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New user / owner Benelli M4


Drbones

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Weapon is premo on its own.   Its going to be set up for the unfortunate circumstance I hope never happens, unlawful entry into my home. 

  1. Ordered a Mesa 8 shot Tatical Holder 

Need to purchase 

  • 7 rd Benelli Mag 
  • IWC Light Mount - Or if anyone has a suggestion for better option 
  • Streamlight TL1 HL 

 

Is there other assesories I should add for the above purpose of this weapon? 

 

For home defense, what the best way to store the gun? Ghost loaded etc? 

 

Thanks in advance 

 

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I have the Mesa picatinny shell saddle and while it is a nice unit, I kinda wished I waved money and got the Esstac Shotgun Card  that attached using velcro. I have both and the Mesa is cool, it doesn't hold shells anywhere near as securely as the velcro card. The Mesa is super simple to load & unload, but sacrifices in securely holding the shells. It's a trade-off.

I went with the Freedom Fighter Tactical titanium full length tube. I'm sure the Benelli tube will be fine. I'd just compare price and see which is best for you.

That light mount is the best thing out for the price. I will eventually be getting one of those too.

That light is cool, small and light. I have my eye on the StreamLight ProTac Rail Mount 625 or 1,000 lumen version. You can use the tape switch or just the tail cap. It comes with both.

I personally keep my M4 fully loaded, but I leave the chamber empty. I only leave my carry pistol with one in the chamber. It's just a personal preference. I'll have to look into Ghost Loading and see if that is a preferable option.

Edited by NineInchNails
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One thing to be aware of if you replace the 5 rnd mag tube with a seven. That is that you will need to replace two more of the OEM Benelli parts with US made parts to stay 922R compliant. A total of three parts must be replaced with US made parts, the 7 rnd mag tube can count for one of them.

Mag follower, trigger, hammer, trigger housing. are a few others to pick from. There is a complete list of elidgable parts here; https://freedomfightertactical.com/pages/922r-faq 

 

The IWC mount is a good one, I use it and I think it's the only one available for the M4 at this time. It's made for the Surefire Scout series of lights and keeps a very low profile mounting them. IDK how other lights can be mounted on it with the same results.

You can screw a short PIC rail onto the mounting boss and then attach a different type of light to it using a PIC rail clamp but, thats more bits and pieces and you won't get the benefit that you do mounting a Scout light directly to thr boss.

 

As for a shell in the chamber, I don't ever do it. I keep one ghost loaded. If I don't have time to rack one intp the chamber if something goes bump in the night well, I guess I'll just be dead.?

Edited by Evolution
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Dr Bones -

Welcome to the world of:  Making my Benelli M4 more perfect.

Below are some of the things I have done to my M4 for home defense and 3-Gun use.  HOWEVER, I would strongly encourage you to do some searches on this site to see what others have done.  There is a wealth of experience here with many folks trying many different things.  In fact, I'd search every after market gun component that you're thinking about buying on this site before you do so.  The same with any issues you may have with your M4.

Regarding side saddle "tactical shell holder, I had a Mesa 6-round holder and it weighed 7.0 oz with its integrated pic rail.  The Esstac Shotgun Card looks good.  I bought a Vang Comp system from Brownell's that is very similar.  Search Vang Comp on this forum and you can read all about it.  I bought some adhesive backed Velcro and glued it to the side of the receiver, after cutting a whole for the receiver pin, and it works great.  Easy to remove the shell carrier if desired.  Went dove hunting with it and didn't lose any shells, that I noticed.

I had my TLR-2 HL (red laser) mounted on my IWC for a while to check it out dry around the house.  Functionality seemed pretty good but admittedly I have not run it on the range.  It weighs about .6 oz. more than the TLR1 HL.   Have not heard too much discussion on this forum regarding laser use.

I also got rid of the OEM pic rail (and the aforementioned integrated side saddle with rail) and installed a Scalarworks RMR mount and a Trijicon RMR.  It co-witnesses through the ghost ring and just above the front sight post which is nice.  Depending on the model RMR and the condition you leave the sight when storing the gun, the batteries will last 2-5 years.  Check out their site.

If you noticed a common theme here about reducing weight, you're right.

You can ghost load the M4 without having a round in the chamber.  Depending on your situation, that may be preferred for safety reasons, but you will have to rack the gun before using it.  Some people say racking a pump or auto loader is the universal language for, "Get out'a my house!"  Some people say a lot of things.  Personally, I'd like to maintain silence and preserve whatever tactical advantage I may still possess by not racking a shotgun.  Having that extra round: 7 in tube +1 in chamber +1 ghost loaded on the lifter is nice.  Of course, you can always get an extended mag tube for extra capacity depending on your state of residence.  Ghost loading is also discussed as an approved tactical option in the USMC M1014 Operator's Manual.

As you start to think about modifying your gun, check out Freedom Fighter Tactical for the 922(r) compliance issues.  I'm pretty darned sure replacing the Benelli mag tube limiter with an OEM 7 round Benelli mag tube is a violation of 922(r).  Most people replace the entire mag tube with a lighter single piece aftermarket tube.  Want to learn about replacing your OEM mag tube?  There's a tutorial for that on this forum!

Bookmark this forum to your favorites and visit frequently, you'll be glad you did!!

 

 

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Thanks for all the great responses 

 

Did some research on some options 

I’d like a collapsible stock , best way to do that looks like is the Benelli pistol collapsible 

but would need to change out 4 parts (with increasing the mag ) 

So to maintain 922

1.us made mag 

2. forend - midway has a nice aluminum one

*recomendation* on 3 and 4

I searched here and the WWW looking for a good US made c stock and couldn’t  find one available 

 

 

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3 hours ago, Drbones said:

I searched here and the WWW looking for a good US made c stock and couldn’t find one available 

 

 

You won't find one. Definitely stick with the Benelli OEM C stock. A magazine follower is a simple addition for a 922(r) item, some other suggestions are US made fire control parts and trigger housing. Unsure which forend you're referring to.

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