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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Benelli M4 Reliability? (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 6/14/2009 8:54:38 PM EDT
| Just curious guys, everyone whines about how this shotgun isn't reliable (usually those who don't own them), but SELDOM do I see an issue. Lets just see what the numbers say. Because there have been so many issues with the 4-port guns, this will only include 2-port guns. |
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Mine pretty much always eats everything.
Had a few stoppages at first when it was -20 C out, using the target loads, but not anymore, it will eat anything. SO I guess it had like, a very small break in period. Other than those first shells in the cold (it could have been the oil I used also, FWIW) its been 100% 
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Honstly, I have not checked to see what port version mine is. I do know this, it eats EVERYTHING, and I mean EVERYTHING. I got a 2 port. Since the barrel is chromed it should be easy enough to tell, just take the barrel off, and point it outside when its bright, or on a bright wall. The 2 ports should be ABOUT 1/8th inch in diameter (cant measure, so just going on observation) There should be 2 holes, obviously lined up with the gas pistons. The 4 port will have 4 holes, I suppose, 2 sets in a row... |
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I dont honestly think this is any surprise...
The Mil. tested these shotguns to an EXTREME, firing 25,000 rounds of various 00 buckshot and slugs out of it, with no parts breakage. When run properly (with a PROPER 2 port barrel for full powered ammunition) they are extremely reliable, as ANY Benelli shotgun is. I think the problems many people had were due to the 4-port barrels, which should have been marked far more clearly that they were not made to fire full powered rounds. |
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I dont honestly think this is any surprise... The Mil. tested these shotguns to an EXTREME, firing 25,000 rounds of various 00 buckshot and slugs out of it, with no parts breakage. When run properly (with a PROPER 2 port barrel for full powered ammunition) they are extremely reliable, as ANY Benelli shotgun is. I think the problems many people had were due to the 4-port barrels, which should have been marked far more clearly that they were not made to fire full powered rounds. Do you have a link/more info on the Aberdeen testing? |
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I dont honestly think this is any surprise... The Mil. tested these shotguns to an EXTREME, firing 25,000 rounds of various 00 buckshot and slugs out of it, with no parts breakage. When run properly (with a PROPER 2 port barrel for full powered ammunition) they are extremely reliable, as ANY Benelli shotgun is. I think the problems many people had were due to the 4-port barrels, which should have been marked far more clearly that they were not made to fire full powered rounds. Do you have a link/more info on the Aberdeen testing? not off hand, sorry. It was before I even got my shotgun (over a year ago) that I did a lot of research on it... I remember reading how it was tested & designed to have a 20 gauge shell dropped into the barrel, then a 12 gauge full power load behind it, and safely be able to discharge without rupturing the barrel 
Wouldn't want to try it, but apparently it wouldn't blow up your shotgun if you ever did mistakenly 
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Went thru 75 rds of Remington low brass 8 shot yesterday, 100% fire, no issues at all.
The ghost ring is way slow for skeet  Guess I need to practice more to become more "natural" with the sights and snap shooting, so more skeet in the works in the next few days.
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Went thru 75 rds of Remington low brass 8 shot yesterday, 100% fire, no issues at all. The ghost ring is way slow for skeet Guess I need to practice more to become more "natural" with the sights and snap shooting, so more skeet in the works in the next few days.Wait until Kip comes out with his rail and run a J-point or something equivalent in an LT mount. |
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There was a M4 barrel on gunbroker several months ago where someone dropped a 20 in it and fired a 12 off. The barrel bulged just ahead of the handguards. The barrel didn't split, but it looked like like a python who just sucked down a 2 year old. Why do people still do that. 
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There was a M4 barrel on gunbroker several months ago where someone dropped a 20 in it and fired a 12 off. The barrel bulged just ahead of the handguards. The barrel didn't split, but it looked like like a python who just sucked down a 2 year old. Why do people still do that.
well at least it didn't explode in his face 
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There was a M4 barrel on gunbroker several months ago where someone dropped a 20 in it and fired a 12 off. The barrel bulged just ahead of the handguards. The barrel didn't split, but it looked like like a python who just sucked down a 2 year old. Link? 11707 or M1014? |
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How clean do yall keep your M4? I wonder if it will work when dirty? I keep mine sparkly clean, but Duggan has run his without cleaning for over 8,000 rounds, just adds lube, and has had no issues. Well, kind of true. I have cleaned it once in 8000 rounds, before that I cleaned it much more often, but then I realized there was no point at all. I would have complete faith in my gun going 10k+ more rounds without a cleaning related failure. Total rounds through the gun thus far is between 12-13k by my calculations. Adequate lube is WAY more important than cleaning when it comes to the M4. After years of discussion, I am 99% convinced that lack of lube is one of the major factors affecting the M4s initial cycling of light round. Lack of lube, compounded by bad shooting stance, parts not being worn in, and general lack of knowledge concerning the m4 is what I would blame for why some new shooters have problems with their m4s initially not cycling light loads. I have shot 4 new M4s by this time, and all of them except one have been 100% out of the box, and the one that had problems had no lube on it whatsoever. If you use a GOOD LUBE and keep the bolt carrier and interior receiver rails well oiled, as well as some lube in the recoil tube, you should be good to go for an indefinite amount of time. |
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How clean do yall keep your M4? I wonder if it will work when dirty? I keep mine sparkly clean, but Duggan has run his without cleaning for over 8,000 rounds, just adds lube, and has had no issues. Well, kind of true. I have cleaned it once in 8000 rounds, before that I cleaned it much more often, but then I realized there was no point at all. I would have complete faith in my gun going 10k+ more rounds without a cleaning related failure. Total rounds through the gun thus far is between 12-13k by my calculations. Adequate lube is WAY more important than cleaning when it comes to the M4. I am 99% convinced that M4s that initially have problems feeding light rounds are due entirely to bad shooting stance, LACK OF LUBE and parts needing to wear in. I agree, lets look at the M's moving parts: Pistons...belive it or not, these actually DO self-clean. For once, something that isn't hype. Extractor...I doubt this would become clogged, it is a spring under a hook that pivots, basically. Bolt...this is chrome-plated and the tolerances are decently generous withing the carrier, again, not likely to be jammed carrier...there is 1/8" slop on either side of the "rails". Again, VERY unlikely to get jammed Recoil spring...would take a LOT of gunk to jam anything up in there. Trigger group...again, lotta junk to jam that... The piston system really doesn't deposit a whole lot back in the chamber either. I honestly think the M4 could be fired the service-life of it's weakest component (no clue what that would be) without a cleaning provided that proper ammunition and lube were used in the correct amounts. |
| For some reason the technical manual that the Marines publish state a normal cleaning should be done at 500 shells. Even though I believe that the M4 is super reliable; I going to clean it every chance I get in a combat situation. With that do you think the M4 will still hold up in combat conditions, in which dirt and grime will have a far more likely chance of getting into the mechanisms? |
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For some reason the technical manual that the Marines publish state a normal cleaning should be done at 500 shells. Even though I believe that the M4 is super reliable; I going to clean it every chance I get in a combat situation. With that do you think the M4 will still hold up in combat conditions, in which dirt and grime will have a far more likely chance of getting into the mechanisms? Any gun is susceptible to failures from excessive dirt/grime getting caked inside the receiver, and the m4 is no exception. That said, the ARGO system is a self cleaning, relatively sealed dual short stroke piston design, so that would not be the source of failure ... if you were to really pack a ton of sand into the interior receiver rails, I suppose the friction could slow bolt carrier movement enough that it could stop function, but it would really take a lot. The m4 is a very robust and over engineered firearm. If you want to clean every 500 rounds, go for it. Just be sure to slather on a bunch more lube after your solvent strips away all the old lube. |
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For some reason the technical manual that the Marines publish state a normal cleaning should be done at 500 shells. Even though I believe that the M4 is super reliable; I going to clean it every chance I get in a combat situation. With that do you think the M4 will still hold up in combat conditions, in which dirt and grime will have a far more likely chance of getting into the mechanisms?[/quote] Yes. They are doing so right now in various areas of operation. |
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Usually I only ever run a bore snake through the bore, and rub down the bolt carrier then oil it up. Take maybe like 2 minutes to clean it.
They state that the pistons dont need a scheduled "regular" cleaning, although I would do it maybe every 2000 rounds or so. Just make sure they are DRY. no oil or anything in the pistons. |
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Mine took a couple hundred rounds of break in to feed 100% but has been flawless ever since. I also had to lube it pretty heavily on my first outing. It'll eat whatever I feed it now though. Agreed. Within the first 150 - 200 rds, I could not cycle Winchester Winlite. Now I'm good to go! |
| Took out my new factory SBS M4 today - started off with about 40-50 slugs. After getting the eotech sighted in, I was just hammering rocks until I shot up all the slugs I brought. I had a bag full of Federal and Remington reduced recoil/"tactical" buckshot that I planned on shooting up. The gun wouldn't cycle one single round of that buckshot at all. I didn't have any full power buckshot loads with me, but figured it wouldn't be a problem after reading about all their success. I'm not one to believe in having to break in guns....but maybe.... Any thoughts?? On top of all that, I had a Surefire Scout light on the gun that stopped working after the shooting session. I swapped out batteries and switches later and still no luck. Must have broken something inside the led bulb housing - going to send that back in as well. Overall, not exactly the Benelli experience I was hoping for. |
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Took out my new factory SBS M4 today - started off with about 40-50 slugs. After getting the eotech sighted in, I was just hammering rocks until I shot up all the slugs I brought. I had a bag full of Federal and Remington reduced recoil/"tactical" buckshot that I planned on shooting up. The gun wouldn't cycle one single round of that buckshot at all. I didn't have any full power buckshot loads with me, but figured it wouldn't be a problem after reading about all their success. I'm not one to believe in having to break in guns....but maybe.... Any thoughts?? On top of all that, I had a Surefire Scout light on the gun that stopped working after the shooting session. I swapped out batteries and switches later and still no luck. Must have broken something inside the led bulb housing - going to send that back in as well. Overall, not exactly the Benelli experience I was hoping for. Was it well lubed? I've never shot any reduced recoil buckshot, but LOTS of cheap bird shot and it all works pretty well. Also, was it just short stroking? And did you clean it up at all before you shot it? (got the packing grease out of the bolt carrier and guide rails) I think the magic number for breaking it in is closer to about 200-250 or so rounds of full power loads, which is what I put through mine to break it in. And again, it LIKES to be run quite wet (lots of lube on the rails) ETA About the surefire, where/how did you have it mounted? I have a 6P LED Defender on mine on a piece of picatinny rail on the handguard hanger. The lighter weight of the SBS may be messing with it, but its got so little recoil that I cant see how recoil could be hurting the flashlight. |
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Took out my new factory SBS M4 today - started off with about 40-50 slugs. After getting the eotech sighted in, I was just hammering rocks until I shot up all the slugs I brought. I had a bag full of Federal and Remington reduced recoil/"tactical" buckshot that I planned on shooting up. The gun wouldn't cycle one single round of that buckshot at all. I didn't have any full power buckshot loads with me, but figured it wouldn't be a problem after reading about all their success. I'm not one to believe in having to break in guns....but maybe.... Any thoughts?? On top of all that, I had a Surefire Scout light on the gun that stopped working after the shooting session. I swapped out batteries and switches later and still no luck. Must have broken something inside the led bulb housing - going to send that back in as well. Overall, not exactly the Benelli experience I was hoping for. I think it is user-dependant. I sold a guy a Benelli M4S90 and he swore that it wouldn't cycle win-lite buckshot, yet my last M4 cycled it just fine, and although I didn't test it in the M4 I sold him, I had shot STS target-loads in both guns and they cycled it the same. I think a lot of stuff comes into play when you are "on the cusp" with the M4 and loads it does not like (very reduced power loads). Stance, body fat %, clothing, etc. Basically, anything that one does that influences "give" behind the buttplate. A guy at 10% body-fat with an aggressive stance wearing a T-shirt is going to have better luck cycling it with weak loads than a guy with 20% body-fat, a weak or neutral stance, wearing a jacket. Just my observations. As observed, lube is important. LaRue MG lube works GREAT on M4's. Basically, if you want to run light loads, run the M4 like you would an FN M4. Wet. I don't believe in break-in much myself, and my M4's have all ran target-loads out of the box (Remington 2.75 Dram eq.) As to your scout light, you can't blame that on Benelli. |
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My M4 SBS will not cycle Federal #7 target loads. Seems to do better with Winchester #7 target loads, which is strange because they have identical dram equivalents, although the shell casing is slightly different. Will cycle low recoil buck and slugs and everything else regardless of how lip the shotgun is held. If I hold the M4 like a pistol, and shoot Federal #7, it will fail to eject every single case.
Edit: I have about 200 rounds through gun so far. |
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With about 275 rnds through mine now I can shoot the lightest winchester featherlite trap loads but it wont pick up the next shell yet, it just ejects the empty.
Maybe things will get better when it warms up or gets a few more rounds through it. The shotgun will cycle everything else I have tried without a hitch. |
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With about 275 rnds through mine now I can shoot the lightest winchester featherlite trap loads but it wont pick up the next shell yet, it just ejects the empty. Maybe things will get better when it warms up or gets a few more rounds through it. The shotgun will cycle everything else I have tried without a hitch. Are you running the OEM tube, or full-length? Is yours an SBS? If you ARE running the FL tube, what spring are you using? |
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With about 275 rnds through mine now I can shoot the lightest winchester featherlite trap loads but it wont pick up the next shell yet, it just ejects the empty. Maybe things will get better when it warms up or gets a few more rounds through it. The shotgun will cycle everything else I have tried without a hitch. Are you running the OEM tube, or full-length? Is yours an SBS? If you ARE running the FL tube, what spring are you using? Bone stock 11707. I haven't done anything to it yet.
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With about 275 rnds through mine now I can shoot the lightest winchester featherlite trap loads but it wont pick up the next shell yet, it just ejects the empty. Maybe things will get better when it warms up or gets a few more rounds through it. The shotgun will cycle everything else I have tried without a hitch. Are you running the OEM tube, or full-length? Is yours an SBS? If you ARE running the FL tube, what spring are you using? Bone stock 11707. I haven't done anything to it yet.
http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg76/gi57/Benelli/PA301689.jpg Looks great! The first, and best thing I can recommend to you is to not waste time patterning that buckshot you have there. It is fine for blasting, but I bought some to check out (based on everyone saying it patterned poorly), and I took a shell apart the other day. The buck is all kinds of deformed. One pellet looked half-way pancaked. If you want the tightest buckshot patterns possible, I would recommend Remington OOO Buckshot either in 2.75 or 3" flavor. That has always patterned the tightest for me. Also, buy a Briley speed-wrench. The stock choke-wrench is crap and your choke-tube will always be working loose every 20-30 rounds. Be sure to put choke-tube lube on it as well. In non-conventional shot, the Federal Flight-control is highly recommended, although I have not tried it. You will find it works best with an IC or CYL choke, though, not your OEM MOD, if my testing with the Hornady version (which sucked) is any indication. I have not tried the Federal FC yet though so I can't say for sure. |
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Looks great! The first, and best thing I can recommend to you is to not waste time patterning that buckshot you have there. It is fine for blasting, but I bought some to check out (based on everyone saying it patterned poorly), and I took a shell apart the other day. The buck is all kinds of deformed. One pellet looked half-way pancaked. If you want the tightest buckshot patterns possible, I would recommend Remington OOO Buckshot either in 2.75 or 3" flavor. That has always patterned the tightest for me. Also, buy a Briley speed-wrench. The stock choke-wrench is crap and your choke-tube will always be working loose every 20-30 rounds. Be sure to put choke-tube lube on it as well. In non-conventional shot, the Federal Flight-control is highly recommended, although I have not tried it. You will find it works best with an IC or CYL choke, though, not your OEM MOD, if my testing with the Hornady version (which sucked) is any indication. I have not tried the Federal FC yet though so I can't say for sure. That buckshot is just for making noise and punching paper. It actually patterns horribly out of any shotgun I have tried it in. It holds 24" at 25 yards with this gun. But I bought a case of it for cheap so I just use it for blasting ammunition. I haven't done too much with the benelli so I can't tell you what it really likes. So far the best buckshot I have shot has been hornady's TAP. Great patterns every time, and it seems to string the shot in to 2 horizontal lines across the target. I noticed the stock choke tube is different from the normal benelli tubes. I had a nova so I just swapped the OEM M4 tube for the stainless IC from the nova. Federal FC anything works great IMO, I have shot a bunch of it and I like it. Both the buckshot and turkey loads pattern incredibly well. I'm mainly going to be using this gun for 3-gun, so it will be seeing lots of slugs and birdshot. 
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Looks great! The first, and best thing I can recommend to you is to not waste time patterning that buckshot you have there. It is fine for blasting, but I bought some to check out (based on everyone saying it patterned poorly), and I took a shell apart the other day. The buck is all kinds of deformed. One pellet looked half-way pancaked. If you want the tightest buckshot patterns possible, I would recommend Remington OOO Buckshot either in 2.75 or 3" flavor. That has always patterned the tightest for me. Also, buy a Briley speed-wrench. The stock choke-wrench is crap and your choke-tube will always be working loose every 20-30 rounds. Be sure to put choke-tube lube on it as well. In non-conventional shot, the Federal Flight-control is highly recommended, although I have not tried it. You will find it works best with an IC or CYL choke, though, not your OEM MOD, if my testing with the Hornady version (which sucked) is any indication. I have not tried the Federal FC yet though so I can't say for sure. That buckshot is just for making noise and punching paper. It actually patterns horribly out of any shotgun I have tried it in. It holds 24" at 25 yards with this gun. But I bought a case of it for cheap so I just use it for blasting ammunition. I haven't done too much with the benelli so I can't tell you what it really likes. So far the best buckshot I have shot has been hornady's TAP. Great patterns every time, and it seems to string the shot in to 2 horizontal lines across the target. I noticed the stock choke tube is different from the normal benelli tubes. I had a nova so I just swapped the OEM M4 tube for the stainless IC from the nova. Federal FC anything works great IMO, I have shot a bunch of it and I like it. Both the buckshot and turkey loads pattern incredibly well. I'm mainly going to be using this gun for 3-gun, so it will be seeing lots of slugs and birdshot. Sounds good. At 30 yards I only got "stray" pellets on 14x16" targets with Hornady TAP and my M4. |
[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Benelli M4 Reliability? (Page 1 of 2)
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