[mr.mafia]

can anyone tell me how good a Shotgun the Benneli M-4 tacticle 12 Gauge is. I was thinking of purchasing one for home defence and was wondering if I should get it or not.

[DoubleB]

Good enough for the USMC, good enough for you. If you can afford, go for it. The 870 and the Mossberg 500 are certainly equally capable pump guns but why not go all the way and get the Benelli. I would.

[rundm]

I will tell you in a couple of days when mine gets here and I can go to the range.

[earlthegoat2]

The only gas gun Benelli produces so it is at the very least Benellis best one.

[Sniper X]

Unless you train every day for the next ten years, you'll never be able to outshoot an M4. It's a great weapon. I think it is a little overkill for a HD shottie, shoot any 870 or Mossy 500 are more than capable for that. But, if you have the funds, sure, buy one and love it but rememember, auto shoties like ONE kind of ammo, like 3in magnums.

[CWL]

I wasn't impressed when I saw one during a 4-day shotgun course. The only benefit over any other shotgun is it has similar sights like an M4/M16 rifle and has retractable stock to fit vehicles and armored soldiers. Good for military issue, not too useful for home defense.

It was very light, transferred recoil thru the plastic stock right into your shoulder/arm.

The guy that had it was all proud of it on day one. Halfway into Day 1, he had a bruise from bicep-to-pectoral. Every shot made him wince more -causing worsening improper hold, causing more pain & bruising. By end of day, the instructors had him using only birdshot, but he had developed a permanent wince.

Guy showed up for day 2, didn't come back after lunch.

Several of us tried it, I didn't like the feel of it and it uses the same receiver as my Beretta 1201fp.

You might want to price-out something else and spend the difference on ammo and training.

[Corporal K]

Can we ban the word "shottie" on THR? :barf:

[Friendly, Don't Fire!]

Is that like a Rottie?:cool:

Anyway, buy an 870 or a 500 and spend the rest on shotgun shells!:)

[Sniper X]

Hey corporal, at least it isn't like saying Gauge.

[earlthegoat2]

If you shoot 3" buckshot it is going to hurt irregardless of gas system or any other action type. 2 3/4 can be tamed somewhat. Im not a fan of the M4 either and like Benelli to pull a Ruger and just quit making it. I guess the military needs it though.

[CWL]

The guy I saw wasn't using 3" shells. He was using a case of S&B 00 buck. Don't remember what slugs, but he had to go out front to buy a case of birdshot to keep from crying. I ran several Federal reduced-recoil 00 Buck & slugs just to test it. I did not observe any function-related failures due to ammo on the M4.

I doubt that the guy will ever use his M4 again, probably sold it by now.

[pathman]

I was looking into getting one of these but in the end shied away from autos as i have kids. one of the benefits of the pump is it would be that much harder for them to hurt themselves in the very unlikely case that they were able to get to it unsupervised....

[earlthegoat2]

Im almost certain that if loved ones unfamiliar with guns got their hands on one it wouldnt really matter if it was a pump or an auto. They dont take much to shoot either which way. In fact if they watch enough movies they might just be able to figure out how to get that pump going.

[pathman]

well - my 18-month old is not likely to be able to rack a pump. but he could potentially hurt himself with an auto.
not that i would leave ANY weapon where he could reach it or leave it chambered... the way i see it is it's all about multiple levels of barriers and safety and minimizing risk as much as possible. hence the pump

my plan is the pump for now, and when he's older enough to be educated about the subject perhaps i can expand.

[rundm]

I am not sure about the kicking part of it. I have used my m1 and it did not kick any more than my 1300. I shot my m4 today with off the shelf win walmart stuff and then used a couple of 3in mag buckshot, it did not seem to kick any more than my 1300. I bought the m4 because I wanted something of great quality to have for the future and when my buddies go to the range to shoot clay's I can change out the choke and shoot with them. I have heard many times from people that the m4 is supposed to take some of the thump out of shooting heavy loads.

[inSight-NEO]

Try here (Benelli forum) for more opinions as well.

http://www.benelliusa.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=17