Stock M4 with factory fixed stock and "C-stock"
My Benelli M4 as it is now
Sorry if this ends up a bit long winded but I would like to make this review pretty thorough. A lot of reviews just say "It's awesome! Best shotgun ever!"
I love my M4 but I thought it had some drawbacks that had to be overcome. I hope this review will be helpful to other new Benelli owners who have experienced the same thing.
I have had my Benelli M4 for about three years now. When I was a kid I played the SWAT computer game (great game for gun nuts before the internet was big: actual bullet drop and wind value charts, how to make ghillie suits tutorials, specs on everything from Surefire lights to Black Talon ammunition) and I loved the Benelli M3.
I later found out the M3 was prohibited in Canada and after buying a few 870's and an 1187 that left a lot to be desired. I bought an M4 with the C-stock as it seemed to be the top of the line semi auto shotgun on the market.
Since then I have fired thousands of rounds, mostly shooting clays and in 3 Gun competitions plus I have bagged three coyotes with it as well as numerous water filled milk jugs. It is my go to gun at night on the farm.
The Benelli M4:
I paid $2149 three years ago but resale value is quite good. A lot of money but it is almost the exact shotgun the Marine Corps uses so I figured it was worth it, plus it looked cool with that stock.
The pros:
One of the first things that I noticed was the M4's finish is amazing. After three years it#has held up very well and still looks like new. The action is very slick and the sights are very easy to use.
The M4 uses the ARGO gas operating system unlike the recoil operated M1 and M2 which means it is not affected by the weight of accessories. I don't know how important this is as the recoil guns can take some add-ons without issue.
The ergonomics are very similar to the 870 with the shell release taking the place of the action release so if you own 870's like I do you don't have to try to remember where everything is. The safety is in the same as well except the right side has a triangular plate on the button you can feel with your fingertip if the safety is on.
The pistol grip feels great in the hand and the forend is also quite comfortable. The gun can be ghost loaded with a round on the lifter to increase capacity by one. Recoil is quite manageable. I have heard the M4 can have issues feeding light loads unless it is broken in. I had a few fail to cycle when I first got it but it has not happened since then and I have used almsot every kind of light target load there is. It is very reliable.
Accuracy with slugs is quite good. I noticed it much prefers Winchester Super X slugs. It patterns well with the factory modified choke.
The cons:
This shotgun is great. It is awesome like everyone says, but it does have some drawbacks especially for the price. A lot of these things wouldn't be a big issue except the gun is marketed as "modular" but there are a limited number of aftermarket options.
First my biggest complaint, the stock. The collapsible stock looks cool but that's about where the benefits end. The biggest issue is length of pull. It's 14.38" fully extended. I am 6' tall and it is way too long for me. In the middle position it is a much more comfortable length but the ghost ring sights are extremely difficult to use as the cheek piece is too high. Fully collapsed it is unusable and it only takes less than 6" off the overall length for storage.
To adjust it you must push a button rotate the stock 45 degrees, pull it out, then rotate it back. It is difficult to do quickly and it needs to be kept lubricated. It isn't quick to use like an AR-15 collapsible stock.
Another issue is the capacity. It only holds four 3" shells or five 2.75" shells, one less than it can legally hold in Canada. With ghost loading that gives you 5+1+1. That's fine for clays, plinking, and hunting but it sucks to lose that extra round in action shooting and for the fact that it's just not holding as many as it could.
From here the complaints are pretty minor.
The action release button. For a button you push almost every time you load the gun it's very small and requires a lot of pressure. With winter gloves it becomes a real pain.
Accessorizability, if that's a word. For a shotgun that is unaffected by the weight of accessories there aren't a lot of places to add them. You can find stuff but options are limited. There are sling mounts and there is a rail for optics but just a heads up about that: the screws in my rail shook loose after I tightened them and I lost a few. Replacements were expensive at $7 a screw. Use loctite on these!
The gun is also a bit heavy compared to the recoil operated guns. Not a lot but it does make it a bit harder to swing the shotgun onto a target.
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