New Benelli M4 EXT

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The Benelli M4 has been one of the most respected defensive shotguns on the planet for two decades… but the M4 EXT changes the conversation in a way I honestly didn’t expect.

This isn’t a color swap or another “limited edition.” This shotgun fixes the one problem the M4 community has been fighting since the day it hit U.S. soil — and the crazy part is that Benelli never really talked about it. The EXT quietly corrects years of legal workarounds, aftermarket guessing, and the endless parts-hunting that every M4 owner knows too well.

In this video, I break down what the EXT changes, why it finally exists, and what it actually feels like once you put rounds through it. No hype, no fantasy builds — just a real look at a shotgun that’s built the way it should’ve been built from day one
 
What changed so that it can be imported with full capacity magazine? Always thought it was silly with the 3 ribs. And why not a one piece tube. Looks like a screw in extension
 
What changed so that it can be imported with full capacity magazine? Always thought it was silly with the 3 ribs. And why not a one piece tube. Looks like a screw in extension
The recent commercial version of the Benelli M4, the M4 EXT, achieves NFA and 922(r) compliance for a full-length magazine tube by incorporating enough American-made parts from the factory to meet federal requirements. This means that the complete shotgun, as sold in the US, does not contain more than 10 imported parts from the ATF's specified list.

922(r) Compliance for Civilians
Federal law 18 U.S.C. § 922(r) prohibits assembling a semi-automatic shotgun from imported parts if the resulting firearm would not be importable under "sporting purposes" criteria (e.g., having a magazine capacity over five rounds and/or a collapsible stock).
Historically, civilian-legal Benelli M4 shotguns were imported in a "neutered" configuration with a 5-round magazine tube and a fixed stock to comply with the 922(r) rules. To add a full-capacity 7-round magazine tube or a collapsible stock, owners had to replace a specific number of foreign parts with US-made components themselves.

The M4 EXT Change
The Benelli M4 EXT model bypasses this modification process for the consumer. Benelli USA, as a Type 7 Federal Firearms License (FFL) holder (manufacturer), can assemble or import firearms under different rules, treating them similarly to domestically manufactured items.
The key change is in the manufacturing and assembly process:
  • Factory-Installed US Parts: The M4 EXT comes from the factory with the necessary US-made components (such as the magazine body, follower, buttstock, etc.) already installed, ensuring the total count of imported parts from the ATF's list is 10 or fewer, even with the full-capacity 7-round magazine tube and 5-position collapsible stock.
  • Full Capacity out of the Box: This allows the shotgun to be sold to civilians in its desirable 7+1 capacity configuration without the user needing to perform any part swaps to maintain legality.
Essentially, the change is not in the design of the extension itself, but in the legal manufacturing/importation framework and the origin of the accompanying parts on the complete firearm as it is sold in the US market
 
The recent commercial version of the Benelli M4, the M4 EXT, achieves NFA and 922(r) compliance for a full-length magazine tube by incorporating enough American-made parts from the factory to meet federal requirements. This means that the complete shotgun, as sold in the US, does not contain more than 10 imported parts from the ATF's specified list.

922(r) Compliance for Civilians
Federal law 18 U.S.C. § 922(r) prohibits assembling a semi-automatic shotgun from imported parts if the resulting firearm would not be importable under "sporting purposes" criteria (e.g., having a magazine capacity over five rounds and/or a collapsible stock).
Historically, civilian-legal Benelli M4 shotguns were imported in a "neutered" configuration with a 5-round magazine tube and a fixed stock to comply with the 922(r) rules. To add a full-capacity 7-round magazine tube or a collapsible stock, owners had to replace a specific number of foreign parts with US-made components themselves.

The M4 EXT Change
The Benelli M4 EXT model bypasses this modification process for the consumer. Benelli USA, as a Type 7 Federal Firearms License (FFL) holder (manufacturer), can assemble or import firearms under different rules, treating them similarly to domestically manufactured items.
The key change is in the manufacturing and assembly process:
  • Factory-Installed US Parts: The M4 EXT comes from the factory with the necessary US-made components (such as the magazine body, follower, buttstock, etc.) already installed, ensuring the total count of imported parts from the ATF's list is 10 or fewer, even with the full-capacity 7-round magazine tube and 5-position collapsible stock.
  • Full Capacity out of the Box: This allows the shotgun to be sold to civilians in its desirable 7+1 capacity configuration without the user needing to perform any part swaps to maintain legality.
Essentially, the change is not in the design of the extension itself, but in the legal manufacturing/importation framework and the origin of the accompanying parts on the complete firearm as it is sold in the US market
That's same reason the Beretta 1301 Tactical was banned(paused production) for a few months until it was brought up to 922r compliance & is now 7 rounds
 
What changed so that it can be imported with full capacity magazine? Always thought it was silly with the 3 ribs. And why not a one piece tube. Looks like a screw in extension
Really only affects the Americans, we're still limited to 5+1, and the extendable stock has always been easily available in Canada. My thoughts for the mag extension vs one long one are that the 14" barrel is easily swapped on in this configuration. I don't believe they sell many short barreled shotguns, but still it simplifies the production line. I find it a little humorous that swapping the Super Nova/MR1's extendable stock in for the M4's extendable is being greeted as such an innovation... While I personally have always liked it, it didn't review well on it's original firearms.
 
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^we can get the same gun with a rivet to 6 of 2.75" and 5.9 of 3" without buying an extension and looking like...
 
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