18 USC 929(R) is another of the many unconstitutional bullsh!t laws foisted on the American citizen by politicians who knew f@ck all about the subject they were pontificating upon, and cared less about the Second Amendment.
Under it, foreign-made semi- auto shotguns, which appear particularly scary-looking to the ignorant may not be imported. Mag holds more than five rounds? Scary. Folding or collapsible stock? Scary. Or in the words of the statute, “not being particularly suitable … for sporting purposes.” U.S.-made shotguns aren’t subject to this idiocy, so it seems that Remington’s lobbyists at the time this got passed were pretty effective.
As a result, the Benelli M4 in its original form could only be imported with a fixed, non-pistol grip stock and a neutered magazine. If you wanted to correct this aberration, then doing so opened you up to another aspect of the law, which stated “It shall be unlawful for any person to assemble from imported parts any semiautomatic rifle or any shotgun which is identical to any rifle or shotgun prohibited from importation under section 925(d)(3) of this chapter as not being particularly suitable for or readily adaptable to sporting purposes.”
Which leads us to The List. If you read the preceding quote carefully, the “from imported parts” bit could be interpreted pretty broadly. Screws, pins, springs, and other small parts that U.S. manufacturers regularly brought in could conceivably fall under it, so The List was helpfully put together by the ATF to decide which parts were critical to the operation of the firearm. It was then decided that imported semiautomatic long-guns could consist of no more than 10 foreign parts that appeared on The List.
Why 10 and not, say, 9 or 11? Your guess is as good as ours.
If you wanted to avoid falling foul of unlawfully assembling a gun that was prohibited from importation, then in a lot of cases you are faced with the prospect of removing a perfectly good foreign-made part and replacing it with an identical American-made part. It’s something of a testament to the law-abiding nature of most gun owners that a cottage industry sprung up to make replacement parts on these shores. Of course, a lot of gun owners recognized the idiocy of our supposed representatives and simply did not comply.
Fortunately for fans of the M4, Benelli is now making their shotgun in the good ole USA, which means it’s no longer necessary to throw away Italian components. You can now get a civilian version of the shotgun toted by U.S. Marines in hot sandy places — and in this case, the one available to us filthy civvies is actually better than the issued model.
BENELLI M4 EXT SPECS
- Caliber: 12-gauge
- Capacity: 7 rounds
- Barrel length: 18 inches
- Overall Length: 39.5 inches (stock extended), 35 inches (stock collapsed)
- Weight: 8.5 pounds
- MSRP: $2400
| Palmetto State Armory | $2,300 |  |
At the M4’s heart is its ARGO operating system. Unlike most semis, the M4 uses twin stainless steel pistons to actuate the bolt carrier. These bleed gas from ports located just ahead of the chamber, where pressure is highest and, for most loads, are self-regulating. It’s been proven in both extensive testing and the rigors of combat deployments to be a reliable and largely trouble-free system, and paired with a chrome-lined barrel it requires very little cleaning or maintenance.
The bolt — also chrome plated — locks up by means of a single lug, which rotates into engagement with the barrel extension. You’d be forgiven for thinking the M4’s bolt carrier group looks like it came out of one of Benelli’s inertia-operated models, as it has the same spring-loaded bolt and a rat-tail extension, which compresses the recoil spring located in the butt.
The recoil spring housing serves as a mounting point for the buttstock, in a similar fashion to that other M4. Press a button on the left side, and the stock can extend from a 9.5-inch length of pull, all the way out to 14 inches. Reversible sling cups and a slot near the toe allow sling attachment options, and our test model arrived with an IWC weapon light mount, which gave a further QD point up front.
Unlike the military version, this one has replaceable choke tubes. It’s a matter of debate as to whether this additional failure point is worth the versatility it offers, but most users won’t run it hard enough to worry about losing a tube, and in extremis, the gun can be shot without one present.
The Benelli’s magazine holds seven rounds of 2 3/4-inch ammo and is a one piece component. As you’d expect from a combat arm, it’s steel but if you want to lighten both the gun and your wallet, aftermarket titanium models exist.
Rounds Downrange
The M4 has a reputation for being one of the lightest-recoiling gas operated shotguns, and we can attest that it’s as smooth as anything in the safe. Whether this is a result of the ARGO system, or a by-product of its not inconsiderable heft is open to argument, but we were able to empty the mag onto a steel target in 1.6 seconds. .17-second splits from a 12-gauge is not too shabby, and we’re sure a better shooter could cut those even further.
Using the Steiner MPS red dot mounted on a Mesa Tactical sidesaddle mount, we were able to dump five slugs into the headbox of an IPSC target at 40 yards, courtesy of a tight barrel extension to receiver fit.
It would be nice if the receiver was relieved for faster reloads — quad loading was never part of the military manual of arms, but the world has moved on since 1998 and the M4’s adoption. For civilian users, the ability to rapidly get more ammo into the gun while on the clock is important, and opening up the receiver to do this means old-style reloads from a pouch or web loop are quicker, too. Of course, this would deviate from the as-issued aesthetic.
| Palmetto State Armory | $2,300 | |
If you’ve ever considered adding this iconic shotgun to your collection, now would be a good time to do it. There’s no need to replace parts to restore it from its previously neutered status, or work around idiotic legislation.
MORE ON THE M4
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