benelli m4 shotgun

[steve45]

I am being told conflicting information. Is it legal to purchase a m4 benelli shotgun in california. thanks for any info.

[Sig556swat]

Hell yes. I love mine. Badass. Just can't have collapsible stock

[Quiet]

I am being told conflicting information. Is it legal to purchase a m4 benelli shotgun in california. thanks for any info.

They are CA legal, as long as it does not have a folding/extending shoulder stock.

[L84CABO]

Yes. But it is an imported shotgun so it falls under 922R compliance law. That means it comes into the country with a limited, 5 shot magazine. You can swap that out for a 7 rounder but to keep it legal, you also have to change out two additional parts that also happen to be on the 922R "approved parts list." So for example, you would need to change the magazine tube, the follower, and either the hammer or the forend/grips...all for US made parts. And this is just and example of the parts that people typically choose on the m4...and that have US made parts available.

All together you're looking at about $300, give or take, to get to a 7 round tube and keep it 922R compliant. There is more info on this over on the Benelli forum and Freedom Fighter Tactical and Carrier Comp both have "White Papers" up that go into more detail on all this...at least they used to.

BTW: Carrier Comp's titanium tube is usually the tube that all the cool kids go for. There are also a couple other options. And I think...bue you'll have to check this...that if you could get ahold of a Benelli tube, you wouldn't have to swap the other parts. But getting that tube wasn't easy...once upon a time. No idea how readily available it is now. The tube would need to be made in Italy though. If they make it here, then you need to swap two other parts. YES...gun laws are this stupid. 922R is a federal law btw. This isn't California stupidity. It's federal.

[SkyHawk]

I have an Hk imported Benelli M1 Super 90. It is pre-922R, thank heavens!!

[vg247]

I have an Hk imported Benelli M1 Super 90. It is pre-922R, thank heavens!!

Still loving mine as well. I remember when the 7 round tubes were going for $100

[CandG]

I'll echo the above statements, and add that you can have the collapsing stock as long as you pin it in one position so it doesn't collapse. There's a thread buried in the shotgun forum somewhere where I detailed how to do that.

I did that because I like the look of the Benelli collapsing stock, and also I wanted a shorter LOP.

Note that you'll have to swap out a yet another additional part for a US-made part if you go that route, if you wish to maintain 922(r) compliance. I did the forend, mag-tube and follower, and hammer.

Mesa Tactical's Urbino stocks are also an excellent choice, and are inherently 922(r) compliant as they're made in the US (more specifically, by fellow calgunner Mitch)

Oh, and CarrierComp's mag tube is a work of art. All the tubes work fine, but his has an even better finish than the rest of the shotgun. But when I bought mine 3 years ago, there was a 6-month waitlist, don't know how it is now.

[The Shootist]

I am being told conflicting information. Is it legal to purchase a m4 benelli shotgun in california. thanks for any info.

Just go buy it while you still can.....it's legal for the moment in California you never know what's next. Enjoy it it's a great shotgun I've shot several and it's on my list to aquire this year. Other stuff ( guns ) just keeps popping up and bumping it to the next time....and the next

[Sig556swat]

When would pre 922(r) be?

[L84CABO]

When would pre 922(r) be?

1990 was when 922r was enacted if I'm not mistaken.

[champu]

And I think... but you'll have to check this...that if you could get ahold of a Benelli tube, you wouldn't have to swap the other parts. But getting that tube wasn't easy...once upon a time. No idea how readily available it is now. The tube would need to be made in Italy though.

People have tried to simplify how 922(r) applies to the M4 by stating how many parts you have to swap out, but honestly I think it does nothing but lead to more confusion. (For example the quoted statement above... which is wrong.)

922(r) says you can use no more than 10 out of 20 imported parts from a list when assembling a semi-auto rifle or shotgun, unless the firearm is otherwise exempt as being suitable for sporting purposes. The last bit is how Benelli sells the M4 in the first place: five rounds = sports! (go team, go! Score many goal baskets!)

If you want to assemble a non-sports (stop team, stop!) version of a gun you have to make sure you keep the total imported parts count below 10. Using a seven round Benelli tube doesn't help at all with this, it actually makes things worse than if you use a U.S. made tube.

[steve45]

thanks to all for the info

[DrewN]

I honestly had no idea until just now 922 applied to the end user. i thought it was a manufacturer thing. Has anyone ever gotten busted just for having a non 922 compliant gun?

[CandG]

Has anyone ever gotten busted just for having a non 922 compliant gun?

Not that's ever been documented.

I think it's one of those laws that was *meant* to apply just to importers/manufacturers, but due to poor wording it ended up affecting everyone. As such, I think it isn't really enforced for buyers/users, but most of us still err on the side of caution since it could be enforced.

To me, it's a little bit like the felony warning about removing a mattress tag.

(funny story, my mom still has a mattress tag in her diary from when she was a kid, because when she was 12 years old she cut the label off before reading that "it is unlawful to remove this tag", and she panicked and tucked it there in case she got arrested for it)

[DrewN]

Not that's ever been documented.

I think it's one of those laws that was *meant* to apply just to importers/manufacturers, but due to poor wording it ended up affecting everyone. As such, I think it isn't really enforced for buyers/users, but most of us still err on the side of caution since it could be enforced.

To me, it's a little bit like the felony warning about removing a mattress tag.

(funny story, my mom still has a mattress tag in her diary from when she was a kid, because she cut the label off before reading that "it is unlawful to remove this tag", and she panicked and tucked it there in case she got arrested for it)

Damn. Literally would have never crossed my mind. Good to know I guess.