StrangerDanger

Other side? Like left handed models?

Might be an issue. I’ll have to test that. The path is pretty narrow for it to dim due to that long fluted pipe that covers the sensor. I’m not sure if you’re dueling flashlights would be of much benefit other than blinding both of you. The light from these units is really clean. One of the best I’ve seen from Surefire. It might be from the larger bezel.

Got in a Surefire M600IB last night to test on the Benelli. Unfortunately the 1.37” bezel is too large to fit with the Ava Tactical mount. I was on the fence concerning the IntelliBeam function of this light until I got to mess with it for a while. The reduction in lumens with shining the light on a close range object like a wall works great. There isn’t much or any delay in how fast the light output changes. Bouncing 600 lumens off a white wall 10’ away will make your eyes hurt. This dials it back significantly to like 100 lumens. You don’t have to do anything special with the switch. No modes or complicated crap. Just mash the momentary/constant on button and it does all the work for you. I migrated the unit unit to my AR15 and stole its 500 lumen Standard lamp for the second Benelli. I’m kind of glad it doesn’t fit the Benelli, or is have to buy two more.

We tested the real H2O's we built with high speed cameras to test how they were performing through the ejection cycle. The ejected shells end up in about the same place as an un-plated. The cyclic speed isn't increased much from the process. What is immediately felt is how smooth everything functions. One of the new H20's feels like my broken in 11703 with 15k rounds on it. One could say it would be more reliable when dealing with fouling and lack of care. I found the plated models to be more reliable with weaker loads like Winchester valuepack #8 and less prone to short stroking. I definitely shoot the plated ones better over stock. I haven't found the need to re-spring the unit or change the weight of the bolt carrier in any way. No signage of the bolt impacting the rear of the receiver either. When shooting these plated guns, there is an obvious difference between a stock gun and the plated ones. There is less of that mechanical chugging feel as the action is cycles. Where you feel the bolt hit the hammer, then the bolt impacting the back of the receiver, then throwing it forward, picking up the next round on the elevator and finally slamming home. All these high spots in the inertia curve are smoothed over. There are some drawbacks or bad sides to plating; 1. It's a PITA to have done. I don't trust the Robar gunsmiths to properly disassemble/reassemble. The skip a lot of small parts to plate or claim components cannot come apart when they really do. 2. They take forever to do a job. 3 - 4 months is typical. 3. It's expensive. 4. You can have any color you want as long as it's silver. I've had Cerakote applied over the NP3+ with positive results even though they claim it won't adhere. 5. Marginal increase in performance. Other areas are dramatically improved like when you unload the M4 by pressing on the inside of the shell release. Every stock M4 is a PITA to get the rounds to come out. Especially the last round in the magazine tube. On the plated units, they're buttery smooth. Cleaning is really easy with the plating. Most fouling just wipes off of the components. Very little effort is required on really bad areas like the pistons. On these H2O extreme builds, I disassemble the ARGO plugs and plate all the internal components except the spring and o-ring. I'm very happy with the A&S Engineering trigger guards. I also prefer an aluminum unit over the polymer plastic ones. These machined units are a step above the OEM aluminum ones. The color matches the H2O's well. I bought a second one for myself to mount on my burnt bronze M4. I'm going to NP3+ plate the trigger guard, then have my Cerakote guy paint the visible portions burnt bronze. The Cerakote painted M4's are kind of sloppy. Example, they don't paint the area under where the front barrel hanger covers the magazine tube. This is fine since the Cerakote will get scraped by installing the barrel over and over. The issue is they did a very poor job taping it up before painting. It isn't even close to being evenly painted. As you twist the magazine tube, you can see how uneven of a job was done. Sticking with the H2O name is kind of a misnomer. Cerakote isn't going to provide the corrosion resistance properties on the steel components.

I'm not sure exactly when but there were manufacturing date codes in this M4 from 2016. I believe the bolt carrier just has the standard phosphate finish on it. They really cheaped up the H2O series. The Cerakote is okay, but it isn't as tough as they make it sound. I had to remove some of it to do a loading port bevel job to match a A&S trigger guard and TTI lifter; and it scrapes off rather easily. Like if you slipped with the bolt handle while pushing the trigger pin out, it would without a doubt scratch the finish to the anodizing below.

I've done about a 100 of these now, so it's in good hands. I just did one of the lame H2O's Benelli recently released where they didn't bother to NP3 plate anything, they just painted the exterior in a silverish Cerakote finish. I had to remove the magazine tube and the receiver extension since the gun is going to Robar for actual NP3+ finishing. In the process, the receiver was not burned in any way during their removal.

The amount of shot suspending debris flying during the cycling is amazing. Our high speed cameras show how much is flying in the action. flush out the recoil spring area and apply a light lubricant to the area. You don’t want a grease since it will make the action sluggish. Particularly in the cold. I would focus on ammo first though. My Benelli M4 hates Winchester valuepack but eats Federal valuepack all day long. The lighter the loads, the more susceptible they are to failure if the shooter isn’t firmly holding the weapon in place.

Minimal market volume is the main issue. Cost is also an issue. People going full out building up M4’s end up spending a lot for marginal improvements. I’ve had people drop 4K outfitting these shotguns. That doesn’t count the cost of the weapon itself. We do have quite a few companies that specialize parts for this platform. Ava Tactical was built and designed here. IWC is now supporting the platform. Scalarworks was specifically made for us. Carriercomp and FFT have both been providing product for years. I’m happy to see companies like A&S step in to the market and approach products I didn’t think anyone would ever try. We do get crappy brands come through and try to get in to the market. I don’t blame them for trying but wish they would provide a product that is equal or superior to OEM. Some may remember my fights with ATI when their owner got butt hurt over my comments about their product. When given the opportunity to send their item for unbiased testing on my test bed M4, they refused even though I would have sent it back after the reviewing process. TTI has had hits and misses. This forum rum is a lot slower than it used to be. In the past you’d come daily and find a dozen new threads. Lately you’re lucky to find a single one with activity.

Thanks! I personally like picture tutorials better than video ones. Video ones are rarely filmed well.

[video=youtube_share;z7RD5776u3A] Pretty cool video of these trigger packs from A&S being made.

I found the fit to be solid. No unwanted movement anywhere. They’re a step above the oem aluminum units with machined surfaces and zero casting marks. The surface is also a lot smoother so moving mechanical components operate smoother.

20 bucks is a good price for Cerakote for a one off item that'll need taped up. I would recommend leaving their finish in place on the interior. Cerakote can be a little thick and might cause tolerance stacking issues where your shell elevator may not move as freely. I'd just have them paint the visible exterior areas. If you're going to bevel the loading port, wait to paint so you can have the receiver refinished as well. The only area you need to really pay attention to when beveling these is the pin that holds the shell stop in place. I do them by hand which takes about 4-5 hours. I shape it with a flat file, then use a dremel with a flexible end to finish shaping it. I then polish down to 2000 grit with the sandpapers wrapped around a flat edge. By the time I'm done, the aluminum is a near mirror finish.

Glad I could help!

Wouldn't be surprised if they file bankruptcy in the next year or so.

A big middle finger salute to Photobucket for messing up all my image URL's. Just spent a couple hours moving the pictures to Imagru. Hopefully we won't have any issues for a while.

I've never looked in to it to be honest. I'll end up getting this bolt carrier plated in Np3+.

I'm not seeing one?

I couldn't resist!

If available still, I'll take the bolt carrier group.

You could easily have the visible portion of the trigger guard Cerakoted whatever color you desired really cheap. Just leave the internal areas its natural anodized finish. Im happy with the units.

The glue? Some have sent the regular sights to tooltech and had Trijicons put in. I think they have more of the white ring around them for daytime visibility.

I'd consider a Limbsaver for that Magpul UBR to take some bite off of the perceived recoil.

I know the ones from Salient are ported. Never tried one to see how much of a reduction in recoil they provide vs the increased noise and flash generated. Magnaport may be an option.

That can help. I would not recommend any trigger job type work on the sear contact points. While it may seem nice at first, the soft material below will quickly deform and cause issues. Use a good grease like Brian Enos' Slide Glide on the sear contact points. This will make a marginal improvement on the break.

I had bad luck with the TTI springs. Light primer strikes after installing their hammer spring. Spring kits provide minimal benefit in most cases.