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I found a gunsmith who will cut the 18.5" M4 barrel to 14"...


SergeantBernie

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After an exhaustive search and dozens and dozens of phone calls, I've managed to track down a gunsmith who is interested in converting my 18.5" M4 barrel down to the 14" entry length. Almost every other shop I called either said "We don't want to do it since it would require moving both the front sight and the mag tube locking ring, too much hassle", or the price was astronomical ($600 +).

 

I just sent my barrel off a week or so ago to this new shop, and after some discussions of what would be involved they gave me a price of $275. The shop purchased an M4 to conduct fit checks on, and they will get the process nailed down using my barrel as the guinea pig. Hopefully by mid June I will have the finished 14" barrel back in my hands.

 

I'm not going to provide the shop's name just yet, I want to get the barrel back and see how it pans out so as to not get anybody ticked off in case it only turns out so-so. If it turns out to be of the level of quality I've come to know from this shop, I will at that point put up a post to alert you other folks out there interested in registering your Benelli M4 as a short barreled shotgun.

 

I encourage anybody out there going the SBS route to still continue to call around to shops in case you stumble upon a better deal, but I did want to post an alert that I think I finally found a high quality solution for a great price. Keep this in mind over the next few weeks and as soon as I get my barrel back, I'll let you know if it is worthy of adorning your M4!

 

I will also post pictures of the finished product so you can judge the work for yourself.

 

Shane A. Bernskoetter

Author of:

Surviving Twilight: A Soldier's Chronicle of Daily Life in Iraq

http://www.survivingtwilight.com

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You asked if that would make the gun illegal. If you were to simply have a smith mod your barrel for you and you slapped it on a non-NFA registered M4, then yes that would be illegal.

 

Up in the middle of the post I mentioned that this was an option for anybody wishing to register their M4 as a short barreled shotgun. (Actually I just used the acronym SBS and didn't elaborate - not very clear on my part, sorry). Basically you pay the ATF the $200 fee for the tax stamp and within a month you have an approved Form 1. Once your M4 is registered as a SBS, you can put on any bells or whistles you desire (extension tube, collapsible stock, etc.) since it is now an NFA weapon and exempt from the frustrating and utterly imbecilic 922r regulations.

 

I think this is a very worthwhile ability for $200 if you can swing it. If you ever need to sell the shotgun in the future and don't want to hassle with selling it as an NFA weapon, you can return it to its original factory configuration, sell the extra parts and then have the ATF delist it from the NFA registry for free. Then, off it goes on its merry way - no longer a registered NFA weapon.

 

Shane A. Bernskoetter

Author of:

Surviving Twilight: A Soldier's Chronicle of Daily Life in Iraq

http://www.survivingtwilight.com

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After an exhaustive search and dozens and dozens of phone calls, I've managed to track down a gunsmith who is interested in converting my 18.5" M4 barrel down to the 14" entry length. Almost every other shop I called either said "We don't want to do it since it would require moving both the front sight and the mag tube locking ring, too much hassle", or the price was astronomical ($600 +).

 

I just sent my barrel off a week or so ago to this new shop, and after some discussions of what would be involved they gave me a price of $275. The shop purchased an M4 to conduct fit checks on, and they will get the process nailed down using my barrel as the guinea pig. Hopefully by mid June I will have the finished 14" barrel back in my hands.

 

I'm not going to provide the shop's name just yet, I want to get the barrel back and see how it pans out so as to not get anybody ticked off in case it only turns out so-so. If it turns out to be of the level of quality I've come to know from this shop, I will at that point put up a post to alert you other folks out there interested in registering your Benelli M4 as a short barreled shotgun.

 

I encourage anybody out there going the SBS route to still continue to call around to shops in case you stumble upon a better deal, but I did want to post an alert that I think I finally found a high quality solution for a great price. Keep this in mind over the next few weeks and as soon as I get my barrel back, I'll let you know if it is worthy of adorning your M4!

 

I will also post pictures of the finished product so you can judge the work for yourself.

 

Shane A. Bernskoetter

Author of:

Surviving Twilight: A Soldier's Chronicle of Daily Life in Iraq

http://www.survivingtwilight.com

 

Sarge, you are the MAN!!! And DAvecz, this is completely legal under FEDERAL LAW; however, local or state laws might have stricter prohibitions. By the way, are you Czech because cz is the way all Czech internet IP's end. I saw and handled a real Czech Scorpion in a gunshop over there and they said anybody with a czech gun license could own one. Cool shizzle!

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