Jump to content

M-4 magazine tube


Sherwood

Recommended Posts

I recently bought a M-4 super 90. Great shotgun! I took it to the range and felt like I was cheating.

 

As I get older, I need a little help with my sight picture so I wanted to equip the shotgun with the LaserMax laser and flashlight. However, this sight will only work with a full length tube. So I went about getting one to install on my M-4.

 

The problem is I can't get the original magazine tube off. After many attempts (and scoring the tube) I contacted a local gunsmith. He thought that Benelli was using some type of super Lock-Tite on the threads.

 

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

*Hopefully it goes without saying but REMOVE YOUR BUTT STOCK FIRST!

 

You are in luck Sherwood,

 

I just took mine off yesterday (I bought the gun a couple of weeks ago). Let me tell you it was a pain in the arse-

 

I first tried the oven method, but my oven was a bit to small to close the door all the way with the reicever in it so I don't think I got it hot enough, anyway didn't work.

 

I had to drive 30 miles one way to get my heat gun but that's what I did.

 

After about 10 minutes of heating the reicever/mag tube junction with the heat gun and twisting on the tube as hard as I could with the oven mitt (wear mitts this thing gets HOT) it would not budge.

 

Some on this forum have said it came off with hand pressure after 5-6 minutes of the heat gun. Didn't work for me.

 

Soooooo...... I got serious- I cranked the heat gun all the way to 1100 degrees (I had it set around 800 degrees before), got a hand towel and folded it in half, and pulled out the big channel lock pliers.

 

I heated the receiver as hot as I dared, quickly wrapped the towel around the tube and set the pliers in place. With a big grunt and a lot of effort, it finally, grudgingly, started to move.

 

After it was off I figured out why it took an act of congress to remove it. The entire thread section was coated in what looked to be a really thick layer of blue loc tite. WAY to much was used, don't know if it was any special kind or not but with as much as they put on it, it did not need to be.

 

Maybe Benelli is trying to keep us from installing those wicked parts. Or maybe Mario had to much vino at lunch and got crazy with the loc-tite on our paticular guns.

 

Let us know how it turns out.

 

Good luck and be careful handling those hot parts.

 

T-H

 

"Harley, nobody learns with a converted .454"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I used a heat gun and a pair of leather gloves. After 10-15 minutes of applying heat, the tube twisted off by hand with relative ease.

 

As was said previously, you can use the search feature to find the thread with detailed instructions/discussion.

 

Good luck.

 

PS - I'm currently working on replacing the recoil tube on my M1014. It does not want to come off as easy as the magazine tube did.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

more time,more heat for the recoil tube,,,best way to support the M4 for the job is to support the recoil tube that is being removed,,this way you can crank down on the rear nut without fear of twisting the reciever when checking to see if the locktite has melted away yet.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

People have varying experiences with the mag tube. I've read 20 minutes in the oven, but this require a complete disassembly of the gun to avoid melting any hidden plastic parts. I've read, lik eyou experience, people using a heat gun for 20 minutes to no avail. I used a heat gun for 2-3 minutes and it came off with hand pressure. Couldn't have been easier.

 

I think it all depends on how much of the green loctite is used to secure it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

heat gun worked for me as well, but like others have said...I had to crank it ALL the way up. Also make sure you strip the gun completely (including taking off the buttstock). The recoil buffer actually makes a nice handle why you are toasting it like a hotdog. ha On my M4 benelli had put so much loctite on it that I had to keep applying as I turned the tube. Eventually I did get it off. A technique that worked for me was to place the receiver between your knees and then twist hard w/ your hands.

 

Good luck and happy roasting!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

more time,more heat for the recoil tube,,,best way to support the M4 for the job is to support the recoil tube that is being removed,,this way you can crank down on the rear nut without fear of twisting the reciever when checking to see if the locktite has melted away yet.

 

Thanks, M1014.

 

I'll try to remove my recoil tube again this weekend.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I want to thank M1014, Monkey, nebula8080 and the others that replied to my thread. I applied heat with a Milwaukee heat gun on high. It took just over 4 minutes to melt the Lock-tite. I was able to twist the tube off with one hand (I was wearing fire gloves). I had to keep the heat on it while unscrewing it.

 

I checked the packaging on Perma-tex red lock-tite. It stipulates that it has to be heated to 500 degrees before it loosens.

 

Anyway, I got the tube off thanks to you folks and this forum so thanks again.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I want to thank M1014, Monkey, nebula8080 and the others that replied to my thread. I applied heat with a Milwaukee heat gun on high. It took just over 4 minutes to melt the Lock-tite. I was able to twist the tube off with one hand (I was wearing fire gloves). I had to keep the heat on it while unscrewing it.

 

I checked the packaging on Perma-tex red lock-tite. It stipulates that it has to be heated to 500 degrees before it loosens.

 

Anyway, I got the tube off thanks to you folks and this forum so thanks again.

 

I wouldn't use red loctite to install the new tube, it's just not necessary. Try a few drops of blue so you can get it back off if you need to. There's no chance of it coming unscrewed since the magazine cap is holding it in place.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sherwood, I've been looking for a full length magazine tube for my M4. Where did you get yours??? I don't want to accept a mag extention for my black beauty. Let me know k? Thanks!

 

People still seem to be buying $299 full-length mag tubes from someone on this site, but Numrich Arms (e-gunparts.com) is selling them for $99. While you'll hear comments about the quality of the $299 (I'm one of those that bought one), I would have opted for the $99 ones from Numrich if they had been available when I bought.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just out of curiosity, why are you guys trying to remove the recoil tube?

 

T-H

 

Like M1014 said, my M1014's (not the M4) recoil tube does not allow it's skeleton stock to collapse. The M1014's (one of 2500 with the American flag) recoil tube does not have all the notches as the M4 does.

 

I purchased an M4 recoil tube (with all the notches) from Numrich so my M1014's skeleton stock will actually collapse like the M4 can.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I recently bought a M-4 super 90. Great shotgun! I took it to the range and felt like I was cheating.

 

As I get older, I need a little help with my sight picture so I wanted to equip the shotgun with the LaserMax laser and flashlight. However, this sight will only work with a full length tube. So I went about getting one to install on my M-4.

 

The problem is I can't get the original magazine tube off. After many attempts (and scoring the tube) I contacted a local gunsmith. He thought that Benelli was using some type of super Lock-Tite on the threads.

 

Does anyone have any suggestions?

 

I had a LaserMax and sold it on ebay after about a week... Lasers are great for intimidating intruders, but it's usefulness as a sight is very limited, I would rent one first before spending the money... you'll see what I mean.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just out of curiosity who is selling full length tubes for $299?

 

My tubes are excellent quality and I have many happy customers and they are $195 shipped.

 

I can't say much about the numrich tubes because I've never seen one in person. However thier country of manufacture is questionable (possibly china or something like that) and definetly not made in the USA like mine. If you plan on getting US made compliance parts for your M4, the numrich tube won't do much for you unfortunately.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had a LaserMax and sold it on ebay after about a week... Lasers are great for intimidating intruders, but it's usefulness as a sight is very limited, I would rent one first before spending the money... you'll see what I mean.

Thanks, but I already put the Laser-Max on the weapon. This is a law enforcement shotgun and its use is primarily for active shooter scenarios. I had it at the range with the Laser-max in freezing weather and was putting them center mass on the move at 25 yards.

 

This works really well if you're the rear guard on a quad formation. It allows you to keep your eyes moving rather than interupting your line of sight.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wouldn't use red loctite to install the new tube, it's just not necessary. Try a few drops of blue so you can get it back off if you need to. There's no chance of it coming unscrewed since the magazine cap is holding it in place.

Trust me! I didn't. I've learned my lesson well.

 

Thanks

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...