RPC Posted May 23, 2019 Share Posted May 23, 2019 Picked up my new M1014 Sunday and the first thing I did was read the manual cover to cover. The second thing I did was read it cover to cover again. Then, following the manual, I disassembled the weapon, cleaned it (found some metal shavings, unexpected) and lubed it, again, according to the manual. My issue: Since picking it up and cleaning/lubing, I’ve been practicing loading, chambering, etc. but cannot get more than four 2 3/4” Federal shells in the tube. When inserting the fifth shell, the stack bottoms out with approx. 1/4” of the fifth round left out. I’ve searched this and read thread after thread. It’s not getting hung up on any burrs/lips/etc. (the first four shells go in smoothly but stiffly). Strength is not at issue here, though technique might be, but no amount of brute force gets it home. What’s interesting is, I ordered some dummy rounds- a pack of five- and they’re 2 1/2” long. I can fit five of those in the tube, and I can BARELY fit in 4 x 2 3/4” live rounds + 1 x dummy round, but even that requires finesse and just barely clears and seats. What are the chances I’m doing something wrong (I know this is a stupid question to ask someone to answer as I type it)? I read in more than one place that folks with similar issues had to send M4s back to Benelli who ultimately clipped the recoil spring and returned to owner. Do they not test fill the tube in addition to the live firing they do? I’m headed to the range with a couple hundred rounds of Federal LE 00B + Federal LE Slug on Friday and hoping a bunch of the ol’ “in/out” there will loosen things up, but stopping by here tonight to ask what I might be missing. Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scout_21 Posted May 23, 2019 Share Posted May 23, 2019 (edited) The 9 pellet Federal LE buckshot tends to be a little longer than 2 3/4" in my experience. Did you measure your specific shells? Also check the spring retainer location in your magazine tube. Sometimes it can be installed a bit too far down and moving it up/out will increase your magazine length. I generally install mine protruding from the magazine tube a bit and tightening down the magazine cap / barrel nut will push it into proper place. Check your follower to see if there's any metal in there that the spring might be resting on. Just some quick things to do before considering clipping your magazine spring... Edit: Found this link LE132 00 length issue Edited May 23, 2019 by Scout_21 Added information Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RPC Posted May 23, 2019 Author Share Posted May 23, 2019 (edited) Good stuff Scout, I appreciate it. Strange thing about this ammo is it’s 2.37” long per my caliper. Verified on a second one to double check I made sure the spring retainer was a hair below the end when I reassembled so there wasn’t much there to gain. I like your idea on leaving it out a hair and squaring with the end using the cap, will definitely do that going forward. I also throughly molested the follower while cleaning the factory coatings off and am confident there’s nothing in it hanging the spring up, but again, great call out I’d read about clipping the spring- both home jobs and sending back to Benelli for “warranty” work- so I called them this morning to ask for guidance. Guy was super cool, confirmed that they do use the 7-round spring in the 5-round tube and told me to cut it myself. I could hardly believe my ears. He was really casual about it, said it’s exactly what they would do if it sent it in (but minus the four week wait) and walked me through the procedure. He said the 7-round spring is “longer than it needs to be even in the 7-round tube” but that in the 5-round tube it is known to be sometimes problematic due to the amount of spring steel accumulated at the nose of the tube when loading. He said that that “4 to 6 coils” could be cut off without risk of a malfunction due to too-low of spring force, but to start with 4 coils and go from there. So, I broke out the split ring pliers and wire nippers, took a deep breath and did exactly as he told me. Reassembled and sure enough it swallowed five shells and the fifth just barely cleared/seated. I cycled five loaded tubes through to check for malfunction and couldn’t make one happen. That said, the above is not a recommendation to anyone to do as I did just as I wouldn’t have taken action without Benelli themselves telling me to. I look forward to zero malfunctions due to spring weight at the range tomorrow and will report back here should I get any. Edited May 23, 2019 by RPC 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scout_21 Posted May 23, 2019 Share Posted May 23, 2019 So now I'm a bit confused. 5 - 2.5" dummy shells fit but only 4 - 2.37" shells fit? Have you benchmarked that set of calipers lately? Good to hear that clipping the spring worked... I'll measure some of those shells at home later too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RPC Posted May 23, 2019 Author Share Posted May 23, 2019 15 minutes ago, Scout_21 said: So now I'm a bit confused. 5 - 2.5" dummy shells fit but only 4 - 2.37" shells fit? Yeah, that’s my bad. I’m [obviously] new to shotguns and I assumed that a 2 3/4” shell would literally be 2 3/4” so, by comparison, the dummy rounds were proportionally shorter (side by side the dummy round looked ~1/4” shorter so= ~2 1/2”). It didn’t occur to me to measure the live shells until your post, and now that I measure the dummy rounds, they’re only 2.21” long. *caliper is good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scout_21 Posted May 23, 2019 Share Posted May 23, 2019 Ah yeah, sorry forgot that the measurement is based on unfilled hull length. I'll show the length difference of the 9 shot vs 8 shot Federal LE buckshot tonight.... the 9 being a little longer than "normal" Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scout_21 Posted May 24, 2019 Share Posted May 24, 2019 These are all marked 2 3/4" shell on the boxes. The 9-pellet tactical buck is 0.02" more than the 8-pellet for me... so an extra tenth of a inch for a 5-rd mag tube. The hexolit-32 surprised me a bit.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RPC Posted May 24, 2019 Author Share Posted May 24, 2019 Super interesting, thanks for sharing those! You said that 2 3/4” refers to the fired length? Curious if the median length of these shells would be closer to 2 3/4” open. The 2 3/4” Federal 00B & slug I purchased are not equal length as unfired, I’ll be curious to put empty shells of each in the caliper and see if they’re the same length fired. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zombie Special Test Posted June 7, 2019 Share Posted June 7, 2019 My one can go with 5 shells. But last one I tried hard to do so.... Do you know how to ghost loading 5+1?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zombie Special Test Posted June 7, 2019 Share Posted June 7, 2019 Another question is : M1014 comes with Fixed Choke Inside the Muzzle. Right ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scout_21 Posted June 7, 2019 Share Posted June 7, 2019 (edited) 34 minutes ago, Zombie Special Test said: Another question is : M1014 comes with Fixed Choke Inside the Muzzle. Right ? Yes... did you not believe me the first time I answered this question on another thread? Here's a link to a sale post of an m4 with the military barrel Edited June 7, 2019 by Scout_21 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zombie Special Test Posted June 7, 2019 Share Posted June 7, 2019 35 minutes ago, Zombie Special Test said: Another question is : M1014 comes with Fixed Choke Inside the Muzzle. Right ? 2 minutes ago, Scout_21 said: Yes... did you not believe me the first time I answered this question on another thread? I believed what you said. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RPC Posted June 7, 2019 Author Share Posted June 7, 2019 (edited) 6 hours ago, Zombie Special Test said: Do you know how to ghost loading 5+1?? Yeah, I’ve read about/watched videos on ghost loading but came across folks warning against doing it due to potential for damaging the lifter/carrier/shell stop? Can’t speak 1st person but they seemed credible so I’ve not done it. Kind of a bummer because, due to the trigger, hammer & safety configuration I’m not comfortable storing it loaded so I’d love to sneak another shell in there if I’ve misdiagnosed the risk of “ghost loading”. Thoughts others on this? 6 hours ago, Zombie Special Test said: Another question is : M1014 comes with Fixed Choke Inside the Muzzle. Right ? I believe Benelli’s product description says something like, “fixed modified choke” but my M1014 is just 18.5” of chrome-coated barrel. No threads on the business end, zero evidence of any modifications by Benelli, etc. Mine looks just like the barrel in the link Scout shared above My first shotgun, certainly my first Benelli, so I might be missing something. Edited June 7, 2019 by RPC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbo45 Posted June 9, 2019 Share Posted June 9, 2019 On 6/7/2019 at 7:26 PM, RPC said: Yeah, I’ve read about/watched videos on ghost loading but came across folks warning against doing it due to potential for damaging the lifter/carrier/shell stop? Can’t speak 1st person but they seemed credible so I’ve not done it. Kind of a bummer because, due to the trigger, hammer & safety configuration I’m not comfortable storing it loaded so I’d love to sneak another shell in there if I’ve misdiagnosed the risk of “ghost loading”. Thoughts others on this? I believe Benelli’s product description says something like, “fixed modified choke” but my M1014 is just 18.5” of chrome-coated barrel. No threads on the business end, zero evidence of any modifications by Benelli, etc. Mine looks just like the barrel in the link Scout shared above My first shotgun, certainly my first Benelli, so I might be missing something. I've never had any issue ghost loading my M4. I'm not saying I've done it 10000 times but still no issue for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Rose Posted June 9, 2019 Share Posted June 9, 2019 “Carrier Loading” (aka Ghost Loading). See page 24 of the USMC M1014 manual LINK to USMC M1014 manual 1 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RPC Posted June 10, 2019 Author Share Posted June 10, 2019 8 hours ago, Steve Rose said: “Carrier Loading” (aka Ghost Loading). See page 24 of the USMC M1014 manual LINK to USMC M1014 manual Thanks Steve, this is phenomenal. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekguy Posted June 10, 2019 Share Posted June 10, 2019 On 6/9/2019 at 11:09 AM, Steve Rose said: “Carrier Loading” (aka Ghost Loading). See page 24 of the USMC M1014 manual LINK to USMC M1014 manual Wow. Thanks for that manual. The "book" that come with the Benelli M4 is fine but this USMC manual is exactly what I needed/wanted. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC DOG Posted June 12, 2019 Share Posted June 12, 2019 On 6/9/2019 at 2:09 PM, Steve Rose said: “Carrier Loading” (aka Ghost Loading). See page 24 of the USMC M1014 manual LINK to USMC M1014 manual Glad to see that manual on my G-Drive is of use to people! ? 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEPK Posted December 27, 2019 Share Posted December 27, 2019 I realize this is an old topic but know that it was very helpful. I too am a first time shotgun owner. Wife and Ilong time pistol owners but I wanted to try something new. Found this as I ran into the same deal with 9 pellet federal. Wasn’t off much for the fifth but also thought, “is it me?” Great info in just this thread, can’t wait to read more now that I’ve signed up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RPC Posted December 27, 2019 Author Share Posted December 27, 2019 23 minutes ago, DEPK said: I realize this is an old topic but know that it was very helpful. I too am a first time shotgun owner. Wife and Ilong time pistol owners but I wanted to try something new. Found this as I ran into the same deal with 9 pellet federal. Wasn’t off much for the fifth but also thought, “is it me?” Great info in just this thread, can’t wait to read more now that I’ve signed up. Welcome DEPK, 1st time SG owner myself (owned handguns for decades though). The 9-pellet Federal 00 was exactly the ammo I also had issues with. This particular thread might be six months old, but you’ll see this topic come up just about monthly if you stick around. Heck, this thread was revived just a couple of weeks ago. Awesome info and even better folks here. Ask any question that comes to mind, never seen someone be given anything but genuine info outside of the occasional (and obvious) troll. -Rex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwingsfansfc Posted July 10, 2020 Share Posted July 10, 2020 So glad I found this thread. Just got my M4 11707, and ran into the 4 shell load issue. Short of pulling the spring, couldn’t figure it out. Needless to say for the price of the gun, and having this issue when advertising 5+1 is slightly frustrating. The potential 7 spring isn’t bad if going to the full tube, but wasn’t something I planned on immediately, especially with 922 compliance (overall cost) from the initial cost of the gun. Funny thing is the freedom fighter tactical video that covers the full Tube and 922r - dude says that people have run the 5 inch spring without issue. That was a flag to me, just on math and spring pressure. Now it makes sense if there is a 7 inch spring. looking forward to being a part of the forum. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwingsfansfc Posted July 11, 2020 Share Posted July 11, 2020 3 hours ago, Redwingsfansfc said: freedom fighter tactical video that covers the full Tube and 922r Can’t edit, so correction: Wasn’t FFT, was another video. Apologies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RPC Posted July 12, 2020 Author Share Posted July 12, 2020 On 7/10/2020 at 5:45 PM, Redwingsfansfc said: So glad I found this thread. Just got my M4 11707, and ran into the 4 shell load issue. Short of pulling the spring, couldn’t figure it out. Needless to say for the price of the gun, and having this issue when advertising 5+1 is slightly frustrating. The potential 7 spring isn’t bad if going to the full tube, but wasn’t something I planned on immediately, especially with 922 compliance (overall cost) from the initial cost of the gun. Funny thing is the freedom fighter tactical video that covers the full Tube and 922r - dude says that people have run the 5 inch spring without issue. That was a flag to me, just on math and spring pressure. Now it makes sense if there is a 7 inch spring. looking forward to being a part of the forum. Welcome! This forum was invaluable to me as a first time M4 owner and tinkerer-at-heart, I trust you’ll find it the same. If you have a question and don’t see a thread about it, just ask. Decades of experience here (not me, the other guys/gals...)! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwingsfansfc Posted July 12, 2020 Share Posted July 12, 2020 Thanks! Already have a new tube from @SOCOMguyon the way, and have picked up a dozen things from the board that will make for smart (not bling) changes along the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClackClackBAM Posted July 12, 2020 Share Posted July 12, 2020 On 7/10/2020 at 6:45 PM, Redwingsfansfc said: So glad I found this thread. Just got my M4 11707, and ran into the 4 shell load issue. Short of pulling the spring, couldn’t figure it out. Needless to say for the price of the gun, and having this issue when advertising 5+1 is slightly frustrating. The potential 7 spring isn’t bad if going to the full tube, but wasn’t something I planned on immediately, especially with 922 compliance (overall cost) from the initial cost of the gun. Funny thing is the freedom fighter tactical video that covers the full Tube and 922r - dude says that people have run the 5 inch spring without issue. That was a flag to me, just on math and spring pressure. Now it makes sense if there is a 7 inch spring. looking forward to being a part of the forum. My brand new M4 did the same thing when using 2 3/4 Federal 9 shot 00 Buck. I ended up trimming the spring a little bit and it solved the problem. Oddly enough, the spring is now the correct length for my 7 round tube. Works perfectly. No need to worry about math and spring pressure. If you want some help though, email Sean at Wolff Springs and he'll tell you exactly how many to cut. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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