[keithm]

Received a new freedom fighter tactical titanium replacement charging handle for the lost charging handle.

handle as rec'd

there are tri-grooves at the handle end, these function to retain the handle on the gun. To remove the handle, you twist the bolt about 1/3 turn, till the notch is at the apex of the hendle end.

OEM handle vs freedom fighter tactical handle

close-up of cut grooves of OEM vs. vendor

handle as installed.

The handle does not stay in place. The OEM handle will not come out unless it is twisted and pulled (proper removal) The Freedom Fighter Tactical handle can be removed by pulling (no twist required). This is likely the cause of my first lost handle. Under action the gun, the vendor bolt was not retained and flew off (jamming the gun)
Based on my experiences, I can not recommend the freedom fighter tactical charging handles. Hope this save other M4 users from frustrations I experienced.
Keithm

 

[keithm]

upon reflection, I'm not too happy with the M4 sling situation. The outer shell carrier makes a forward carry impractical, and a rear carry feel unbalanced. I'll change the sling mount to a practical, conventional 2 point style.

sling to mount

note: the gun will loose 50% of it's weight! What a deal!

relocate the light to right side of rail

fill in the rail gaps

sew in quick sling swivel mount on lower sling

used 100% nylon thread to hand sew

measure mounting swivel stud to attach to M4 stock, measure minor diameter

drill minor diameter hole

 

[keithm]

attach swivel stud

fit check....no issues

sew female 1 inch buckle to M4's sling mount

sew male 1 inch buckle to sling upper end, and attach

finished project...much more carry friendly...and I loose 1/2 the weight!

Benelli M4 weight = 9 lbs 5 oz

Benelli M4 weight + 10 rounds of OO buck shot = 10 lbs 9 oz

Guess I did not loose the weight after all Dough!
Much happier with quick release sing mount now
Keithm

 

[keithm]

I am concerned the magazine spring used my not have enough force to allow proper loading function.

this is the spring as supplied by the nortic + 1 magazine extension. This install instructions indicate the magazine spring should extend 16 inches beyond the magazine tube

current 7 shot spring extend 10 inches beyond the tube

cut new spring to size (16 inches beyond the mag tube)

spring end as cut

plastically deform the end to fit in follower

check follower fit

all buttoned up... checked with snap caps. no issues....will filed test soon
keithm

 

[keithm]

I have indicated the charging handle from Freedom Fighter Tactical does not properly fit the Benelli M4, I decided to figure out what the issue is....

Freedom Fighter Tactical junky M4 charging handle on top, Benelli M4 OEM handle on Bottom

M4 bolt removed and OEM charging handle installed, The handle is retained by a small bearing in the detent position shown. The OEM handle will not come out unless it is twisted and pulled

crappy Freedom Fighter Tactical handle, the handle does not engage far enough into the bolt to catch the ball bearing detent. The handle can be pulled right out. It is loose the bolt.

another view of OEM charging handle in bolt

in padded vice

file back the small step. The step was machined incorrectly by Freedom Fighter Tactical. Best to use hand tools when working with titanium

about 10 min of filing, checking, filing, checking

eventually enough shoulder material was removed to allow the ball detent to engage with the charging handle

Freedom Fighter Tactical charging handle as installed on Benelli M4

off set view...
Much easier to work the slide with a larger handle......
Keithm

 

[keithm]

New reflex sight arrived, ready to mount....

Trijicon RMR Reflex sight at 6.5 MOA with attached Picatinny rail. The 6.5 MOA provides a large dot that would span 6.5 inches at 100 yards. The larger dot provides for faster target acquisition. The unit will auto-adjust brightness or can be manually brightness adjusted.

unit + items packed

easy-peasy install on Benelli M4 rail. Install screws come with blue loc-tite

off set view

dot size shown.....

Review to follow after range time.
Keithm

 

[JRedHorse]

Nice build there Keith!

 

[keithm]

The reflex sight takes a single CR2032 battery. I'll mount a spare battery holder on the excess rail, so I'll always have a battery handy if needed

battery holder (about $17 on e-bay) + couple EverReady type coin batteries

trim off tether chord. Leash is not needed and may snag

insert CR2032 battery, close cap

try top rail mount, slight blockage of reflex sight,

overall view, need to re-locate spare battery

trim back rail cover

mount spare battery on left side rail

offset view

Benelli M4 weight with all the fixin's = 9lbs 7 oz (empty)
Keithm

 

[keithm]

Another day out at the range to try out the Benelli Mods:

Little Badger, Benelli M4 and Mossberg 500

Me with the Benelli, loaded with 8 + 1 rounds...I have not figured out the ghost loading yet

shooting skeet, couple feeding issues this time out. I was using Winchester 12 gauge bulk, rather than federal 12 gauge bulk. The gun cycled 00 shot and slugs without issue. The gun is still in break in period. Length of pull is about 1.5 inches too long

Skeet competition between Benelli and Mossberg

Mossberg owner, first time with Benelli. Like the smooth action, little recoil

shooting Benelli M4 down range

noticed couple issues upon inspection during cleaning.....
1. Aluminum Extended +1 magazine was loose
2. Extended magazine was burned by the tactical choke gases
3. The 7x shot titanium was loose

Close-up of burn marks

View inside +1 extended mag tube, no visible damage

non-damaged side for comparison

 

[keithm]

rethreaded +1 mage extension, used lots of blue loctite

reinstalled magazine extension after cleaning

really liked the sight

removed the field stock pad to see if it is feasible to reduce the stock length

Butt stock excess cavity...no real means to reduce LOP

Couple observations:
1. No issues with charging handle, stayed intact
2. Really liked the 8 round magazine
3. Really liked the reflex sight at a large 6.5 MOA, seemed quick sight fix, for skeet anyway
4. Need to stay away from Winchester bird shot
5. added additional loctite to 7x shot mag tube and really cranked the tube into the receiver (by hand)
6. added loctite to +1 mag extension parts
7 glad I removed angled rail grip, not needed
8. Benelli is a softer shooter than Mossberg 500. The Mossberg 500 has a Knoxx recoil reduction stock
9. The benelli field stock is about 1.5 inches too long, for me
10. loading the shells seems much easier now
11. really like the oversize bolt release button
12. If I had to do over, I would look for a +1 mag extension that is made from heat resistant steel, not aluminum
13. Shooting a semi-automatic shotgun is over-rated. Difficult to make accurate follow-up shots, even with the soft recoil of the Benelli M4

Keithm

 

[keithm]

New collapsible stock arrived

From Pro-mag. It is a US made clone of the Benelli M4 OEM stock. The only real difference from OEM collapsible stock, as I can see:
1. Promag stock is US made and 922R compliant for 2x US made parts
2. The cost of the adjustable stock is ~$170 vs the ~$400 Benelli stock
3. The butt pad of the Promag stock is much harder than the OEM stock. More on this later.
4. The Promag finish is "semi-gloss" vs. the benelli matt finish

Benelli OEM field stock LOP distance = 14 inches

Un-thread Benelli field stock

OEM Benelli field stock weight = 1 lbs 5 oz

Promag clone stock weight = 1 lbs 9 oz

Promag clone stock with cheek rest removed for inspection

Thread on pistol grip, install buttplate stock, stowed position LOP = 9 inches

medium position LOP = 12.2 inches

Fully extended LOP = 14 inches (same as filed stock)

total length with stock stowed = 37 inches

 

[keithm]

Benelli M4 vs. Remington 870 Tactical Express

need to add sling mount, hook does not fit

button does not fit

will sew custom female buckle with webbing

nylon thread

hard stitch to promag clone wire stock

attach cheek rest

sew male plastic end to sling

finished sling and attachment

right side view

total weight = 9 lbs 11 oz

Promag cheapie handguards going on e-bay

Keithm

 

[keithm]

Day out at range to sight in Mini-14 with reflex sight and try out Benelli M4 with Promag clone stock

Mini-14 and Benelli M4

me with Benelli M4

son with Benelli M4
Couple observations:
1. The 12 inch LOP was abit too short, the 14 inch LOP seemed much more comfortable. This may be due to the pistol grip. as the field stock seemed 1.5 inches too long.
2. The recoil increased quite abit with the Promag clone stock. I do believe the recoil pads promag uses are of a harder compound than the benelli M4 pad
3. No issues with charging handle
4. Titanium Mag tube was loose to receiver so, to I ordered LOCTITE 243, hopefully this helps.

back home after ~200 rounds (mixed)

+1 magazine extension burns

close-up of burns

disassembly for cleaning

 

[keithm]

promag clone stock and OEM Benelli Field stock

will swap stock pads

lube phillips head screw driver WD-40

promag and benelli pads removed from stocks

need to punch out fasteners from each pad and install in opposite pads

fasteners removed

pads swapped

soft benelli pads fits the Promag clone stock perfectly

Keithm

 

[keithm]

New Limbsaver butt pad + gun adapter arrived for the Benelli M4

limbsaver Model # 10111, claims to reduce recoil by 70%
also Noveske M4 butt pad adapter

Benelli M4 OEM pad next to Limbsaver model 10111 pad
Limbsaver is much more "soft"

attach adapter plate to Promag clone adjustable stock

light trim as holes are slightly misaligned

Interface bracket attached

attach limsaver to interface bracket with fasteners provided by Noveske

 

[keithm]

top view of pad, follows contour of stock

small pad extension at bottom of stock, hardly noticeable

rear view

rear 1/4 view

close-up of Promag clone stock + limbsaver pad+ sling attachment

front 1/4 view

empty weight = 9 lbs 12 oz.....

Report back after range trip
Keithm

 

[keithm]

Since the freedom fighter 7x shot titanium tube seemed to un-thread with anti-seize lock-tite, I thought I would try a more appropriate lock-tite Blue 2431.

from e-bay...unfortunately, this a a knock-off lock-tite in a packaging made to look like lock-tite...Dough

strip down the M4 components

clean magazine tube threads with alcohol

apply knock-off thread locker and re-install

view of limbsaver pad

close-up of small pad offset
Keithm

 

[keithm]

here is a list and cost of the Modifications to my Benelli M4:

$3,721...ouch!
Keithm

 

[keithm]

Back from the range to evaluate the Benelli M4 with the new limbsaver pad....

me shooting the Benelli M4

Buddy Andrew , first time with Benelli

shooting Remington 870 for comparison of recoil vs. Benelli M4

After shoot Observations:
1. Much softer shooting with the Limbsaver pad, about ~30% reduction in recoil.
2. We shot OO, slugs and skeet load. I had my first real FTE with the Benelli M4. I was shoot these crappy Lellier and Bellot slugs. Every one shot was hung up. Ended up just shooting them thru the 870 pump in lieu of the Bellini. Not sure what the problem was, as the m4 fed Federal wall-mart 7.5 cheapie shot without issue.
3. Still feel a semi-auto shot gun is over rated and not really needed. At full fast trigger pull, the gun is all over the map and un-controlable. Need that time to re-acquire target.
4. No issues with the crappy Freedom fighter charging handle, stays on gun
5. Mag tube is well tight, did not loosen, the lock-tite knock-off thread loscker seemed to work
6. More shot burns on tube +1 extension

Keithm

 

[dh1633pm]

Expensive modification list to the M4. I like it. My motto tweak, tweak, tweak, break, back off one. Although never use this method for reloading.