truckcop

You mean something like this: ? Yeah, this thread went off-topic and downhill fast.

Does it operate freely when you just push up on it or does it stick up then? Did it do it from shot number 1 or did it start doing it on the way to 100. When it comes to malfunctions, the " . . . taken apart, . . . . reassembled" part is always a good place to start looking for issues. Too many variables at this point to say what it might be. Further manipulation is needed to narrow the source of the problem down.

Lack of a response is usually indicative of a lack of a solution. Have you considered the possibility that nobody here knows the answer to your question because there may not be one?

The only 3-gun factory model is the M2. If the extended tube is a one-piece from receiver to end it's an older model imported by and marked as HK. Later models imported by Benelli USA had the magazine extension as an add-on, two piece version. Even later versions didn't get imported with the extended magazine but you could still get factory extensions. The 21 inch vent rib barrel wasn't as popular as a field gun and didn't really become a thing until folks started putting them on their guns for 3-gun competition. More than likely you've found a pieces-parts gun that someone put together. Maybe. If the price is right and it isn't too beat up it'll still be a GTG gun.

Back in the day during the 90's when I got my first M1 I also found that it would not reliably cycle the pre-flitecontrol wad, low-recoil buckshot LE132-00. It needed the more standard velocity buckshot loads to work 100%. I really wanted to use the low-recoil version and found SureCycle. They made, still make, recoil tubes/springs that were designed for use with the lower recoil ammunition. While expensive, I decided to try one out and, lo and behold, their claims of proper functioning with the low recoil ammo proved to be true. For me. I never looked back. That gun and two others of that vintage including a 14" entry gun have been fitted with one of their tubes since the mid 90's and have functioned reliably ever since. While they each sometimes hiccup on really-really light birdshot training loads, the original Federal LE132-00 and the current version with the flitecontrol wads works just fine in those guns. I've never felt the need to go with the Vital Shock & Tactical version with higher velocity. I did try some out and found that it didn't pattern as well as the Tactical lower recoil version anyway so there is no need to change. If you're really set on using their Tactical lower recoil version of the load, you might try out SureCycle. Worked for me. https://www.surecycle.com/collections/sure-cycle-systems

If they're now making them for the Benelli snap-in style, good for them. I've got the air tech versions on several screw-on stocks and I'm a big fan. Keep us advised when you receive it and put it to use.

I went from a medium OEM pad to a thinner one for a shorter LOP. I didn't find that the thinner one was less comfortable than the thicker one so it stands to reason that going from a thinner one to a thicker one wouldn't really help that much. I've put limbsavers on some of my older M1's and other shotguns and the difference was quite noticeable. Unfortunately, as far as I've seen, they don't make them in the Benelli-style snap-in versions.

For the price of having all that done you could probably just buy this and save some money: https://www.gunbroker.com/item/764968605

The only thing that would be there would be the recoil spring tube. Take the recoil pad off and you'll have an idea of how much material you'll have to work with before running something into the tube. There should be plenty of room for installation of the stud.

Larger compartment could be used for a choke tube case and extra chokes.

This what you're looking for? http://www.briley.com/c-731-benelli-m4.aspx

M80 will NOT work on the M1. Completely different mounting system. Having said that, I have an old Surefire forend for an M1. It was designed for the early M1's that had the full-length magazine tube. The later M1 magazine tube was a different diameter at the receiver end and the spacer is only designed for that tube. I'll try and dig it up and post a pic. Not sure I want to get rid of it but most everything eventually has a price.

You might contact Larry's Guns in Maine. http://www.larrysguns.com/Default.aspx He lists a 5 mm front sight for the 95 but doesn't indicate whether he actually has it in stock. Even if he does he may not be able to ship it internationally. It's worth a try to contact them anyway. Larry's is about the only support in the US for those guns.

Have to agree here. Just exactly what are we seeing. Yes, I know the first two are the link that attaches to the back of the bolt body. There's obviously something there, but what? Is the "damage" you're talking about to the metal of the link or is it something else that has been deposited onto the link. The third pic shows the face of the recoil spring plunger but I don't see anything obviously amiss there. More explanation of the photos would be helpful. Oh, and, is there some reason you didn't follow your own advise: "For all new owners, check your gun prior to taking it out the range."

They were not imported for very long. For some reason they weren't very popular and, as I recall, there were issues. Longer barrel? Not gonna happen. Why would you want a longer barrel on that gun? Collapsible stock? Some may have been imported for the (probably) minuscule number of LE versions that MIGHT have been imported. Otherwise, not gonna happen. Muzzle brake? You're gonna have to send the barrel off to get it threaded if you want that. I highly doubt ANY guns with threaded barrels were imported except for the above mentioned (possibly but unlikely) LE versions and it's highly unlikely any threaded barrels came in as parts. Sling? There are a number of options there. The stock retention plate is similar in design to the older versions of the Benelli shotguns. The rear of a sling can be threaded through the slot. You'd have to get an adapter for the front and attach it to the pic rail. That stock retention plate was originally designed to allow the attachment of the old HK 3-point sling. The rear attachment point was a hook design (http://www.hkpro.com/forum/hk-reference-library/149945-hk-3-point-sling.html) that fit into the slot on the plate. You're pretty much going to have to enjoy that gun as-is. I really like the concept and nearly bought one myself a few years back but it doesn't really do anything that a regular AR won't do and the AR is much more supported in the aftermarket.

I don't run FliteControl with anything tighter than an improved cylinder choke. The wad was originally designed by a guy named Chris Billings. He manufactured ammo with the wad under the name Choke Law Enforcement Ammunition and it was designed to be shot out of cylinder bore shotguns. The design was licensed/sold/stolen? and became the FliteControl wad at Federal and I think a couple of other iterations from other manufacturers. I've tried it out of tighter chokes than IC and the patters start to be adversely affected in terms of tightness at distance. I've also found that the LE 13200 version holds tighter patterns at distance than the Vital Shock version that has a higher velocity.

Nope it's a thing. http://www.benellidefence.it/products/m3-14-door-breacher-grip-handleThe recoil mechanism is different from M4/M2 system. Recoil spring wraps around the magazine tube sort of like the Browning A5. There's no recoil spring in the butt stock and no link on the rear of the bolt.

If you've already chosen the slugs then group size will be whatever that particular slug will give you with your particular shotgun at the distance you choose to sight-in. Due to variations in shotgun barrels, i.e., length, choke, etc., and slug types, i.e., Foster, Brenneke, weight, manufacturer, etc., slug ballistics aren't as easily determined on paper as high-velocity rifle bullets. Since you're not trying different brands and types of ammo then you're going to be stuck with what you've got. Fifty yards is a suitable range for slugs although you might want to start a bit closer, maybe 25, to make sure you're at least on paper with your slug. Then it's just a matter of dialing it in for your desired range. For the same reasons noted above, the amount of adjustment needed to make a desired change in impact will be specific to your slug. You'll just have to trial-and-error it.

This is an example of what's known to a lot of us as the "Benelli click". I'll call it "BC". Since the locking head doesn't rotate fully into battery, pulling the trigger results in a . . . . Well, you know. There are many pontificated solutions that have been bandied about over the years. Thorough cleaning and lubrication are the more common. Ammo selection is another. A stronger/replacement recoil spring is another. Some solutions work on some guns. Others are more frustrating. Myself, I found solutions for two of my guns that consistently manifested the "BC". On one, I switched locking heads between the one that had the problem and one that didn't, in an effort to narrow down the cause. Upon doing so, the one that had the problem stopped having the problem. The one that didn't have the problem continued to not have the problem. ??? Go figure. Regardless, problem solved on the one gun. An older M1 with a blued locking head also did the BC. I purchased a chromed locking head and, voila, problem went away. I don't know what the underlying problem is other than possibly slight variances in the tolerances between the locking head and the barrel extension it locks into. Benelli never seemed to acknowledge there was an actual problem. UNTIL, that is, when they recently re-designed the bolt/locking head on the Ethos (I think), and now the SBE3. There's now a detent mechanism that operates on the closing bolt that appears to eliminate the problem. Unfortunately, the new bolt/locking head are not backwards compatible with the older guns.

It isn't a real issue. When the bolt is forward the lugs on the locking head are rotated into the recesses on the barrel extension. However, except for its forward position, there's nothing that is physically keeping the locking head "locked" into position. If you pull the barrel off with the bolt closed, the locking head will just come forward with the barrel until the cam pin rotates the head, freeing the lugs from their recesses in the extension. The barrel will come off normally.

1/2 - You have to remove the tube from the receiver. 3 - Yes, Benelli uses thread locker on original builds. If your gunsmith removed it, didn't use thread locker when it was re-assembled, and it's loose, just unscrew it from the receiver to deal with 1/2. 4 - It isn't absolutely necessary to use thread locker on the tube. Just make sure the tube is hand-tight before re-assembling the gun. When it's reassembled, the barrel nut and barrel assembly will keep the tube from backing out. For peace of mind, you could use blue thread locker which makes removing the tube less of an issue than with the original OEM thread locker.

Haven't tried it on a SG magazine cap but I use Loctite anti-seize compound on my threaded pistol barrels and it keeps the thread protectors from backing off.

I'm not them but the primary purpose of a rail on the receiver was for mounting an optic. With the optic mount integrated into the rail, the rail really became superfluous. Hence the redesign to omit the rail portion. That's my guess anyway.

I wouldn't go much tighter than Improved Cylinder. Buckshot does not respond to tighter chokes in the same way that birdshot does. If you're looking for extended range out of buckshot, ammo selection is your best bet. Go with Federal loads using the Flitecontrol wads. I've found that the 00 buck patterns tighter than the 000 and the 00 Tactical (reduced recoil) loads do much better than the full-power loads. That's my guns. The Flitecontrol wads work much better with no restriction (cylinder bore choke). You should try different loads to see what patterns best in yours.

"I don't know if it's a function of the rounds I'm using, temperature of the barrel/bolt, speed/force I'm working the action in the excitement of the moment, or what." Eliminate that last thing first. Sometimes, under the "stress" of trying to make a quick second shot when there's an actual flying target to get, I've been known to short-stroke it. Take it to the range, load it up with the ammo you've been using and crank off rounds downrange as quickly and forcefully as you can. If you still have the problem, eliminate that first thing and change ammo. If it's not happening with your practice rounds, it might not happen with another brand/type of ammo. Try several different makes. If it's still happening then you may have a mechanical issue. I doubt temperature has anything to do with it.