NoTycoon

I have tried both the velcro and hard mounted side shell holders. Don't like either. I use a chest rig that holds 24 rounds. It has a quick release belt.

I never had to "break in" my M4. Out of the box, it ate everything. The only issues I have had is in extreme cold conditions, even now, where it will sometimes FTE/stovepipe with low FPS loads. 00 Buck is a great home defense round. It's like putting a spread of nine 9mm's in a single shot.

I use the Briley Mobil Choke Spectrum Ported Chokes. Choke constriction is marked on band so there is no need to remove choke to verify size. As to the slug question, you may not want to shoot a sabot slug through a Mod choke.

Many time in 3-gun competition, I have encountered a stage that required shooting slugs and bird shot and I have chosen to use the Modified choke for the bird shot distances. The slugs work fine through the Mod choke (M4).

I'll put some electrical tape over the back end to cover the shiny spot. ?????

kenw111, make up your mind ?! I shoot mine a lot in 3-gun competitions and does not need to look pretty.?

They do make the 20ga in a wood stock; however, they do not make a left handed 20ga. You did not mention for what purpose you will be using the gun. There are many light recoil 12 ga shells on the market and I know of many "lighter framed female" shooters who use 12ga shotguns. To get a quality gun that checks off all of your needs (left handed, 20ga, nice wood stock, light recoil), take a look at the Beretta A400 Xplor Action Left Handed. For you, getting a left handed gun should be more important than getting a wood stock. Therefore, for a good left handed 20ga with synthetic stock, go with the Benelli M2. One last word of advice, go shoot a few guns (even if you have to shoot right handed) to get the feel of the differences. Good luck.

They do make the 20ga in a wood stock; however, they do not make a left handed 20ga. You did not mention for what purpose you will be using the gun. There are many light recoil 12 ga shells on the market and I know of many "lighter framed female" shooters who use 12ga shotguns. For you, getting a left handed gun should be more important than getting a wood stock. Therefore, if a 20ga is still your preference, go with the Benelli M2. One last word of advice, go shoot a few guns (even if you have to shoot right handed) to get the feel of the differences.

I, originally had a Trijicon RMR with Scalarworks mount (for the co-witness). However, the Trijicon was difficult to see when the sun was over my right shoulder. I change over to a Vortex Razor and a rail mount. A side by side compare of the Trijicon and the Vortex (looking into a shaded area) shows the Vortex has much clearer glass with less side distortion. Also, the Vortex has a wider FOV. No longer having/needing the co-witness, I opted to remove the stock sight. I then reversed the direction of the stock rail and cut off the portion that extended too far to the rear. I also removed the front sight blade and blade guard.

How may parts do you have? The full kit contained: 1) adjustable length, pistol grip stock with height adjustable cheek rest 2) Forend 3) Forend heat shield 4) +1 round replacement tube with spring 5) picatinny rail shroud 6) follower 7) cap. I had the whole set up a few years back, the only parts still on my gun are the forend and heat shield.

My M4 only has light load ejection problems on cold days. In the summer months it will eat anything.

The Arredondo is plastic and mounts to existing release button. This means that it requires drilling and tapping of the factory button. I was not comfortable attempting that. The GG&G comes with a replacement shell catch that is pre tapped. Also, the GG&G is a metal button and can be under cut to them be used for clearing shells out of the tube (unloading). Using a Dremel tool, I ground out an arched lip on the underside of the front of the button. By slipping your fingertip under this lip, you can lift the shell catch away from the shells in the tube.

The shipping cost is why I was going to order two of them.

Arms Unlimited has the M4 oversize charging handle on sale for $10. I picked one up last time they had the sale and love it. I would have purchased two but they only had one left in stock. Glad to see them back. https://www.armsunlimited.com/AU-Large-Bolt-Charging-Handle-for-Benelli-M4-p/lb-m4-bch.htm

I wrote a post this past Saturday on how to lighten the shell catch tension. Open up the "U" cuts to increase the amount of bendable metal.

I have the same setup as Birdog19, "Carrier Comp 7-round tube with a Nordic Components extension to get me to 10+1". With ghost loading, I can start a stage with 12 rounds.

First, we need to ask if you have a stock 5 round tube or a 7 round tube. If you have the 5 round tube (with the dummy extension), then ATI makes (or used to make) one: A.5.10.2501 Benelli M4 Raven Mag Extension Tube and Cap. Also, Freedom Fighter tactical makes 2 round extensions that replace the dummy extension. If, like many of us, you have converted over to the 7 round replacement tube (Carrier Comp is the best), then you can get 1, 2, 3... round extensions by Nordic Components. NOTE: these will not say they are for the M4 but rather the M2. Don't worry, they will fit once you have the 7 round replacement tube.

Thanks to new member Kidek for this question. I also experienced difficulty loading due to the stiffness of the shell catch. So, here is what I have done to lighten the pressure on the shell catch. Using a Dremel tool (love that thing), I opened the notches on the sides of the shell stop tab. This increases the bendable area. In the picture below, the lower part is the modified shell stop. The upper is unmodified. For you purists, the unmodified cutouts are 2.39 mm wide and the metal between them is 9.36 mm thick. On the modified shell stop, the cutouts are 6.53 mm and 7.56 mm (I will be cutting the new one to 7.5 each) and the metal between them is 8.32 mm (I may not cut so deep on my next one). Note that the rear cut does not remove any of the angled metal; however, the forward cut does. NOTE: the new shell stop plate is drilled for a GG&G bolt release button. If you have one, or are going to install one, consider scooping out the underside of the forward edge. This gives you enough purchase to use the button as a lifter to more easily unload rounds from the tube (i.e. lift the shell stop catch away from the shell).

If you want reduced recoil, move to the M4. The piston driven action provides significantly less felt recoil.

I came to own my M4 by trial and error... The club where I was shooting IDPA (pistol only) started to hold 3-gun events. I did not own a SG, so borrowed a 20 ga pump from a friend. After that first match, I jumped onto the VA Gun Trader sight and picked up a 12 ga pump (FNH Tactical Police). My shoulder would be sore after each match, so I picked up a 20 ga Saiga at a gun show. The Saiga did not beat up my shoulder but is was a pain to load (mags would not go in w/o the chamber being held open) and I would come home with cuts on my hands (could never figure out what part was sharp). While cursing the Saiga, the SO let me try his M4. Need I say more?

Sorry to hear you had so many problems with an A&S TG. Min was a perfect fit using the supplied roll pins (and roll pin punches).

I have Venoms on my PCC, XDm 9mm, and above a Nikon scope on my SCAR 16. Much better optic than those Trijicons. I shoot 2-Gun and 3-Gun Open class with these.

I liked the Scalarworks but did not like the Trijicon (and they do not have one for Vortex). So, I removed the factory rail and iron sight and 1) rotated the factory rail to extend back over the spot where the iron sight had sat, 2) used a rotary tool to cut and shape the factory rail to fit the new position, 3) painted the modified rail, and 4) used locktite to bolt it into the new position. This has taken off more weight than the Vortex Razor added. I scratched off the paint from the Right side to show my tooling. NOTE: I also removed the front sight blade.

Just stay away from GG&G. I had one that would, periodically, fall out during cycling and finally broke leaving most of the shaft in the bolt.

Cut the spring. Worst case, you cut too much and buy a new one. They are cheap. How much to cut? (WARNING: math will be involved! Continue only if you are comfortable with using a calculator.) Measure the amount of the 7th shell that extends past the shell catch (call this X). Next remove the spring, reassemble the tube with retention clip and follower, insert 7 shells. Measure the space to the shell catch (call this A). Measure the space where the spring extends into the follower (call this B) Measure the space where the spring extends into the retention clip (call this C) The length of the compressed spring is calculated as A+B+C (call this Y) Now, measure the uncompressed spring (call this Z) If you remove X amount of spring from Y, the 7th shell will fit into the tube. So, we need to convert Y-X= (compressed cutoff) into an uncompressed cutoff. To do this, determine what percent of Y is X and then apply that percentage to Z to derive the amount to cut off. (OK, just key this into your calculator) X/Y=F FxZ= amount to cut off of uncompressed spring (NOTE: calculations with work with both 'merican and metric measurements). This is your first cut. After trying it, you may need to take off another ring of the spring to allow for compression past the shell catch (unless you included that in your X measurement). This worked for me. Hope it works for all of you.