M4 cycling

[LumberZach]

Hey all,

 

I did some searching but didn’t come up with anything. 

The issue: I was shooting some birdshot and clays in my backyard, and started screwing around by trying to shoot from the hip/behind my back and such. It turns out, the m4 wouldn’t cycle when the gun wasn’t fired from my shoulder. I thought the gas operated system would have mitigated such an issue, and I understand that m2’s and recoil operates guns have this issue a bit more.

 

I haven’t tried buck shot like this, but I suspect that’ll solve the problem. I’m just wondering if this is a common/acceptable issue with light loads or if there is anything I can do to help resolve this.

 

i understand what’s going on with the failure to eject, but again, seems like the m4 should be able to handle this.

 

thanks guys!

[Sukhoi_fan]

The FN SLP comes with two gas pistons for good reason -  to handle both light and heavy loads but not at the same time. The M4 was designed to fire take no prisoners/full power loads and not light loads, and therefore Benelli made no provision on the M4 for firing weaker loads. I'm sure the concept was "In general no one will be shooting clays or be bird hunting with this short barrel tactical shotgun." Just a thought.

Edited April 21, 2019 by Sukhoi_fan

[Don Randall]

If this is what you are experiencing, then it can occur with low recoil or some types of birdshot rounds. If you are able to shoot from the hip per your scenario with 00-buck then the M4 is operating properly. Just as with a pistol you can "limp-wrist" a FTF, then same thing can happen with a semi-auto shotgun - call it "limp-hip" FTF. 

 

[StrangerDanger]

Weak valuepack birdshot will fail if you aren't holding the shotgun firmly. A weak stance literally robs the bolt carrier of energy while it's cycling and causes malfunctions. Either the carrier doesn't cycle all the way to the rear, or it's so anemic, that the carrier gets hung up on the hammer.

If you want to screw around and blast from the hip, feed it some stronger ammo. You can also learn to really lean in to the way you hold the shotgun to provide a firm base for it. Everyone can improve their stance and strength.