Jump to content

A 7 Round tube does NOT always fit 7 rounds in the M4


nealc104

Recommended Posts

17 minutes ago, ClackClackBAM said:

I'm going to take the spring and follower out to make sure it's properly seated, but I was wondering if any of you have another suggestion other than changing my choice of ammo. I just bought a case of it, so it will be feeding these shells for a while.

Clacker -

Don't change your ammo, trim your spring!

Here is what Nordic Components says when installing their extended mag tubes. This step is after the new tube is installed, the follower and spring are installed with the excess spring hanging out of the end of the uncapped mag tube:

At this time the spring will need to be trimmed.  On semi-automatic shotguns especially, the magazine spring length can be critical for proper function (duh...).    We recommend that approximately 16" extends past the end of the magazine tube extension as a starting point.  We do not recommend trimming shorter than 12".  Trim the spring off at this point  (16" starting point), and turn the open end in and down so as not to bind with the magazine cap.

When I had the Nordic Comp 10 round and 12 round tubes installed this is the process I followed and it worked just fine.  I used a pair of needle nose pliers to bend the bitter end of the spring inward and downward.

Tell you the truth, I'm not sure which spring I'm using now, I believe it's the OEM 7-round spring.  As you can see it only extends 9" from the end of the tube...maybe it's been compressed over the years -- not that I want to start a physics discussion on the properties of spring compressibility... .  Bottom line, I've never had a failure of the last round to drop onto the lifter and load, and I've done a lot of shooting with only 1 or 2 shells in the tube.

 

1597048947_SpringTrimmings.thumb.jpg.d33f60e0ed48ac876dd6608c2d769544.jpg

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the info! 

I did some more reading and found a few people ended up just using the original spring from the five round tube and it worked fine. My fear is with use it would lose tension and cause those last rounds to jam. I decided to just trim the full length spring  just enough to make that seventh round fit while leaving the spring retainer flush with the tube. In total I took off about five, maybe six coils then put the cut end inside the follower. Didn't curve the cut part though, so I might go back to do that.

As of now it lets me put that seventh round in no problem. The round is def pushed against that stopper but it cycles just fine. Think I should trim off one more coil just to givt it a little bit more room? Or just leave the mag full and let it loosen up on its own?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Went back and trimmed off about 3/4 of another coil then rolled the cut end in a bit. I noticed the follower was skewing to one side due to the cut, so I put the unaltered end in the follower then the cut end at the retainer. All seven rounds go in just fine, but now the last round will push in by a mm or two, which seems about normal compared to the stock five round tube. Tested out loading with just one and then two rounds in the tube and it functioned without issue. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Clacker -

Nice work!  Overcoming the fear of trimming the spring is the first obstacle!  I forgot to recommend using the unaltered/finished end of the spring to push he follower.  It does help to keep the follower straight with equal pressure as opposed to skewing as you mentioned.   It also prevents the altered end of the spring from scratching the inside of the tube when removing the spring.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Birdog19 said:

Clacker -

Nice work!  Overcoming the fear of trimming the spring is the first obstacle!  I forgot to recommend using the unaltered/finished end of the spring to push he follower.  It does help to keep the follower straight with equal pressure as opposed to skewing as you mentioned.   It also prevents the altered end of the spring from scratching the inside of the tube when removing the spring.

Fear is the mind killer...

I guess there are limits somewhere in regards to length.  I have a M4 LE as well, mine was the same way when I got it.  Would not load seven, and I think the initial feeling is disappointment that your new shiny badazz LE Benelli won't do it's capacity.  Mine is ok with just goofing with the keeper by leaving it loose.  Last round is a bit of a push.

Here's how I would handle it if a new shell wouldn't load 7.  Just load 6, put in number 7.  Push it in and get a feeling for how many more centimeters of space you need and clip off like twice that off the spring.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

48 minutes ago, les_garten said:

Fear is the mind killer...

I guess there are limits somewhere in regards to length.  I have a M4 LE as well, mine was the same way when I got it.  Would not load seven, and I think the initial feeling is disappointment that your new shiny badazz LE Benelli won't do it's capacity.  Mine is ok with just goofing with the keeper by leaving it loose.  Last round is a bit of a push.

Here's how I would handle it if a new shell wouldn't load 7.  Just load 6, put in number 7.  Push it in and get a feeling for how many more centimeters of space you need and clip off like twice that off the spring.

I had the same issue with mine, then I purchased the Wolff replacement spring from FFT. That allows me to get 7 rounds of Federal 00 in the tube. However, even longer 00 rounds (like Rio) will likely be an issue. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Birdog19 said:

Clacker -

Nice work!  Overcoming the fear of trimming the spring is the first obstacle!  I forgot to recommend using the unaltered/finished end of the spring to push he follower.  It does help to keep the follower straight with equal pressure as opposed to skewing as you mentioned.   It also prevents the altered end of the spring from scratching the inside of the tube when removing the spring.

Thanks! Well to be completely honest, I knew that the Wolff spring is in stock at CC and is only $12 to replace if I screw up, so I decided to try my luck. haha. Plus I contacted Sean at Wolff Springs and he recommended I cut it. 

 

1 hour ago, les_garten said:

Fear is the mind killer...

I guess there are limits somewhere in regards to length.  I have a M4 LE as well, mine was the same way when I got it.  Would not load seven, and I think the initial feeling is disappointment that your new shiny badazz LE Benelli won't do it's capacity.  Mine is ok with just goofing with the keeper by leaving it loose.  Last round is a bit of a push.

Here's how I would handle it if a new shell wouldn't load 7.  Just load 6, put in number 7.  Push it in and get a feeling for how many more centimeters of space you need and clip off like twice that off the spring.

I thought about just leaving it at six but I knew it would drive me nuts if I didn't fix it. Also, I've wanted this gun forEVER and there's no way I'll let a cheap spring stand in the way of it being set up just the way I want.

12 minutes ago, DFWSFO said:

I had the same issue with mine, then I purchased the Wolff replacement spring from FFT. That allows me to get 7 rounds of Federal 00 in the tube. However, even longer 00 rounds (like Rio) will likely be an issue. 

I'm assuming the Wolff spring FFT sells is nearly identical to the Wolff spring CC has listed, right? I was trying to figure out why they sell it for $12.99, and FFT has it for $24.99.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 12/10/2019 at 8:22 PM, deek57 said:

Thanks Deek, I know you posted this a while ago, but I have been equally frustrated with this.  I order the spring from your link and can't wait to try it out.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, Kyuss said:

Thanks Deek, I know you posted this a while ago, but I have been equally frustrated with this.  I order the spring from your link and can't wait to try it out.  

Let us know how it goes.

I can't promise there isn't some 2 3/4 shell out there that won't allow for 7 in the tube, but everything I have fits now. I'm just not a fan of trimming springs when there's full springs out there that work.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 hours ago, ClackClackBAM said:

Okay, so maybe I'm doing something wrong here..

I just installed the 7 round OEM tube and installed a CarrierComp Wolf spring and a CC follower. Even within the spring cap about half an inch out of the tube I STILL CAN'T get seven rounds of Federal LE 9 pellet Buckshot in there. 

I'm going to take the spring and follower out to make sure it's properly seated, but I was wondering if any of you have another suggestion other than changing my choice of ammo. I just bought a case of it, so it will be feeding these shells for a while.

Hmm, the only difference in my setup is that I’m using the OEM follower instead of CC. Don’t know how much of a difference that makes. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 hours ago, ClackClackBAM said:

Okay, so maybe I'm doing something wrong here..

I just installed the 7 round OEM tube and installed a CarrierComp Wolf spring and a CC follower. Even within the spring cap about half an inch out of the tube I STILL CAN'T get seven rounds of Federal LE 9 pellet Buckshot in there. 

I'm going to take the spring and follower out to make sure it's properly seated, but I was wondering if any of you have another suggestion other than changing my choice of ammo. I just bought a case of it, so it will be feeding these shells for a while.

What DFWSFO said.

I'd have to guess there's something different about your follower. Change back to the factory everything beyond the spring and try again. You'd sure think every wolff spring would be the same, but maybe not?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 minutes ago, DFWSFO said:

Hmm, the only difference in my setup is that I’m using the OEM follower instead of CC. Don’t know how much of a difference that makes. 

 

4 minutes ago, deek57 said:

What DFWSFO said.

I'd have to guess there's something different about your follower. Change back to the factory everything beyond the spring and try again. You'd sure think every wolff spring would be the same, but maybe not?

Nope, it's not the follower. The CC is an exact copy of the OEM, down to the lines and all. It just has the US stamp on it. 
 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 5/15/2020 at 8:28 AM, deek57 said:

Let us know how it goes.

I can't promise there isn't some 2 3/4 shell out there that won't allow for 7 in the tube, but everything I have fits now. I'm just not a fan of trimming springs when there's full springs out there that work.

So just got the Wolff spring in, and installed it a few minutes ago.  I was able to get 7   2 3/4  shells in, without modifying (cutting) the spring.  I measured the length of the spring from the end of the mag tube to the remaining portion of the spring and it measured right at 11".  Thanks for your help with this one!!! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 minutes ago, Kyuss said:

So just got the Wolff spring in, and installed it a few minutes ago.  I was able to get 7   2 3/4  shells in, without modifying (cutting) the spring.  I measured the length of the spring from the end of the mag tube to the remaining portion of the spring and it measured right at 11".  Thanks for your help with this one!!! 

I'm glad to hear that it went smoother for you! Let's see some pictures when you're done.

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 months later...

So please tell me how you are supposed to fit 19 1/4" of shells in an 18 1/4" magazine? Since you are already a full inch beyond the length of the tube without even addressing the spring or follower or retension clip adding at least another inch to the equation. I would like to know how you manipulate the laws of physics to make this happen.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 minutes ago, BSwartwout said:

So please tell me how you are supposed to fit 19 1/4" of shells in an 18 1/4" magazine? Since you are already a full inch beyond the length of the tube without even addressing the spring or follower or retension clip adding at least another inch to the equation. I would like to know how you manipulate the laws of physics to make this happen.

The extra space is incorporated into the Benelli m4 receiver. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for all the great info in the this thread! I had trouble getting 7 rounds in my new Briley carbon fiber mag tube. I then added Briley's One Shot Extension before I decided to work on the spring. FYI the Briley spring that comes with their CF mag tube is 7" longer than the Benelli factory spring.

Thanks to the info from @Birdog19 post  I was able to shorten the magazine spring without a lot of trial and error. Shortened the spring to 16" sticking out of the magazine (with the One Shot extension) and it fit 8 rounds but it felt like the last round was binding the spring just a bit. Cut the spring back to 15" and it leaves some clearance after the last round. Good to go! I hit the range the past weekend and it worked great!  

1AFEE32B-1B51-4083-9891-A2BD2C94F844.jpeg

CCE84210-370D-4D0E-80E6-5B7DE561D861.jpeg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...