Nocturnalnature

Update, I spoke with Mr. Orr and he informed me that he made the decision to replace the gun. I am relieved, thankful, and extremely excited to receive the new gun in a few days and plan a half day range trip, complete with cigar, once it gets here to celebrate. As before, he was very friendly, understanding, and above all, patient while I thanked him continuously for standing by a loyal Benelli customer. I would like to publicly thank Benelli, and especially Mr. Orr, for going above and beyond to make a customer happy. WELL DONE AND GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!

Thanks for the input! Let's hope they at least send it back where it'll shoot slugs closer to dead center without the front sight being adjusted as far right as it will go, and the rear sight almost as far left as it will go. I've decided that if it comes back with the sights fixed but the receiver the same then I'll sell it, and my remaining M4, to someone who isn't as concerned about the apparent lack of quality control and company's unwillingness to stand by a loyal customer. Not a threat or tantrum by any means, but life is too short to have to settle instead of being satisfied with a purchase.

Just wanted to update. Received an email right before Christmas that the gun was being examined and repair time was estimated to be 45 days. I believe this is more of a generic confirmation email that everyone gets and is not specific to my gun. Hopefully the wait will be worth it!

I greatly appreciate it my man! Either way I'll post updates as I get them. Hope everyone here has a blessed Christmas and safe New Year's!

I'm thinking with the holidays it'll be a week or two, which is understandable. Honestly I'd be happy waiting weeks if it meant getting a gun back that was worth the price I paid and the year I saved to buy it.

Thanks for sharing your story Evolution! As mentioned, I specifically asked the cost of a new receiver and was told "the price of a new gun". I thought this somewhat odd since all existing parts on my gun could be fitted to a new receiver. Heck, our resident expert StrangerDanger strips them to bare bones on a routine basis, so I can't imagine Benelli trained smiths can't perform this operation at their U.S. service facility.

Huh, I'll have to check that out when it gets back, provided I still have my other M4's. After this experience I'm giving serious consideration to abandoning the Benelli ship altogether. I have one of my remaining M4's listed on a local site to see if the interest is there. The other one is on indefinite loan with my son in law, so it may be gifted to him if I go this route. This whole situation reminds me of an experience I had with Sig. I purchased a MPX and it came to me with machining marks on the inside of the lower receiver. I called them before I even filled out the paperwork and was assured they'd make it right. Sent it in and true to their word I received a brand new one within 2 weeks. That is unbeatable customer service and support of your product line, and I have been a loyal Sig consumer since that day. I realize many folks don't care for Sig, but it's hard to ignore a company that bends over backwards to make things right instead of trying to explain obvious defects as "normal".

Thanks again for the input folks! Dropped it off at FedEx so it's a waiting game now. I'll update as I find out what Benelli is going to do to remedy the situation.

I was quite disappointed by that decision as well. UPDATE Just got off the phone with Mr. Orr and he said they are going to re-evaluate the machining marks when it's in for the front sight. Seemed like a super nice fella, however he mentioned several times about the receiver being aluminum and that customers should expect wear as the shotgun is used. Believe me, having owned two other M4's I know about the wear, particularly around the ejection port. I could shoot this gun until the cows come home and it won't leave marks like it has from the factory. I also asked how much the cost of a replacement receiver was and he said "the cost of the entire gun" followed by "the gun is going to get wear with use". After hearing that I have my doubts about Benelli replacing it or fixing the machining marks and unfortunately foresee receiving the gun back with the sight issue being repaired but the damaged receiver still intact. As mentioned, Mr. Orr assured me they would check it out again and make a decision that's fair based on that examination. I truly hope that they put themselves in my shoes and do the right thing.

UPDATE Headed back to the factory for the front sight issue. The service rep has been very helpful this go around, and I have asked him to make a note to see if the Repair Manager will reconsider the decision not to fix or replace my receiver. Hopefully they will step up and do the right thing. I truly hope that Mr. Orr puts himself in my shoes as a consumer who is simply asking for a gun worthy of the Benelli name and the price I paid for it.

Thanks for the input! If only it were that simple. I had two other people try it (one right handed, and one left handed) and the POI was virtually identical for each of us. I can't imagine us all having the exact same flinch pattern, particularly when one shot left handed with the same results. The service rep emailed and asked for an additional photo, so at least they are looking into it.

While that is appealing, I don't think I should be expected to spend more money fixing issues that the manufacturer should be more than willing to remedy.

Thanks for checking! Just got back from a frustrating trip at the range. Turns out the front sight base is canted to the left and in order to sight it in the front sight has to be shifted all the way to the right and the rear sight has to be moved almost all the way left. Called the company and they requested a photo, which I will also attach to this thread. I also left a message for a Mr. Orr who is the Repair Manager in regards to the machine marks in the hopes that he will be a bit more understanding. I am truly not upset because the gun is a lemon, I'm simply frustrated that Benelli has thus far refused to remedy the situation.

I'm curious to hear from StrangerDanger since he's seen a million of these guns.

Thanks for the reply Jimbo! I am indeed referring to the marks you reference in your post. I can understand that some wouldn't be bothered by it if the gun functions properly, however as with myself, there are some who expect the machining on a new gun to reflect the prestige of the brand name, as well as the price tag. Not perfect mind you, but not so sloppy as the machining that my particular firearm has received. I will be the first to admit it is a cosmetic issue, however it obviously isn't supposed to be that way, and I dare say if it were on the outside you wouldn't be as quick to let it slide. Edit: Forgot to mention. In the first photo look through the bolt knob cut out.

Check em' before you buy em' fellas. Purchased this gun on December 5th, and upon initial cleaning before my first range trip I discovered some bad machining marks inside the receiver. Contacted Benelli via email on the 6th and had a return authorization and prepaid shipping label waiting for me on the 7th. Shipped the gun out and it was received on the 9th. On Friday the 11th I receive notice that the gun had been repaired and was on its way back to me. I received the returned gun today in the same condition it was sent, accompanied by a note stating "The cut lines in the receiver are normal for mass machined parts". Considering I own two other M4's, as well as having now viewed several others failing to find these marks, I feel I can confidently state that it isn't normal. Please note, these marks are deep enough to catch a fingernail, are uneven, and have no place on a new gun, much less one in this price range. I have sent a follow up email to my initial service rep with the hopes that my complaint can be reviewed by someone higher up the chain, and included a quote of their own advertised warranty as seen below, 10-year Limited Warranty: Your new Benelli firearm is warranted for 10 years from date of purchase against any defect in materials or workmanship in the metal parts of your product (“10-year Warranty”). I certainly understand things happen, particularly with the rush to produce guns to match the current demand, but the unwillingness to stand behind them and honor your own warranty is inexcusable in my own humble opinion.

Have you noticed any damage to the lug on the mount, or the M4 rail itself, since the Trijicon low mount doesn't have a full width recoil lug? Seems it would be susceptible to the same damage as the Larue mount since the recoil lug is almost identical. Thanks again for the input! I may give this mount a try if you haven't had any issues since this gun is more of a range toy for me and won't see competition.

Thanks for the input! Regarding co witness, I do in fact run co witnessed sights/optics on my rifles due to the higher sight height, which affords a comfortable and natural neck position when acquiring targets. When it comes to shotguns I find the low height of the iron sights to be rather uncomfortable and unnatural for me, hence wanting a slightly higher mount for the optic and a less cluttered sight picture since it already feels unnatural for me trying to use very low iron sights in the first place. In regards to quick release mounts, I appreciate your opinion, however I have witnessed red dot failures on several occasions during 3 gun matches at our local club. Having said that, since you mention you don't co witness your shotguns, what mounts have you had success with when used in conjunction with the stock M4 rail? The Larue issue is well documented and it appears it could be problematic with any manufacturers mount that didn't utilize a full lug due to the design of the M4 picatinny rail.

Thanks for the replies! I simply do not like the cluttered sight picture that co witness provides. I much prefer a slightly higher optic with a quick release in the event of an optic failure. I have two of the Trijicon quick release mounts and they suck. They will not stay tight with normal hand tightening, and will actually shoot loose in one range session even if torqued to 44 inch pounds (as suggested by their tech). The biggest obstacle is finding a mount with a full recoil lug so I don't run into the dreaded "Larue vs. M4" issue.

I am looking for a quick release, low height mount to mount my Trijicon RMR to the factory M4 rail. I know the factory Benelli rail doesn't play well with the mount from Larue since the mount doesn't have a full recoil lug, so I am looking for some input from others who are running an RMR on their gun with the factory rail. Please keep in mind, I have no desire to change the factory rail, so Scalarworks is out.

As always, another job well done! On a side note, you must have nuts the size of grapefruits to rest that freshly coated barrel on a rock ?.

Many thanks my good man! I think I'll end up ordering one once you post up about the shim fix to eliminate any wobble.

Rgarc, When you get a moment can you take a few close up photos of where the handguard meets the receiver? Thanks in advance!

How'd the barrel get scratched so quickly directly in front of the flashlight? Not picking, just curious since I have held off on mounting a light to avoid adding unnecessary finish wear.

How does it mount to the gun? You mentioned you had to tighten the front screws. Do these screws make contact with the gun to help alleviate wobble? Does it appear that the rail is going to cause finish wear to the barrel, mag tube, or receiver, over time?