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Mixed Results Today - First Time with my New M4 Benelli Report


Centuriator

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So...got it all properly lubed up and checked out and took it out to my gun club for the first time. I had two purposes today: shoot it for the first time and hopefully break it in a bit so I can shoot target load through it, and perhaps even more importantly, I wanted to try out Federal Premium Tactical loads with the Flite Control wads.

 

I should mention that I have extensive experience with shotguns and with the M4 in particular, so I know it is not me, that is, not properly mounting it, and it ran perfectly with slugs and the higher power buck...but... read on.

 

I bought three different types of 00 Premium Tactical Flite Control

 

3" Maximum

2.75" maximum

2.75" reduced recoil

 

I fired each type five times from the following five distances:

 

35 yards

25 yards

15 yards

10 yards

7 yards

 

I began by putting five slugs through it, really high power stuff. Ouch. Pretty much expected it but the recoil was really quite rough. Would NOT want to shoot much of it at one time.

 

Then moved to the 3" loads. Definitely felt those too. Got a good kill zone pattern with it at 35 yards, and of course, it just kept tightening up the closer I got. At 10 and 7 yards, the bad guy target had a fist sized and even small gaping hole in his chest, pretty much blew his heart out.

 

The 2.75" Maximum performed great too, good pattern, much less recoil.

 

The 2.75 reduced recoil was awesome, but .... had failures to eject from the chamber, repeatedly.

 

For the purpose of my experiment, I got all the distances covered with each load and will post pics below once I have them sorted out.

 

BUT I was really disappointing with the M4 not ejecting the husks wiht the low recoil. I loaded it up to the max with the low recoil stuff and repeatedly had failures to kick the husk out and reload the next round. Bummer.

 

I knew it would not work, but I three in 8 rounds of heavy target stuff and it choked and would not eject the husk, I had to do it manually.

 

The good news is the the Federal Flite Control stuff is awesome, works just as advertised and I can most certainly see myself using it as my "go to" defensive load, will probably stick with the 2.75" Maximum just to boost capacity

 

The bad news? My M4 is NOT even able to kick out the low recoil stuff, let alone target ammo.

 

Suggestions? Is it just a matter of shooting 100 or so full power 00 loads through it or more to loosen it up the springs or something?

Edited by Centuriator
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Well, here's the obligatory "mine shoots it just fine" response.:D Now that that's out of the way, that's just about the usual way these things go. Mine has a bazillion and a half rounds of a variety of types (high-power/low-power/in-between-power, slugs/buck/bird) through it so that may be why mine cycles it. I don't really remember what I started out with so I don't recall any initial cycling issues. It won't hurt (much) to do the full-power thing initially and then try some more low-recoil stuff. I prefer that myself since, even though it's all Federal with the Flite Control wad, I find that it patterns much better than the higher power stuff.

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Sorry to hear about your M4 cycling problems. I can only go by my experience with my M4 and that is it cycles everything that I run through the weapon. Long or short brass.The Argo system should be cycling anything right out of the box. I would certainly notify Benelli and let them make the decision on what action needs to be taken.

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Low recoil rounds can have problems cycling in the M4. Especially if it isn’t even trying to eject the hulls. I think it’s the Winchester value pack stuff from Walmart that I don’t get 100% reliability from. The Federal does ok.

 

Your new M4 will break in some over time and soften up. Since you have a Cerakote model of the H2O, it performs as well as the black models. The NP3 plated M4’s perform a little better out of the box.

 

I personally go for the 2 3/4” shells for defensive situations. Hotter the better. The 3” stuff is overkill and you deal with reduced capacities and the problems with heavier recoil like slower follow up shots.

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It will break in.

 

They are gritty guns new, most guns are.

 

The riding/gliding rails will polish smooth. Also springs will set,

 

Leave it stored with the bolt locked back.

 

 

These guns have a very Weak spring and a very heavy bolt.

 

They are a buffer less design and beat the **** out of the receiver/your shoulder..

 

 

I'd really like to see/help design a realistic buffer for this thing, it certainly could use one.

 

 

Also SAI? Lightens the bolt and does other tweeks to improve light loading.

 

These M4s do need some help.

 

Heavy Target load only

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  • 1 month later...
It will break in.

 

They are gritty guns new, most guns are.

 

The riding/gliding rails will polish smooth. Also springs will set,

 

Leave it stored with the bolt locked back.

 

 

These guns have a very Weak spring and a very heavy bolt.

 

They are a buffer less design and beat the **** out of the receiver/your shoulder..

 

 

I'd really like to see/help design a realistic buffer for this thing, it certainly could use one.

 

 

Also SAI? Lightens the bolt and does other tweeks to improve light loading.

 

These M4s do need some help.

 

Heavy Target load only

 

You say it beats the **** out of things...does it? It's pretty low recoil, even given its weight. Noone I know of has ever broken a receiver, or the "back" of the carrier. Watching it cycle in slow motion, it's not bad at all. I really think it should be left the **** alone.

 

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJiSkNtrprg

 

You have the 1301, Benelli ID system, Kalashnikov, and Benelli M4 in slow motion to review above. None of these systems use a buffer. The Benelli ID has been proven, especially, to last a LOONNNG time. All of them look as, or more violent than the Benelli M4 on the rear impulse. I propose that no, a buffer is not needed, and that one should leave the timing of the gun alone.

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