Benelli M2 "red dot" lever on bottom of receiver?

[blackpowder1]

Hi all around!

 

Can anyone tell me what the red dot lever on the bottom side of the receiver above the trigger guard on my M2 is for and how to use it?

Many thanks for the help.

[Sukhoi_fan]

That releases a round from the magazine so that the user can then fully retract the bolt carrier and allow it to slam forward carrying the first round into the chamber and bringing the shotgun into battery. Prior to the S90 series the only way to get the first round to fire chambered on the Benelli 121 and SL80 shotguns was to retract the bolt carrier and drop a round into the ejection port (i.e. unless one installed an aftermarket 'Benelli button' which performed the same function as the lever with the red dot).

[blackpowder1]

Ok, thanks, it does indeed do that. But now I am even more puzzled because until now I accomplished this function by simply pulling the trigger. In order to load the magazine you have to cock the gun by pulling back the bolt and release it by pushing the bolt release button. Only now the loading gate can be depressed so shells can be loaded into the tube. Once fully loaded you need only pull the trigger to release the first round from the magazine and then continue as you describe. The lever accomplishes the same thing (as I just found out by trying) but actually I really don't see the need for it to just move shells onto the loading gate and into position for chambering. Surely there must be another purpose or function, right?

[benelliwerkes]

These might help.

Photos by permission: Benelli M1 / M2 Anatomy Series of Manuals

[benelliwerkes]

and these.......

[truckcop]

Ok, thanks, it does indeed do that. But now I am even more puzzled because until now I accomplished this function by simply pulling the trigger. In order to load the magazine you have to cock the gun by pulling back the bolt and release it by pushing the bolt release button. Only now the loading gate can be depressed so shells can be loaded into the tube. Once fully loaded you need only pull the trigger to release the first round from the magazine and then continue as you describe. The lever accomplishes the same thing (as I just found out by trying) but actually I really don't see the need for it to just move shells onto the loading gate and into position for chambering. Surely there must be another purpose or function, right?

 

Yep, pulling the trigger can accomplish what you're talking about. Same deal on a Remy 870. Pulling the trigger rather than pressing on the action release button will allow you to open the action. The problem with all that is that pulling the trigger also makes the gun go bang. IMHO, it's NEVER a good idea to press the trigger to do anything OTHER than to make the gun go bang. It's funny how our minds go blank sometimes and we do things because that's the way we always did them and doing that thing results in an unexpected event. I can tell you from first-hand experience, pressing the trigger to do something that can be accomplished by doing something else MAY result in the loudest bang you have ever heard in your life. And possibly some life-altering consequences. I was lucky. Only a hole in a training barricade where one did not exist before.

[Sukhoi_fan]

Yep, pulling the trigger can accomplish what you're talking about... I can tell you from first-hand experience, pressing the trigger to do something that can be accomplished by doing something else MAY result in the loudest bang you have ever heard in your life.

 

Years ago there was this incident where a local cop with a large metro PD got out of his cruiser as backup on a call and he grabbed his 870 out of the rack on his way out of his cruiser. In the course of events he racked a round into the chamber apparently forgetting later that he did that. The cops on scene managed to get the situation under control without any gunplay so this cop gets back into his cruiser securing the now in battery 870 into the rack in his cruiser. As he's sitting there writing a report for some odd reason he gets this urge to pull the trigger on the 870 while it's secured in the shotgun rack and ends up putting a new sunroof in his cruiser.

Edited May 26, 2015 by Sukhoi_fan

[blackpowder1]

Thanks a lot for the inputs fellas. Now I understand the purpose and function of this lever. However, the position of the red dot on the lever is not exactly helping intuitive operation of the weapon. It does lead to wrong assumptions and it doesn't help to know that one should never assume things concerning weapons, especially their operation. IMHO, the lever would be understood better without the red dot for it would simply indicate that the hammer is cocked whenever the lever is visible.

[Daniel]

I had a bad experience with that feature turkey hunting. I accidentally pressed that button walking in woods hunting with full gear on and called four turkeys in pulled the trigger all I hear is a ‘click’ and turkeys ran off. Cost me a turkey. Never understood why that button is there! Gun has never let me down before sick to my stomach. 

[Steve Rose]

9 hours ago, Daniel said:

I had a bad experience with that feature turkey hunting. I accidentally pressed that button walking in woods hunting with full gear on and called four turkeys in pulled the trigger all I hear is a ‘click’ and turkeys ran off. Cost me a turkey. Never understood why that button is there! Gun has never let me down before sick to my stomach. 

Pressing the button and allowing a shell into the action did not cause your gun to “click”. If a shell was in the chamber your gun's bolt was slightly open / out of battery (look up “Benelli click”) or you had a dud shell.

You can press the button (aka “cartridge drop lever”) placing a shell onto the lifter when gun I cocked and a shell in the chamber with no adverse affect. Its similar to “ghost loading” the Benelli.

[blackpowder1]

Hi fellas,

Interesting to see someone picking up my thread 5 years after I started it. I think the confusion with the "cartridge drop lever" or the "red dot" lever on the Benellis is in part due to the fact that this option departs from the traditional operating modes of semi-auto shotguns. With the Benelli-Type actions (as well as many others like Stoeger, etc.) the gun reloads only when the action is cycled by pulling the trigger AND firing a live round. Just cycling the action does not drop the next cartridge on the lifter. You have to press the red drop-lever every time. This is a departure from the traditional operation of, let's say, the Remington 11-87 and others, which drop the next cartridge on the lifter by merely cycling the bolt. One just has to be aware of that. However, the need or advantage of having this "cartridge drop lever" option is questionable. I really can't see much purpose in it....

[Steve Rose]

34 minutes ago, blackpowder1 said:

Hi fellas,

Interesting to see someone picking up my thread 5 years after I started it. I think the confusion with the "cartridge drop lever" or the "red dot" lever on the Benellis is in part due to the fact that this option departs from the traditional operating modes of semi-auto shotguns. With the Benelli-Type actions (as well as many others like Stoeger, etc.) the gun reloads only when the action is cycled by pulling the trigger AND firing a live round. Just cycling the action does not drop the next cartridge on the lifter. You have to press the red drop-lever every time. This is a departure from the traditional operation of, let's say, the Remington 11-87 and others, which drop the next cartridge on the lifter by merely cycling the bolt. One just has to be aware of that. However, the need or advantage of having this "cartridge drop lever" option is questionable. I really can't see much purpose in it....

The cartridge drop lever sure helps in unloading the magazine tube when you want to empty the shot shells out of the gun (without pulling the trigger). The Italians will probably tell us American we've been design guns wrong for all these years ?

(glad to see you are still checking in here 5 years later too? )

[blackpowder1]

1 hour ago, Steve Rose said:

The cartridge drop lever sure helps in unloading the magazine tube when you want to empty the shot shells out of the gun (without pulling the trigger).....

oh, maybe there ist something I haven't discovered yet? The only way I know to unload my M2 is by either cycling all shells through the action and ejecting them the traditional way which, however, involves the additional step of having to drop each additional shell manually onto the lifter and repeating the action until all shells are ejected through the ejection port. Alternatively, I push the loading gate/lifter upwards and depress the little carrier latch at the mouth of the magazine tube and holding it in with my index finger until the spring pushes all the shells out. But that could be a pain for someone with thicker fingers and at the very least awkward and uncomfortable....

Maybe there is something I don't know here?  ? Please enlighten me. Thanks!

[Steve Rose]

You are on the right track with your methods. You can also hold the drop lever up, cycle the bolt continuously (while continuing to hold the drop lever up) , no need to press the lever for each shell in the magazine.

[Birdog19]

3 hours ago, Steve Rose said:

You are on the right track with your methods. You can also hold the drop lever up, cycle the bolt continuously (while continuing to hold the drop lever up) , no need to press the lever for each shell in the magazine.

Ok, just tried this.  While holding the drop lever up, every manual cycle of the bolt ejects a round and chambers the next round.  Repeating the process (lever up and manual bolt cycling) eventually cycles all the rounds out until empty.  Thanks!

[blackpowder1]

4 hours ago, Steve Rose said:

You are on the right track with your methods. You can also hold the drop lever up, cycle the bolt continuously (while continuing to hold the drop lever up) , no need to press the lever for each shell in the magazine.

Thanks, it never occurred to me to keep the lever depressed . . . learned something new?

[3one5]

This also allows you to swap ammo.  Say your gun is loaded with buckshot but you needed a slug quick.  Eject the chambered buckshot by cycling the bolt back, drop the slug on the lifter and let the bolt fly home.

 

ETA: Sorry to resurrect such an old thread...

Edited April 10 by 3one5