Best benelli m4 clone available?

[Randoengholio8]

Turknelli. It works, worth what I paid for it.
Yup, other posters are correct, it's not the real deal, but functions close enough to it. Might wear out sooner but I can replace 4 times for same cost.
The m4 design is the key, I think you can go a couple routes and be alright.

 

[Hugh Mann]

I came here to ask this exact question. As much as I love my Benelli Nova and yet to be shot Argo E Pro, I just don't see myself being able to drop nearly 3k on a shotty.

Sounds like this Turknelli 2.0 and Canuck Operator are solid contenders.

 

[KRider]

I came here to ask this exact question. As much as I love my Benelli Nova and yet to be shot Argo E Pro, I just don't see myself being able to drop nearly 3k on a shotty.

Sounds like this Turknelli 2.0 and Canuck Operator are solid contenders.

My Canuck operator is on the way, ill let you know how it works out. Going to see if it cycles target loads out of the box

 

[Ionized Odds]

Defentaly NOT the charles daly 612. Mine came with the front sight post snapped off and even if I was not broken the tower part of the front canted to the left. The rear sight is all the way right because the slot for it is not drilled oval and it cant move, and is canted right. Just poor over all. Worst part is where I bought it wont take it back/ refund it because "all sales final".

 

[Can-down]

Defentaly NOT the charles daly 612. Mine came with the front sight post snapped off and even if I was not broken the tower part of the front canted to the left. The rear sight is all the way right because the slot for it is not drilled oval and it cant move, and is canted right. Just poor over all. Worst part is where I bought it wont take it back/ refund it because "all sales final".

You have to love when the distributor announced the charles daly version they claimed it was the best made of all of them.... hard to believe there are so many different models being imported.

I've never heard of Revolution Armoury, just looked at their website.... they don't list a location for some reason.

 

[ric0shay]

I got the Sulun tac-12. I have completely stripped it, cleaned/inspected it and carried out some issues any proper CDO (OCD arranged in alphabetical order... You would have to be OCD to get that one) guy would do.
To be honest it wasn't anything more than a Remington or Mossberg.
The feed ramp was terrible. It was fixable with some grind/sanding. I almost burst a blood vessel in my eye removing the cocking handle. You have to turn with considerable force60 degrees and then pull if you don't already know. I took some time to soften these ridges and re profiling the part that inserts into the bolt. It's better but could still use a bit of work.
My most serious issue was the magazine cap. It would back off during the course of firing. To me that's a fail. I thought of sending it to be repaired but had this vision of an ex toothpaste salesman from Isle 6 at Rexall gluing something in place. Hey it's still Covid season so I took on a project. I planed of .060" with a file with precision exposing the ball so it would index into the detents on the magazine cap. Whale oil beef hooked (Say it loud the next time you are in a check out line again and again till you get it) IT WORKED! 250 rounds and it hasn't backed off, DONE.
Challenger 7 1/2 target was the main ammunition used but there was a mix of #4 Federal, Kent, Winchester white box best use as a door stop ammo. The Sulun made it all go bang and spat out the hulls like a Redneck with chew. I had 1x failure to eject. I did have someone else shoot the thing that didn't cuddle hard enough. She had 3 stoppages back to back at the end of her session.

 

[Maple57]

I got the Sulun tac-12. I have completely stripped it, cleaned/inspected it and carried out some issues any proper CDO (OCD arranged in alphabetical order... You would have to be OCD to get that one) guy would do.
To be honest it wasn't anything more than a Remington or Mossberg.
The feed ramp was terrible. It was fixable with some grind/sanding. I almost burst a blood vessel in my eye removing the cocking handle. You have to turn with considerable force60 degrees and then pull if you don't already know. I took some time to soften these ridges and re profiling the part that inserts into the bolt. It's better but could still use a bit of work.
My most serious issue was the magazine cap. It would back off during the course of firing. To me that's a fail. I thought of sending it to be repaired but had this vision of an ex toothpaste salesman from Isle 6 at Rexall gluing something in place. Hey it's still Covid season so I took on a project. I planed of .060" with a file with precision exposing the ball so it would index into the detents on the magazine cap. Whale oil beef hooked (Say it loud the next time you are in a check out line again and again till you get it) IT WORKED! 250 rounds and it hasn't backed off, DONE.
Challenger 7 1/2 target was the main ammunition used but there was a mix of #4 Federal, Kent, Winchester white box best use as a door stop ammo. The Sulun made it all go bang and spat out the hulls like a Redneck with chew. I had 1x failure to eject. I did have someone else shoot the thing that didn't cuddle hard enough. She had 3 stoppages back to back at the end of her session.
View attachment 488070

I picked one of these up a couple weeks ago Canuck Operator and gave it a run this past weekend. Had no feed issues with a wide variety of ammo. I wanted to shoot more of the light stuff but ran out of time, but I did run some and it all cycled clean.

I tried firing from the hip because this type of gun is known for needing to be shouldered. It still ran fine with a light hold on it, so that's great.

As for removing the charging handle, just get the biggest allen wrench that you can lay the short end between the bolt carrier and and the handle and pry it out. Comes out real easy that way.

I did notice the choke tubes were really rough. They should have honed the inside diameter after cutting the notches for tightening. There were large burrs that I had to file and sand paper to get normal.

I did find a video on youtube where a guy wrecked his Charles Daly with hot loads. So I deliberately ran some hot loads and later inspected the bolt and gas system for similar damage. Everything looked just fine. So far two thumbs up for functionality and durability. I rarely run hot loads anyway. More interested in reliability with light loads.

One more thing... The choke tube found its way loose by the end of it all. I've been seeing this more and more in recent years. I suspect the manufacturers are using sloppy threads to keep choke tube from getting stuck. I've had a few shotguns over the last 6 or so years with the same problem. I just put plumbers NPT pipe thread paste on the threads, and that fixes it up.

I'd be real interested to know if these are all made by one company under different labels, or if the different labels are actually made by different manufacturers.

 

[Anthony Nardelli]

I have the Canuck Operator and have been very satisfied with it so far. I fired around 100 rounds of low recoil slugs with no issues. Fit and finish was very nice. All-in-all, a satisfying firearm to own. Here is a link to a reddit thread that has a poster do a breakdown (with pictures) of the Operator and Charles Daly CA612.

https://www.reddit.com/r/canadaguns/comments/k94nzp/the_young_turks_canuck_operator_vs_charles_daly/

 

[johnl]

Why not just save up and get the real deal? I shot the Benelli two weeks ago, really cool toy, fit and finish excellent, feels like HK German quality. May get one down the road but for me I would only shoot one occasionally, so I have another toy that requires my 3 grand. Yep I could buy cheaper but even time I go to use it I’ll be wishing for the real deal, so I’m saving up for it. Anyway just rambling on

 

[Maple57]

I've been out to the skeet range a couple times with my Canuck Operator.

First time out was a disaster. I found a problem with the trigger that I hadn't noticed earlier.

Depending on the side load, the trigger might not fire, might fire when I release the trigger, or might not fire at all.

I took it to where I bought it and they fixed it. Told me there was a plastic burr that caused the problem in the plastic trigger assembly.

Went out again after that and it ran fine with number 9 target loads. With only one problem... A shell got hung up because of the shape of the shell follower. The round caught the upper lip of the mag tube and I had to wiggle it loose.

I think a different style follower would resolve that, but its a problem to address just the same.

If you are considering to buy one, try pulling the trigger while pressing it to the left or right and be sure it functions reliably first.

Overall, I am surprised by how much I like the gun.

 

[Octane]

Canuck Operator.

Bought a brown one or is it tan.

50 trap rounds and 10 buckshot downrange and all is well. It's a fun little toy.


It came ready to hunt with, nice plastic plug. More joyful without it though



Red Deer shooting center for the sale. 2 year warranty made it a bit easier to take if it's a lemon.

 

[Enigmatic Penguin]

Why not just save up and get the real deal? I shot the Benelli two weeks ago, really cool toy, fit and finish excellent, feels like HK German quality. May get one down the road but for me I would only shoot one occasionally, so I have another toy that requires my 3 grand. Yep I could buy cheaper but even time I go to use it I’ll be wishing for the real deal, so I’m saving up for it. Anyway just rambling on

Not all of us are in that situation - I shoot maybe 5 times a year, so $700 plinker makes a lot more sense than $3,000 when I have to put a new roof on my house any way. I'm glad M4 owners enjoy their Benelli, but there's zero reason not to buy a Turk if it shoots and that's all you want.

 

[Octane]

what sling are you guys using?



Mine is still going strong. 200 rounds with a hiccup. Call me impressed.

 

[B]

"Best" clone? Are they not all made by the same Turkish manufacturer? My Turknelli was fine but since I already have an actual M4 and two Beretta 1301 I never bothered keeping it. I'm unlikely to keep the actual M4 too, the 1301 is just better IMO.

 

[ranbur]

One more thing... The choke tube found its way loose by the end of it all. I've been seeing this more and more in recent years. I suspect the manufacturers are using sloppy threads to keep choke tube from getting stuck. I've had a few shotguns over the last 6 or so years with the same problem. I just put plumbers NPT pipe thread paste on the threads, and that fixes it up.

Use anti seize, it doesn't set up like pipe dope

 

[CoonT]

Had mine out for the first time last week. Bought it years ago, but it always lost out to the mossberg as a 'grab gun' because it's just so much heavier and bulkier than the 88.

Fun shotgun though. It's cycled all the slugs and buckshot I've fed it so far without a problem.


There was a pretty exhaustive thread on this clone awhile back, going into great detail on all the fixes and issues guys were involved in with getting this gun up to snuff. Might be worth checking out.

 

[Orbrin]

Following..

 

[sunraymajor555]

G’day All,

Recently picked up a REV ARMORY R4, and test drove it this past week. I have a Canuck Sentry, but found this Turk manufactured (AKSA) product far more robust in material fit and finish. Ran 2 3/4 #3 Challenger and Winchester 2 3/4 1 oz slug. Worked flawlessly, patterned well at 30M, and impressive grouping with foster slugs at 25, 50 and 100 M ( 4 inch grip at 100 m). Patterned well enough for turkey, and all ready for deer this coming week. Used to a REM 870, but very pleased with how this R4 performed. It is a keeper.

 

[Maple57]

Use anti seize, it doesn't set up like pipe dope

Ya, tried that and a dozen other things. The last thing it needs is anti seize... it needs seize.

 

[Chumlee Bumsnag]

I bought an AK-SA arms FX-04 also known as a Turknelli 2.0 from S&J Hardware. It's also branded as a Revolution Armory Impact R4. 18.5" barrel and takes 2.75" and 3" shells. I swapped out the plastic forestock with a Mesa Truckee 8.5" M-lok handguard.
I've only fired slugs though it and have had zero malfunctions. The fit and finish is nice and the adjustable sights are solid. The adjustable stock is extremely robust as well with an adjustable cheek riser. Steel trigger guard!
I'm really impressed with this shotgun and S&J included some nice upgrades like the combat charging handle, Bad Lever bolt release, and a breacher choke. It came with 3 normal chokes as well.