500 pump or M4 semi-auto? What’s your preference?

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Still alive

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500 pump or M4 semi-auto? What’s your preference?

Ok, let me start off by saying I’m NOT a shotgun fan per se. I don’t hunt birds and I don’t train with one much.
I own exactly one 20” pump Mossberg 500 with a bunch of tactical doodads. Used it for one 3 gun match and some TAC rifle local matches. Damn thing is heavy, slow and doesn’t sling well. But I’ve had it for 30 yrs and it’s always eaten everything I feed it.

I’ve been reading threads here about the Benelli M4. It’s suppose to be the cat’s meow. I can’t get over how odd and flimsy the stock looks. And how much it costs.

I am now toying with getting one. Questions: can it feed everything from target loads to slugs? Can it mix 23/4 and 3” in the same tube? Does the semi auto tame recoil with slugs? ( I hate big kickers!) What’s the law regarding mag cap for non-hunting semi auto shotguns? Still 5?

For SHTGiggles, would you use the M4 or a tried and true 30 yr old M500? If you only had one, which would you pick?

Here’s mine:

 
I have owned 2 Benelli M4s and 3 Mossbergs 590A1s. Both are great guns but the Benelli M4 is light years ahead of the Mossberg and IMO the best combat shot gun ever made. Also there is nothing flimsy about any part of the M4 and has one of the best barrel to reciever lock ups.

My M4 runs +1oz cheapo shell right up to slugs. But you must break it in with about 100rds of heavy loads. The recoil is much tamer than a pump gun too and you can mix 2 3/4" & 3" in the same tube.

If you have the cash then the M4 is the way to go.
 
For a pump, i'd say a 590 or 590a1, instead of the 500 series..

But with that said; Benelli M4 for sure:

If you do decide to get the tele-stock version, I can say the stock is forged aluminum and is way stronger than a regular AR15 stock is.

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ETA

Still alive said:
Will the M4 cycle reliably with mixed ammo? Target load, slug, buckshot etc in the same tube? And is 5 the legal max cap for it?
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Yes, once you break it in with some heavier ammo (even cheapy hunting ammo, anything full power) it eats all the 1oz and 7/8oz light target loads I put into it.
 
Dsiwy said:
I have owned 2 Benelli M4s and 3 Mossbergs 590A1s. Both are great guns but the Benelli M4 is light years ahead of the Mossberg and IMO the best combat shot gun ever made. Also there is nothing flimsy about any part of the M4 and has one of the best barrel to reciever lock ups.

My M4 runs +1oz cheapo shell right up to slugs. But you must break it in with about 100rds of heavy loads. The recoil is much tamer than a pump gun too and you can mix 2 3/4" & 3" in the same tube.

If you have the cash then the M4 is the way to go.
Click to expand...

Just wanted to add that modern semi shotguns such as the sx3/sx4, 930, 1301, etc could for the most part, handle everything from reduced to hotter loads with little to no adjustments. And if you get a 3.5" gun (and it has to be stamped 3.5 on the barrel) you could legally have 5 rounds of 3.5 in the tube or 7 rounds 2 3/4. Have one more in the chamber and ghost load the 9th to start your stage.
 
I am currently going thru the break In process of my M4, I stared off with 30 federal powershock slugs, then moves to 50 rounds of el cheapo estate 00 buck, got a little ahead of myself and loaded up a some extra el cheapo bird shot, it would not eject, I called it a day as know it still needs some more slugs and buck shot to get this thing broken in, I've only had it out once, maybe this weekend I'll run some more slugs and buck shot thru her.

Still working on some upgrades, I've added a 8 shot mesa tactical side saddle for now, I purchased the 6 position adjustable buttstock as well but haven't installed it yet either

Will be adding a 3/4 charging handle, and +2 mag tube down the road, it's the H2O edition so I will need to sent the +2 for cerekote so it matches up nicely!



 
Still alive said:
Damn! That’s a beauty there Raptor!

What’s the maintenance like for this beast?
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I run a boresnake through it occasionally, and I take the bolt out and wipe it down a bit and put some oil on it :p

Like really maybe 5 minutes or so of cleaning? I take the trigger module out from time to time and wipe off the carbon.

The bolt likes to run a little wet on the guide rails (especially during break in) but it's a pretty simple thing to do maintenance on. Maybe once every 1000-2000 rounds I'll take the pistons out and clean them out with some solvent.
 
Still alive said:
Ok, let me start off by saying I’m NOT a shotgun fan per se. I don’t hunt birds and I don’t train with one much.
I own exactly one 20” pump Mossberg 500 with a bunch of tactical doodads. Used it for one 3 gun match and some TAC rifle local matches. Damn thing is heavy, slow and doesn’t sling well. But I’ve had it for 30 yrs and it’s always eaten everything I feed it.

I’ve been reading threads here about the Benelli M4. It’s suppose to be the cat’s meow. I can’t get over how odd and flimsy the stock looks. And how much it costs.

I am now toying with getting one. Questions: can it feed everything from target loads to slugs? Can it mix 23/4 and 3” in the same tube? Does the semi auto tame recoil with slugs? ( I hate big kickers!) What’s the law regarding mag cap for non-hunting semi auto shotguns? Still 5?

For SHTGiggles, would you use the M4 or a tried and true 30 yr old M500? If you only had one, which would you pick?

Here’s mine:

Click to expand...

The stock on those M4 models has a sort of an unlock-twist-and-lock feature for adjustments and is quite strong. You pay a lot for a Benelli but you do get what you paid for.

As a matter of interest, I see that in the States they right come off the shelf with both a solid and an adjustable stock, don't know what you get new in Canada but I suspect that deal is not offered.
 
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