Benelli Lupo HPR: Full Review

Benelli launched its first bolt-­action hunting rifle, the Lupo, in Guns & Ammo’s March 2020 issue. The stylish gun was an immediate success and demonstrated that Benelli — a regarded shotgun manufacturer — could make a timeless turnbolt. It’s no surprise that the Lupo line would expand. The Lupo is offered with black synthetic, camo and walnut stocks, and in nine chamberings spanning 6mm Creedmoor to .300 Winchester Magnum. For 2024, the Italian gunmaker goes long with its High Precision Rifle (HPR).

The HPR shares many of the same features that made the original an accurate sporter. The cylindrical receiver is precision machined from premium steel, and the three-­lug full-­diameter bolt comes with a plunger-­type ejector and an extractor mounted to the outbound lug. It is field-strippable without tools, as well. The bolt body is relieved in the middle, which also serves multiple purposes. Machining away material in the center of the bolt reduced weight without compromising durability, and it allowed the bolt to run through the action very smoothly. The trim design also allowed for an additional round to be carried in the magazine, from four to five. The ejection port was made large enough that the rifle could be effectively single-­loaded, too, yet the design maintained the rigidity that’s so vital for accuracy.

The hammer-­forged barrel attaches to the receiver by way of a steel barrel extension. The barrel extension is secured with a recoil lug held firmly in place with two screws. All the while, the barrel is free-­floated. 

The HPR barrel is considerably heavier than the standard Lupo barrel, measuring .86 inches in diameter where the muzzle threads begin. The barrel is fluted to reduce weight, though, but the fluting and the larger diameter are said to offer more surface area for barrel cooling. There’s a muzzlebrake included with HPR rifles, but the 5⁄8-by-24 threads allow the shooter to ­mount other muzzle devices, including caliber-appropriate suppressors. The barrel receives the same Crio stress-relief treatment as Benelli’s shotguns are known for, which translates to an even grain in the steel’s metallurgy and a slick surface in the bore. Barrel twist rates vary by cartridge, but the .308 sent to Guns & Ammo for testing came with a 1-in-11-inch twist rate.

The triggerguard on the Lupo is steeply angled, and there’s ample room inside for gloved fingers. The trigger is crisp and pull weight is adjustable from 2.2 to 4.4 pounds. Just above the trigger is the sharply angled bolt handle and the rounded bolt knob. The bolt knob on the HPR is a more traditional bell-­shape target design versus the Lupo’s signature egg-­shaped handle.

All Benelli Lupo rifles are considered “chassis rifles,” but the chassis design differs from other chassis-stocked rifles. The Lupo HPR stock is a three-­piece design with an aluminum block under the receiver, and the forearm and buttstock are separate. The recoil lugs fit into a machined cutout in the aluminum chassis, so tight tolerances ensure a solid, wiggle-­free fit to promote accuracy potential.

Unlike the standard Lupo, the HPR comes with a more target-­centric stock and forearm design. The forearm features a flat base and includes a long finger groove. M-­Lok slots on the base and sides of the forearm allow for easy installation and removal of items such as bipods and slings. The composite buttstock and forearm are colored in a tan finish with black epoxy spiderwebbing.

The stock of the HPR has an adjustable comb and interchangeable polymer pistol grips. The line from the pistol grip to the toe of the stock slopes gently, and there’s a reduced “wrist” behind the pistol grip. The narrow base of the stock allows you to settle the rifle comfortably in a shooting bag. As with its shotguns, Benelli’s Lupo HPR is equipped with a version of the Progressive Comfort system, which features a series of interlocking fingers that compress under recoil to absorb kick. The Progressive Comfort recoil pad is soft, too, and dense, further helping to take the sting out of its recoil. There’s an M-­Lok section on the base of the buttstock for mounting sling studs, a monopod, or other accessories.

Also like Benelli shotguns, the Lupo HPR is adjustable for drop and cast using the shim kit provided with the gun. To adjust drop and cast, you’ll need to remove the recoil pad and Progressive Comfort system to insert the proper shims. Drop shims are included as well as a cast shim, which is labeled “DX” and “SX.” If the shim is slightly thicker on one side than the other, and when it is oriented with the SX face of the plate toward the rear, the stock is “cast-­on,” meaning that it is angled slightly to the left of center. With DX oriented rearward, the stock is cast-­off for right-­handed shooters. There’s also a length-of-pull adjustment shim kit that allows the shooter to adjust between 133/4 and 143/4 inches of reach.

The Lupo HPR is drilled and tapped at the top of the receiver. The additional anchor points offer added strength and security, but they also offer a variety of mounting options. If you choose not to use the included 30 minute-of-angle (MOA) rail, you can replace it with two rear Remington Model 700 bases. Talley also offers lightweight machined aluminum rings for the Lupo.

First to the Finish

No group of hunters can destroy a firearm’s finish faster than waterfowl hunters, particularly those who hunt birds in coastal areas. Brackish and salt water environments will eat away at the metal. In 2018, Benelli revealed its Benelli Surface Treatment (BE.S.T.) to G&A. To test its effectiveness, shotgun barrels were exposed to saltwater baths for extended periods; there was no damage to the metal. That same BE.S.T. treatment is now found on several models of Benelli’s shotguns and rifles, including the barreled action of the Lupo HPR.

BE.S.T. is a combination of a physical vapor deposition (PVD) and plasma-­enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) that’s applied to the substrate metal of a firearm. To apply, Benelli has to place the metal in a vacuum chamber and then use plasma to excite the graphite material that forms the basis of the surface treatment, which then forms a vapor. The vapor is introduced to a reactive gas inside the chamber and the graphite material adheres to the raw metal. The resultant finish is waterproof and corrosion-­resistant, an armor that is affixed to metal.

Benelli cracked the code for BE.S.T. by using PVD which works at low temperatures. A typical plasma coating requires large amounts of heat, which stresses metal components; that’s bad news for firearms manufacturing. However, the clever engineers in Urbino, Italy, cooked up a recipe to apply PVD at cool temperatures, and they wouldn’t share that information. Benelli spent years perfecting BE.S.T. and did not patent it. Why? They didn’t want to publicize details of the process.

How good is it? Benelli tested BE.S.T. shotgun barrels by leaving them in open-air environments for months. Then, barrels were wiped down and attached to shotguns for testing. After inspection, the barrels functioned like new. 

From personal experience, in my opinion, BE.S.T. is the most effective surface treatment available. I’ve carried BE.S.T. shotguns while breaking brush and thorns, hunting rabbits, and through many marshy duck blinds. I even used a Benelli BE.S.T. Lupo while hunting black bears in coastal Alaska. That was a place where salt spray was a fact of life. After every hunt, the guns still looked new. Benelli believes so strongly in BE.S.T. that they warranty it for 25 years.

The HPR comes with a detachable, double-­stack magazine that holds five rounds of .308 Winchester. There’s a two-­position safety mounted on the tang, and a bolt-unlock button on the right side of the receiver, just behind the bolt handle. Depressing the bolt-unlock allows the rifle to operate with the safety engaged. There’s a bolt-stop button on the left-rear portion of the cylindrical receiver, and a magazine release tab in the front of the magazine well.

Cost & Competition

The Benelli Lupo HPR is available in nine chamberings. The retail price for any of them is $2,949. That’s less than the Browning X-­Bolt Target Pro McMillan, but more than a Savage 110 Elite Precision or Seekins Havak HIT. All of these are bolt-­action target rifles. With the exception of the Browning, all come with a chassis designed specifically for optimum accuracy and long-­range performance. Unlike the other rifles, though,  Benelli uses a proprietary magazine, not an AICS pattern. It’s also the only gun on the list that comes standard with a 30-MOA rail, helpful for scope adjustments at long range.

Weight isn’t as much of a factor with target guns and hunting rifles, but at 9.4-­pounds the Lupo HPR is lighter than the aforementioned Savage, Seekins, and Browning rifles weighing 12.6, 11.5, and 10.8 pounds, respectively. The Seekins Havak HIT includes the added feature of a folding stock, and the Savage is available as a lefty.

The Lupo HPR offers an accuracy guarantee that the other guns do not match, though. The Lupo HPR is qualified to shoot three-quarters MOA for five shots, which is a very bold promise indeed. The Lupo rifles I’ve shot in the past were accurate, and the original version of the rifle was the only factory .30-’­06 I’ve tested that routinely placed five shots in under an inch at 100 yards. It was time to put Benelli’s promise to the test.

At The Range

We scoped the Lupo HPR with the new Burris Eliminator 6. Each version of the Eliminator has offered improvements and upgrades, and the 4-­20x50mm Eliminator 6, with its built-­in rangefinder and ballistic calculator, was an ideal optic for the Lupo HPR.

With the Eliminator mounted and boresighted, I went to the range. It rained throughout the entire evaluation, sometimes as a drizzle and sometimes in cascading sheets. Even under the shooting canopy, there was no way to avoid soaking the rifle, but I had no concern about corrosion. It wasn’t particularly comfortable though. By the time I was finished, most of the ammunition boxes and all the paper targets were soaked. However, I was reminded about the benefits of BE.S.T., and it’s a great reason the Lupo HPR should appeal to shooters.

Accuracy was, as expected, superb. I shot nothing but five-­shot groups. While not all were under .75 inches at 100 yards, enough were that I was able to verify Benelli’s accuracy claims. The test-­best group measured .64 for five shots, and there were several in the .7- and .8-inch range. The 1-in-11-inch twist rate was interesting. It’s squarely between the 1-in-10 — favored for heavy bullets — and the 1-in-12-inch twist that’s been popular with hunting-weight bullets around 150 grains for years. With bullets from 152 to 168 grains, the ammo performed well; a few broke an inch for five shots, hardly what you’d call an inaccurate group. The list of available chamberings offers a great deal of variety for long-­range shooters, but Benelli should add 7mm PRC to the line.

I prefer the bell-­shaped bolt knob on the HPR to the egg-­shaped knob on the standard Lupo. This was really the only styling cue on the original gun that I did not care for. The standard bolt knob worked fine, but I think it’s easier to operate the bolt on the Lupo HPR.

There were no cycling or loading issues save a single round that did not want to feed. (It could have been due to its flat-nose.) Simply pulling back on the bolt to relieve the tension and running it forward solved the issue. The magazine worked well and fit securely in the gun without fiddling. And, it was easy to load. The tang-­mounted manual safety was easy to find and operate, and the grip angle made the thumbs-­forward shooting position comfortable and practical. This style is favored by many target shooters.

Benelli’s beefy muzzle-
brake did a good job redirecting muzzleblast and reducing felt recoil, but the tradeoff, of course, was increased concussion from the muzzle to those left and right of the muzzle. I test rifles with the hardware provided, but I’d probably switch to a lightweight suppressor if I were going to continue shooting this rifle in my personal life. The combination of the heavy contour and flutes, as well as the relatively mild .308 velocities, meant that barrel heat wasn’t an issue. To ensure its best performance, I let the barrel cool between groups.

Adjusting the comb was simple, though it sometimes required extra effort to raise or lower the comb. I made the mistake of allowing part of my cheek to slide behind the elevated comb, and I paid the price with a sharp stab. If the comb is elevated, make sure that your cheek is welded to the top of the comb or you may suffer the same fate.

Benelli made some lofty promises with the Lupo HPR, but it lived up to them in my opinion. It’s a well-­built rifle, a natural evolution of the Lupo line. I think shooters will like the Progressive Comfort system, and users should take advantage of all the stock shims to help it fit perfectly. The Benelli brand may always be most closely associated with premium shotguns, but the Lupo has proven that the Italian firm is capable of producing premium rifles for the American market. The Lupo HPR is just as well-­engineered and desirable as any Benelli shotgun.

Wilson Combat NULA Model 20

• Type: Bolt-Action
• Chambering: .308 Win (tested)
• Capacity: 5+1 rds.
• Barrel: 24 in., Crio treated, 5/8x24
• Overall Length: .26 46Inches
• Weight: 9 lbs., 7 oz.
• Stock: Synthetic; ComforTech; Progressive Comfort; adj.
• Grip: Interchangeable
• Sights: None; 30 MOA rail
• Length of Pull: 13.75 in. to 14.75 in.
• Finish: Anodized (aluminum), BE.S.T. (steel)
• Trigger: 3 lbs. (tested), adjustable
• Safety: Switch, two position
• Price: $2,949
• Contact: Benelli, 800-264-­4962, benelliusa.com