StrangerDanger

Pretty good rail. I do have some issues with it though. It sits higher than the factory rail due to the aluminum extrusion it sits on. This will affect cheek weld to a noticeable degree for mounted optics. The higher mount mixed with the full true spec picatinny rail will obscure the front iron sight moreso than say the carriercomp top rail. With the addition of the extrusion, it does weigh more than the carriercomp option. Nothing severe, just a few more ounces. Some have reported issues with the mounting hardware stripping the fine threads within the aluminum receiver. This could be ooperator error though. The price is pretty high too. Have you considered a WTB ad for the carriercomp top rail?

What you're seeing here is fear and the user falling back on his training, or lack there of. During extreme fear/stress, everyone falls to their level of training. These failures in equipment are supposed to be found during a training environment if it is truly a maintenance or user failing. I do not fault him at all. Hopefully he took from this engagement a new found issue to address. Certainly his immediate supervisor should make sure that is the case.

As some of you know, I'm not too financially biased towards my purchases when it comes to giving a real world opinion regarding a product. A few months ago, I saw the BLAM4 mount mentioned here on the Benelli site. The company was selling the item through Brownells ... but it had been backordered for a while. Last week, thanks to another member here, I discovered that they were back in stock. Defining a goal. As in BD or Business Development, you should have a goal in mind for everything you approach. My goals were quite simple; 1. Add a weapon light to a Benelli M4 with the least amount of weight. 2. Maintain an applicable activation method. 3. Retain legacy features such as sling mounting options and the use of a carriercomp top receiver rail. 4. Ergonomics should not suffer. 5. Minimize snag hazards. 6. Continue to use QD sling mounts fore and aft. I moved from a SideArmor rail assembly to a Surefire M80 method due to weight constraints, snag hazards and some ergonomic issues. The top rail would crowd my hand on the forearm. The SideArmor used the top rail of the receiver to mount to the weapon. The rail height was higher than the factory specifications and interfered with cheek weld. Side mounted accessories protruded from the weapon significantly. Mounted weapon lights presented a snag hazard and were often subject to impacts. The M80 was significantly lighter in weight and allowed for the use of the carriercomp top rail. With modifications to the rail, a low profile method of attaching the weapon light was an option. It also counted towards 922® parts compliance. The ergonomics of the M80 were the primary failing. Even with low profile LaRue Index Clips, the rail felt large in the hand. Each time of use, I was longing for the ergonomics of the factory handguard. The weight was still more than stock. The use of the rail with covers probably added about half a pound over stock weight. This brings us back around to the BLAM4. It is a very simple device. It mounts in place of the factory front sling loop. It's a piece of bent steel with a Magpul MOE picatinny segment attached. The question was, how to attach a sling and a weapon light on the left side of the weapon so that I can continue to use my thumb to activate the momentary/constant on switch of a Surefire M600c on such a short rail segment? The BLAM4 allowed me to use the factory handguards. This was a huge boost in ergonomics. The weight penalty was less than the Surefire M80. I'm looking at a hit of about 3 ounces rather than 6. The weapon light is mounted further forward than I could manage on the M80. This allows me to hold the weapon further forward and reduce the amount of barrel shadowing when using the weapon light. I opted to reverse the BLAM4 so the rail section faces forward rather than aft. This pushes my light further forward and puts my front sling point out further. This helps avoid interference with my support hand. I do have some dislikes though. The rail segment isn't long enough. My QD mount is only held on by the biting tension of the mount, rather than a cross bolt because there isn't enough rail real estate. One more segment would have made everything work perfectly. Cosmetically, the unit is ugly compared to the full rail systems available. However, when it comes down to it, I couldn't care any less about how it looks. The only thing I care about is having a weapon light attached with the least amount of weight. It doesn't hurt that the device costs significantly less than other options. Placement of the light feels really good. It's out of the way but easy to access with your support hand. Once I play with it a little more and decide to keep it, I'll order a set of FFT factory reproduction handguards to pay my dues to the 922® thieves.

You need to 86 the factory choke wrench and get a Briley's wrench that will let you torque the choke down properly. You'll get a lot more leverage. http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=1827/Product/CHOKE-TUBE-SPEED-WRENCH

Mod's killed him with fire. Yuri Bezmenov videos are worth watching for anyone interested in not visiting an internment camp and their body orifices searched for valuables.

Good luck with that Wayne. Something tells me that you and Pol Pot would get along initially, then not so much when they're pulling your teeth out with pliers. I envision a world where internet spammers are killed like terrorists. Hellfire missiles launched from a Predator drone to kill the trash living in his mother's basement.

Mine came in yesterday. It seems rather well built. Sturdier than I was expecting honestly. I haven't installed it yet because I'm still waiting on a snap ring to arrive from Benelli. I'm hoping there is enough rail room to install a Daniel Defense QD sling mount on the front of the rail, then install the GearSector offset mount behind it. If it works, I'll be ordering a set of FFT factory reproduction stocks to maintain 922® compliance. Overall, it will be lighter weight and more ergonomic. The weapon light will be positioned further forward. This will reduce barrel shadowing. I haven't decided if I am going to mount the rail pointing forward, or rearward towards the handguard yet.

The M4 chokes come with little grooves to indicate what restriction it is at the front edge so you can determine what choke is in place when it is installed. It is Improved Modified. Do not fire the M4 without the choke installed. The shot/slugs will damage the threading.

****, most companies just give pink slips for their 20 year mark since you're a detriment to their insurance rates! I don't think he meant the Super Nova is 20 years old. He received it for 20 years of service.

I believe the two position tubes were removed from the original military M4's. The M1014 and 11703 both had the bastardized neutered fixed position stock.

Looks great! Is that the factory snap ring, or does it come with its own?

Here are a couple shots demonstrating the use of the momentary/constant on function of the tail cap. If the sling was mounted just in front or just behind the GearSector mount, this wouldd put the sling in a position that will interfere with your hand placement. The further the sling is mounted towards the muzzle, the more control you'll have over muzzle swing. So with this new upgrade, I hope to at least move the sling forward. My guess is the mount will move around a little like the sling mount does. So mounting a laser device is a waste of time.

You notice that it's a Magpul MOE plastic picatinny rail? This could be interesting with a longer rail section pointed towards the muzzle. That short rail will never fit a QD sling mount and a weapon light. However, a a longer section that Magpul sells would work quite nicely. You could mount the offset light at the rear, and mount the QD sling mount further forward to avoid obstruction. I'm not sure how tough these MOE rail sections are though. A wet dream for me would be to 86 the Surefire M80 and push the light and sling mount forward and return to a FFT reproduction stock. Shave half a pound of weight and have a more stable forward mounted sling. I have a slew of parts to try some different options with though. So I might be able to make this work with what I have on hand. The way the manufacturer plans for you to use this product is fail. It sticks you with the only option of mounting the weapon light on the opposite side of your sling mount. So running the light with momentary thumb control is out the window.

I'm going to buy one of these too. I'd like to experiment with it. Thanks for the heads up that they're back in stock.

Dislikes of the Urbino: I dislike the attachment method. It is a step backwards in design for the M4. The use of a screw to retain the stock is a poor design. The screw attaches to the end of the receiver extension. This threaded point free floats within the end of the receiver extension. If any type of thread locker is used, the fastener will seize to the threaded screw within the receiver extension. When you attempt to remove this screw, it will back the receiver extensions screw out with it. Then you're really screwed. People have had to cut their stock open to try to get their receiver extension threaded stock cap back. So locktite is bad on this stock. Others have had problems with the stock loosening during shooting without the aid of locktite. On the factory stocks, this simply cannot happen. The stocks are screwed onto the receiver extension, then indexed and timed by the position of the trigger group. It's simple and effective. There are at least two of these events documented here on the Benelli Forum in the past few months. The company replaced the stock, but they were left to source the other items from Brownells that were damaged. The pistol grips ergonomics are sub-par compared to the Benelli M4's factory stock options. I've heard that limbsaver will fit one of their recoil pads to the M4. I never noticed much ergonomics difference between the collapsible stock and the factory pistol grip stock. If the standard stock works for you, use it. If you prep the receiver with alcohol, I bet you won't have any issues with the 3gunnergear pealing off. I've never heard of anyone complaining about its durability.

I've ran setups on both the SideArmor and the Surefire M80 rail assembly. I stuck with the M80. 1. Have the option of mounting an Aimpoint T1 with a low LaRue mount The best top rail bar none is the carriercomp replacement. It maintains the same rail height. Doesn't obstruct your iron sights. Uses the factory fasteners so you know they won't strip the receiver. Cheaper option than most. Prevents the installation of the SideArmor or Mesa top carriers. 2. mount a Surefire light. The best setup I've found is the Surefire M600C on a GearSector offset mount attached to the Surefire M80 rail. Stick with the push button momentary/constant on tailcap. 3. Mount a shell carrier (6-8 shells) The best setup is the velcro models from 3gunnergear. You can get multiple velcro carriers and rip the entire velcro carrier off and replace it with a full unit from a chest rig if needed. I like this solution because you're not relying on the top rail fasteners to secure the heavy shell carrier to the weapon. Impacts can cause stripping of the fine aluminum receiver threads. If you're dead set on getting an aluminum shell carrier, the SideArmor unit is the best. I would opt for the model with the sight channel cut. My old unit had the channel cut and I never had any issues with damaging the LaRue mounts. I would highly recommend going with the nylon unit though. 4. Mount a good two point sling I used QD mounts and attached to the Surefire M80 rail via a GearSector mount. At the rear, I installed a Mesa Tactical Sling mount on my collapsible stock. I had put a QD mount on a fixed pistol grip stock previously. I bought one of the ambidextrous QD sling mounts from Magpul for their UBR. The QD cup is threaded, so I just bought a bolt long enough to go through the stock and into the QD sling cup. I added a washer on each side to spread the load. You can pretty much drill through any part of the stock that the recoil tube doesn't protrude though. My sling is a BlueForceGear VCAS padded sling with QD ends. I'm still experimenting with sling point positions. Mounting the sling too far forward will obstruct your hand placement and access to the weapon light activation. I'm considering buying this part and pushing my GearSector QD sling mount further forward and out of the way of my weapon light: http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=44716/Product/BENELLI-M4-BLAM-4-LIGHT-MOUNT The jerk offs are never in stock though. 5. Mount a forward facing two shell carrier for slugs or emergency reloads 3gunner Gear has a nylon strap setup for this. However, the SideArmor unit would probably be better. SideArmor setup Surefire M80 setup The Surefire M80 is a lighter setup. I had the lighter version of the Sidearmor rail that isn't sold anymore. The Mod 2 is heavier since you cannot remove the side rails. Without the center cut down the SideArmor rail, it will obstruct your iron sights. You'll barely see the top edge of the front sight over the rail. You can disassemble the weapon with the SideArmor unit in place. It is a little more complicated to disassemble though. Putting the bolt carrier group into the receiver is a two finger affair dangling it under the top rail. No tools are required to disassemble it though. I had issues with the attachment knob at the front loosening after a hundred rounds or so. No matter how tight I turned it. A benefit of the SideArmor is you get to use the factory or FFT handguards which are more ergonomically pleasing in my opinion than the Surefire M80. The Surefire M80 pulls the light closer to the centerline of the weapon when a GearSector offset mount is used. On the SideArmor, it hangs off like a wall wart. Given that you've made the weapon 922® compliant for even using a collapsible stock, I'd highly recommend getting one. The middle position works great for the Aimpoint T1. As the stock slides up the receiver extension, it presents a slightly higher cheek weld that is perfect for the higher mount. The fully extended position is identical in LOP to the fixed pistol grip stock. I would avoid the Urbino at this point until a newer version is released.

I noticed this when I bought mine as well. Seems like a cost saving measure for DMW. Getting the retention detent out without destroying the spring is the hard part. I wish DMW supplied or sold a tool modified to compress the spring while driving out the retention pin. No matter how hard you try, 1/8 inch of the spring usually ends up getting mashed. Removal of several coils on this spring does make the safety much easier to engage and disengage. Remove too many coils, and it is unsafe.

Nice pictures Benelliwerks. I like your snap ring pliers. They look much more stable than the cheap set I have. This job was easier to do than I had expected. I followed Benelliwerks advice about how far to move the cam pin. It'll save you some reassembly trouble. Benelliwerks modified tools are always the best too. I'd buy some of his creations if he sold them.

Thanks for doing all the phone leg work!

I don't pretend to be a law expert, so what I would say is, when Benelli starts bringing in M4's un-neutered, or at the very least starts selling the collapsible stocks and full length magazine tubes, you will have a definitive answer. Even though my M4 is currently 922® compliant, I would like to see this law in the graveyard of bad mistakes like the 94' Assault Weapons Ban. Wasn't there a ATF study floating around a few months ago where they were bemoaning the imported shotguns? It had a bunch of nonsense like the width of the receiver. I'd try to call Benelli and ask them, but when you get stuck in low level phone loops, it is pretty pointless this early in the game.

Sounds like a great deal. Sounds like you got a carriercomp titanium magazine tube. See if you also received one of his US made followers. It will be marked USA. carriercomp tubes are considered the best out there.

Here's a shot of mine. The selector is set to FIRE. It feels real similar to how the safety is on a 1911. I never liked the idea of uusing my trigger finger to return the AR15 platform back to safe. Using my thumb required me to shift my grip so I could drag the selector back to SAFE. You can ride the selector with your thumb the entire time so you have a positive feel for the condition of the weapon. The shorter distance of the throw is a little faster too.

Don't lube the pistons or ARGO system at all unless you like a lot of smoke. You should grease the hammer and disconnector hooks. Heavy lube on the BCG rails. Moderate on the bolt itself and where the tail of the BCG link. Light surface coating on interior of receiver and on the body of the BCG. Metal surfaces should receive a light dry to the touch coating.