The Benelli Lupo in 30-06 Sprg.—Soft Shooting, But a Hard-Hitting and Accurate Hunting Rifle

Best known for its shotguns, Italian gun manufacturer Benelli also makes hunting rifles, including the R1 Hunter and R1 Pro, gas-operated semi-automatics that never quite caught on here in the United States.

But Benelli’s newest rifle, the bolt-action Lupo, has already gained a strong following since it debuted at the 2020 SHOT Show. When I first inquired about a Lupo for review, a Benelli representative said he had one chambered in 30-06 Sprg., and that it was the softest recoiling 30-06 he’d ever shot.

Well, I didn’t take that comment too seriously; gun manufacturer staff are supposed to present positive views on their new guns and have been known to “puff up” things a bit. But I did ask for and receive that Lupo chambered in that old, reliable hunting round which can take down damn near any game animal on the North American Continent.  

Once I had the chance to shoot my evaluation Lupo, I discovered it really was and is the softest recoiling 30-06 I’d ever shot. It was also sub-MOA for three shots at 100 yards with a variety of ammunition brands.

Impressive.

Lupo stands for “Wolf” in Italian, and this predator was originally offered in .270 Win, .30-06 Springfield, and .300 Win. Mag., with chamberings in .243 Win, 6.5 Creedmoor, and .308 Win. soon added to the mix. More recently, Benelli announced Lupo rifles in 6MM Creedmoor, 6.5 PRC and 7MM Rem Mag were also available.

The Lupo featured a chassis-style construction, built from an alloy lower receiver, and fitted with a synthetic stock and forend. The stock incorporated Benelli’s patented Progressive Comfort recoil-reducing system and Combtech cheek pad for comfortable shooting.

The Benelli Lupo’s free-floating barrel is made of high-quality steel, is hammer forged, and is securely bedded (steel-to-steel) into the alloy chassis receiver. The barrel is also CRIO-treated, a process that takes the barrel down to -300 Fahrenheit and in doing so relieves the internal material stresses caused to the barrel by the hammer forging. The CRIO treatment creates a smoother surface and one that requires less cleaning.

As with Benelli shotguns, the Lupo design features modular adjustability to provide the perfect fit between shooter and rifle. The chassis-style configuration of a separate stock, receiver, and forend allows the shooter to customize the Lupo to one of 12 drop-and-cast positions with the included shims, and Benelli literature explained this can be expanded to 36 positions by utilizing optional combs.

Further individualized fit adjustments can be made with included length-of-pull spacers. Finger reach to the trigger is also adjustable with included spacers that can be placed between the receiver and the stock.

The Lupo employs a double-stack box magazine which was very easy to load and popped neatly into the bottom of the receiver. And once in place, that magazine essentially disappeared and seemed to become part of the receiver, giving the Lupo a very smooth look.

The Lupo’s two-position, tang-mounted safety offers ambidextrous manipulation. Airtouch Grip surfaces were cut into the composite stock at the grip and forend and provided a firm hold on the rifle even when my hands were wet and grimy. The muzzle was threaded at a 5/8 x 24 pitch for attaching a muzzle brake or suppressor. The short-throw bolt quickly chambered new rounds and ejected spent brass easily.

Initially, I used the Lupo as part of a test I did on body armor made by Predator Armor. I wanted to see how well the plates could take a good hammering from 30-06 Sprg. ammunition.

First, I mounted a scope onto the Lupo, a Maven Optics RS.5 4-24x50mm rifle scope. My test scope featured second focal plane operation and an MOA, etched glass reticle and sported a side parallax adjustment.

At my outdoor range, I zeroed the Lupo and Maven RS.5 at 50 yards using Winchester Ballistic Silvertip ammunition firing a 168-grain poly-tipped bullet. The zeroing only took a half-dozen rounds and then it was onto my body armor testing. Of note, the Predator Armor Level III plates shrugged off the Winchester rounds without even a dent when fired upon at 50 yards.

Next, I went back to my range and ran the Lupo with the Winchester and two other brands of ammunition: Remington Premier Scirocco Bonded launching a 150-grain Swift Scirocco bullet; and Sierra GameKing driving a 165-grain Sierra TGK bullet.

Benelli provides a three-shot sub-MOA accuracy guarantee on the Lupo, and I found that to be true with all three brands of ammunition when shooting from 100 yards and off a sandbagged rest. 

In fact–and I’ve never quite had this experience with a rifle–but once I got used to the rifle itself and felt the barrel was broken in, I found I could fire my first three shots at sub-MOA at 100 yards, and then my next two shots would expand that group by about one-inch. And it kept happening.

My best groups included:

–Remington Premier, 3 shots at .70-inches, 5 shots at 1.4-inches

–Sierra GameKing, 3 shots at .80-inches, 5 shots at 1.5-inches

–Winchester Ballistic Silvertip, 3 shots at .60-inches, 5 shots at 1.4-inches.

When I do five-shot groups, I almost never let the rifle cool down between shots. I just don’t see the point. I can’t imagine too many scenarios, especially for a hunting rifle, where a shooter would need to pull off a couple of rounds, let the rifle barrel cool off for several minutes, fire two more, another cool down, and then the final shot.

Certainly, there’s no big game animal that’s going to hold still for all that. In nearly all of my hunts, it’s the first shot that matters the most though a second follow-up can be very important, too. Shots three through five? Those would be at the animal’s rear end as it’s fleeing through brush and trees, and I’m not taking those shots.

But why then my three-shot, sub-MOAs followed by a full-inch expansion for numbers 4 and 5? It has to be the Lupo’s barrel heating up, and a hot barrel tends to widen groups, plus a shooter can get a bit nervous after this third shot knowing he has a very tight group going. 

I’m the shooter and guilty as charged on the latter.

Over the years, I’ve fired a decent number of rifles chambered in the workhorse 30-06 Sprg., from an original M1 Garand to a few Remington 760 Gamemaster pump actions to many of the newer bolt actions, the latter often featuring various recoil reduction systems built into their stocks. All provided a pretty hefty thump to my shoulder.

But, as the Benelli rep promised, the Lupo really did have the most manageable recoil of any 30-06 I’ve used. I would rate that recoil much closer to a .308 Win bolt action than a traditional 30-06.

Benelli achieved this softer recoil through its patented Progressive Comfort system. The system is created from three sets of interlocking, synthetic buffers built into the recoil pad. These buffers absorb and disperse rearward recoil. Benelli introduced this system nearly a decade ago, incorporating it into many of their shotguns.

Benelli’s Combtech cheek pad also was a help, and while it didn’t reduce recoil specifically, the force-absorbing pad did a nice job of reducing the amount of pressure coming back and up into my face and head.

As measured by my Lyman Electronic Trigger Pull Gauge, the trigger on my Lupo snapped off at a very clean 1 pound, 3 ounces on average. There was no uptake or travel on the trigger and no mushiness. Squeeze, snap, shot taken.

The one thing I would change is the way the trigger and trigger guard themselves are placed up and into the rear of the receiver’s bottom. This required some practice at getting my hand in the correct position. I’m used to the standard placement of the trigger and guard which, on most rifles, is pretty much right below the bolt handle.

Obviously, with the kind of sub-MOA accuracy I recorded, the trigger ergonomics here are not a hindrance. But they do take some getting used to for someone whose experiences are with standard trigger builds.

All in all, the Lupo is a fine hunting rifle, one that should provide years of very accurate shooting, doesn’t beat up your shoulder, and features a rugged composite stock. That’s a really functional triple play!

Specifications: Benelli Lupo Rifle

Action: Short-throw Bolt

Caliber (as tested): 30-06 SPRG.

Capacity: 5+1

Barrel Length, Twist Rate: 22”, 1:10

Barrel Material: High quality steel, CRIO treated and threaded at 5/8×24 pitch

Stock/Finish: Black synthetic/black.

Trigger: Adjustable

Length: 44.62”

Weight: 7 lbs.

Sights: None, drilled and tapped for optics

Length of Pull: Adjustable 13.8 to 14.77 inches.

Warranty: 7 years

Suggested Retail: $1,699.00

Benelli