Levallois

Took the M4 to the range yesterday. What a machine!! No wonder the Marines adopted it as their combat shotgun. Had two 870 Police Magnum shotguns there as well. Still like the 870 - great pump - but the M4? Once I got the hang of the buttons etc.it was beautiful. Less recoil and very accurate. Used buck at 15 yards and no. 8 bird shot at 10 yards. 75 rounds without a hitch. And FLAWLS1, take it to the range. All will be revealed. Thanks to all who replied!!

I greatly appreciate all the replies!! It's a relief that it isn't broken. I will try the things you all have suggested. John

Just got a lightly used M4 - looks brand new - the guy said he shot maybe 200 rounds through it. I trying to familarize myself with it I find it's operation confusing. I feel pretty dumb about this but I need help in trying to understand this thing. I looked at the manual on-line and still no help. The only other semi-auto SG that I've used is a Rem model 11 where you load the shells, rack the slide and rock and roll. Not all these dang buttons to worry about. Here are some of my questions in no real order of importance - The M4, it seems, will not allow loading at certain times - the loading gate "locks' into closed position. I don't know why? Shouldn't you be able to top the tube off as you go? Sometimes the slide will lock back when pulled open manually and sometimes it will cycle. Normally when a semi-auto SG is empty, doesn't it lock back like a 1911 all the time? Sometimes with a dummy shell in the tube, I'll rack the slide and it won't load the shell. It you press the "cartridge drop lever" then a shell is popped into the carrier area? Then it will rack and load. What is the purpose of this? Pulling back the charging handle and releasing repeatedly while fully loaded with dummy rounds doesn't produce a smooth loading operation. There seems to be a hickup about half way inside the receiver where the cartridge "pauses" before continuing to the chamber. Ejection seems fine. So, am I doing something wrong here or is there something wrong with my M4? I got it for a good price but not if it's defective. Do you think it's ok to take it to the range and see what's what with live ammo? Thanks in advance for any help. John

It looks like it is possible but you might have to buy an entire new stock. Anybody know what these cost and is the steady grip worth it? Thanks! John

Boy, am I glad to find a Benelli forum! Ok, there is no such thing as a stupid question, but this one may be uninformed. Can you buy a semi-auto Benelli shotgun that is multi-purpose? In other words, buy a tactical type with an 18 1/2" barrel and also buy a slug barrel and a longer barrel for bird hunting, etc. My problem is I love the way the pistol-grip tactical shotguns feel but would want to use them for more than home-defense. Conversely, maybe you can buy a M1 field with a pistol grip but get a tactical barrel as well? What do you think? Thank you for your time. John