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ammunition medley


craigkim

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Hey everybody,

 

I am a new M4 owner.

 

I waned to say thanks and that I have learned a lot on this forum and thought that I could contribute a little. I just wanted to share my experience with different ammunition through my new m4. I wanted to give it an adequate test, so I took it straight from the box and decided to see if I could cause it to have any ammo problems. I have several hundred shotgun shells that have been collected over the last 30 years. In IN we hunt everything with shotguns, so you've got a shell for every game creature. I chose 75 shells of varying types from 3" slugs to brass so low that you could barely call it brass and put them in the shotgun randomly. Some were so old that the price tags on the box had yellowed and I could barely remember the old department stores they came from.... long out of business. My M4 straight from the box and recently assembled chugged through every single shell without a hiccup! I shot rapidly on occasion and slowly on occasion. I was very pleasantly surprised and have a lot of confidence in this weapon. I wouldn't believe anyone who said that you have to have one type of ammo or another, it should shoot it all. It patterned pretty well too, (but I have a full set of chokes from my franchi to play with later.)

 

The main thing I noticed is that this gun has a lot of recoil compared to what I am used to. People say it is heavy, but it is my lightest shotgun other than my 37 featherlight. You sure knew it when one of those old brenneke rottweils or remington sluggers popped through!

 

Anyhow, last night I added the freedom fighter tactical Ti tube and other 922 parts thanks to instructions found here. I loved how light the m4 feels with the new titanium tube. This gun just keeps getting better. Next is the Aimpoint T1.

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Thanks for the report. I have to say that I've had a similar experience with my M4. I've run just about every type of ammo I can get my hands on, I'm still in the break-in phase but have yet to have any issues.

 

My father gave me a couple boxes of shells - I was kind of skeptical to run them through my Benelli, but he assured me I they'd be fine. Judging by the boxes I'd have to say they're from the '60's or 70's! Some seriously old ammo! Just as my dad said, I had no issues cycling these though my M4 - I can't complain about free ammo!

 

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Thanks for the report. I have to say that I've had a similar experience with my M4. I've run just about every type of ammo I can get my hands on, I'm still in the break-in phase but have yet to have any issues.

 

My father gave me a couple boxes of shells - I was kind of skeptical to run them through my Benelli, but he assured me I they'd be fine. Judging by the boxes I'd have to say they're from the '60's or 70's! Some seriously old ammo! Just as my dad said, I had no issues cycling these though my M4 - I can't complain about free ammo!

 

 

Ok, that is humorous, and you have me beat on the age of the ammunition. I kow the stuff I was running was only from the mid 80s to mid 90s. Honestly though, I come from a family of mossberg shotgun hunters and when I brought the m4 out to "test" they didn't know what I paid for it. I didn't tell them until AFTER it fired EVERYTHING I put into it. They still didn't want one, but admired its capabilities... and looked at me funny.

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This was my first time out with my brand new M4. I shot the first 30-40 shells here. Somewhere in the last ten there were two FTE's. I was behind the gun for one my buddy was behind the other. Both of the shells that were FTE's were from the same box as we were handing off every couple of shots. The offending ammo was Tap Light Magnum 00 Buck. I was also shooting PDX rifled slugs whichwere flawless...and expensive!...:p

 

 

Oh yeah...this was my first time ever shooting a shotgun...I was a little excitable.

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This was my first time out with my brand new M4. I shot the first 30-40 shells here. Somewhere in the last ten there were two FTE's. I was behind the gun for one my buddy was behind the other. Both of the shells that were FTE's were from the same box as we were handing off every couple of shots. The offending ammo was Tap Light Magnum 00 Buck. I was also shooting PDX rifled slugs whichwere flawless...and expensive!...:p

 

Oh yeah...this was my first time ever shooting a shotgun...I was a little excitable.

 

I couldn't tell what was going on there, other than,... was that a huge knife? I got my first shotgun when I was 7 and it was frightening to shoot. I think you did fine. I think your knife is too big though. What are you dressing with that? I can't find the PDX around here, so I am shooting the remington ball? 1oz slugs instead. They should be adequate I would think. Most slugs I buy are sabot.

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Not to get off topic but...

lol not a huge knife...Its a Kingdom Armory Samaritan 3.75 inch cutting edge. I'm kinda a knife enthusiast so I enjoyed the pics from LRM. Its just an everyday carry folder with an extremely useful shape.

kapoll1.jpg

 

In the vid the 2nd shell I loaded failed to extract after the shot. I thought the bolt was attempting to close on the spent shell pinning it....but it was probably locked back as it was the last shell. I didn't want to stick a finger in there and have the bolt close and chop my finger off so i extracted with my folder. It was an irrational fear as the bolt was locked...but I just went with the first instinct.

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Hmm, glad to hear all sorts of loads are cycling reliably for many. I've never had a failure to eject on mine either. Just curious if anyone has tried some LTL ammunition...I'm just curious how the procedure is using it. For example how often does a cartridge partially eject vs not kicking the bolt back enough so you have a clean manual eject.

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Not to get off topic but...

lol not a huge knife...Its a Kingdom Armory Samaritan 3.75 inch cutting edge. I'm kinda a knife enthusiast so I enjoyed the pics from LRM. Its just an everyday carry folder with an extremely useful shape.

 

 

In the vid the 2nd shell I loaded failed to extract after the shot. I thought the bolt was attempting to close on the spent shell pinning it....but it was probably locked back as it was the last shell. I didn't want to stick a finger in there and have the bolt close and chop my finger off so i extracted with my folder. It was an irrational fear as the bolt was locked...but I just went with the first instinct.

 

I watched this a few times now. It doesn't seem to be a failure of the load to cycle the bolt properly, more like the extractor didn't have a good hold on the shell as it cycled.? I am not too familiar with the extractor on the m4 and don't have it in front of me. You didn't ride the handle forward, so I can't think of any reason for this. Is the barrel seated fully flush with the receiver and do you have the retention cap tight? I am sure you thought of these things, but just thinking out loud.

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Good points. I did not notice a loose retention cap when I broke it down after the range. I will say I am not worried about the FTE's. There have been many posts related to a break in period for new M4's. I dont think I am halfway through it yet. Additionally the two FTE's were within 4 shots of each other from the same box..... so I would like/(hope) to think it was the ammo and possibly the break in period.

 

On a brighter note I found 3 boxes of 25 Estate 00 buck at walmart on the bare ammo shelf today.

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