I love my Benelli. I’ve been shooting it for over 20 years. Might have to get another one

Use 00 Buckshot. I would not recommend bird shot.

quote:

Originally posted by IndianaBoy:
Benelli M2 is a better shotgun than the M4.

My conclusion as well, I got 3 of them (and an M1). Which was the whole point of finally buying the M4, to prove or disprove what I suspected.

I am really interested in the LTT 1301. If I bought a stock 1301, I would want to do all the Langdon mods.
My favorite shotgun, up till now, has been my Beretta 1201FP. I'm taking a hard look at myself while I decide if the 1301 is worth me selling the 1201.

That's a toughie.

Bruce

quote:

Originally posted by cas:

quote:

Originally posted by IndianaBoy:
Benelli M2 is a better shotgun than the M4.

My conclusion as well, I got 3 of them (and an M1). Which was the whole point of finally buying the M4, to prove or disprove what I suspected.

I vote the M3 as being the best Benelli. Being an auto and pump it can handle any load where as the others as nice as they are can be finicky.

As far as the Ops question, get a Benelli or a Beretta. Mossburg is not even in the same league. Buy once cry once. You will thank me later. lol

quote:

Originally posted by Ace31:
...can be finicky.

That's what we hear... but we hear a lot of things that tend not to be true or over blown.

People like to push the M4 as being reliable with everything, and the others not. But honestly I've seen just as many, if not more people online looking for input of their M4's not likely "X" ammo as any other model in the line.

I have a Mossberg 930 which the 940 supersedes. I've put about 200 trouble free rounds (buckshot and slugs) through it. I don't have any experience with Benelli or Beretta, but the Mossberg serves me fine and it was a lot less expensive.

quote:

Originally posted by Fire Away:
I have a Mossberg 930 which the 940 supersedes. I've put about 200 trouble free rounds (buckshot and slugs) through it. I don't have any experience with Benelli or Beretta, but the Mossberg serves me fine and it was a lot less expensive.

There are some 3 gun specific reasons I went with a Benelli. The way the handguard interfaces with the receiver, and the ability to cut the loading port for quad loading specifically.

Mossberg makes a good shotgun. In my experience, gas guns require more cleaning than inertia guns to stay reliable, but they work just fine.

I had an FN SLP, far prefer the Benelli, but the SLP ran like a champ.

quote:

Originally posted by Ace31:


I vote the M3 as being the best Benelli. Being an auto and pump it can handle any load where as the others as nice as they are can be finicky.

As far as the Ops question, get a Benelli or a Beretta. Mossburg is not even in the same league. Buy once cry once. You will thank me later. lol

I don't use any specialty ammo like bean bag rounds that would require the pump function. My M2 eats everything from the cheapest walmart bulk pack to 1 3/8 oz Brenneke Black Magic Magnum bear slugs @ 1500 FPS.

I usually use good ammo from Clever or Fiocchi for matches.

quote:

People like to push the M4 as being reliable with everything, and the others not. But honestly I've seen just as many, if not more people online looking for input of their M4's not likely "X" ammo as any other model in the line.

Every semi-auto shotgun should be tested throughly before being deemed fully reliable. I have 4 Beretta A400s and three will cycle everything, while one of the xtreme guns likes heavy payloads and/or hotter rounds. That’s the same system that the 1301 is built around. My oldest xtreme has cycled the cheapest lightest target loads since day one and has somewhere between 5k-10k rounds through it. We also have Benelli SBE3s in the house that have run flawlessly on every bit of ammo we have tried. I only have one M4, but my brother and nephew each have one. I would trust my life with any of them, but only because they’ve all been tested. I shoot a lot of shotgun ammo throughout the year between Clays, bird hunting, and defensive shooting at the range. Also, one of the biggest problems I see when semi-autos fail is improper lubrication and maintenance. No mechanical system should be trusted with your life unless it has been tested.

Just a bit of history. The M4 was designed specifically for a U.S. military tender in the late 90’s. It’s a 20+ year old design that didn’t take into account civilian considerations like shooting light loads, so comparing it to more modern civilian shotguns like the Berreta 1301, which didn’t exist when the M4 came out, is a bit of and apples to oranges comparisons. Is the Benelli M4 a good gun? Yes, IMHO. Is it the best value for money semiauto tactical shotgun? Probably not.

quote:

Originally posted by Dwill104:
It’s a 20+ year old design that didn’t take into account civilian considerations like shooting light loads...

That's my point, the internet would have you think just the opposite, that the whole idea of the Argo system is that it will run with anything. lol

I own an M4, 3 M2's (owned a 4th), an M1, an SBE and SBE2, and every single one of them has worked just fine with whatever. Other than buckshot, slugs and turkey loads, 98% of what's been through them has been the cheapest stuff possible, without issue. This isn't meant as a pro Benelli comment, but more a "some people seem to have more problems with things than other people." We hear from people with problems far and away more often than from people without.


I had two friends with the "tactical" version of the 940 and maybe it was just the way it fit me (or didn't) but it seemed to recoil more than I thought it really should. The reason I passed when I had the chance to buy it from the one friend.
(Had another friend with a "JM" model, and it was a dog. Nothing but headaches for him.)

I intended to buy a 1301 to try, but Benelli barrels kept coming my way cheap (which almost never happens), so barrel-less police trade in guns were bought instead to make them whole. (and in the long run only costly slightly less than buying whole guns. lmao But then there would have been no excuse.)

Thanks to this thread, I decided I needed a semi auto home defense shotty.

Would have loved to get a 1301 but there are none to be found out there and I hate having to wait a long time. Decided to settle on the the Beretta A300 Patrol that my local Scheels had. Would have liked the better barrel, gassystem and sights.

But the trade off is a better loading gate and stock mlok foreend. Plus Langdon tactical said they are going to be putting out some goodies for the patrol!! and I saved 600.00 bucks

I have owned both so here's my $0.02.

From a mechanical standpoint I think the Benelli M4 is the best semi auto shotgun on the market today. I had a Mosberg 930 that wouldn't cycle low recoil ammunition, which is what I prefer to use. My M4 cycled everything from Fiocchi low recoil buckshot up to the hottest shot shells I could find. What I didn't like about the M4 was the stock is hollow plastic, and none of the available options trilled me. I don't like postil grip shotguns, so my options were limited.

The Beretta 1301 recoils a bit harder than the M4, but it runs on low recoil shells. The advantage for me is with the 1301 you can use Magpul stocks with an adapter, which makes for a more easily customizable fitting. There are also more accessories available for the 1301 than there are for the M4.

quote:

Originally posted by sig2392:
I can't find a 1301 listed at any of my LGS.

Gun Broker has 1301 tactical for $1600 delivered.

I can buy a m4 locally for 1900 delivered.

Only $300 difference between the 1301 and the M4

What do you guys think about the choice with that little price difference?