FN SLP Set up for 3Gun

[CO-Exprs]

I picked up this shotgun used for $700 two years ago, without knowing anything about them. It just looked meaner than a caged baboon and I jumped on the man candy. I had a 1100 comp master at the time, and it was OK, but when I took this new gat to the range, it only took a few shells to realize just how dated the 1100 platform has become. I was dabbling in 3G at the time, so I started working on smoothing out a few small wrinkles in what is otherwise a wonderfull firearm. In factory form the SLP was simply not designed to be loaded easily. There really isn't much on the internet regarding the SLP to help a brother out, so a quick look at the Benelli M2 for comparison purposes told me where to remove material.
I follow a machinist mindset when working with machines. You can't put material back on, so I tend to go very slow when performing personal modifications. Step one was to cut back the overhanging handguard as it was blocking part of the feed port. The feed port was relieved a bit so you don't have to shove your thumb down the mag tube to lock the shell. I bevelled the feed port and put a chamfer on the opening of the feed tube for a smoother feed. I relieved the bottom of the receiver, so that the shell doesn't need to be pushed up so aggressively to find the mag tube. Its rare, but the upward traveling shells can get caught on the bottom of the barrel where it protrudes into the receiver. A small amount of radiusing on that bottom corner eliminates this problem and polishing the underside of the barrel hood eliminates the bolt and carrier tendancy to some times not go fully into battery. Again, this was a rare problem, but not any more. Finish the parts off with a C-rums follower (well worth the $45) and a Nordic charge handle and button completes the parts package. This shotgun shoots absolutely outstanding. Very smooth and very fast and very reliable with about 3k shells down the pipe.
I have been learning weak hand reloading and am getting the hang of it, but lately I've been trying to load weak hand off the shoulder. If the SLP has one fault its weight. She's a tad on the heavy side and with oily hands it is a chore to hold it up while reloading. I got a wild hair and decided to try my hand at stippling. The result was far better than I expected and the additional traction gives so much better grip that the shotgun feels 1-2lbs lighter when reloading off the shoulder.
The Salient Benelli is to die for. I mean, even God wants one, but if you don't have the scratch for unobtainium, don't feel like you are selling yourself short with an SLP. With a little messaging, you will have a shotgun which shoots every bit as well. It's a little heavier, but it also has less muzzle flip and felt recoil. Honestly, this thing runs so well, I may never part with it. Anyway, here are some photos.



http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/k484/CO-Exprs/P1030029.jpg

http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/k484/CO-Exprs/P1030030.jpg

http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/k484/CO-Exprs/P1030031.jpg

http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/k484/CO-Exprs/P1030032.jpg

http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/k484/CO-Exprs/P1030034.jpg

http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/k484/CO-Exprs/P1030036.jpg

[nontactical]

So forgive my ignorance; why does it say Super X2 on the receiver and is Winchester okay with this behavior?

Either way, great looking shotgun.

[Irving]

I think the stippling looks great on there. Well done.
I can see where you took some material off on the receiver, but without before pictures, it is difficult to tell how much. It looks very well done though.

[CO-Exprs]

Good eye. Your right in this technically being an SX2 Practical. They are exactly the same as the SLP, with two small differences. This is a 2.75" chamber only, where the SLP is a 3". FN must have changed the hammer spring. The only failures I ever experienced was a short period of misfires. I heard a nasty rumor that the SX2s suffered from weak hammer springs, so I replaced mine and bingo, no more failures. I wrote this up as an SLP cuz no one knows about SX2 Practicals, but everyone's heard of an SLP and they are essentially the same gun.

[CO-Exprs]

One more quick mod I did last night. The SLP (SX2) recoil pad is made of soft rubber and shapped in a way which causes it to snag in your shirt when bringing it up and down from your shoulder. I was looking at lots of different recoil pads, but none are designed to drop right onto an SX2 style butt stock. Limbsaver makes one designed to be ground to a final shape and also designed for snag free, quick mounting. It would take a little custom work to make it fit properly onto the stock, but I'm a willing sort of guy. I decided to try free first and tried wrapping some black electrical tape around the outside of the rubber recoil pad, while leaving the very back part exposed and... bingo it worked great. The tape is flexible enough to make it look nice and it turned out to be a terrific idea. If you're having trouble with your SLP snagging on your clothes, give this a try.

In a month or two, I'm getting a 24" barrel and will update with photos and the changing specs.

[CareyH]

I love the SX2 practical. The only other mod I would is the nordic +1 extension. depending on the 3gun match you go to, you can have 9 in the tube. The SX2 practical is damn near impossible to find anymore.

They are heavy but that weight keep it flat while shooting fast.

[CO-Exprs]

Came to the same conclusion. I added a +1 Nordic tube and follower yesterday. Looks kinda ugly, but then this thing was never gonna win any beauty contests anyways. We'll see how she runs at the Johnson 3g tomorrow.

[CO-Exprs]

Update. Ok, I've shot a few matches now with the hopped up SX2/SLP. Everything has gone really well. The feed port mods and C-Rums carrier work perfectly. No pinched thumbs and feeding is significantly smoother and less problematic with sub 8 sec reloads, reliably and without rushing. Sub 7 sec on a good day. Charging handle and bolt release buttons are a must have and work very well. The stippling has worked exactly as expected and several friends have asked for the same treatment to thier shotguns. I added a two shot caddy to the right side and have used it at least once in every match. Likewise, the plus 1 magazine extension I installed has found its way to be usefull in every shotgun stage I have shot with it. The only mod which I found to be totally useless was the nordic aluminum magazine follower. This part is really just for show and I kinda wish I had not wasted my money on that one. The plastic follower works just fine. In addition, the Nordic follower is not drop in. The large round nipple on the front of the follower needs to be filed off to maintain smooth loading of the first shell going in. The nipple interacts with the tip of the shell to hold the shell down against the bottom of the feed port and causes it to wedge a little. Push hard and it will go, but you shouldn't have to bother. Since this was intended to be a universal part for all 12 gages, I can understand them not knowing how poorly it works in the SX2/SLP platform. Mine works fine now, but learn from my mistake and don't bother with the the Nordic magazine follower in your SLP. Overall, I really like the shotgun. All mods except for the follower have worked very well and the shotgun has been 100% reliable on factory ammo and even my light, practice reloads have been about 95% reliable. I'll throw up some new pics some time soon. Still planning to do a vented rib barrel, but money is tight and I will probably save that for a winter project.