New to Benelli, having trouble with unloading

[Acidshort]

Hey guys,

I am having trouble unloading my M4 without manually cycling the shotgun. I can not get the "cartridge retaining lever" to budge when i have a shell in the magazine. I am not even sure if I am pressing the correct component, but whatever I am doing it doesn't release the shell. Can you guys help me out? Thanks.

Aaron

[HOGWILD]

Owners manual is a wonderful product and explains this procedure very well! Did you not get an owners manual, if not they have them on the main page under M$!

[BigHat]

Hey guys,

I am having trouble unloading my M4 without manually cycling the shotgun. I can not get the "cartridge retaining lever" to budge when i have a shell in the magazine. I am not even sure if I am pressing the correct component, but whatever I am doing it doesn't release the shell. Can you guys help me out? Thanks.

Aaron

 

You can get the hang of it with a bit of practice, but it's a crappy aspect of an otherwise great shotgun. Try to "unload" the tension provided by the magazine spring with the top joint of your index finger on the round as you press the release with your finger nail/top of your finger.

[L84Cabo]

... but it's a crappy aspect of an otherwise great shotgun.

 

+1 It does not unload well.

[Super33]

+1 It does not unload well.

+ Another one. I just cycle the thing, it's easier.

[12508]

They will ease up with use.

I can do it easily both on my M4s and Nova.

 

They can be very stiff. Try using a bic pen to push down on it.

Once you get the hang of what is going on, you could try using your middle finger. I find that works easiest.

[OhioM4]

I just shoot them out!

 

Keep a 5 gallon can of drywall compound handy if you're indoors at the time.

[SweetM4]

i cus and swear every time i try to unload shells from my M4. i can usually get the first few shells to unload (not without effort), but the last shell just won't budge no matter what i do. i'm shocked that this well known "problem" seems to acceptable to benelli. i can unload shells all day long from my remington P870 using the same technique without any difficulty.

 

i'm curious if anybody has contacted benelli about this problem (and i define it as a "problem"). the procedure described in the M4 owner's manual simply does not work easily or reliably. period. very annoying. they charge enough for their shotguns and they should function properly or they should redesign whatever is causing the f*&king problem.

[benelliwerkes]

Not everyone's forefinger fits easily or safely into the 12 gauge lane to push the cartridge stop lever. Over the life of the gun cycling, the use of the bolt to extract / eject the unfired cartridges versus the wear / tear on the extractor is negligible. Purists would argue that you don't risk cycling "live rounds" to empty your weapon. I would argue if you can't use the bolt handle to safely unload your weapon, perhaps you shouldn't be using the bolt handle to begin with. (never end a sentence in a preposition).

[m4p226n]

First, the lever is not designed to be loose, it's designed to be tight. If it was looser people would complain that it wasn't robust enough.

 

Second, the Benelli manual recommends cycling as an option for unloading.

 

Third, I have no idea why some of you seem to be so troubled by this. Are you really that stressed out by having to just cycle your gun a few times?

 

Reminder: this is a hard-duty, combat shotgun. It's not a designer engraved over-under with gold scrollwork that gets damaged just by breathing on it.

 

Sometimes I just don't understand the petty issues raised here.

[SweetM4]

i always enjoy being lectured by someone who knows everything i double checked the manual and you are wrong. read the manual before you start telling people what it says. or at least warn us that you "think" this is what the manual says. in fact, the manual WARNS that the gun can be unloaded by cycling...it does NOT recommend it.

 

IMHO, the benelli M4 has a "shortcoming" pertaining to unloading that aggravates the sh&t out of me. it may be petty to you, but it's not petty to me. i paid $1500 for my M4 and it's reasonable to expect routine functions (such as unloading) to work as per the manual.

 

btw, here's how the manual says to unload the M4:

 

Unloading

(this operation must be carried out with the gun safety catch

engaged - see “Safety”, page 15 and the barrel pointed in safe direction)

 

To unload the shotgun, proceed as follows:

1) open the bolt: the cartridge in the chamber will be extracted and

ejected (fig. 25);

 

2) close the bolt: gently releasing the clocking lever (fig. 26); (i guess nobody proof reads anything nowadays)

 

3) reverse the gun and - thrusting the carrier towards inside - press

the cartridge retaining lever from the front with the right hand

index finger (fig. 27); the first cartridge will come out. The carrier

latch must be pressed for each released cartridge.

 

WARNING: Gun can be unloaded by repeating the operation, as

described under point B, this section above, of the chapter: ”Cartridge

replacement”.

 

 

First, the lever is not designed to be loose, it's designed to be tight. If it was looser people would complain that it wasn't robust enough.

 

Second, the Benelli manual recommends cycling as an option for unloading.

 

Third, I have no idea why some of you seem to be so troubled by this. Are you really that stressed out by having to just cycle your gun a few times?

 

Reminder: this is a hard-duty, combat shotgun. It's not a designer engraved over-under with gold scrollwork that gets damaged just by breathing on it.

 

Sometimes I just don't understand the petty issues raised here.

[m4p226n]

Posted some thoughts, then decided that some things are better left unsaid.

 

Good luck with your lever issue.

Edited May 20, 2011 by m4p226n
Civility is always preferable to useless arguing

[SweetM4]

you not only posted "thoughts", you also made statements about unloading the M4 that were completely incorrect and you claimed the source was the benelli manual. why don't you read the manual again and then correct yourself? then you can either take the high road or keep complaining when sopmebody points out a problem with the M4 that doesn't happen to bother you.

 

Posted some thoughts, then decided that some things are better left unsaid.

 

Good luck with your lever issue.

[BigHat]

you not only posted "thoughts", you also made statements about unloading the M4 that were completely incorrect and you claimed the source was the benelli manual. why don't you read the manual again and then correct yourself? then you can either take the high road or keep complaining when sopmebody points out a problem with the M4 that doesn't happen to bother you.

 

I was wondering what precisely he was planning on saying anyway. I think he opted to break contact with the discussion based on an old adage -- when you find yourself in a hole -- stop digging.

Edited May 20, 2011 by BigHat

[SgtCathy]

Geez.... Just unload it in the true USMC fashion. Aim...pull the trigger 8 times. (Pull trigger 5 times for you folks that live in California and New Jersey. For people in Massachusetts, just dream on)

[m4p226n]

If you insist.

 

Firstof all and most importantly, if you are not absolutely, totally, 100% certainthat you can unload your weapon SAFELY using that method, do not, I repeat: DO NOT USE THAT METHOD.

 

Now,let’s reason together a little here. Let’sstart with some logic: if Benelli did not want you to have that option forunloading your gun, they would not have included (A) instructions for how to do it, and (B) whereto find a second reference to it in THEIR MANUAL.

 

Youare troubled by the fact that in the second instance they use the word ‘WARNING’. Did it occur to you that this might bebecause they were concerned that people like you that cusses and swears becauseyou can’t operate a lever might just cause a negligent discharge?

 

Furthermore,they use the word ‘Warning’ for such simple instructions as in how to assembleyour gun. See page 10 under the heading ‘Assembly (from packaged gun)’:

 

WARNING: should the bolt fail to engage, move the cartridge drop lever as arrowed and repeat the operation (fig. 4.)

It appears that Benelli anticipated that somepeople wouldn’t be able to properly assemble their gun.

 

Here’s another example:

 

WARNING: with the procedure “B” the number of cartridges in the magazine will bereduced by one round. A new cartridge can be inserted - see above - to fill the magazine completely.

Using your indecipherable logic, you shouldn’t insert a new cartridge to fill the magazine completely because of the‘warning’.

 

After reading your post, and that of BigHat (who apparently can’t unload his either), I think both of you shouldhave a gunsmith unload your guns for you, or better yet, maybe you shouldn’town a gun at all. I worry about you.

 

If you disagree, why not just call Benelli and complain about their defective engineering. I’m sure they’d love to hear about your ‘issue’. Hopefully they’ll inform the Marine Corps too (because of your reading comprehension issue, I suppose I should explain that that’s called irony).

 

You insisted, so there you go. I anticipate your indignant reply with much disinterest.

Edited May 20, 2011 by m4p226n

[BigHat]

Like I said, you should just stop digging.

[m4p226n]

SgtCathy, I know what you mean. You're retired LE, I've been a gun enthusiast for over 30 years. Sometimes I worry about the kids here that are products of the Age of Nint endo.

[SgtCathy]

On holidays like Memorial/Veterans day, I go to the range and shoot, shoot, shoot. It's how I honor all the veterans and great Americans. I try to get the children of my friends (they are all in their twenties) to come out and shoot with me, but they are to consumed with reaching the next level of whatever game they're playing. They have part-time jobs and play 24-36 hours straight on games. Try to get them out of the house on the 4th of July for a parade or barbecue. It "ain't" going to happen. Geez.....

[m4p226n]

Good of you to invite your friends' kids...maybe someday they'll come out with you...thank God Almighty that my kids enjoy hitting the range...in fact took one of the boys with me to Blackwater for a pistol course last year...what a terrific time...when you're at the range you're not playing video games...no wonder so many kids are fat and out of shape these days.

[SweetM4]

it's fun to watch you try to convince people (and yourself) that you know what you're talking about you quote the manual chapter and verse but you're still wrong. benelli doesn't "recommend" unloading the magazine by cycling. sure, you can unload by cycling, but the section in the manual titled "unloading" instructs how to unload by depressing the cartridge retaining lever.

 

my complaint is that unloading by depressing the cartridge retaining lever frequently does not work well for many people (not just me) for some reason... perhaps something not quite right with the design or maybe it's a break-in issue?? i was hoping to hear from others in this forum who have experienced this problem and have something constructive, informative or even mildly amusing to say about it it seems that a lot of people have the same problem, but they just live with it. yeah, i'll live with it also, but i think it's fair to point this issue out as a legitimate "issue" with the benelli M4. but because you've liked guns for 30 years if an issue doesn't bother you then it's not a legitimate issue for others to be concerned about.

 

i don't care what you think about anything. you are irrelevant. i just hope you don't spout off incorrect information someday that might hurt somebody.

[m4p226n]

Maybe it would work if you pushed in with a pen tip as I think someone else has suggested. Try not to let it bother you so much. Cycling rounds through is easy when performed safely. Please just be safe.

 

have a good day.

[BigHat]

i don't care what you think about anything. you are irrelevant. i just hope you don't spout off incorrect information someday that might hurt somebody.

 

Sweet, just let it go. Remember, you're on the internet.

 

Let me respond for him as it may make you feel better:

 

Hey, sorry Sweet. I should have reviewed what the manual actually said before making erroneous, declarative statements about what it contained. Additionally, not only did I NOT add any useful information to the thread, what I did convey was in a snide, sarcastic fashion like I know more about this issue than all the people that have posted before me. Of course, that was a stupid thing to do as I have no idea how much exposure they have to this firearm or any other weapon for that matter. Maybe they too have decades of firearms use like I do and while not finding this issue a "show-stopper" in daily use offered some non-judgemental advice to new owners on how they manage to work around it. So again, sorry. if I can't add anything useful in the future I plan to just STFU.

Edited May 21, 2011 by BigHat
Typo

[m4p226n]

Wow that is one bizarre post. Odd that you should tell him to let it go.

 

I do hope you feel better getting that off your chest. Now maybe you can let it go.

[SweetM4]

thanks bighat. i agree. i am happy to move on. and i want to apologize to m4p226n for getting so bent out of shape over this issue. i'm going to contact benelli support and ask them if there is anything that i can do (or adjust or lubricate, etc.) to help me unload using that dang cartridge release lever i'll post any advise i get from benelli. i guess it's even possible that my particular M4 has a problem?

 

hey, maybe this is obvious, but i just noticed the"p226n" in the jumble of characters in m4p226n. i'm new to sigs, but i'm guessing that means you have (or want or like) sig P226 pistols? that's the one used by navy seals, right? nice. very nice. especially given recent events i just purchased a sig p220 carry elite dark to add to my arsenal. i would have bought a p226n but it's only chambered in 9mm which is fine for those of you who are good shots. i'm not that good a shot so i need a .45 LOL.