Chris Redlich salutes an Italian triumph
Interesting indeed but traditional it ain’t, was my initial reaction when I laid eyes on Benelli’s new rifle. At first glance their Lupo HPR conflicted with my personal taste and unwritten rule of only reviewing gear I’d potentially buy for myself, until my wife exclaimed: “Don’t to be so judgy and just test it!” Decision made and I happily agreed to review Benelli’s all-new Lupo HPR in .308 Win, one of my favourite cartridges.
By comparison, it was coincidental I’d just finished assessing a brand new lever rifle which reflects every inch of its historic design yet is still relevant today. Now I’m reviewing a new rifle that looks nothing like 1800s era yet likewise feels right at home in 2025. Benelli’s century-plus history of producing motorcycles and almost 60 years of gun-making is apparently well known, though not to me.
Truthfully, my introduction to Benelli rifles came when reading Con Kapralos’ review of their Lupo back in 2021. But Italy is known for far more than motorcycles and, quite famously, the Mediterranean nation produces some of the highest quality products in the world and anything Italian I’ve ever owned has impressed.
Upon receipt, my initial misgivings of what a rifle should look like began to fade and a renewed excitement to test the Lupo HPR took over. Differing somewhat to Con’s synthetic model, the new HPR (High Precision Rifle) reveals all the telltale signs of a purpose built long-range firearm. Almost deceptively, the two-part stock appears to be fastened to a block-style receiver, yet this isn’t so as the clearly metallic centre section is a separate chassis, machined from an aluminium billet which connects the fore-end and buttstock.
Additionally, the aluminium chassis securely cradles the barrelled action, thus providing a rock-solid platform while removing any negative influence the front and rear may have on accuracy. The entire stock is designed for long-range hunting and target shooting, in particular the PRS or Precision Rifle Series discipline. The contoured ‘beaver tail’ fore-end provides full-length barrel free-floating and incorporates a dimpled rear finger grip section.
It’s flat base averaging 50mm wide seats nicely to any target-style benchrest, while dual M-Lok slots at the 3, 6 and 9 o’clock positions ensure all portable mount and accessory attachments are covered. This is just as well as I’d planned on fitting a bipod which distributor Beretta Australia supplied with not only the M-Lok Picatinny rail, but a ‘Hy-Skor tactical bipod.
While not dissimilar to the Long Range genre, the butt stock is where engineers have produced a rear end worthy of praise. The HPR comes with target and hunting pistol grip options but this rifle had done the rounds of reviewers before me and, for whatever reason, its alternate pistol grips weren’t available. Thankfully I’m a fan of the supplied vertical profile grip for shooting prone. It’s ambidextrous palm swell fills the hand beautifully and promotes a positive grip, while enabling perfect reach for trigger-finger contact. Once again, a dimpled grip surface will ensure a non-slip fit to the operator’s hands.
Despite its futuristic styling the stock is wholly practical and improving further is the adjustable cheek piece. By pressing the right-side button, the spring-loaded cheek piece locks in at eight different levels with me settling on the fourth click. Interestingly, the HPR stock with all its adjustments in no way hampers rear bolt travel, something I’d frustratingly experienced with other chassis and target stocks recently. The so-called ‘progressive’ tiered rubber butt pad is strong yet soft enough to tame felt recoil, while removable spacers ensure correct length of pull. Rounding out the butt stock’s inclusions is a single M-Lok groove for attaching a rear sling stud.
As with all rifles, a practical stock wouldn’t be worth a pinch if its steelwork wasn’t up to the task. Ensuring this isn’t the case is Benelli’s interesting though not entirely unique way of combining barrel to action, receiver to stock and trigger to shooter. The beating heart of this rifle is its semi-trailer-like mild steel cylindrical receiver, mated to the stock via a machined recess and chassis recoil lug. Interestingly, the two action screws fasten from opposite directions, the front from beneath and rear from the top of the tang recess.
Despite the largest HPR chambering being .300Win Mag, I’ve no doubt the heavy-duty receiver is capable of handling much higher pressures generated by larger cartridges. Yet in the event of possible case ruptures, the shooter can feel at ease knowing a large port to the left of the breech will expel any dangerous gases. This angled ejection port takes up virtually one quarter of the receiver’s diameter, allowing for more than just clear ejection but easy single loading and top-up loads to the detachable magazine. A full-length Picatinny rail rounds out an important inclusion expected of modern factory target rifles.
I love the bolt on this rifle, it’s rear sweeping dog-leg design clearly having been given attention by engineers to promote a fast-cycling action, while triple locking lugs enable a short, 60 degree throw. Although Remington can boast their Model 700 bolt face having an unbroken ‘three rings of steel’, Benelli virtually achieve the same principle by housing a large claw extractor within the bulk of the 2 o’clock bolt lug. For whatever reason, some makers use weak springs behind their ejector pins but the Lupo’s was tough to depress by finger nail, indicating a strong spring.
Their push-feed bolt design has one of the best extraction and ejection cycles I’ve ever used and, for added convenience, the bolt can be field-stripped without the use of tools. The two-position safety is conveniently located to the rear and below the tang within reach of the thumb. It slides fore and aft with ease, locking both firing pin and bolt simultaneously, though interestingly a spring-loaded release button behind the closed handle unlocks free bolt travel.
Surprisingly familiar yet nonetheless a practical design is the Tikka T3-style bolt release located rear left of the receiver. The single-stage trigger is fully adjustable from 1-2kg by Allen key via the rear of the magazine well. Despite the review rifle being set a little heavy at 1.3kg (3lbs), it broke sharply and crisply during testing so I left it alone.
Emblazoned boldly on the receiver is BE.ST, not a marketing boast but reference to the Benelli Surface Treatment, where all metallic components have undergone this patented process for protection. The HPR metal surfaces are non-reflective matt black including the aluminium centre, while the polymer magazine is matching. The low profile, dual-stack magazine holds five .308Win cartridges and, once fitted up, rounds out the shape and contour of the lower receiver section beautifully.
Now we reach the business end and delivering high precision to this self-proclaimed High Precision Rifle is its monster barrel. The tapered heavy barrel measures 610mm (24”) and like many long-range rifles of the modern era, parallel fluting saves weight and adds visual appeal. A new design feature on the HPR model is its hexagonal barrel nut which not only ensures a solid fit to the receiver but promotes precise head spacing.
Benelli marketing and labelling make several references to CRIO treating of their barrels and, after a little digging, I was able to better understand their pitch. CRIO is an abbreviation for their cryogenic system, a process Benelli have employed for years on their shotgun barrels and now rifles. Lupo barrels are hammer forged and cryogenically treating them further relieves any stresses caused during the forging process, thus promoting a uniform surface which improves accuracy, reduces fouling and remains cleaner for longer. The combination of BE.ST and CRIO treatments must be good as Benelli guarantee their barrels against rust and corrosion for 10 years!
Using the patch method I measured the rifling to be 1/11 (one turn in 11”), a twist rate I feel is best suited to medium-weight bullets of 150 to 168-grain for the .308Win. The muzzle is threaded and all HPRs come fitted with a brake, the horizontal tri-port muzzle brake being reminiscent of military rifles, designed to redirect flash away from the sight picture and reduce dust clouds when shooting prone, though it nonetheless tames recoil felt by larger chamberings.
How does it shoot?
Lupo claim their barrels to be sub-MOA standard and after running the microscope over the review gun, I couldn’t wait to point it at some paper. The rifle came supplied with the new Eliminator 6, Burris’ first range-finding scope which actually looks like a normal scope. My first outing proved quick and easy as the rifle and scope produced surprisingly good results from mediocre ammunition.
The second round of testing including various factory loads reinforced Benelli’s claim of sub-MOA standard and, to be frank, the HPR made most other rifles I’ve reviewed recently look amateurish for so-called ‘out of the box’ accuracy. Bullets of medium weight proved outstanding with Winchester’s 155 and 168-grain Match loads printing sub half-MOA, and Sako 162-grain Gameheads smashing it with a ridiculous .145 MOA! Although impressive at 100m this rifle wasn’t built for close-quarters shooting, so I looked forward to long-range testing.
I’d previously used the Eliminator 5 and found it a handy piece of kit, yet my relationship with its new sibling was somewhat strained at first. Unlike the Eliminator 5 which required manual data input, the new 6 relies on Bluetooth connection via the Burris Connect app. For whatever reason, my phone and the scope weren’t talking and frustration led me to seek advice from tech minds better than mine.
So once we’d solved the scope’s communication issues I cross-loaded the ballistics data to the Eliminator 6 and was good to go. A weekend at my bother Charlie’s property ensued, where I’m happy to report the gong was ringing consistently at various ranges out to 600m with both Sako and Winchester factory ammo. Charlie repeatedly hit the gong at 300m, pretty good considering he’s left-handed and had never seen the rifle before.
Conclusion
Weighing about 5.7kg loaded (with scope), I wouldn’t recommend lugging it around the paddocks for pig hunting, though would happily shoulder it to a shooting spot for an afternoon of long-range feral control. The Lupo HPR crushed any prejudices I held over this kind of rifle and I feel privileged to have tested this ‘bad boy’ of long-range shooting whose looks are a reflection of entire practicality.
Furthermore, the HPR lives up to its name and really is a high precision rifle which proved accurate at all ranges with a wide variety of ammo. Benelli have done a great job of upholding the tradition of quality which Italian manufacturing is famous for and, retailing for around $4999 at time of writing, it’s not a scary price for someone in the market for this kind of rifle. Available in 6.5PRC, 6.5CRD, 338LM, 300PRC, 300 Win Mag and of course 308Win, the Lupo HPR has long-range targets covered.