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M4 Owners - How did you end up discovering and buying the M4?


DailyEDC

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I wanted to buy something for home defense but didn't know anything about guns at the time, 2013-ish.  I happened to be with a SWAT guy for a completely unrelated reason, I think he was the Captain of the LAPD SWAT at the time.  He obviously knew a lot about guns so I asked him what I should buy for home defense.  His eyes lit up in excitement and he practically insisted that I buy the M4.  He said something along the lines of, "Don't waste your time thinking about anything else, just trust me and get the Benelli M4, it's the best shotgun you can buy."  So I ordered it two minutes later without performing even a single google search on it.  I wasn't into guns so researching or reading about guns was the last thing I wanted to do.  Guns have since grown on me but back then reading about guns was like reading about quilt making or sewing.

How did you discover the M4 and how awesome it was?  Magazine?  Military?

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I read about it in a magazine article. The article was specifically talking about how it was the choice of the Marines as a battle shotgun. At the time I was trying to decide whether I wanted a pump home defense shotgun or a semi-auto. I think it was a combination of the M4 reputation and also the fact that not everyone owns one. I guess I like to buy something other than the commonly owned guns. Since my purchase, I've replaced the mag tube with a titanium 7 rounder and made the necessary replacements to keep it 922r compliant. I've patterned it with #00 buck and #4 buckshot out to 20 yards. I've also shot offhand slug groups at 25 yards and I'm extremely satisfied with my purchase.

Now, I have 7+1 rounds of Federal 34 pellet #4 buckshot loads for intruder discouragement.

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I first saw the M4 on the cover of a publication by USCCA.  I think it was written by Mark Martin and it went into all the basics of defending yourself and others using a pistol, rifle and shotgun.  I fell head-over-heals with that picture.., it was like seeing a hot blond in a red corvette convertible.  Just had to have it!  At the time there didn't seem to be many shotguns with pistol grips, pic rails and ghost sites on them so this thing was just all-out sexy to me.  I went fishing on Gun Broker and finally landed the deal for $1,525 in January of 2014.

My buddy and I went trap shooting and I pulled out my M4 after a few rounds using my O/U.  I stood at the trap house and had him launch 6 clays as fast as the machine would launch 'em.  Turning clay into little black clouds of dust as fast as I could was a blast!  Giggled like a school girl!  Later-on with an extended tube, I did the same thing -- this time with 12+1.  Try it, you'll like it!

As I got involved with some local 3-Gun shoots and started tricking out my M4 I had a little bit of "lover's remorse" as I think I would have gone with an M2 or FN purpose-built shotgun for 3-Gun.  Gone is the pic rail and after market side saddle.  Gone is the ghost site housing -- replaced with Scalarworks mount and an RMR.  And gone is the pistol grip so I can do weak hand load 2 and 4.  So, after a little bodywork, I guess I'm sticking with the hot chick in the 'Vette!

In the works is a send-off to Briley to open the loading port and maybe shaping the forcing cone.  Also get an A&S trigger housing.  Once I get all the parts swapped-out and Stranger Danger gets the NP3 coating thing figured out, that'll be my next step to perfecting perfection!

One thing I'd like to do is attend a tactical shotgun course.  I can run the gun ok but would like some bootcamp style instruction and techniques.  Any ideas?

Also, thanks to the many folks on this forum for all the help and advice.  Who knew I could still learn something new everyday!!  ;-{)

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I had never fired a shotgun, when i got my permit to buy and own one at first i really wanted a (dont know if its appropriate to say on this forum but cough.. Vepr12.. cough..  :)

But then the ruskies attacked Ukraine and the manufacturer Molot got in to the sanctions list and could not find one in europe let alone in my country.Was bummed for a while and searched for shotguns manufactured in europe, and then found the glorious Benelli M4.Did not had a chance to touch one nor to shoot one but i decided this is the shotty i need. Ordered one from my local gunstore, had to wait 6 months to have it delivered from Italy. My first shotgun i ever shot was my very own M4.It ate EVERYTHING i threw at it from the nastiest shoulder busting slugs i could find locally to the mildest birdshot (24gram 2.0mm bb size) like a champ. 

I had read that the US marines use it and it was supposed to be the pinnacle of 12gauge, mil spec and what not and i really like it but unfortunately mine started to leak from the gas block(which i tried searching but found nothing that nobody has ever had happened to theirs) now here i am waiting again for the third month to get my beloved M4 back which is under warranty in Italy. 

 

 

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35 minutes ago, Schutzhund said:

...unfortunately mine started to leak from the gas block(which i tried searching but found nothing that nobody has ever had happened to theirs) now here i am waiting again for the third month to get my beloved M4 back which is under warranty in Italy. 

So sorry to hear that.  I did a forum search for leaking gas cylinders as I seemed to recall that topic and low and behold I found one...unfortunatley it was your post!  Best of luck with the Benelli Muther-Land.

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17 hours ago, Don Randall said:

A M4 was issued to me while in the US Navy and attached to 5th Fleet in 2002; best shotgun I had ever used - reliable, accurate, good trigger, and well balanced.

I bought my civilian M4 in 2012 and by 2013 had completed several 922r compliant upgrades.  

 

Awesome.  I can't believe how long this gun has been on the market with the same design.  I'm curious about the M4 that you got in 2002 from the military.

Do they give you a brand new gun and do you get to keep it at your house or room for home defense?  Or do you have to check it in and out when you want to use it? 

Was there anything different about it compared with the latest one?  Or was it exactly the same even back then? 

Thank you for your service sir!

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18 hours ago, Don Randall said:

A M4 was issued to me while in the US Navy and attached to 5th Fleet in 2002; best shotgun I had ever used - reliable, accurate, good trigger, and well balanced.

I bought my civilian M4 in 2012 and by 2013 had completed several 922r compliant upgrades.  

209494459_BenelliM4Right.thumb.png.5fe4303e63de2f87a373bf967805fd0d.png 

Also, do you like that extra grip up front?  I bought the same one, I think from Magpul, and I've tried to use a lot of times but it's super uncomfortable for some reason.  Borderline painful even.  I'm not sure what why, I've tried all different positions and grip pressures but it's horrible on my gun.

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15 hours ago, BKoes said:

I read about it in a magazine article. The article was specifically talking about how it was the choice of the Marines as a battle shotgun. At the time I was trying to decide whether I wanted a pump home defense shotgun or a semi-auto. I think it was a combination of the M4 reputation and also the fact that not everyone owns one. I guess I like to buy something other than the commonly owned guns. Since my purchase, I've replaced the mag tube with a titanium 7 rounder and made the necessary replacements to keep it 922r compliant. I've patterned it with #00 buck and #4 buckshot out to 20 yards. I've also shot offhand slug groups at 25 yards and I'm extremely satisfied with my purchase.

Now, I have 7+1 rounds of Federal 34 pellet #4 buckshot loads for intruder discouragement.

What FPS is your ammo?  I'm trying to figure out some lower power loads that will have less recoil so it's more enjoyable to shoot.  I bought some 1560 FPS because it was on sale but it's no fun to practice with.  Just to try and use up some rounds I shot 21 rounds into the ground the other day and I think I sprained a finger or part of my hand...haha

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6 hours ago, DailyEDC said:

Awesome.  I can't believe how long this gun has been on the market with the same design.  I'm curious about the M4 that you got in 2002 from the military.

Do they give you a brand new gun and do you get to keep it at your house or room for home defense?  Or do you have to check it in and out when you want to use it? 

Was there anything different about it compared with the latest one?  Or was it exactly the same even back then? 

Thank you for your service sir!

The M4 issued to me was a service shotgun for duty and it was keep in the a military armory when not issued. I rarely got the same serial numbered M4 issued, but they all shot the same. 

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5 hours ago, DailyEDC said:

Also, do you like that extra grip up front?  I bought the same one, I think from Magpul, and I've tried to use a lot of times but it's super uncomfortable for some reason.  Borderline painful even.  I'm not sure what why, I've tried all different positions and grip pressures but it's horrible on my gun.

I don't use it as a "hand grip". I use it as a "hand stop" making it easy to rapid reload from the forward 2-shell holder. Also, cant' be seen from the picture but there is a side-mounted  flashlight on the other side with a pressure switch on the Magpul vertical grip. I used the pictured  Magpul vertical grip because I had it in my box of picatinny attachments that  I've gather over the years. 

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I bought my first Benelli, an M1 Super 90, because it looked cool at a LGS and I wanted a semi auto (I still have it). When the M4 came out I thought it was too expensive and waited and waited. Seeing the LE version available to the public I wanted one and finally bought my 11721 M4. It was still too expensive, but I watched on Gunbroker for a while and felt I got a good price. Already spending more anyway on mods. 

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I knew of the Benelli M4 for quite a long time, but never felt like paying that much for one. I had a house fire, no one harmed, but the home had a LOT of smoke damage and it was totaled. I rounded up all of my firearms and some had a lot of corrosion due to the corrosive smoke. I disassembled them all, scrubbed them down inside & out and slowly began restoring them. In the mean time I showed the wife that most all of my guns are out of commission. We had tip top insurance so we had a lot of insurance money accessible so with her on my side I just shelled out for the Benelli M4.

Anyways ... I was able to restore all of my corroded parts to better than original thanks to a local Cerakote shop. It was a win win deal. It pays to have really good insurance because our home was rebuilt on the existing foundation, the new home is nearly twice the size and twice the value. Taxes certainly went up, but still a blessing in disguise.

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Growing up in the 90's, I had a M121 Benelli that had a full length magazine tube and a pistol grip. Somehow I got myself signed up for a a mailing list with Benelli. In the propaganda, they started showing photos of the Benelli M4 which was being tested by the Marine Corps at Aberdeen. Obviously it looked awesome and the ARGO system sounded promising. At the time it wasn't released to the public in America. At some point they released the M1014 to the public in its limited 2,500 run with its non-functioning collapsible stock. A while later, the 11703 model was released. This had a ill fated four port barrel and the same neutered receiver extension. This model came with the pistol grip stock and was generally cheaper than the limited edition. In 2004 I cashed out a bunch of vacation time and bought it for 1,350.00 from gunbroker.

 

I promptly broke the shotgun firing high base loads through that horrible 4 port design. Shotgun went back to Benelli for repairs. I then broke it again since that barrel battered the bolt carrier to the point that it was peening the face of the bolt carrier from the pistons. Back to Benelli again where they replace the bolt carrier, the barrel with a 2 port design and the handguards.

 

I then figured out how to replace the receiver extension with a 11707 models and added a collapsible stock. So I pretty much took the longest road possible to making a 11707.

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Like SD, I owned a 121M1 beginning in '86 and ultimately owned three of those. Loved that shotgun, however by '09 I decided that due to lack of support (i.e. spare parts) it was time to let someone else enjoy the 121M1 and picked up my first M4. I've always appreciated Benelli autoloaders for their reliability and ease of operation under stressfire. It's extremely easy to short stroke a pump shotgun under stressfire especially if you're in shock due to injury. BTDT

r

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I almost died by a bear attack, I live up north where the big ones roam..

I knew a 12ga slug was a great choice for bear protection and carried a Mossberg pump action and practiced with it regularly. At the time I was against a semi-auto shotgun because I had convinced myself that simple was better,.. and who in there right mind would pay $2000 for a shotgun!? ?

I woke up covered in moss and fresh pungent soil. My breathing was raspy as though I had flim that I couldn't quite cough up. I couldn't see out of my left eye and I could smell and taste that distinctive iodiney smell of blood. My heart pounded back alive with a great rush of adrenaline as I started to recall what had happened to me and where I currently was....

I was buried alive, by a bear.  You see, a bear wont usually eat something its killed right away, it will bury it and come back to it later after it has ripened up a bit. This knowledge was flooding through my brain faster than the speed of light as I lay there contemplating my next move.

I've told this story over and over again now thousands of times and I've come to realize that we; the bear and I, were playing a chess game of sorts. He made his move by hunting me down and attacking me, I countered his move by a misplaced shotgun slug due to adrenaline followed by a short-stroke of my shotgun leaving me with nothing but a "click" of the trigger when it really needed to count. The bear did what he does best and I assumed the fetal position playing dead until I couldn't stand the pain any longer of him ripping off a but cheek and almost removing my left foot. I blacked out.

I didnt realize just how comfortable I was in this makeshift early grave until I decided to move.

The pain was unlike anything Id ever experienced before and I let out a grown that didn't even sound like it came from me. Now,..back to the chess part.....  This entire time the bear was sitting a few feat away so as I had just got my first breath of "dirt nap" freedom the all to familiar crunching sound of bear teeth on my skull was back again....actually this whole story is made up for your enjoyment...the reason I purchased a m4 is because I got tired of my m3 jamming. have a good day gents. 

Picture my camera took during the attack ...Im on bottom..

1936008420_bearattk.thumb.jpg.e038a94f45ccd9d23a42b3f1f65e896c.jpg

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Mine is kind of a funny story...

I’d had a Glock pistols for a bunch of years and carry regularly in a few states we’ve lived in. Somewhere in the last year I decided that the home needed a shotgun and I started doing research. I’d always been aware of the Benelli brand, just like Mossberg, Remington, etc. but I had limited experience with SGs, let alone had an opinion on a SG manufacturer or model.

In April I decided I just needed to make a decision on one, narrowed it down to a Mossberg 590 or a Remington 870 after a bunch of review reading and video watching, and finally settled on the 870. Throughout my research I’d show various models to my wife, she’d see me watching videos, etc. so she kind of knew what was on the table and the various prices. She’s always been cool with guns in the house and was fully supportive of getting a SG.

On May 4th, I said to her that I was going to head down to the LGS the next day and tinker around with some SGs, might even start the paperwork on one. She mentioned that we had some other errands to run anyway, why not just take her and the kids (6 & 8 years old) and they’d poke around the store while I did my thing? OK cool, sounds like fun. She asked me what I was thinking about buying, I told her the 870 but joked that I was going to ask if they had a Benelli M4, you know, just to actually hold, fantasize about owning and then come back to reality as I handed it back to them.

The next day we roll into the LGS as planned and the clerk asks what he can help with. It’s early, nearly no one else in the shop except employees so there are 3-4 of them listening to our conversation. I tell the guy I’m there to check out some SGs, have the 870 at the top of my list and can I hold one. As he’s turning toward the racks and racks of long guns, my wife says, “Wait one sec” to the clerk, turns to me and says, “What’s that other one you were talking about? A Benelli?” The clerk looks back with this goofy “yeah right”/“what did I just hear?” grin and I say, “She’s kidding, I joked about getting an M4.”

Shit you not, my wife looks the guy dead in the eyes and says to the clerk, “Please grab him an M4”, guy looks to me and I just shrug stupidly, so he puts one in my hands. After shouldering it (and a bunch of others for fit/feel), Benelli won out and that was all she wrote. Wife even further elevated her legend status around town that day.

The last one they had on the rack had clearly been handled, had some marks and scratches on it, so they ordered a new one from the gettin’ place and after some paperwork and installing a new long gun safe in the home, I was the proud owner of my very own Benelli M4.

jjZ0DLO.jpg

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RPC -

Epic story of your loving wife!  I like your build but curious about the light and its operation.  Looks like an end-cap switch.  Have you run the gun with HD loads and manipulated the light as you might in a HD situation?  Do you change your thumb position to switch the light then back to more of a standard grip?  Just wondering about the ease of operation and if the bezel around the end cap digs into your thumb during recoil.  Would a remote tape switch be better?

I guess this question would make for a new topic.

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10 minutes ago, Birdog19 said:

RPC -

Epic story of your loving wife!  I like your build but curious about the light and its operation.  Looks like an end-cap switch.  Have you run the gun with HD loads and manipulated the light as you might in a HD situation?  Do you change your thumb position to switch the light then back to more of a standard grip?  Just wondering about the ease of operation and if the bezel around the end cap digs into your thumb during recoil.  Would a remote tape switch be better?

I guess this question would make for a new topic.

The shroud can jam your thumb during recoil if you’re using the momentary control over the light like is currently taught. 
 

It’s one of the reasons I machine them off in a lathe and break the edges so that just the rubber nipple is poking out the back. 

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