StrangerDanger

Benelliwerks has the best tools. I imagine all the tools are in special boxes with labels like the Toy Story 2 guy that rebuilds Woody! Your vice is pretty similar too, I have the Wilton 1745 Trademan. I paid $495 for it back in 2018. I just priced one now since things have been built back better, and apparently my vice should be in the safe since it now goes for $1,014.00. 🤨

Nice work.

I'm a fan of the DMW one as well. The TTI one is okay, but I prefer the design of the DMW over it. The X-Rail one was way too big.

Either the bolt handle wasn’t machined correctly or the detent is damaged. Benelli would be the first stop to see if you can get them to warranty it. Getting the detent out of the bolt carrier is not an easy task. It takes specialized punches and finger dexterity that approaches the insane. Even roll pin holders are of no use since the pin is so short. The punch is so small that they’re easy to break. Getting that tiny pin out without damaging anything is one of my least favorite Benelli M4 jobs. Getting it back in without damaging the spring it retains is even worse.

Those were made by SideArmor which turned into Asgard Defense in Flagstaff Arizona. They were discontinued and had several different versions over the years. They were kind of heavy and gave a bunch of rail you didn’t really need.

You sure it isn’t your finger slapping the trigger a second time during recoil? On the Benelli, if the hammer isn’t being retained by the trigger or disconnector sear, the hammer will beat the bolt carrier’s movement. So you end up with the hammer forward against the bolt carrier. I’d take the trigger pack out and manipulate the hammer with the trigger pulled to see if the disconnector is engaging several times. See if the hammer is slipping past the sear and dropping. See as you release the trigger that the hammer disconnects from the disconnector and engages the trigger sear. You should be able to see this and hear this occurring.

Rubicon’s right about the DG finish. It matches better than the oem one does. A little bit of weight cut to make it quicker to snap to targets and offset the weight gain from the weapon light.

Nice setup. I'd get the titanium magazine tube from carriercomp for it and a BlueForceGear padded QD sling.

Even the OEM collapsible stocks will have a little bit of wobble. Some are better than others.

Nice work!

I think his goal is to replace the two parts I listed since the Promag version comes with Chinesium grade components that don't hold up.

I've never done it before, but I have read that the OEM collapsible parts fit the Promag stock. So you'll need to source those parts from a place like Numrich Arms. https://www.gunpartscorp.com/gun-manufacturer/benelli/shotguns-benelli/semi-auto-shotguns/m4-super-90 I guess I'd replace: 114 - Retaining Pin 116 - Button You can remove 114 by removing the plastic cheek comb via the three screws on the top. This will allow you to drive the 114 retaining pin out from the bottom of the stock. There may be some staking at the top of the stock to push thru, but it doesn't really matter and it is easily driven out. I would then replace the button. The Benelli button is the hardest steel I have ever seen. To remove it, you'll want to depress the button slightly while driving the roll pin out from the front of the stock rearward. If it is like the oem setup, there will be a greasy spring beneath the button. Put the spring on the new button and depress it into the stock while hammering the roll pin back into place from the front of the stock to the rear. You want to depress the button slightly while you hammer it in to prevent any chance of damaging the spring with the roll pin. So it is kind of a three hand job. You'll want to have the stock on a bench so one hand can stabilize it, and press the button in with your middle and ring finger while holding the roll pin at the same time between your thumb and pointer finger. Then hammer with the other hand. Then reinstall the cheek comb.

Buy with confidence. I've bought stuff from Sukhoi_fan for like ten years off and on. Never any issues.

I hate the attachment system for the rail, but it does offer excellent positioning for a weapon light. The fact that you have to remove your mounted items in order to separate the rail from the barrel assembly to access the ARGO system is retarded. Ergonomics are meh compared to the OEM polymer handguard.

No, the hand guards are considered one piece. Which means the oem set isn’t counting against you twice either. 922 is an asinine invention of politicians, so it’s guaranteed not to make any sense.

If you do a lot of gun cleaning, I'd recommend getting an ultrasonic cleaner from Harbor Freight. I filled mine with Hoppes #9. That thing makes sort work of most carbon deposits. The solvent leaves a nice protective film behind. I don't use the heating element since it isn't needed. Running the ultrasonic for a few minutes agitates the bubbles to the point that the parts will be hot to the touch. I just leave the liquid in the ultrasonic tank with the lid on it. Having a dunk tank of sorts improves your efficiency in cleaning systems. Like when I tear down a Glock, I'll strip the slide and pull out the striker assembly, then dump the slide, main spring, barrel, extractor, plungers, back plate in. I have a small wire basket that I put the tiny parts in. I'll only do the striker if I feel necessary to disassemble the striker. Same applies for something like the Benelli. You wouldn't want to throw an assembled trigger pack into it, but the components, absolutely. Bolt carriers and ARGO system parts fit perfect. The Hoppes #9 leaves some sort of protective film behind. I then lubricate as needed. I think I'm on my fourth liter of Hoppes after 8 years of use. So the evaporational losses are minimal. I kind of abuse it too, like I clean nasty greasy tools from automotive type work. For an example, I inherited nearly a 1,000 sockets of various sizes from my dad last year, he didn't take very good care of his tools, so I put all of them thru the ultrasonic tank to clean them up. There is probably a layer of sludge on the bottom of the tank, but I don't see it or have any issues with it preventing the system from working or cleaning right. Having the tank with the cleaner open is great for dipping Q-tips into for cleaning larger parts that won't fit into the tank. For bore work, I do the bore snake and have a Tornado brush for removing lead. The ultrasonic tank is surprisingly cheap. I'm certain there are better models out there, but this is a solid entry level model. https://www.harborfreight.com/25-liter-ultrasonic-cleaner-63256.html

I think the switch occurred around 2014, but I may be off a little. Do a full trigger test once you've done that trigger swap. I've done a few of those triggers that needed fitting to make function properly. The hammer would hang on the disconnector. So familiarize yourself with how the sears engage on your OEM pack before doing the work. How the hammer engages the disconnector, then slips past the disconnector to the trigger sear. How it behaves when pulling and holding the trigger to the rear vs. no pull on the trigger and rocking the hammer to the rear and engaging it. Make certain the safety is performing as intended. I'd also recommend using a good grease on the sear contacts, any will do fine but I've had really good luck with the standard weight Brian Enos' Slide Glide. One tube is probably a lifetime supply for the average shooter.

Sounds like those shells don't have enough dram to cycle properly. Does the problem occur with other heavier rounds? The firearm looks to be relatively new based on the minimal wear pattern around the ejection port. One test you can do is to have someone film the action with a modern cellphone that does slow motion. This will let you see what the bolt carrier is doing during the recoil cycle. You're looking to see if the bolt carrier is traveling all the way to the rear or short stroking, which appears to be what is occurring. Obviously having a clean system with a good lubricant is important. If the action is struggling to overcome friction or fouling, it's wasting that energy trying to do that rather than cycling fully. On lower dram shells, this can be important since you're riding the edge of functionality. Shooting stance and bracing can help. I don't know your shooting skill level, but many people struggle with bracing a 12 gauge properly. They allow their shoulder to roll during recoil which robs the action of energy. You want to be providing a solid base for the buttpad to recoil against. Some guys dedicate shotguns to shooting lower dram loads will install reduced power main springs to permit it to cycle. You'd want to avoid putting full power loads into a gun modified like that. Lighter main springs also provide less energy for cycling the bolt carrier back forward, so they are more prone to hanging up and jamming since sometimes shells need motivation to get chambered, particularly as the gun gets dirtier.

Thanks for the recommendations. Transferring a NFA item can be complicated. When asking the ATF, they recommend getting permission from the ATF for each leg of the transfer which takes a while. However, their wording is vague and it seems to just be a recommendation rather than a mandate. Your extension is definitely off. It wasn't intentionally set that way. Whoever did the installation permitted the extension to slip while torquing the jam nut and didn't notice or care to check their work. You'd think they'd have a jig set up to do this kind of work? I'd recommend tackling the job yourself if you're willing. If you need help guiding your way thru it, I'd be glad to give you my number for text or calls.

The traditional M4 weighs in at 7.8 pounds unloaded. This new model with its rail and different stock weigh in at 8.4 lbs. Considering most of the new stock is polymer, my guess is most of the gain lives in that rail. I'd assume this rail is either 6065 or 7075 aluminum. So its a bit of a chonker. Looking at the rail closer, I don't think those are MLOK/Keymod sockets. It appears to have threaded holes for attaching Picatinny rail sections. In two years, I'll be at 20 years on this platform. I've been riding the struggle bus chasing a proper rail system all that time for the sole purpose of mounting a weapon light in an efficient manner. Nothing beats the ergonomics of the OEM polymer handguards, extra points if they're stippled professionally. Every rail system out there for the Benelli M4 has been poorly designed. Poor installation systems that require the use of tools to service the firearm. Terrible ergonomics where you're holding onto a Pringles can. Stupidly positioned Picatinny/MLOK/Keymod rail positions that have little to no thought process on why they are there. Failure inducing designs where the rail makes contact with the gas pistons. All add substantial weight to the firearm. All rail systems abandon the enclosed ARGO piston design that keeps debris out and gases trapped inside. This is why the IWC weapon light mount is so popular for the M4. It gets you a serviceable light mounting solution without ruining the firearm with stupid crap. Unfortunately the mounting solution isn't perfect either on 18.5" M4's. Most of these rail systems require that you remove all of your accessories from the rail in order to slide the thing off of the barrel assembly. So after you've locked all your screws in with thread locker to keep them from being shaken loose, you get to do it over and over again for general maintenance of the ARGO system.

Here are a couple shots of various Scout style mountings directly to the IWC mount.

The polymer trigger frame is plenty strong. I've never seen any that have been damaged. The OEM cast aluminum frames are really rough. There are voids and pin holes in the surface that formed during their forging. Most have significant casting marks. I've cleaned up some that would cut your fingers if you ran them over it. You can file them down, but you'll get stuck refinishing it. The polymer frames are a little lighter than the aluminum ones too. I don't use the ramp on the A&S Engineering frames. Their machining is very nice since they're machined billets. Wish they'd upgrade to a 7075 aluminum series though.

Evolution is correct. You can eliminate a lot of complexity and extra parts by removing the picatinny rail section and screwing the body of the Surefire directly to the IWC. You will however loose the ability to quickly remove the light from the firearm via the thumb screw. Eliminating the thumb screw eliminates a failure point that is common. 12 gauge likes to shake them loose under recoil unless you have retard strength. If you want to mount the light body directly to the IWC, you'll need to remove the two small torx bits shown in your photos. This will remove the thumb screw picatinny clamp assembly. Then you'll remove the picatinny rail from the IWC mount itself. You'll be left with two holes in the IWC mount that the screws will go thru from the bottom into the light body. So you'll need to remove the IWC mount from the firearm in order to get these screws in place. I'd recommend using a threadlocker like blue Loctite on these screws.

Unfortunately no, not without modifying the lamp head on a lathe. The head diameter is something like 1.375".

Looks like yet another rail that wasn't designed by someone who uses a firearm in the field. Terrible ergonomics compared to the polymer handguard. Added weight. No placements for lights that make sense. They'll sell a ton.