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New Benelli M4, Refuses to fully load 7 rounds


Cobra

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Hey all, so I purchased a new Benelli M4 Tactical 7+1 recently, it came in original packaging, everything checks out as the 11715 model with all the bells and whistles (full tube, night sights, rail, adjustable stock, pistol grip).  I made a minor modification with a custom mount to put on a RMR, and was finally ready to give it a run... only to run into a major issue.  It won't fully load.

Among the shells I purchased for it were Winchester Super X 1 Buck shot, in 2 3/4 inch size.  No matter what I do though i can not get it to load more than 6, and it's supposed to be rated for 7 at 3".  It makes no sense to me at all, I get the 7th shell in about 95% or so and it just hits a wall.  No movement past that, I've tried pushing as hard as I can with two thumbs and there's just no flex at all.  I should note that loading this is super super tight from the first round, but I've read that some others have had the same issue and it gets better after a couple hundred shots or so. 

Have any of you heard of this?  I saw another forum post about an aftermarket solution that had the same issue, but this is 100% factory 7+1.  To confirm, it is not the model with the stopper, it has the full tube, I can see the full length of the spring when I take the cap off. 

Just super bummed about this because of the price of the firearm, and it being my first Benelli I was expecting top notch quality.  This seems like a major defect, and if I have to ship it off to Benelli I have more downtime where I can't use it, and would probably have to strip off the RMR + mount as well to keep that safe.

Edited by Cobra
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2 hours ago, Cobra said:

Hey all, so I purchased a new Benelli M4 Tactical 7+1 recently, it came in original packaging, everything checks out as the 11715 model with all the bells and whistles (full tube, night sights, rail, adjustable stock, pistol grip).  I made a minor modification with a custom mount to put on a RMR, and was finally ready to give it a run... only to run into a major issue.  It won't fully load.

Among the shells I purchased for it were Winchester Super X 1 Buck shot, in 2 3/4 inch size.  No matter what I do though i can not get it to load more than 6, and it's supposed to be rated for 7 at 3".  It makes no sense to me at all, I get the 7th shell in about 95% or so and it just hits a wall.  No movement past that, I've tried pushing as hard as I can with two thumbs and there's just no flex at all.  I should note that loading this is super super tight from the first round, but I've read that some others have had the same issue and it gets better after a couple hundred shots or so. 

Have any of you heard of this?  I saw another forum post about an aftermarket solution that had the same issue, but this is 100% factory 7+1.  To confirm, it is not the model with the stopper, it has the full tube, I can see the full length of the spring when I take the cap off. 

Just super bummed about this because of the price of the firearm, and it being my first Benelli I was expecting top notch quality.  This seems like a major defect, and if I have to ship it off to Benelli I have more downtime where I can't use it, and would probably have to strip off the RMR + mount as well to keep that safe.

Noooooooooo, 7 at 2 3/4"

thats not a defect in your gun, rather in the SPECS and the ACTUAL length of your shells.   Most 2 3/4" shells are NOT actually really 2 3/4"  just sorta kinda.

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8 hours ago, kenw111 said:

Noooooooooo, 7 at 2 3/4"

thats not a defect in your gun, rather in the SPECS and the ACTUAL length of your shells.   Most 2 3/4" shells are NOT actually really 2 3/4"  just sorta kinda.

Yeah my mistake, 7 at 2 3/4, I measured the Winchester #1 and they are 2 3/8ths or so.  So 7 of those would exceed the tube capacity?  Is this universal w/the platform, or does the fit vary from shotgun to shotgun?

Could I have hurt anything w/the spring or tube by trying to push so hard?  I'd imagine not, but I'm not fully familiar w/how the spring and the seal ring are secured. 

Seems like guys in the thread you linked were doing mods to either the spring, or the seal ring (one even said they have theirs out, and only the cap keeps their spring retained?).  Would any of this void Benelli's warranty / support in any way, or affect cycling?  

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The length of the shell is actually derived from the measurement of it before it is crimped down or rolled over the load. 

Since the shell has to be fully expanded and cylindrical to allow the wads and shot column to pass through without any excessive pressure peaks, the crimped section (whether rolled or petaled/folded) has to be completely cylindrical.
Thus the chamber length is the actual “measurement” of an “Uncrimped” shellcase. ( actually, the chamber is fractionally longer than the factory made shell case)

I think that the reason some people have trouble fitting 7 in the mag tube has to do with the variance in the length of the springs, and how many coils each spring has. That, coupled with the variance in the length of the shells from maker to maker can tolerance stack.

They are not all made to exactly the same length, the length can vary from spring to spring.

I highly doubt that you can did any damage as you say, trying to force that 7th round in. 

You could buy a couple springs, or clip a coil or two off of your existing spring and try that.

I'm not a fan of the idea to remove the mag spring retainer as a possible solution.

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Cut the spring.  Worst case, you cut too much and buy a new one. They are cheap.

How much to cut?  (WARNING: math will be involved! Continue only if you are comfortable with using a calculator.)

Measure the amount of the 7th shell that extends past the shell catch (call this X).

Next remove the spring, reassemble the tube with retention clip and follower, insert 7 shells.  Measure the space to the shell catch (call this A).

Measure the space where the spring extends into the follower (call this B)

Measure the space where the spring extends into the retention clip (call this C)

The length of the compressed spring is calculated as A+B+C (call this Y)

Now, measure the uncompressed spring (call this Z)

If you remove X amount of spring from Y, the 7th shell will fit into the tube.  So, we need to convert Y-X= (compressed cutoff) into an uncompressed cutoff.

To do this, determine what percent of Y is X and then apply that percentage to Z to derive the amount to cut off. (OK, just key this into your calculator)

X/Y=F

FxZ= amount to cut off of uncompressed spring (NOTE: calculations with work with both 'merican and metric measurements).

This is your first cut.  After trying it, you may need to take off another ring of the spring to allow for compression past the shell catch (unless you included that in your X measurement).

This worked for me. Hope it works for all of you.

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  • 2 months later...

I recently got an m4/mag upgrade and dealt with the 6 rounds problem. I could only fit 7 with target loads, 6 with everything else. 

I'm spamming the top googled threads with this reply because got sick of being told it's about shell length and unfixable, or I have to cut my spring to fix it. I could never find a thread that just gave me a clear answer about an easy spring swap or anything else that worked. I'm blown away by how hard it was to find a clear answer on this simple topic.

The fix? I replaced the factory spring with a wolff m4 spring from freedom fighter tactical and it went from being a half inch away from holding 7, to holding 7 of anything 2 3/4" long. It's tight, but mine holds 7 of everything now. This isn't meant to be an ad for wolff, as there may be others out there that would fix the problem, but it worked for me and should for you.

Non-target-load 2 3/4in shells are longer and that's a fact, but assuming your m4 parts are the same dimensions as mine which they should be, your M4 WILL hold 7+2 if you get the spring replaced.

I hope I can bring a few people's blood pressure down if you are dealing with the same problem and as frustrated as me with the threads full of non answers out there.

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  • 4 years later...

Occam's razor...

I called Benelli USA at 301-283-6981 and chose the options to speak with technical support for all other questions. When the very helpful and knowledgeable Benelli support person answered, I explained that I have a fresh-from-the-box, new 11715 M4 with a factory seven round magazine. The answer isn't a mystery. Benelli had to spec to something for the 7+1 designation, so they chose to fit seven shorter TARGET shells (they did this not me). Most 2 3/4" marked tactical defensive shells are longer (approximately 2 3/8" crimped) and only six will fit - Benelli knows this and told me this is as designed. This means common defensive shells, including Federal 00 8 or 9 pellet varieties of Personal Defense loads and slugs and Hornady 00 defensive loads (Black, Critical Defense, TAP) and slugs are too long for more than six in the seven round factory magazine the way it comes. I encourage you to call to validate this yourself.

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On 2/28/2024 at 6:46 PM, enlightened1 said:

This means common defensive shells, including Federal 00 8 or 9 pellet varieties of Personal Defense loads and slugs and Hornady 00 defensive loads (Black, Critical Defense, TAP) and slugs are too long for more than six in the seven round factory magazine the way it comes. I encourage you to call to validate this yourself.

I can easily fit 7 of the Hornady Critical Defense shells in my M4 with a full-length tube and the upgraded Carrier Comp spring.

Federal Personal Defense shells are noticeably longer and can only fit 6.  

I really should have checked that before buying the 250rd case of Federal....

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