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Benelli M1014 has fixed Modified choke. I can't imagine that our marines and SWAT teams don't shoot any slug at all. I shot many rounds of slugs through my M4 with the stoke Modified choke. It was ok. But, for the peace of mind, I changed my M4 to Cylinder choke. It also matched my Mossberg 590A1 (fixed C choke) and my Beretta 1301 (which came with C and IC chokes).

California gun laws for semi-auto shotguns: pistol grip is ok as long as you don't install a folding or telescoping stock. Here are the provisions: 12276.1. (a) Notwithstanding Section 12276, "assault weapon" shall also mean any of the following: (6) A semiautomatic shotgun that has both of the following: (A) A folding or telescoping stock. (B) A pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action of the weapon, thumbhole stock, or vertical handgrip.

Length-of-pull: 14 3/8". You probably would feel more comfortable with Urbino pistol grip stock from Mesa Tactical.

Really? Mine is ok. Did you get it before GG&G changed the design for M4 specifically?

I also have the GG&G and like it a lot. It's a "rotating" design, i.e. the bolt handle can rotate freely. Some people might not like it. But, it makes more sense for over-sized bolt handles on Benelli M4. Since M4 doesn't have a locking mechanism on the bolt handle, a "non-rotating" over-sized bolt handle could be rotated and pulled out accidentally.

As I said, Benelli uses the same mag spring for 5-round and 7-round. You can confirm it by talking to Benelli directly. Benelli isn't selling any "5-round mag spring" either. Weird about using a 7-round mag spring in a 5-round tube? Not at all. It's just like you "pre-loading" 2 rounds in the tube! When you load the 1st round into a 5-round tube, you get the same feeling as you load the 3rd round into a 7-round tube.

Benelli uses the same mag spring for 5-round and 7-round tubes. You don't need a new mag spring. The OEM spring works fine. BTW, Botach sells a good extension tube at a great price: https://botach.com/kz-benelli-m4-magazine-extension/.

BTW, my trio all have CYL choke too. Well, Mossberg 590A1 has cylinder bore like Benelli M1014. No choice on that anyway.

Yes, I was talking about the new "enhanced" model. To be honest, I am not sure if it is really "enhanced" much. It comes with CYL and IC chokes, but no plastic case (just a paper box). The difference is the mag tube. It's a real 7-round tube, not 5-round plus 2-round extension. In order to accommodate the longer mag tube, the mag tube cap is changed to a long 5" cap. It's needed mainly to secure the barrel. It looks cool. But, it comes with an issue. One can't add another extension tube, say extra 1-round extension to go with a breecher muzzle brake. Beretta hasn't come up with a part for that yet. Someone has posted a review about this issue already on the Beretta 1301 official website. Also, given the high demand, the enhanced model is sold at ~$200 above the Gen 2. One can get a 2-round extension and barrel clamp at a cheaper price. Not sure about 922(r) compliance for Gen 2 with 2-round extension though. But, it seems that only Benelli M4 owners worry about 922(r). Very few Beretta 1301 owners paid attention to 922(r). Speaking of this long 5" cap, I raised the concern in another forum on the possibility of breaking it if the shotgun is dropped to the ground with muzzle down. Breaking it wouldn't lose the spring, which is secured by another plastic cap inside. But, it might make the shotgun unfunctional since the barrel can't be secured to the receiver. Although the chance of breaking this long cap is very remote, both Benelli M4 and Mossberg 590A1 are designed to secure the barrel much better. Well, guess what. I was ridiculed and bullied in that forum, saying that a shotgun would never de dropped if one trains well. Hmm, then, why did the military have drop tests on all guns?

The Enhanced Beretta 1301 Tactical comes with two chokes: cylinder and improved cylinder. It reminds me that Benelli M4 came with modified choke only. Benelli says "only cylinder and improved cylinder chokes for slugs" and "cylinder choke for rifled slugs". Then, why doesn't Benelli M4 come with cylinder choke? I remember spending $20+ on a cylinder choke in order to fire slugs on my M4. I'd guess that Benelli M4 owners shoot far more slugs/buckshots than birdshots!

I finally got an Enhanced Beretta 1301 Tactical to go with my Benelli M4 and Mossberg 590A1 SPX. I tried to set up the Beretta 1301 and Benelli M4 as similarly as possible. Although I am not new to Beretta 1301, owning it allows me to do more experiments. Here are my findings. Please take them with a grain of salt, since I am sure that I am biased. (1) Beretta 1301 is lighter. However, with 7+1 rounds in the tube, flashlight and even the side saddle, the weight difference between Beretta 1301 and Benelli M4 doesn't matter much to me. (2) It's easier to load Beretta 1301 for sure. I never had thumb bites with Benelli M4 as some people said. But, I got a few thumb bites while loading Beretta 1301. I am used to push hard while loading Benelli M4. I pushed too hard while loading Beretta 1301. My thumb got into the mag tube too deeply. It caused the thumb bites when I pulled out my thumb. So, this is my fault, not Beretta's. Why does Benelli make it so hard to load? Well, if you drop the shotgun from 5 feet above, no shell would come out of the mag tube and cause malfunction. It might be ok with Beretta 1301. But, I am not sure about Mossberg 590A1, which is way too easy to load. But, 590A1 is a pump shotgun. If a shell accidently comes out of the mag tube, you just lose a round and wouldn't have a big problem. (3) Benelli M4 loading port is longer than Beretta 1301 Tactical loading port. It's more like Beretta 1301 Comp Pro. That's why I didn't end up buying Beretta 1301 Comp Pro for its longer receiver. (4) The build quality of Benelli M4 is better than Beretta 1301, if not way better. Benelli M4 also uses a simpler "short-stroke" gas piston, compared to Beretta's complicated "long-stroke" gas piston. The general rule in Physics says that, the simpler and lighter the moving parts are, the more stable and reliable the system is. I will take both shotguns apart and post some photos later for you to compare. Don't get me wrong. I still like my Beretta 1301 a lot. It'd probably be my first choice for home defense. If I go to a real combat like John Wick, I will take Benelli M4. For the end of the world, well, Mossberg M590A1 is more appropriate, since you have to use whatever shells you can find and you don't want to fire rapidly to waste ammo. Besides, even if you break a part or two, Mossberg 5901A1 might still work! Happy Thanksgiving!

The fundamental difference between Benelli M4 and Beretta 1301 is "short stroke vs long stroke" piston systems. After the shotgun is fired, the gas piston strikes the bolt carrier group back to start the cycling process. Benelli M4 uses a simpler short stroke design. There are fewer parts in the bolt carrier group. It means "less weight to move". Beretta 1301 is a long stroke design. If you take it apart, you can see that the bolt carrier group has many parts to move together. It means "more weight to move". Fewer and lighter moving parts usually translate to better accuracy. In addition, the more moving parts, the higher chance something could go wrong. It has an impact on the long-term reliability. Therefore, Benelli M4 is intrinsically a better design. Well, in theory at least. In practical usages, it probably doesn't matter to most users. If you are worried about Benelli M4 not cycling lighter loads, you just need to change the buffer tube spring to a softer one (or cut off a small portion of the stock spring). Benelli intentionally uses a stronger spring in the buffer tube for long-term reliability on firing hot defense shells. In other word, it's not a defect in Benelli M4. It's a design tradeoff. If you fire A LOT of hot shells, you would need to replace the buffer spring more often on Beretta 1301 than on Benelli M4. If you uses a softer spring on Benelli M4, you'd also need to replace it more often than using the stronger stock spring. That's it. For hot shells, you feel softer recoil on Benelli M4. For lighter loads, you feel less recoil on Beretta 1301. Depending on what loads you use, it has different impacts on the accuracy of your following shots. In short, Benelli M4 is designed for combat. Beretta 1301 is designed for hunting and competition, and is being repositioned to "one shotgun for all purposes". Which is right to you? It's really up to you. For me, I don't hunt nor go for competitions. So, I have Benelli M4 as my primary shotgun and Mossberg 590A1 for apocalypse. But, I am also considering to get a Beretta 1301 Comp Pro and modify it into a tactical shotgun. That'd be a sweet shotgun!