sports, And, yeah, to be able to kinda pull it all together here with Benelli with, again, your your passion for outside of business is also your your your business pursuits as well.
• 5:44
  So couldn't be more fun than to do this every day and and frankly work with some of the people we get to work with. DU being a huge partner and and, again, people that we consider not only partners, but good friends.
• 5:57
  Jimbo Robinson: Yeah. Absolutely. And and so y'all are both involved in in on the Ducks Unlimited side. Correct? And and and the you know, we have a a gun subcommittee that chooses our guns of the year every year and the different guns that we offer in our national package, but y'all are both involved in in that kind of process.
• 6:15
  Correct?
• 6:16
  Lee Colquitt: Yeah. I mean, it's certainly it's a team effort internally. We've got our we've got our product management team. We've got our counterparts at the factory in Italy as well. So a lot of collaboration internally from a product development perspective, and certainly, we use a lot of what we hear from from DU personnel to try to incorporate into our next proposal.
• 6:38
  Hey. This is what we like. This is what we think is successful from RDs to, you know, all the chapter volunteers. Those are the people that are bidding and and buying and decision making, actually. So so we try to follow along with with where they're going and and try to develop ideas and products that that are gonna do well from a fundraising perspective.
• 7:05
  Jimbo Robinson: Absolutely. And I was lucky enough to be a regional director when we sold the Super Black Eagle set, the twelve, twenty eight, and the 20. And I remember when the 28 came, and and we started selling it, and it was it probably one of the hottest guns. I I believe that it kinda changed, not really the shotgun of the year model, but it raised the level of the bidding and what people expected to pay for a DU gun of the year. And and that was a a really interesting time to watch people pay what they did for that gun of the year.
• 7:41
  I think the 28 gauge, a lot of guys kept to 20, and a lot of guys kept to 12 and made a set in early on. And and there were some guys that were just selling that 28, but it would it seemed to be the 28 seemed to be a very like, sub gauge world was blowing up when that 28 gauge was came out. And so it was a very hot item.
• 7:59
  Lee Colquitt: Certainly, we saw that the first couple years from a production standpoint, The 28 gauge, we thought we had put together a pretty aggressive forecast and just couldn't keep up with that demand. And it continues today. The sub gauge stays strong, and I think we all thought that the 28 gauge might taper off a little bit, and we still see it
• 8:22
  Jimbo Robinson: Wow.
• 8:22
  Lee Colquitt: As as very strong.
• 8:24
  Jimbo Robinson: Wow. Well, let's let's dive in and and kind of, you know, go through a little bit about Benelli and and DU. You know, Benelli has been a been a strong partner with Ducks Unlimited for many years, not not as much on the corporate side, but on our on the gunfirearm side in our in our events and and also through Reed's and and other distributors. And and, you know, Benelli was always a gun. Whenever you went to an event, it was always the popular gun, always chosen off our banner raffles.
• 8:58
  But what is that what does the relationship to you guys beyond just the products mean? What does it look like at Benelli?
• 9:06
  Jeff Serner: Well, I'll step in here. I you know, we Jeff's done a great job. He's he's managed our conservation business for many years, so he's really close to the product side working with DU and and several of the conservation groups. And we we really pride ourselves in being big supporters of conservation in general and and DU being one of the larger ones for sure. But, you know, we we are evolving our partnership with this is our second year being a sponsor of the national convention, and and, you know, we're getting to know each other, I think, up the ladder in both organizations.
• 9:43
  And so it's been good to to bring the two together and get to know each other better and talk about opportunities. I mean, there's opportunities we're working on right now that are a year and two down the road. So I don't wanna spoil anything yet because we got some cool things in the hopper, but, no, we're we're excited about the partnership partnership where where it it is is and and and and where where it can go that takes us beyond just the the transactional piece of the the guns the gun part of the business.
• 10:08
  Jimbo Robinson: Yeah. And and, you know, take us back. You said this is the second year of the sponsorship. In year one, being in in Baltimore, Maryland last year's convention, kind of in y'all's backyard, that was a really interesting, fun dynamic to have. It kinda brought us together, but I don't think it was totally planned that way in the beginning.
• 10:29
  I don't think when they chose Baltimore, they thought, okay. We're bringing Benelli and DU together on a different level than what it had been before, but it's still one of the things that stands out to me the most is that trilogy set that sold in the live auction.
• 10:43
  Jeff Serner: Well, I and I think, you know, to what you guys are speaking, that that that set or that three year run we did with 12/2028, I mean, that was kind of the genesis of the idea to bring the trilogy. And the cool thing about the Trilogy was, you know, we've gotten into this advanced impact technology the last couple of years, and that 28 gauge that was sold at last year's convention was the first 28 gauge AI that we brought into The US market. So that was kind of a cool icing on the cake for for that set. But, yeah, that set was amazing. It was fun to watch the bidding, and and I kinda went back and forth with two guys there for for a fair amount of time, and it it brought a pretty big tag there at the end.
• 11:25
  It did.
• 11:25
  Jeremy Smith: Yep. And what was cool though is you were able to bring your Italian counterparts from the factory
• 11:31
  Jeff Serner: Yeah.
• 11:31
  Jeremy Smith: To witness the energy and the excitement, the enthusiasm of what a Ducks Unlimited convention experience looks like. You know, I think, you know, they don't see all the how the guns are used once they get here. They just know they're coming to to Ducks Unlimited to The US to use for fundraising. So I think that was eye opening
• 11:49
  Jeff Serner: for the Spot on. I I was it was Paolo Vt, who's the general manager of of Benelli Italy Urbino, and then Danilo Rossi, who's our sales director. Yeah. They both attended, and and you're right. They hear about conservation.
• 12:04
  They're obviously a big part of it because they they work with Jeff on the programs. But to see and witness the excitement and and what that trilogy set brought, it it made a big impression. Actually, I was on the phone with with those guys this morning and told them we're in the convention here in Tampa and got big smiles from them. So they had great memories
• 12:23
  Jimbo Robinson: from last year. Was about to ask what was their feedback? What was because we obviously don't have Ducks Unlimited chapters in Italy, and they probably not had never been a part of of that style convention. What was their feedback leaving?
• 12:37
  Jeff Serner: Well, I I think, you know, it it made a big impression on what conservation means in this country. And when they see, the amount of people and energy and and the money raised because you guys celebrate your your your groups around the country and what they what they've done the previous year. I I think the amount of dollars that they see poured into conservation for the goodwill of hunting, which supports, you know, the firearms business, set a big impression. They don't have that in in Europe either. There's not the conservation mindset in Europe like we have here in The States.
• 13:11
  So I think they they they saw a lot of positive things from a lot of different angles.
• 13:15
  Jimbo Robinson: That AI technology that you spoke about a second ago, I mean, I'm not gonna say that it carried us to victory last year, but there was a a really fun fun shoot that you guys hosted leading up to the convention. I had the the honor of riding Jeff Sterner's back through that that shoot. Well,
• 13:34
  Lee Colquitt: I might counter that it that it was the opposite of that, but nevertheless, I appreciate the the kind words. But that AI you know, to me,
• 13:44
  Jimbo Robinson: it was it was the first time we all got to shoot and and kind of test those guns, and I I left I left feeling like a really, really good shot because the technology in it, it was different. And we laughed and joked that there were there were targets thrown way out, and and and the amount of them that we hit when I went back and had to shoot my old gun, you know, it's kinda like when you hunt with a really good dog, and then you have to come back to your dog, and you're like, man, you're really good, but you weren't as good as that guy. I came back to mine. I wasn't hitting those. And I and it was I don't know what that technology is, but it makes a good shooter a great shooter.
• 14:29
  And I'm sure that's part of why y'all did it.
• 14:31
  Lee Colquitt: That was absolutely part of the or or a big part of the idea was to to take a average shooter to make him a better shooter, to take a good shooter and make him a great shooter. But to your point on that particular station that it seemed like the launcher was and not seemed like it was out there intentionally, and those birds at that distance and the noticeable delay from squeezing the trigger to seeing those birds crumble, it just doesn't happen with a normal standing shotgun barrel. So, again, that was the idea behind that whole idea. Get everybody the experience of shooting that advanced impact technology to to show what it's capable of doing.
• 15:14
  Jimbo Robinson: How has that technology taken off? Have you have you all seen it kind of explode in the sales?
• 15:19
  Jeff Serner: Yeah. No. It it's it's been tremendous. Look. This year, we've added 20 gauge and 28 gauge, so we have the full family of gauges now.
• 15:30
  We've taken it and extended it into models. So, you know, obviously, Super Black Eagle three, our flagship, but it's in the Ethos Upland platforms. It's now in our sporting clay's gun with Super Sport, and this year launching the Super Sport eight two eight over and under. So we're really taking it throughout our our product line and and, yeah, it's it's it's not quite at the level of being core yet, but it's on its way because we're expanding into many models across our product lines. So it's growing very nicely.
• 16:04
  Jimbo Robinson: That's awesome. So, you know, Ducks Unlimited and our listeners, a lot of them are are are conservationists and waterfowl hunting and hardcore hunting. We put guns through through harsh conditions. To say that I have my first adult gun, I will call it, not my first gun, but my first adult gun, my dad bought me when I when I came on to work at Ducks Unlimited, when became regional director, Super Black Eagle two. I still shoot it today.
• 16:35
  But the things that I've put through that gun and and the conditions, but the freezing temps, the mud, the rain, what makes the Benelli shotgun stand out in those conditions in your in your opinion?
• 16:47
  Lee Colquitt: I I ask that question whenever I talk to avid waterfowl hunters and particularly guides. Why do you shoot a Benelli Super Black Eagle? The the standard response is because when my client's gun doesn't work, I need to keep him in the game, so he uses mine. Okay. So that speaks to the the durability of the gun that it'll continue to work when others don't and and reasons for that, the simplicity of inertia action.
• 17:19
  With your your traditional gas guns with o rings and shims and things, if you have to take many of these guns apart in the field for whatever reason, you better have tarp underneath you to catch any kind of parts that you may may drop or potentially lose. You don't have that with with an inertia gun, with a Benelli Super Black Eagle. So part of what I do, and I'll I'll digress a little bit here. Part of what I do for Benelli also is law enforcement and government sales. So I do a lot of a lot of law enforcement demo shoots with our products and purposely never clean them with the exception of lubing the bolt rails and document round count.
• 18:04
  Because if it comes to a point of failure, I wanna know where was I at 5,000, 7,000, 10,000 rounds before I had to do some some more detailed maintenance besides lube the bolt rails. And with the Super Black Eagle, with the inertia system, beyond then keeping your your recoil spring and spring tube clean. If we hear a question about, hey, my my gun is slow cycling, what do you think that reason is? Well, you sit in a goose pit or you sit in a duck pit with six or eight inches of muddy water, and where does your the buddy, your gun rest? Down in that water.
• 18:42
  So, of course, you know how it is. You have an owner's manual, but you never read it until there's a problem. Nobody looks at it in advance to say, what is my regular maintenance on this thing? You really don't hear about something until there's a a problem. But, again, problems that are very easily solved or resolved in in minutes that could be done in a blind, not, boy, I gotta get back home, get it on the bench, strip it down, and take care of this.
• 19:11
  So it's a long answer to basic simplicity of the operating system, the reliability, and the the limited and ease of maintenance required to keep that gun shooting. Yeah.
• 19:24
  Jeremy Smith: I think we've all been there. We've all had to work on a gun in the blind and it's not fun, but when you have less parts to fail and the ability to strip it down and not worry about parts shooting out as you said, that makes it a lot easier.
• 19:38
  Jimbo Robinson: So I don't clean my gun.
• 19:40
  Lee Colquitt: There you go. That and that's pretty much the sentiment.
• 19:42
  Jeff Serner: I agree.
• 19:43
  Jimbo Robinson: I mean, I don't so it's it's in my the guys that I hunt with kind of laugh at me because I did I got it sera coated. Right? I I don't know that I've ever wiped it down. Now I add oil, probably not the best, but my cleaning is just putting a couple drops down the the rails. Mhmm.
• 20:06
  But that's about it. And and so when my gun fails, I've broken apart. And and and so I've taken it. It's one piece. I have no idea what it is, but there's one small piece.
• 20:19
  It's, you know, about that long, and and I've broken it twice. But the only cleaning mine does is I take it all apart. I spray it down with hot water and then hit it with the air compressor, and then I'll start over with the oil. And that happens most of the time about August, early August, because I gotta there's always a Ducks Unlimited corporate shoot that that Jeremy and I both participate in. I have to go shoot my gun there, and the last thing I wanted to do is, you know, it's been sitting up for a while and getting gunked.
• 20:48
  Yeah. So So every time I
• 20:49
  Lee Colquitt: do it. Once a year whether it's needed or not.
• 20:51
  Jimbo Robinson: That yeah. And sometimes I forget, and and so it'll be two years. And but I I don't I think I don't I know guys that wipe them down every day, spray them out every day, and they're the ones that seem to have trouble. So
• 21:04
  Jeremy Smith: Well, and thinking of that same corporate shoot, you might remember you and I shot on a team together in that SB two. You brought your gun. Charlie Lowry, who's our regional director on the Eastern side of the state, he let me borrow his over under, we won't name the name, but it was, you know, he's got a wingspan almost twice as mine and I couldn't hit with it. And so I picked up about midway through the shoot and started shooting his SBE two and surprisingly, a gun that I'd never touched before in my life started breaking targets with it. And so that was a very cool experience.
• 21:37
  And so that same gun he's talking about, I I shot it as well. Yeah. But but kinda keeping with that same theme, you know, Benelli has a reputation for pushing innovation. Right? And so what's one recent technology or feature that waterfowlers should be paying attention to right now?
• 21:52
  Jeff Serner: Well, I'm glad you brought that up because I was thinking about what Jeff was saying on the system and the simplicity of it. Another technology that's been out for a few years, but maybe a lot of people don't know about it, but it's the best technology. It's a surface treatment we do with certain guns in our lineup. Not all of them, but Black Eagle and and a couple other models carry the best treatment. But that's a twenty five year corrosion resistant treatment on that gun, surface treatment, patented.
• 22:21
  And we've had it out for a few years and and it does a nice business. It's it's growing organically and and but it really works. It's legit. So you talk about somebody who doesn't take care of their gun, I'm one of them too. You don't ever have to take care of that gun between the system and then the the surface treatment, whether you're in saltwater or brackish water, that gun's never gonna rust on you.
• 22:44
  So that's a that's a technology we're very proud of and and and really stand up twenty five year warranty.
• 22:51
  Jimbo Robinson: Are the rumors true about how y'all tested that? Did they sit in the bottom of the Potomac?
• 22:57
  Jeff Serner: I I I I've heard that story. Yeah. One of our product managers at the time that was coming on, you were you know, George, I think he personally took one of the samples, one of the first samples. He lived right there near the Potomac, and I think he threw it in the bottom there and and left it for for quite some time. And and, yeah, it didn't rust.
• 23:21
  Lee Colquitt: Well, and and the for a couple years after that, we had a display at SHOT Show with a with a salt bath misting over a best coated barrel, a stainless steel barrel, a Cerakote barrel, and a standard blue barrel. And on all of the others with the exception of the of the best finished barrel, you know, the misconception, well, stainless steel won't rust. Well, yes, it will. Cerakote is a great finish, but it's not as corrosive resistant and as durable as the best finish. So kinda interesting when people come through, you know, pictures worth a thousand words.
• 24:01
  Right? So when you look at that and you see there's four barrels there and three of them are rusty and which one is not. And so why would you purchase that gun with that technology? There's your answer.
• 24:12
  Jeremy Smith: Do you
• 24:12
  Jimbo Robinson: think that the rise in Cerakote kind of dampered that technologies I'm gonna say rise because it's very popular, but kind of hurt that explosion in the market? Look.
• 24:26
  Jeff Serner: I I think best is the one thing about best, it's black and it's matte. And and and we've we've done it in a couple of colors from time to time. Actually, this past year, we ran a a dark gray best treatment with our advanced impact, and so we we dabble in some colors. But by and large, it's black or it's gloss black. We have best treated barrels on some of our upland guns.
• 24:54
  Cerakote, I think, is just it's popular. It does protect the the gun not to a level of best, as Jeff said, but it's a trend. I don't think it's hurt best at all. I think people buy best because they know what it is, and it's got a certain look to it. That black matte finish is is very attractive when you see it up close.
• 25:14
  Lee Colquitt: And and to that point, as we went back, we we said, hey. The 28 gauge exceeded our expectations, so did the best guns. And it was a black on black the first year we launched them. Not camo on the stock and fore end, black matte finish on all the all the metal, and exceeded our our expectations as as continued to do so.
• 25:34
  Jeff Serner: Absolutely.
• 25:35
  Jimbo Robinson: I think black firearms in general I said this for years as regional director. People seem to choose black firearms over camo most of the time, and it's we're, you know, we're gonna get into, you know, why the the Ducks Unlimited Bandits and Raffles across the country, why that channel is so important to to Benelli, and maybe, you know, you can give us some insight on that. But to me, the black firearm is just so universal in in in the different hunting conditions that I do. And and so most all of my guns that I've bought are in the black, and the best is on that list. It's it's it's just hard to go away from such a reliable gun.
• 26:19
  I have some my my current Super Black Eagle two that I've shot for years now is is actually on the injured reserve list due to me. I've got a a shot, the the choke out of it, and so getting it worked on. But and and I told my wife today, I was like, I I think I may just have to buy a new one. Didn't go over well. So I have been shooting the m two, which I love.
• 26:48
  And and speaking of the m two, the three inch versus the three and a half, do you do you think that the three and a half inch shotgun will stay around?
• 26:58
  Jeff Serner: I I do. I I look. We started it. Right? The Black Eagle brought it to the table way back when, and and we we put a lot of focus on three and a half from a a sales standpoint.
• 27:10
  We we're very intentional about making sure it it maintains its market share, and these other sub gauges don't come in and and take away from it too much. But what we've been talking about, subgauges are on fire these days, and and the ammo, the advancements in ammo people are getting, they don't need a 12 gauge all the time. And so, you know, we're cognizant of that. But but but the three and a half inch, I I will tell you, is still the lion's share of the business and the Black Eagle family for us. Absolutely.
• 27:39
  Not even close.
• 27:40
  Lee Colquitt: If you're gonna have one gun, if you're gonna have you know, invest in one key semiautomatic shotgun, then you would get Super Black Eagle three, three and a half inch 12 gauge. My humble opinion. It allows you to shoot everything. And with we call it the Ethos Bolt system that we incorporated into the Super Black Eagle three, that would be 2017 now. It reliably cycles even the the light dove and quail load.
• 28:08
  So now you can truly we've always pushed it that way, but you can use that gun for everything. If you, for whatever reason, choose to ultimately shoot a three and a half inch shell for something, maybe not all the time, you have that capability. If you just wanna focus on two and three quarter and three inch, there it is. That gun will eat them all and spit them out. So, again, it's a significant investment.
• 28:32
  We understand that, but that's the question that gets put to me pretty often is that same question. I'm like, listen. You're you're spending that money. You're buying one gun. Might as well let it do everything.
• 28:44
  Jimbo Robinson: I I thought when I when I got my m two, I was like, I'll never need a gun that shoots three and a half until I went turkey hunting one day, and this never even crossed my mind. Took my son turkey hunting and took the m two and got out there and went to load it, and I stuck the I was like, oh, no. I don't even own a three inch turkey load. I mean, I had this box that I had, you know, for me. I don't turkey hunt a ton.
• 29:14
  No. I do turkey hunt a lot. I just don't my son shoots, and so I don't shoot as much. So I've had the same box for two or three years, and he was up. I said, buddy, you're on your own today.
• 29:23
  Like, I'm I'm out. And so that yeah. I guess that universal gun, if I had my other one, I wouldn't have had that issue.
• 29:34
  Jeff Serner: Gotta get off the IR.
• 29:35
  Jimbo Robinson: I know. I'm I'm I just was Jeff and I were just talking before we started this podcast about that gun and I'll figure out what I'm gonna do. That's a sad that's a sad story.
• 29:44
  Jeremy Smith: I've got my m two story for for this year and turkey season and I missed the turkey with it. Not not the gun's fault, but my fault. Like, I thought once your red dot was on, it was always on, and I was proven wrong this year. And I'm I'm going to remember that, I hope, for a very long time.
• 30:03
  Jimbo Robinson: I did make fun of him by red dot.
• 30:05
  Jeremy Smith: Oh, man. Look. 40 yards full strut and I shot in front of his feet. I just trimmed his toenails. So and it was off literally a foot and a half and then about four inches to the right.
• 30:17
  So sad. I had a three hour drive home. I might have cried a little bit.
• 30:21
  Jimbo Robinson: It's the ones you miss.
• 30:28
  VO: Stay tuned to the Ducks Unlimited Podcast sponsored by Bird Dog Whiskey after these messages.
• 30:43
  Jimbo Robinson: But, you know, I think that that Benelli for so long, and and you mentioned this earlier, you know, it's funny when I was a regional director, I would see the trends in guns based on what people were choosing off of our banner program through Reed's. And also just what people would talk to me about it at at banquets and I'm, you know, I don't I'm not a regional director anymore, and so I don't get to hear the trends. But forever, the the Cordoba, is that right?
• 31:10
  Jeremy Smith: Mhmm. Mhmm.
• 31:11
  Jimbo Robinson: That was the gun. Yeah. Like, that's what everybody wanted. What do y'all when y'all are you know, what what made that gun so special?
• 31:20
  Jeff Serner: It's it's still alive and well. It's personally my favorite on our lineup. Really? I love the Cordoba. Yeah.
• 31:25
  And it it's a better gun. It's a best gun. It is. It's a best gun.
• 31:29
  Lee Colquitt: Yep. The other the the version today, yeah, is a best finish.
• 31:32
  Jimbo Robinson: And it was like I mean, I've got guys that I know one gentleman that I think he probably owns 10 or 12 of
• 31:38
  Jeff Serner: them. Yeah.
• 31:40
  Jimbo Robinson: And and that was all. And and and Reed's carried it, and and you couldn't always find it, but it just seemed like that gun was was hot. And it may still be hot. Right? I mean, I've been out of it for four years now, but
• 31:50
  Jeff Serner: It's I think it's kind of a cult gun. It's it's I wouldn't say it's hot. It's solid. You know? It's it's not a a a huge driver for us, but but it it it warrants its space in the lineup for sure.
• 32:03
  Lee Colquitt: I think it's a nice crossover gun for guys that that both upland and waterfowl hunt.
• 32:08
  Jimbo Robinson: Okay.
• 32:09
  Lee Colquitt: And that may be what made it a little more special. And, you know, not a three and a half inch, you know, not a Super Black Eagle three, but but a good multipurpose all around that that does everything well.
• 32:21
  Jimbo Robinson: Wow. So then you get the Montefeltro. Right? That that line, and then you'd mentioned the ethos earlier. What is what is one or two, whatever, what is the biggest difference in each one of those lines in in your opinion?
• 32:35
  If somebody is gonna go into a store and buy one, right, like, know what I would tell them all day long, but that may not be the choice for everybody. What what makes each one of them so special? Well, I think I think it's Outside of the price.
• 32:51
  Lee Colquitt: Yeah. No. I think it's related to the the shooter and their their pursuits. You know, when I talk to somebody at an event somewhere or maybe in the store and try to what are you what are you trying to do? What do you wanna do?
• 33:04
  I mean, again, if you wanna do something that that covers everything and including waterfowl, then, of course, I'm gonna point them in the Super Black Eagle three. But if you're, hey. I'm an Upland guy, and and I like wood. Okay? Montefeltro, great place to start.
• 33:20
  If you've never had a Benelli before, Beautiful gun, flat rib, which a lot of people shoot well because that's what they're used to if they have not shot a Benelli before, if they're coming coming to it from someplace else. So it's a good transitional gun that most people shoot well. But again, if you're talking about, hey. There we're gonna experience some elements with what I'm doing here. Well, then maybe you wanna look synthetic.
• 33:45
  So then you then you point them towards an m two, which is essentially the same thing as a Montefeltro, but either in a camo finish or a matte finish in synthetic furniture. More sporting. So we we look at the ethos. A little bit more euro sleeker styling and profiling that that gun was built to be a high end upland gun, essentially, that Ethos lineup. So, you know, you can certainly take one and use it for everything, but you know how it is when people say, well, I don't need another gun.
• 34:21
  No. No. No. It's not about what you need. It's about what you want.
• 34:26
  So
• 34:26
  Jeff Serner: Yeah. Those higher end ethos, you know, you get in high grade wood engraving, you know, step rib. So it's a lot of aesthetics. Mechanically, very similar from model to model, but but it's aesthetic step up.
• 34:41
  Jimbo Robinson: To me, that was one of the we kinda laughed about it last year when we were shooting all the different guns that day that fun shooting in Baltimore, but, you know, I've only ever shot a Superbike Eagle at two. My dad has a one, the greatest gun ever made. I I will say that. We poked Jeff about that for a long time last year.
• 35:04
  Lee Colquitt: Keep poking. We're still trying.
• 35:06
  Jimbo Robinson: But that Super Eagle one that my dad and I actually had the opportunity to buy my son a Super Black Eagle two, the classic version before it went away because I wanted to give him I've actually shot it some this duck season, but I wanted him to have a Super Black Eagle two because his dad and my dad both have one. So but the different ribs, I didn't realize the sight and the change of that until we shot all the different models that day, and and it is different. It's very different if you're used to one. And and and when people go and and just buy a gun for buying it, I think that's some of the things that you don't think about. The rib is never anything I would have ever thought about and it being raised or not.
• 35:56
  And that was interesting that day because David doesn't. David Schuessler, our our chief fundraising officer, he doesn't like the Superbike heel. He shoots a Montefeltro. And and so, you know, that was his transition from the Beretta to a Benelli, and, I mean, he's one of the best shooters I know. So it's interesting.
• 36:14
  Lee Colquitt: Yeah. And the key to that is, as you know, we we give a shim kit with our shotgun, so we make it readily adjustable to change your your stock. So your comb height, your cast on, cast cast off, always suggest go pattern your shotgun. When I talk to shooters that say, well, I know this gun shoots a little high or a little low as a shotgun. Well, I know I've need I need to cover the bird or I need to be above the bird.
• 36:45
  No. Shotgun should shoot where you look. So adjust the shotgun to you, not adjust yourself to the shotgun. So that's what the shim kit does. And to your point about the ribs, I know when I first started shooting a stepped rib, I had a drop.
• 37:01
  I call it it's the c shim. Our our guns typically ship from the factory with a b shim in, which kind of fits every man. Right? But, depending on how you shoot and what your cheek weld is and things of that nature, you can make the adjustments you need to have that gun shoot where you look. So that was the adjustment that I needed to make with a stepped rib for me to shoot it well or reasonably well over a flat rib.
• 37:28
  Jimbo Robinson: In your perspective, y'all's perspective, what separates a good gun from a great waterfowl gun when you're in the blind?
• 37:35
  Lee Colquitt: Well, I think we talked about some of it earlier with the the the lack of needed maintenance maybe or the ease of maintenance in the event that you do have a problem when you're in the blind. But the other things that go along with that is a weight is not as big a factor because you're stationary, but how that how that shotgun swings, you know, we've got a great recoil reduction system in and particularly depending on what you're doing. I mean, if you're pounding snows all day, it's nice to have that that Comfort Tech three system that we incorporate into the Super Black Eagle three to help mitigate some of that felt recoil. So we think we've we've, you know, incorporated a lot of the best features, oversized controls for gloved hands on cold days. So lots of different little things, I think, come together to make one great gun.
• 38:30
  Jimbo Robinson: And inside of the Benelli world, does Stoker and Franchi, they live in does do y'all share a lot of the same I mean, I think does Benelli own Stoker?
• 38:41
  Jeff Serner: Yeah. So
• 38:42
  Jimbo Robinson: How does
• 38:43
  Jeff Serner: that work? Yeah. Within the Benelli USA portfolio or family of brands, we've got Benelli at the high end, Franke's our mid price, both made in the same factory in Urbino, Italy. And then Stoker is our opening price point, our good product line that's out of Turkey. We own the factory.
• 39:02
  And then the other two brands in our portfolio are Uberti, which are Western replicas also made in Italy. And then we've got Chapuy, which is a French made. We do over and unders, but the lion share of the business there with that brand, small brand out of France, is Side by Side Rifles, African big game.
• 39:25
  Jimbo Robinson: Side by Side Rifles? Yes. Oh. Yep. Learn something new every
• 39:29
  Jeff Serner: day. Yeah. Yeah. So we have five brands, and and, yeah, we we manage all of those together. We are the the sales and marketing arm for all those brands Really?
• 39:38
  For for The US.
• 39:38
  Jimbo Robinson: Because Franke to me, and I am saying it right. Right?
• 39:42
  Jeff Serner: Franke.
• 39:42
  Jimbo Robinson: Yep. So a lot of people you know, that that brand seemed to gain a lot of popularity when I during my time as a regional director. My son owns a he shoots a a compact 20 gauge. He's probably about to outgrow it at some point, but those those guns gained a lot of momentum. It's it seems like in, what, 1918, somewhere in there maybe.
• 40:09
  What did what do you attribute that marketing?
• 40:11
  Lee Colquitt: Yeah. I when I came on board, as I said, this is my twelfth year, and I I I was familiar with Frankie, but the old '48 AL, which was a a long recoil system, if you remember those old and and they're really were and they were more focused on a sub gauge, 20 gauge, but really cool and and really good looking shotguns. That was my familiarity. And as I came on board and looked at the, excuse me, the over unders that we were making and the semi autos that we're making, you know, we had the good, better, best mentality with Stoker, Franke, Benelli, but I saw a lot of value in Franke. And to your point, yeah, I think we we've we've put more marketing efforts into it.
• 40:51
  One, I think the consumer is is realizing the value proposition of the Franke brand, the over unders that are beautiful, Italian made, and and I think go up against anything else that cost hundreds significantly, you know, hundreds of dollars more. Same thing in the semi auto market too. It's, as Lee mentioned, made in the same factory in Italy as our Benelli's. Maybe not all the bells and whistles, but same thing running to consumers regularly that tell me, boy, I love my affinity three or my affinity 3.5. I don't know why I would spend, you know, the additional dollars to move on from that.
• 41:33
  So, yeah, it's I think it's a lot of things. It's greater consumer awareness from a lot of things that we do, and and that's you to realizing that there's a lot of value in the Franke brand.
• 41:45
  Jeff Serner: And and there's been a lot of efforts made in in the product itself. I mean, we did a refresh on the Affinity, which is the horse of the semi auto line a couple of years ago, inertia system driven, so very simple like the Benelli's. And and as Jeff said, it it's caught on. And for for the person that might not be able to step into that Benelli, that Infinity hits some great price points that cover a lot more people's pocket. What's probably
• 42:11
  Jimbo Robinson: One question I used to get all the time as a regional director was if it you know, I'm getting into waterfowl hunting. What what I wanna get a semi auto. Where do I start? And I'd say, you know, if you're getting your feet wet, start with the Stoeger 3,500. Yep.
• 42:24
  And if you really find out that you truly enjoy it and you wanna step up and get something else, the Franchi Affinity is a great gun. And then if you're that guy that just has to have the best to start
• 42:36
  Jeff Serner: Yep.
• 42:36
  Jimbo Robinson: Super Black Eagle three. Yeah. And so that I ran that forever. That was my pitch to people all the time because I'd get that question constantly or, hey, my I wanna get my son his first semi auto. And and but I don't wanna spend $1,800.
• 42:51
  And so Yeah. Quality over value. Absolutely.
• 42:54
  Jeremy Smith: Thinking about that, and that's a great segue into this point. But for the DU audience, what's one piece of advice you'd give somebody looking to upgrade their shotgun going into the new season?
• 43:05
  Lee Colquitt: I would say if you can, get to a try me shoot somewhere and get your hands on all the all the brands and see what feels good, what fits well, understanding what the features are that are available through them. Again, understanding how that shim kit system works. And when you make your decision utilizing it, I think that's a that's a great place to start.
• 43:29
  Jeremy Smith: I I remember our meeting that we had after national convention last year, you guys hosted us back up in Maryland. We sat and visited a while after we spent some time on the water and we were talking about this AI technology and the potential of having some DU event integrations where there are shooting events, of course, in our world of event fundraising, we've got that and maybe incorporating an AI station at some of these events as we strengthen this partnership moving forward. One thing that kinda stood out to me about that was you guys quoted a couple of yardage Yeah. Distances that shooters were consistently breaking targets with this new AI technology. I'm not gonna dare quote it, but I would ask you, you know Well remind to to to tell the audience what that was.
• 44:22
  Yeah. We call
• 44:23
  Jeff Serner: it the AI challenge. And, you know, we mentioned Reed's. I'll mention Shields, great customer partner of ours, and we took a couple of their buyers and and managers to Urbino last fall, and we introduced them to the advanced impact technology challenge, AI challenge. So the trick shooter that Benelli has in in Italy is Italian guy, great guy, set up a course, and we took the buyers and the and the manners out there, and and you started about 70 yards. And it'll shoot up a clay straight up in the air, and everybody hit the clay.
• 45:03
  Again, shooting our advanced technology barrel, and we stepped back to 80 yards, 90 yards, a 100 yards, 110. We had one of the Shields guys hit a clay at a 130 yards. So and ironically, last week, Shields holds Advanced University, they call it, and they they go out to Hordeney's Shooting Range out in Nebraska, and they bring top sales associate from each of their stores, and they do an intense training. Well, they invited us to come out and do some classroom and then shooting training in the field with those associates from the store. So they had associates hitting Clays out to a 120 yards last week with our gun.
• 45:46
  Jimbo Robinson: I'm not gonna say that we
• 45:47
  Lee Colquitt: hit them at a 120
• 45:48
  Jimbo Robinson: last year, Jeff, but they were 80.
• 45:51
  Lee Colquitt: It was certainly it's certainly the longest shots I've ever taken or made at a Claybird. Yes.
• 45:56
  Jimbo Robinson: We laughed at the first one. He launched it. I was like, yeah.
• 46:00
  Jeremy Smith: So going back to Jeff's advice then pick up a gun and shoot it. It better have some AI on it. Absolutely. Do that.
• 46:05
  Lee Colquitt: Great place to start.
• 46:06
  Jimbo Robinson: Yeah. Just crazy to think about, you know, all of us in here, our ages. When when I was young, to even think about making a shot with a shotgun at a 120 yards, Never. Like, that's triple what my dad would even let me think about shooting. I mean, 40 yards is is when I was a kid, taking a shot at 40 yard, you're wasting shells.
• 46:28
  You know? I mean and and but today, in today's world with with the advancements that the shotguns have made, and and you mentioned the ammo earlier, and there's a lot of guys making that shot, and then you wanna talk about turkeys. Yeah. I mean, the stories I've heard about what people are doing in in and I'm sure this AI, the advanced technology, it's gonna make it into the into the turkey world at some point.
• 46:51
  Jeff Serner: Oh, absolutely. It's it's look, the biggest thing with AI we like to talk about though is the knockdown power and and less cripples. It's not so much about the distance. Yeah. That that is a a benefit.
• 47:03
  Not something we necessarily tout, but but it's more about the the increased penetration you get and and harder knockdown power. So less cripples is better for everybody, better for for the bird, and and making sure that shot counts every day.
• 47:18
  Lee Colquitt: By shortening up your shot string with more pellets arriving on target at the same time, as Lee says, that's that's your knockdown right there. I mean, yes, we've got maintained velocity and energy downrange to a to a greater distance, but the fact that, you know, that string is is now the length of this table as opposed to three times being that long just for a kind of quick layman's explanation of it. More pellets on target at the same time leads to more clean kills, meets to more smoked clays. Again, you rarely do you see with an AI barrel the
• 47:55
  Jimbo Robinson: The chip? Yeah. Did I chip that?
• 47:57
  Lee Colquitt: Call it. Yeah. I mean, more often than not, it's dusted, so there's no question. Yes. You hit that
• 48:04
  Jimbo Robinson: bird. What's one myth about waterfowl shotguns that you'd love to bust? I have an idea in my head of of what this may be. Let me ask alright. Let me back up.
• 48:15
  While y'all think about that, let me ask ask me answer this question. When the SBE three first came out, the rumor, and we're gonna call it a rumor, the rumor was it shoots high. It shoots high. Like, that's what I I I I got that at a ton of events. Well, I don't want that three.
• 48:31
  I want a two because that every s b three, they say shoot six inches higher, whatever it was. Where did that come from?
• 48:37
  Jeff Serner: Yeah. I I I don't know. I look. I'll I'll go back to what Jeff said. That's why we have the shim kit.
• 48:43
  Yeah. And and everybody's build, their shape of their face, the way they shoulder a gun is different. And because of of that, you know, shooting high thing, we've we've done some great videos. You can go out on YouTube. It walks you through how to use a shim kit.
• 48:59
  It shows a guy shooting the gun and and the pellets are high, and then you make the adjustment from one shim to another, and you bring that that shot pattern down and and get it to the the the percentage that you want, high or low above your target. So the gun is very customizable, and and I would challenge anybody that says our gun shoots high. Well, utilize it. Go watch the YouTube video. Utilize the shim kit, and and you can make the adjustment.
• 49:27
  When did
• 49:27
  Jimbo Robinson: the shim kit because I I remember, like, yesterday, the day I opened my first Super Black Eagle two, and they they're all they were in there.
• 49:36
  Lee Colquitt: They're in there.
• 49:36
  Jimbo Robinson: No idea what they were. Yeah. I thought they were just, you know, taking up space in the box so that something didn't move around
• 49:41
  Jeff Serner: black. Right? That owner's manual that nobody reads.
• 49:44
  Jimbo Robinson: That's a fact.
• 49:44
  Lee Colquitt: That's why we
• 49:45
  Jeff Serner: did a YouTube video because it's a lot easier.
• 49:47
  Jimbo Robinson: Yeah. So
• 49:48
  Lee Colquitt: And that get asked gets asked regularly at consumer events again is, you know, I miss this or I miss that. And and I goes back to, did do you did you pattern your gun? Well, no. I know it shoots. I'm like, pattern do yourself a favor.
• 50:03
  Pattern your gun. And you know that shim kit that came with it? And oftentimes, it's, yeah, I threw that away. Or I I do, but I don't know where it's at. And and we do sell it as a as a parts kit.
• 50:16
  It's really inexpensive. So if you actually threw your shim kit away, go to benelliusa.com, buy yourself a shim kit, get your local dealer to get one for you because they really are inexpensive, but they'll really help you be a better shooter. The guy, you you know, that boy, I always miss that that rising bird going away, or I miss this, or I miss that. And pat on your gun, make your adjustments, you'll be a better shooter.
• 50:44
  Jimbo Robinson: You think of the myth? It's a myth. So that's the myth. My gun shoots high. It's not it's so
• 50:50
  Jeff Serner: You you you can control where your gun shoots. You have the ability to do it. But yeah.
• 50:56
  Lee Colquitt: And and, again, certainly, look at as I said, we the the typical for years was we we would ship the gun out with a b shim in it. You have an a shim, a b shim, a d shim, or excuse me, a b c d. Oftentimes, it would ship with a b shim. I think everyone that I've ever gotten from Benelli when I took it apart because I know I have to put a drop shim in. I know I gotta go to a c, or I know I gotta go to a d.
• 51:22
  However, I shoulder gun, I think it goes hand in hand with with your size, with with your face. You got a fuller face. It's gonna naturally raise you up off the comb a little bit. Might cause you to shoot high. And so I'm I'm not saying everybody that shoots high has a full face.
• 51:40
  Let's start it. But my point, as as Lee said, everybody has different body types, different ways that they may have been taught to shoot. I was taught to you know, this is just an example. Somebody might say, well, look. I was taught to see the the bird above the bead, or I was taught to cover the bird with the barrel.
• 51:57
  So look. We're not saying people don't know how to shoot. We're just saying, again, adjust that gun to how you shoot. Don't try to adjust yourself to the gun. Absolutely.
• 52:08
  Jimbo Robinson: Well, as as we begin to wrap up this show, first off, thank you all so much for being here. It's the the partnership with the convention and and just watching people upstairs walk around and look. I think it was it exceeded my expectations last year. I I know that it exceeded y'all's as well, but just being able to to to be a part of our national convention with a brand like, you know, Benelli and and and just that premier waterfowling gun with Ducks Unlimited, it's it seems to me it's just such a perfect fit. What's on tap for this year?
• 52:41
  Now when this comes out, we will have already sold it. Yeah. But what is what is this year's prize live auction item?
• 52:50
  Jeff Serner: Jeff, you wanna lay it out for me? Yeah. I I think we got we got a great lineup.
• 52:54
  Lee Colquitt: So Yeah. We do. We've got we've got a four gun Flyway series. So super black Eagle threes, high polish finish, grade three walnut stocks that are beautiful, Nickel receiver that has the the Chesapeake or the Eastern Flyway, the the Central, the Missouri Pacific, or excuse me, Mississippi. I said Missouri.
• 53:24
  But and and the birds that are associated with those flyways engraved and backfilled in gold on them. The the guns we have here, it's a four gun set, all serial number one. Incredible looking. And the the coup de grace, I guess you would say, is we've got a two hundred and fiftieth anniversary gun, Super Black Eagle three, red, white, and blue essentially, declaration of independence, scroll work engraved on the back. If you're here well, of course, as you you said, this will come out after the fact.
• 54:00
  If it was live, I would say if you're here, you gotta stop by and see them. But beautiful guns and to piggyback off of what we did with that trilogy series last year and to come back with with another incredible four gun set and then kinda almost a one of with the the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary gun. The, you know, the the feedback last night on those who got a chance to look at them was just, can I can I touch them? I'm like, well, very carefully. White white glove.
• 54:34
  But, yeah, just beautiful. I
• 54:36
  Jeremy Smith: can't wait. Y'all did such a great job with them. You know, you showed me the well well, the Flyway series and the two fifty celebration gun and the detail that's on it, how y'all are able to get a couple of waterfowl species from each of the flyaways onto each of those shotguns, extremely impressive. And to continue the momentum that you started in Baltimore, I believe that's gonna be felt right here in Tampa. And gonna have Tom DeBolt, Benelli USA CEO join us for hopefully the rest of the weekend Yep.
• 55:06
  Starting tomorrow. Yep. There's gonna be a lot of excitement. Again, we can't thank you enough for all you do and appreciate y'all being a part of
• 55:13
  Jimbo Robinson: I've and I've been a part of a ton of auctions in my life. Got the opportunity last year to emcee the auction at for the first time with Claybearer National Convention. We're doing it again, and I've already told him. I was like, I'm I'm doing both Benelli's. Because, like, the energy from that auction was incredible.
• 55:29
  You could
• 55:29
  Jeff Serner: feel it. Was it was off stage. Two guys at the end going back and forth and getting to the price that they did. It was it was amazing.
• 55:36
  Jimbo Robinson: Absolutely incredible. Well, man, thank y'all so much. Like, I know I've said it, but just having y'all here and and a brand that means so much to me, means so much to Jeremy, it's just it's it's awesome. And to get to talk to y'all and and get that insider I think that's what the listeners are gonna enjoy the most is is, you know, you don't have to go to consumer show to hear what what Jeff said and and and to piggyback on what Lee said is that, you know, there's so many guns that fit, and I don't think that everybody truly knows that, that don't live in this world that we all live in. And I said and I think that the opportunities that y'all have laid out, the different styles of guns and and and fitting it to yourself, I think people, that's probably what they skip the most because I'm not gonna lie.
• 56:20
  I don't know that I've ever even thought about a Shim.
• 56:22
  Lee Colquitt: Agreed. I we say that I I 90% could be strong, but it sure seems like nine out of 10 people I talk to either, yeah, they're kind of familiar with it and haven't done anything, or they didn't even know about it, and that got thrown away with the box.
• 56:37
  Jimbo Robinson: Right. And that you said you could sell it.
• 56:39
  Jeremy Smith: So, you know, I know
• 56:40
  Jimbo Robinson: y'all have retailers all over the world, but everybody can see all of y'all's guns on benelliusa.com. Correct? Yep. So see it and then, you know, find it in one of the retailers. Y'all's retailers listed on the website as well?
• 56:51
  Lee Colquitt: They are. We've got a dealer locator. You plug in your ZIP code. You wanna put a 10 mile radius, and it'll pop up everybody that's around you.
• 56:59
  Jimbo Robinson: Awesome. Well, again, from all of us at Ducks Unlimited, thank you for being here. I can't wait for Saturday night and and to see what what this four gun and the trilogy 200, excuse me, Gunn do in our auction and and and looking forward to hanging out and having y'all here the rest of the week during our convention.
• 57:20
  Jeff Serner: Well, guys, on behalf of Benelli USA, we thank you for the partnership as well. It goes both ways, and we're very excited to be here.
• 57:26
  Jimbo Robinson: Yeah. And so when y'all come down, you come for gun selection. Yep. I'll be there. At for DUX.
• 57:33
  For DUX. So what would be fun would be to do another episode of DUX. We can kinda follow-up and talk about what the the guns did at our national convention is, you know, July 31 through August 2. But what would be cool would be to get your kind of insight on on how y'all start the process of presenting guns to Ducks Unlimited and kind of walking through the listeners of it's not just y'all grab a couple guns on your way down and present to DU. There's a lot that goes into, you know, presenting a gun that that for the national package if it and and I know we have a Franke.
• 58:08
  There's a bunch of a few Benelli guns or families of guns in it. There's a Franke in there I know. I can't remember the other one. There's there might be two of them in the series lineup in the
• 58:18
  Jeff Serner: You got the president's gun, Joe.
• 58:19
  Lee Colquitt: Yeah. We've got we'll we'll do the Montefeltro silver Yep. Special edition engraving on that, and then there's the the Franke Fendi 3.5.
• 58:31
  Jimbo Robinson: Yeah. It's cool. And and and that's just, you know, it's awesome to when when when our volunteers open up that catalog and see those that it the mood that they get in knowing that, you know, they're gonna sell them a Ralph Moff at an event, it's a game changer. And the brand and and what y'all built or a part of, it speaks a lot for for y'all. So to all the listeners out there, thank you for listening to another episode of the Ducks Unlimited Podcast.
• 58:59
  We are out. Watch out for geese.
• 59:04
  VO: That's a wrap for today's episode of the Ducks Unlimited Podcast brought to you by Bird Dog Whiskey and Cocktails. From post hunt unwinds to celebrations back at camp, Bird Dog delivers award winning flavor to every moment. Enjoy responsibly. Don't forget to rate, review, and subscribe, and check out ducks.org/dupodcast for more stories, science, and all things waterfowl. Guest opinions are their own and don't necessarily reflect those of Ducks Unlimited. Until next time, stay fired up, stay focused, and stay tuned to the Ducks.