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How badly did I screw up my M4


Caligvla

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I was shooting today and I did a very stupid thing, my cylinder choke and my extra full choke got mixed up and I shot about 30 rounds of 3" Rifled slugs through my M4 with an extra full choke.

 

After I realized my mistake I stopped shooting the slugs and shot through a 100 rounds of target loads everything seemed fine.

 

I cleaned my barrel and checked it with a bore light noting seemed unusual...

 

Is it possible I may have done some damage to my M4?

 

M

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choke looks fine, I tested the threats on the muzzle with my modified choke screwed in and out with ease...

 

I would hazard a guess that it's doubtful you did any harm. If the choke isn't bulged and the threads are fine, it's hard to imagine what other problem there would be.

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If you cannot see or feel any damage to the threads of your choke, or to the end of the barrel where the choke threads in, I'd say you are good to go, so long as you can still interchange chokes without any additional friction/cross threading/etc. Make sure your choke stays screwed in and does not get loose on you as well.

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If you cannot see or feel any damage to the threads of your choke, or to the end of the barrel where the choke threads in, I'd say you are good to go, so long as you can still interchange chokes without any additional friction/cross threading/etc. Make sure your choke stays screwed in and does not get loose on you as well.

 

I seem to be fine on the threads, all my chokes screw in and out just fine, after shooting while the barrel is still hot it seems harder to get the choke off after it cools down it comes off with ease. I am guessing this is fairly normal. I always use a dab of choke tube lube on the threads too. So I guess I am good to go... I was also reading on another thread that most slugs are a bit smaller just for that reason that someone may have a tight choke on. The big exception was the Remington slugger slugs and I only shot 5 of those...

 

While I am on the subjects of chokes, anything wrong with shooting 000 Buck with an extra full choke, I like a really tight pattern so I can hit metal targets @ 100 yards.

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If you used american foster slugs which are hollow inside like Remington, Winchester etc..there is no chance in overstressing or overbursting your firearm. Remington and other producers claim that you can fire their slugs trough every choke, also full chokes as well. Rifling on slugs are made to deform to fit the bore in every choke and they are hollow inside as well to do the same fitting job. Rottweil Brennecke slugs however, are made of harder lead than american foster slugs, but they do deform, too

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cali,

 

what jaeger said.........lead is soft and more than likely no damage was done to the muzzle end of your M4! However, i'd take the receiver/bolt apart and take a look at these parts/components.....when the gun cycled did it sound normal? Or did you hear any metalic "pings" when the bolt came back....if so check the rear of the receiver (inside) to make sure nothing cracked. My educated guess is you are okay but its a good idea to take a close look so you don't have any future problems....i think your fine and the higher pressure your gun saw was more akin to shooting 150 magnum loads or accelerated "break-in"!

 

with respect to 000 buck it can be shot from a factory full choke but I think it will pattern better in a modified or imp modified even out beyond 40 yards! How large are those 100yd steel targets, anyway? ;)

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cali,

 

what jaeger said.........lead is soft and more than likely no damage was done to the muzzle end of your M4! However, i'd take the receiver/bolt apart and take a look at these parts/components.....when the gun cycled did it sound normal? Or did you hear any metalic "pings" when the bolt came back....if so check the rear of the receiver (inside) to make sure nothing cracked. My educated guess is you are okay but its a good idea to take a close look so you don't have any future problems....i think your fine and the higher pressure your gun saw was more akin to shooting 150 magnum loads or accelerated "break-in"!

 

with respect to 000 buck it can be shot from a factory full choke but I think it will pattern better in a modified or imp modified even out beyond 40 yards! How large are those 100yd steel targets, anyway? ;)

 

I shot again last night, about 100 rounds no strange sounds, etc... I'll be cleaning her up tomorrow I'll take a close look at the bold receiver etc...

 

I think I am okay too, after watching a segment on Gun and Ammo TV, they were trying to show how a barrel will break with a 12-20 burst, where a 20ga round gets shoved inside the barrel with a 12ga round behind it. The shotgun they used to demonstrate was a Benelli M4, they tried several times, nothing happened to the Benelli and it shot just fine afterwards... It just pushed the 20ga right out the barrel. Kinda funny, guess they should have chosen another gun to make their point...

 

The 100 yard metal targets are cast iron skillets maybe about 17" in diameter. I shoot 000 buck with an Extra Full choke. About half the time I get them to make a nice PING... I'll try with the modified next time... see if I have better luck.

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Well, in aviation there is a term called DLL (design limit load) which is 1.0 of a certain stress load that the airframe must hold to keep the same shape to metal and contruction. The metal will reset back to normal shape without deforming permanently after the stress is gone, a DPL (design proof load) which is 1.25 of a certain stress load is a load which the airframe must hold to keep the same shape and reset back to normal shape without deforming permanently, at last is the DUL (design ultimate load) which is 1.5 in what the airframe must tollerate to keep without failing or cracking until the next inspection and service, but the structure will be permanently deformed by DUL 1.5. Stress is bended shape divided through normal shape. Stress is caused by torsion, bending load and also pressure. The information is printed in a book called "airframes and systems" in the Air Transport Pilots License series of books.

Benelli factory are testing every gun with maybe 1.25 design proof load before shipping. I do not believe that 100 rounds of slugs in a full choke would ever go near 1.25 DPL.

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While I am on the subjects of chokes, anything wrong with shooting 000 Buck with an extra full choke, I like a really tight pattern so I can hit metal targets @ 100 yards.

 

I have never used anything looser than a full choke on my m4, and I've shot thousands of 00/000 through it by now.

 

No damage.

 

PS - I see a recurring theme in your posts ... don't worry so much about your M4. You'll find it's pretty damn rugged, and you really don't need to baby it.

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i agree with "jaeger" all guns are "proof tested" using a maximum load at maximum pressure to test the barrel. there are also engineering "safety" standards in ALL designs but it isn't a good idea to test those limits on a regular occasion, in my opinion! I believe in the aviation world (mostly military & experiemental) they routinely push the "envelope" or take equipment to the edge of it's design limits and its a good thing they do this.

 

having reloaded rifle, handgun and shotgun ammo for years you quickley learn to look for signs where you pushed the envelope of high pressure. in bolt action rifles, cases swell and extractors fail to extract smoothly, sometimes bolts don't want to open, cases split and primers push back. in handguns & breech loader rifles you see similar case splitting, stick or primers pushing back. in autoloading shotguns (and rifles) excessive pressure can be less visual because the mechanical components are still absorbing the recoil. Shot shells, therefore, don't always show these signs but the internal parts of the gun might. i have personally seen autoloaders (shotguns and rifles) damaged by too much pressure and it typically happens by stressing or cracking the reciever near the stock. Some autoloader engineers even go so far as to add plastic "buffer" material to this area of the receiver to help absorb excessive pressure.

 

as I mentioned to Cali in a previous post, it is highly unlikely he caused any damage shooting 100 rounds of slugs thru a tight choke in his M4. However, it is always a good idea to inspect any gun you suspect has been exposed to excessive pressure or is pushed to the edge of performance! in addition, as I said earlier his 100 rounds of slugs was more than likely no different than firing 200-250 turkey loads in one session.....many that hurts my shoulder just thinking about it! ;)

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