AIRB0RNE6176 Posted April 16, 2023 Share Posted April 16, 2023 (edited) For my Marine Security Guard assignments to the U.S. Consulate (Embassy now) in Panama City and the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, we had our M1014's (M4's) equipped with the stock Benelli split handguards. They were set up that way for a reason and they worked 100% without fail, as Benelli had intended. The stock handguards may not be "high speed" or have lots of accessory mounting options, but they are actually the best thing for the M4 especially if it can protect the Agro dual piston gas system in both Central America and the Middle East. My detachments were not always indoors with the rest of the State Dept personnel and Contracted Security crews, as we routinely trained with national & local forces (and even other countries' forces) in their varied environments with our issued gear. Our M1014's handled everything like a champ, even when we had a couple of actual incursions by militants and insurgents. For OIF and OEF (& to some extent, OIR), the M1014/M4's stock handguards took on and survived some of the harshest operating conditions and environments and still performed outstandingly well in protecting the dual pistons. Although I was equipped with my M240B, we saw "teams" with their Benelli's looking like they've been through literal #ell but they were still "taking out the trash" with them. As MSG, the only thing we couldn't do with our '1014's was modify the stock set up and functionality of them, lest we'd potentially cause an international incident. That should tell us all something about the stock handguards, as they just simply work and do their designed job. And that's to provide us Marines a perfect ergonomic place to grip to shotgun while we buttstroke the enemy in the teeth... (per DoS, DoD, and RoE regs, of course) (sorry about the wall of text and rant) I'm currently using the Agency Arms handguard on my M4, as it is a backup HD shotgun that needed a WML and a foregrip for my Dad. I can see myself with another M4 very soon as a "slick" SBS w/ stock split handguard & stippling. Edited April 16, 2023 by AIRB0RNE6176 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sammy Posted April 17, 2023 Share Posted April 17, 2023 Thank you for your service AIRBORNE6176. The agency handguard looks rad and provides 8 and 5 o'clock mounting options, however like you said about the durability and simplicity of the factory handguard, I would revert to something both stable as mounting platform AND provides ease of disassembly. The latter is my only complaint about the FAB Defense handguard. Otherwise durability is key when mounting accessories to a 12ga which is why I do not advocate any Picatinny rails with lightening cuts as found on the Surefire handguard. Likewise if you choose to go the MLOK route, ensure the MLOK Picatinny extensions do not have lightening cuts dramatically reducing the strength of accessories mounted. SAMMY! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RxArms Posted April 17, 2023 Share Posted April 17, 2023 2 hours ago, Sammy said: Thank you for your service AIRBORNE6176. The agency handguard looks rad and provides 8 and 5 o'clock mounting options, however like you said about the durability and simplicity of the factory handguard, I would revert to something both stable as mounting platform AND provides ease of disassembly. The latter is my only complaint about the FAB Defense handguard. Otherwise durability is key when mounting accessories to a 12ga which is why I do not advocate any Picatinny rails with lightening cuts as found on the Surefire handguard. Likewise if you choose to go the MLOK route, ensure the MLOK Picatinny extensions do not have lightening cuts dramatically reducing the strength of accessories mounted. SAMMY! Have you has durability problems with lightening cuts on the surefire picatinny? as long as the cuts are engineered properly I see no reason why materials can’t be removed to lighten gun accessories and parts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roverjohn Posted April 17, 2023 Share Posted April 17, 2023 18 hours ago, kenw111 said: wide open??????? ROFL.....the factor M4 handguards entirely block dirt/crap from falling into the dual piston system. I was referring to the aluminum handguards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sammy Posted April 18, 2023 Share Posted April 18, 2023 18 hours ago, RxArms said: Have you has durability problems with lightening cuts on the surefire picatinny? as long as the cuts are engineered properly I see no reason why materials can’t be removed to lighten gun accessories and parts. Surefire? No. Picatinny rail lightening cuts? Absolutely! I've had handguards break due to "saving weight" with lightening cuts on Picatinny rails... in the middle of demos! Likewise, asking someone to trust their life to such a minute weight difference is a liability not advantage. The 1913 Picatinny rail has specific dimensions for a reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M2_shootr Posted April 19, 2023 Share Posted April 19, 2023 On 4/16/2023 at 7:23 PM, AIRB0RNE6176 said: For my Marine Security Guard assignments to the U.S. Consulate (Embassy now) in Panama City….. Thank you for your Service. I appreciate your thoughts on the hand guards. Been to Panama many times, but years ago. Is Peacock bass fishing still a thing? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AIRB0RNE6176 Posted April 19, 2023 Share Posted April 19, 2023 (edited) Sure enough, IF the Det Commander let's you go. During my tour in Panama City, there was a lot of civil unrest locally and the State Dept "highly frowned" upon U.S. personnel from venturing out too much (yeah, right). Although it wasn't recommended we go fishing or on most tours, some U.S. Representatives came down on a "Diplomatic Mission" but spent most of their time catching a lot of Peacock Bass. That was the only time I personally got the chance to go, as I was "at work" with the DoS & PSD escort detail.😁 Edited April 19, 2023 by AIRB0RNE6176 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M2_shootr Posted April 19, 2023 Share Posted April 19, 2023 (edited) I retired in 05, so it’s been a while for me. We always used to stay in the Continental. I think my last trip down was in ‘99 Edited April 19, 2023 by M2_shootr 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AIRB0RNE6176 Posted April 19, 2023 Share Posted April 19, 2023 Thank you Sir for your service and sacrifice. I joined in '98, and things have changed so much between then and now. Especially in regards to Rules of Engagement with a shotgun against enemy combatants outside of a declared time of war. We had certain "deliberate" actions we had to take with a shotgun due to international "opinions" and such... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M2_shootr Posted April 19, 2023 Share Posted April 19, 2023 Thanks…..appreciate all you do. Please watch your six down there….. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AIRB0RNE6176 Posted April 19, 2023 Share Posted April 19, 2023 Oh no Sir, I'm retired now but I did the boneheaded thing and became a DoD military contractor on an Army base here in GA. I have my worries about today's military... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M2_shootr Posted April 20, 2023 Share Posted April 20, 2023 34 minutes ago, AIRB0RNE6176 said: Oh no Sir, I'm retired now but I did the boneheaded thing and became a DoD military contractor on an Army base here in GA. I have my worries about today's military... Ah…. I did the civil service thing for a while. Got away from Gov work. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CYZEY Posted November 29, 2023 Share Posted November 29, 2023 On 11/24/2022 at 3:13 PM, benelliwerkes said: I have used the aluminum Benelli M4 Surefire M80 quad-rail for years without any issues. How many more mounting positions does one need? This is hilarious.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CYZEY Posted November 29, 2023 Share Posted November 29, 2023 I picked mine up at a large guns store in the St Louis area...the factory hand guard is cool because it's pretty rare, but it's heavy AF and isn't true MLOK. It's a weird pattern that you must use screws to attach pic sections to and benelli only provided 4 sections and 8 screws. The screws are cheap garbage. Took heads right off the first two I used. Can't tighten them enough to keep them from loosening from the recoil. I'm currently looking for a true MLOK rail to replace it 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CYZEY Posted November 29, 2023 Share Posted November 29, 2023 On 9/7/2022 at 1:46 PM, StrangerDanger said: Looks like yet another rail that wasn't designed by someone who uses a firearm in the field. Terrible ergonomics compared to the polymer handguard. Added weight. No placements for lights that make sense. They'll sell a ton. Bingo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KCshooter Posted November 30, 2023 Share Posted November 30, 2023 Took a serious look at the 11714 but went with the 11715 for many of the reasons listed above. Thinking about the heat shield from RX Arms when they are back in stock....I like this set up as it keeps the stock poly hand guards and puts flashlight placement further forward. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benelliwerkes Posted December 3, 2023 Share Posted December 3, 2023 (edited) On 4/16/2023 at 1:33 PM, kenw111 said: isnt that very TACTICOOL, looks like it weighs 100 pounds, good luck with that, visually impressive..........yet in practicality, ....demonic PSA- The Surefire M80 tri-rails only weighs 4 ounces more than the factory hand guards, that is less than 3 shotshells. The entire 14" M4 with rails weighs only 2 lbs more than 2 full size pistols. It has proven to be a very practical setup. Get some heavy cross-training shoes and don't be that Karen. Edited December 3, 2023 by benelliwerkes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Doe Posted December 4, 2023 Share Posted December 4, 2023 The Mk 23.... My unicorn..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AIRB0RNE6176 Posted December 4, 2023 Share Posted December 4, 2023 One thing's for sure about the Mark 23 (& the D.E.) is that you've gotta down a "Can of Man" (or two) to handle them. Definitely not for "delicate" hands or "weak" shooters, especially shooting .45 Super regularly. I've got a spare slide inbound for my Mark 23 to receive a direct milling job for an Acro P-2. Should be quite a beast... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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