Revolution Armory Impact R4

[Esox]

I've been torturing myself about buying one of these M4 clones for a few months. Today, it ended.







I went to the gun shop to look at ones of these and a Canuck Operator Elite. Right beside the Canuck was a Benelli M4 so I had a look at it at the same time, as well as the price tag of $2750. All three were equipped the same, colour/coatings aside. The Canuck stock was different than either the Benelli or the Impact R4. The R4 stock is, as far as I can tell, the same as the Benelli but at $2750, I cant say I looked long.

I've been reading everything I could find about these clones for months and knew what to look for, inside and out. This shotgun is flawless. There is not a single machining mark anywhere, inside or out. Its very well oiled and I havent broken it down completely to clean but I have had a very good look at it and, I gotta say, for an imported clone, it is very nice. I had a close look at the Canuck too, slightly longer than the Benelli. The inside of the receiver isnt as nice as the R4. The steel not as bright and smooth, not finished as well and the adjustable stock could best be described as 'clunky' and I couldnt even manage to make it adjust, but, since it was a Tan Cerakote, I wasnt interested anyway.

These Revolution Armory Impact R4 shotguns are made by this company.

Tactical Semi Auto arşivleri - Aksa Arms

aksaarms.com

Being in Canada the magazine capacity is limited to... I'm not really sure and, apparently, either is the RCMP because I cant find a definitive answer anywhere, so I assumed 5+1. This shotgun however, as seen by the ring around the mag tube just forward of the sling swivel, is 4+1. Can it be ghost loaded? Not willing to find out in my livingroom so you may need to bear with me until I actually get out and shoot it.

Over the next few days, as time allows, I intend to tear it completely down and while it is, I'll be taking detailed pictures to show the quality thats actually in this shotgun. The action is slick. I've shot Benelli's before so its no surprise but its a completely different world compared to either my Remington 1100, that has ~150,000 rounds through it or my much loved 21" 11-87 SPS-T. Its also slicker than the Canuck and I'd argue its every bit as fast and smooth as the M4 I looked at. For $836CAD, taxes in and $50 off because who doesnt love me haha, it was a no brainer.

So, thats the start. As I mentioned this will be another one of my typical indepth posts with lots of pictures (because we all love pics right?) for those that have missed me.

 

[Kentos]

Can’t wait to get a range report!

 

[OkieStubble]

Subscribed!

 

[Filudo]

And then you will find all the posts: upgrade your shotgun.....and they sell: real Benelli bolts, springs, bolt release buttons, and almost all parts.....

They look similar but they aren't.

I got a "competition" clone...... this particular brand is owned by Beretta, which owns Benelli now..... and there is a HUGHE difference.....

 

[Esox]

Here are a few pics I took last night.

Receiver and barrel breech.



Sights.



I didnt have a proper punch handy last night so I couldnt get the trigger group out or the gas pistons apart. The trigger group pin is a tight fit and I believe captive. Fit and finish is far above what I expected given the very modest price. The trigger guard is oversized because, Canada I guess, so wearing gloves will be a nonissue. The sights are easily replaceable and appear to be the same as Benelli sights as does the bolt handle. The bolt handle is also tight but it comes out fairly easily if you pull and rotate it at the same time.

 

[Esox]

Bolt and gas pistons.



Bolt handle.



Stocks.



Rear stock adjustability. In the first picture, you push the button on the left, rotate the stock about 20° away from you and then you can telescope it. In the last pic on the opposite side of the stock, you can loosen the knurled nut to adjust the riser height. The telescoping has three positions, not 5. That doesnt matter to me because the longest setting is the correct length of pull for me. It shoulders much like a Remington and even shouldering with my eyes closed its on target. The riser itself has a different feel than any field type stock I've used and I'll have to see how it behaves under recoil with heavy 3" loads.

The chock system is Mobile and it came with three. I put the modified in and it will likely stay in until I get around to ordering an aftermarket rifled tube so I can shoot sabots.

The forend stocks are a bit too fiddly for me on reassembly so there is most likely an MLOK in my future. I find the easiest way is to get both halves together on the barrel and install it as one piece. Doing it that way, it just drops right into place.

The trigger is, lets say, not good and is going to need some work. I dont have a trigger scale but I'd guess its around 8lbs with quite a bit of travel. Something I'm really not use to. Once I get the trigger group out and see what I have to work with, I'll see if I need to replace the hammer, sear and springs or if I can massage them on a stone and at least make the pull smoother. The safety on the other hand is very positive and where it belongs. The button itself, I believe, is a stock Benelli part and not oversize and I dont think it needs to be but an extended one might be nice.

 

[Esox]

And then you will find all the posts: upgrade your shotgun.....and they sell: real Benelli bolts, springs, bolt release buttons, and almost all parts.....

They look similar but they aren't.

I got a "competition" clone...... this particular brand is owned by Beretta, which owns Benelli now..... and there is a HUGHE difference.....

Yep, I'm aware haha. As I said, I've read all the info online I could find but I dont know anyone that has one of these clones so I wasnt able to understand the nuances of them. Something I did gather though as these clones, as evidenced by the "R4" (Revision 4) in the name of this one, are in their 4th generation and many improvements have been done since they came to market. How they could possibly be improved upon at the price point of this gun is beyond me. Other than, possibly, the trigger. Being a shotgun, most shooters slap the trigger pretty hard anyway but shooting sabots at distance is much the same as shooting a rifle and this trigger will make that difficult.

As I like to say, time tells no lies. If this shotgun has weaknesses, I'll find them and they'll all be posted in this thread as it continues.

 

[OkieStubble]

Here are a few pics I took last night.

Receiver and barrel breech.

View attachment 1787178 View attachment 1787176 View attachment 1787177 View attachment 1787174 View attachment 1787175

Sights.

View attachment 1787179 View attachment 1787180 View attachment 1787182 View attachment 1787181

I didnt have a proper punch handy last night so I couldnt get the trigger group out or the gas pistons apart. The trigger group pin is a tight fit and I believe captive. Fit and finish is far above what I expected given the very modest price. The trigger guard is oversized because, Canada I guess, so wearing gloves will be a nonissue. The sights are easily replaceable and appear to be the same as Benelli sights as does the bolt handle. The bolt handle is also tight but it comes out fairly easily if you pull and rotate it at the same time.

I don’t know if the trigger guard is bigger, but I do like the shape of its trigger guard having that downward angle and forward slope does look like it would be user friendly with gloves. Also some of the other finer details, like the protective side wings on the front sight and the rear ghost ring is pretty cool along with the rear white dots on either side of the ghost ring which I can see helping to speedily align the ring and front sight in low light.

 

[OkieStubble]

Yep, I'm aware haha. As I said, I've read all the info online I could find but I dont know anyone that has one of these clones so I wasnt able to understand the nuances of them. Something I did gather though as these clones, as evidenced by the "R4" (Revision 4) in the name of this one, are in their 4th generation and many improvements have been done since they came to market. How they could possibly be improved upon at the price point of this gun is beyond me. Other than, possibly, the trigger. Being a shotgun, most shooters slap the trigger pretty hard anyway but shooting sabots at distance is much the same as shooting a rifle and this trigger will make that difficult.

As I like to say, time tells no lies. If this shotgun has weaknesses, I'll find them and they'll all be posted in this thread as it continues.

Excited to see your range report.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Interesting thread so far. Thanks.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Esox]

Trigger group. The pin was tight. Punch and 20oz Estwing solved that . It is a captive pin, nice feature. The bolt handle does not fit the pin so cant, yet at least, be used to push it out.



You can see in these two pictures the hammer and sear mating surfaces and get an idea about the travel. The travel I havent fixed and not sure I'll bother but, its much smoother now. I cleaned both faces, added a drop of polishing compound and sat here for 15 minutes working the hammer and trigger polishing those faces enough to smooth it right out. Cleaned them again and added a tiny bit of grease. I also added one drop of oil on each side of the hammer at the hammer pin and while working on the faces, that also smoothed out. Because they smoothed out so quickly with only polishing compound, longevity may be an issue but I doubt I'll be shooting it in any competitions so not a worry for me.

In this picture you'll see the hammer spring cap and at the bottom, the last coil of the spring itself.



That also needed a bit of polishing and a touch of grease where the hammer mates against it.

The trigger itself is pretty good right now. I'm pretty content with it but I might pull it apart and clean the hammer spring and cap. I would have today but I'm out of dry lube. I dont like wet trigger groups. My 11-87 even had twigs in it from deer hunting and I learned my lesson about having little bits of whatever stick inside there.

Out of curiosity I went looking to see what the differences are between this hammer/sear/trigger in this gun and the Benelli. They are not the same.



I dont see this trigger becoming an issue but we'll see.

While I had the trigger group out I thought I'd pull the stock and clean the recoil spring and tube, another area that needs attention on Remingtons, but I couldnt get the stock off. It likely has Loctite on the threads. I'll have to look into that and may need to drop it in a vise and use a wrench. As it is right now, it doesnt seem to need any attention, I just know that if theres any crud in there it will eventually cause a problem.

I have found an issue though. Loading the mag tube with high brass field loads, the brass lip hung up on the edge of the receiver as they were being pushed into the tube. My camera battery died so I couldnt take any pictures of that yet. It seems to only be on one side. Gun upside down, right hand loading, brass binding on the left side entering the tube. I might need to take a Dremel to that and relieve it a bit. Thats the only issue I've found so far and if that remains the only issue its money well spent.

 

[Esox]

I don’t know if the trigger guard is bigger, but I do like the shape of its trigger guard having that downward angle and forward slope does look like it would be user friendly with gloves. Also some of the other finer details, like the protective side wings on the front sight and the rear ghost ring is pretty cool along with the rear white dots on either side of the ghost ring which I can see helping to speedily align the ring and front sight in low light.

I like the sights but I would have liked them a lot better 25 years ago. The white dots, now in my advancing age, dont help me much. I have a feeling I'll be replacing the front sight with a fiber optic, Tritium or, I might just add a red dot. The stock riser has plenty of adjustment for them. I'm open to ideas and comments about red dots and high viz front sights because I havent used one in 25 years. It was an 8" long Aimpoint and I could barely see it in sunlight. I understand things have changed a bit in that time. If they fit an M4, they'll fit this gun, as I understand it.

This was my main motivation for buying this gun. Tinker with it and make it work. I did that with my 11-87 but I was using it pretty hard in the field and in competitions. I'm not doing that anymore. I like shotguns, my go to gun of choice and may still find myself in need of a lifesaving firearm in bear country from time to time and it just simply must work when it needs to. I plan on making this shotgun my go to from now on.

 

[Esox]

No stock removal necessary to access the recoil spring. The recoil pad comes off. There are two cheesy Phillips head wood screws holding it on by about 1 1/2 turns each lol. I guess if they have to scrimp there are worse places, but drilling and tapping would have been nice.

I also had the gas pistons out. No idea why they're dripping with oil...

I'll add some pics when I have more time. To the range next Sunday.

 

[Esox]

Recoil spring out and cleaned. The recoil tube was a bit dirty.



Theres no hole in the stock to put a punch through to stop the spring when taking out the threaded plug lol. Saved $0.05c's CAD there haha. Good thing the threaded plug is shouldered. It went back in without too much trouble but the spring and the tube were both pretty dirty and very wet. The recoil tube plunger appears to be a solid piece of stainless. The recoil spring might get replaced with a Wolff Extra Power spring. When or if I get around to ordering one, I'll also get the Wolff mag spring. Cheap at twice the price. I dont think I'll need the trigger springs but I'll be finding out on the weekend. The firing pin and spring are fine and have full travel.

The gas pistons also came out and were wet and dirty. It looks like its been test fired. They got cleaned up, the piston tubes cleaned out and put back together dry. I'll be keeping my eye on them for a while.



The cheesy recoil pad wood screw attachments...



Come on, it even has pilot holes for drilling and tapping, not for ramming ******* wood screws in! Thats gonna aggravate me until its done right. That right there though, is the only issue I can find in the entire gun. I havent had the magazine spring out yet but, how bad can it be. Everything is working smoothly, very smoothly.

When I was in the gun shop today getting more Rem Oil, I had a look at cases (250rnds) of Challenger and Federal 3dr eq 1 1/8oz 7 1/2 shot trap loads. The last case of Challenger I bought I paid $68.95 for. Today, $144.95. I was buying Remington Thunderbolt .22 shells by the brick, 500 for $19.95, today, $57.95. What planet did I wake up in? lol

Does anyone happen to have experience with the Trigicon RMR?

 

[Esox]

IT VERKS!

I drove an old friend down to the club to help out on a trap day and only took 15 rounds with me, but they were full house loads.



Load 4 in the tube, hold the bolt back a bit, ghost load one, add one to the chamber and good to go so, 4+2. Functioning was flawless. I had to check it the first couple shots to make sure the action even cycled. Its fast and smooth, as expected, and will pump them out faster than I could recover from the recoil, which was substantial. Once I had the 15 through it, if there was going to be any damage to the ends of the piston rods or the bolt, it should be evident. There appears to be zero damage. The pics dont show it well enough, they're cellphone pics. I'll get some better macro pics when I have more time. The camera might see better than I do.



As you can see in the last pic, the right side gas piston isnt making 100% contact on the bolt rail but, neither the face of the piston or the bolt is showing any deformation. The heat treat on the aluminum bolt appears to have been done properly. I'll have a good look at the pistons and bolt when I tear it down and clean it and swap pistons for the next time I shoot it but my confidence level with this gun right now is pretty high.

Worst case, I have to replace the bolt and pistons with genuine Benelli parts for ~$500CAD, which would put the price of this shotgun at $1356CAD. Thats a half price M4.

Incidentally, after I went over to the trap range another shooter came up and asked me what I was shooting. "High velocity 3" steel BB's, hunting loads." He was maybe 50 yards away sitting in his car with a friend and he said that he told his friend to "watch when that guy dumps those shells down range." He told me that the muzzle flash was a fireball, that I didnt even notice, and "it was impressive". This was in full sunlight at around 11:45am. I did notice however, after I shot the first 6 that the barrel was too hot to touch and that the recoil was...considerable.

I'm now pretty sure the first additions will be a proper sling to manage the recoil. Shooting full house loads, at the cyclic rate this shotgun is capable of, accurately, is going to necessitate a proper shooting sling and the proper, strong, QD swivel(s). Followed by a heat shield and an extended compensated tube of some sort but I dont want cylinder or extra full. Modified would be ideal so I guess I'll need to look around and see if such an animal exists.

There was also a guy at the club with a Beretta 1301 Tactical. It has a Briley MLOC forend, that he says he shouldnt have bothered buying because it goes unused and just increased the weight of the shotgun. Weight might be a good thing lol. That Beretta has nothing on this gun.

Next trip will be with slugs to see if the sights need any adjusting. Sights, on a shotgun. This is new to me and just throwing it to my shoulder, like I always have, was weird with a ghost ring. I've never 'aimed' a shotgun. Just a simple bead at the end of the barrel was all I ever needed. I found I was looking around, lining up the sights, focusing on the front, then the back then the front again. That slowed things down a lot. As a field gun, jump shooting ducks, coyotes and even deer, these sights are s l o w. Way to slow because, I'm too busy looking at them. They can also limit my field of view by limiting whats going on around the sights outside of the sight picture itself. Gonna have to think on that bit and maybe it will become instinctual in time but I donno... weird. The pistol grip is also foreign to me but in a fast shooting scenario I dont see it as a hindrance. Its like it wasnt there so thats a relief, I dont need to buy a field stock.

So far so good. I would have liked to have seen 100% piston rod contact, evenly on both sides, but its a huge relief to see the bolt didnt deform. That was my only fear.

 

[Rob72]

Niiice. Regarding the sights- do you have an AK, M-14 copy, or AR? If so, just think of it as a large bore cousin. GRs allow consistent shot string placement on bipedal targets very well in the usual 20-30 yard range, and very accurate placement of slugs at 50-100. You could also stick an RDS on there.. Enjoy!

 

[Rob72]

Hmmmmm. ~$584 USD, + 19% in fees is really not bad...

 

[OkieStubble]

IT VERKS!

I drove an old friend down to the club to help out on a trap day and only took 15 rounds with me, but they were full house loads.

View attachment 1791150

Load 4 in the tube, hold the bolt back a bit, ghost load one, add one to the chamber and good to go so, 4+2. Functioning was flawless. I had to check it the first couple shots to make sure the action even cycled. Its fast and smooth, as expected, and will pump them out faster than I could recover from the recoil, which was substantial. Once I had the 15 through it, if there was going to be any damage to the ends of the piston rods or the bolt, it should be evident. There appears to be zero damage. The pics dont show it well enough, they're cellphone pics. I'll get some better macro pics when I have more time. The camera might see better than I do.

View attachment 1791151 View attachment 1791152

As you can see in the last pic, the right side gas piston isnt making 100% contact on the bolt rail but, neither the face of the piston or the bolt is showing any deformation. The heat treat on the aluminum bolt appears to have been done properly. I'll have a good look at the pistons and bolt when I tear it down and clean it and swap pistons for the next time I shoot it but my confidence level with this gun right now is pretty high.

Worst case, I have to replace the bolt and pistons with genuine Benelli parts for ~$500CAD, which would put the price of this shotgun at $1356CAD. Thats a half price M4.

Incidentally, after I went over to the trap range another shooter came up and asked me what I was shooting. "High velocity 3" steel BB's, hunting loads." He was maybe 50 yards away sitting in his car with a friend and he said that he told his friend to "watch when that guy dumps those shells down range." He told me that the muzzle flash was a fireball, that I didnt even notice, and "it was impressive". This was in full sunlight at around 11:45am. I did notice however, after I shot the first 6 that the barrel was too hot to touch and that the recoil was...considerable.

I'm now pretty sure the first additions will be a proper sling to manage the recoil. Shooting full house loads, at the cyclic rate this shotgun is capable of, accurately, is going to necessitate a proper shooting sling and the proper, strong, QD swivel(s). Followed by a heat shield and an extended compensated tube of some sort but I dont want cylinder or extra full. Modified would be ideal so I guess I'll need to look around and see if such an animal exists.

There was also a guy at the club with a Beretta 1301 Tactical. It has a Briley MLOC forend, that he says he shouldnt have bothered buying because it goes unused and just increased the weight of the shotgun. Weight might be a good thing lol. That Beretta has nothing on this gun.

Next trip will be with slugs to see if the sights need any adjusting. Sights, on a shotgun. This is new to me and just throwing it to my shoulder, like I always have, was weird with a ghost ring. I've never 'aimed' a shotgun. Just a simple bead at the end of the barrel was all I ever needed. I found I was looking around, lining up the sights, focusing on the front, then the back then the front again. That slowed things down a lot. As a field gun, jump shooting ducks, coyotes and even deer, these sights are s l o w. Way to slow because, I'm too busy looking at them. They can also limit my field of view by limiting whats going on around the sights outside of the sight picture itself. Gonna have to think on that bit and maybe it will become instinctual in time but I donno... weird. The pistol grip is also foreign to me but in a fast shooting scenario I dont see it as a hindrance. Its like it wasnt there so thats a relief, I dont need to buy a field stock.

So far so good. I would have liked to have seen 100% piston rod contact, evenly on both sides, but its a huge relief to see the bolt didnt deform. That was my only fear.

Great review! If you don’t get used to the recoil, I find changing out the pistol grip stock for just the regular shotgun stock seems To make managing recoil much better.

Pistol grips aren’t as effective as regular stocks in my personal opinion of managing recoil because it places the angle of the shooting arm into a position that makes the push/pull technique to manage the recoil more with the wrist on the pistol stock instead of being able to manage the push/pull with the complete forearm and shoulder of the shooting arm from a regular shotgun stock because it makes for a better position and angle to do so.

This is just an observation and opinion from my own personal experiences. Looks like a great shotgun.

 

[Esox]

Niiice. Regarding the sights- do you have an AK, M-14 copy, or AR? If so, just think of it as a large bore cousin. GRs allow consistent shot string placement on bipedal targets very well in the usual 20-30 yard range, and very accurate placement of slugs at 50-100. You could also stick an RDS on there.. Enjoy!

Thanks!

I had an AR. A Colt Flat Top Competition HBAR. Didnt like those sights either and put a scope on it. Traded it on the 11-87 SPS-T below after the first day at the range because it jammed every shot.



I'm not completely unfamiliar with ghost rings and peep/aperture sights, on rifles. On a shotgun I'm just not use to seeing a 'cluttered up' sight picture. Bead and target with unrestricted periphery. Ya know, in case I hang it on a doe in a hurry because sausages and the buck stands up 20 feet to her side. Or I need to pick out the lead goose in a flock to get them all on the ground when I kill it. Now, I understand this shotgun wont see that type of use and it's like I said, just different (weird might have been a poor choice of word), and I might get use to them. I've had no trouble with sabots from a rifled tube in my Remington 11-87 at well past 100 yards with just a bead, although I do believe for that type of shooting a ghost ring would be the more accurate sight.

An RMR sight on the other hand is something I'm interested in but have no experience with. I have been looking around and know what I want. A green 32MOA circle with a dot. Up to 68MOA might be okay, I just need to hold one in my hands and look through it and its going to need to survive extreme recoil lol. Not even sure if I can find any locally for a bit of coon fingering and fiddling, I havent gotten that far. Replacing the sights isnt a top priority.

A sling is first on my list.



Thats pricey for a sling and it still needs a barrel/tube mounted QD swivel and an MLOC rear QD swivel. The stock does have a slot so it might as well be used. All in, that one would be around $200CAD, for a sling! I'll be exploring my options lol.

Hmmmmm. ~$584 USD, + 19% in fees is really not bad...

I'm assuming you mean for the shotgun itself? There are American versions of these clones but, if you dig deep enough you'll find that S&J Hardware, whom I believe was the original importer of Revolution Armory firearms and coined the term 'Turkinelli' thats since gone viral, have been saying for the last few years the Rev Arms Impact was the best base gun to buy because everything, every part in it, is swappable with Benelli parts. I believe its the same story with the Canuck Elite Operator but not 100% sure, although they are quite popular here in Canada. The price on them, when I started looking not quite a year ago was $649.

Canuck Operator Elite 12ga 3 - https://www.bullseyenorth.com/shop/canuck-operator-elite-12ga-3-semiauto-shotgun-186-barrel-51rd-tube-tan-1245

Such is not the case anymore and I expect another price increase sooner rather than later. Most shops here dont have them in stock very long because, well we wont get political lol.

I know I said it but it cant be helped... The other dilemma those in the US may face is the 922(r) issue but, there are several US companies now making and marketing parts. Taran Tactical may be the most respected but there are several. They can be made 922r compliant very easily, as I understand it.

Great review! If you don’t get used to the recoil, I find changing out the pistol grip stock for just the regular shotgun stock seems To make managing recoil much better.

Pistol grips aren’t as effective as regular stocks in my personal opinion of managing recoil because it places the angle of the shooting arm into a position that makes the push/pull technique to manage the recoil more with the wrist on the pistol stock instead of being able to manage the push/pull with the complete forearm and shoulder of the shooting arm from a regular shotgun stock because it makes for a better position and angle to do so.

This is just an observation and opinion from my own personal experiences. Looks like a great shotgun.

Thanks.

I didnt think about that until I read what you said, and your right. When I was shooting it, I wasnt even aware of my right hand doing anything other than working the trigger, it wasnt taking any load. My shoulder just took it all, which isnt a problem I can deal with recoil. I found on the second loading I just had to lean into it a bit more but, rapid fire with loads that heavy and heavier, the muzzle climbs. I could only stop that with a tight sling.

I dont believe this ARGO gas system is as effective at handling heavy loads as the 11-87 either. It wont reliably cycle under 1 1/4oz loads and my main working load on ducks and geese, when we could still shoot lead, were handloads. AA hull and wad, and 1 5/8oz lead 5 shot at 1250fps over my Chrony. Not easy getting all that shot in a AA hull, but it does fit with a bit of tapping and, not always easy setting a good crimp (hot glue helps). Those loads in that gun were fine but, nothing like this ARGO system. I think the ARGO system is more versatile with load choices but I dont think these guns are made for shooting several thousand full house loads. If it manages 1000 before I have to replace the bolt I'll be a happy shooter.

Opinions and experiences are why we're here. Keep em coming. I'm well versed in shotguns but not combat shotguns, or accessories.



I almost forgot to mention, I broke it down last night just to have a bit better look at it and pulled the gas pistons out. I gave them a quick measure with my micrometer and, I think, one piston is ~.014 shorter than the other. The long one, with the barrel assembled on the receiver mates to the bolt with zero play. The other has, I'm purely guessing here, .005-.010 excess travel. The piston that wasnt making 100% contact is the one with 0 play which may be why it hasnt peened over. There are no burrs on the face of the bolt rails on either side. The one with play also had a slightly loose gas plug. Part no. 271j in the assembly diagram.



For anyone looking to buy one of these, pull the mag cap off, remove the forends, reseat the barrel into the receiver, check gas plugs for tightness and see if theres any play in the piston travel. I believe, they should be tight against the bolt when fully assembled. Maybe Jim @Chan Eil Whiskers can check his Benelli sometime for clarity on this. When I get the time to sit and clean this one fully, I'll properly mark the pistons so I know which is where and get an AOL of them both. Neither piston face has any marks or burrs. Both pistons however may be out of round by about .007. I'll get a more accurate measurement on them both when I can, if only for curiosity sake.

 

[OkieStubble]

Thanks!

I had an AR. A Colt Flat Top Competition HBAR. Didnt like those sights either and put a scope on it. Traded it on the 11-87 SPS-T below after the first day at the range because it jammed every shot.

View attachment 1791747

I'm not completely unfamiliar with ghost rings and peep/aperture sights, on rifles. On a shotgun I'm just not use to seeing a 'cluttered up' sight picture. Bead and target with unrestricted periphery. Ya know, in case I hang it on a doe in a hurry because sausages and the buck stands up 20 feet to her side. Or I need to pick out the lead goose in a flock to get them all on the ground when I kill it. Now, I understand this shotgun wont see that type of use and it's like I said, just different (weird might have been a poor choice of word), and I might get use to them. I've had no trouble with sabots from a rifled tube in my Remington 11-87 at well past 100 yards with just a bead, although I do believe for that type of shooting a ghost ring would be the more accurate sight.

An RMR sight on the other hand is something I'm interested in but have no experience with. I have been looking around and know what I want. A green 32MOA circle with a dot. Up to 68MOA might be okay, I just need to hold one in my hands and look through it and its going to need to survive extreme recoil lol. Not even sure if I can find any locally for a bit of coon fingering and fiddling, I havent gotten that far. Replacing the sights isnt a top priority.

A sling is first on my list.

View attachment 1791740

Thats pricey for a sling and it still needs a barrel/tube mounted QD swivel and an MLOC rear QD swivel. The stock does have a slot so it might as well be used. All in, that one would be around $200CAD, for a sling! I'll be exploring my options lol.



I'm assuming you mean for the shotgun itself? There are American versions of these clones but, if you dig deep enough you'll find that S&J Hardware, whom I believe was the original importer of Revolution Armory firearms and coined the term 'Turkinelli' thats since gone viral, have been saying for the last few years the Rev Arms Impact was the best base gun to buy because everything, every part in it, is swappable with Benelli parts. I believe its the same story with the Canuck Elite Operator but not 100% sure, although they are quite popular here in Canada. The price on them, when I started looking not quite a year ago was $649.

Canuck Operator Elite 12ga 3 - https://www.bullseyenorth.com/shop/canuck-operator-elite-12ga-3-semiauto-shotgun-186-barrel-51rd-tube-tan-1245

Such is not the case anymore and I expect another price increase sooner rather than later. Most shops here dont have them in stock very long because, well we wont get political lol.

I know I said it but it cant be helped... The other dilemma those in the US may face is the 922(r) issue but, there are several US companies now making and marketing parts. Taran Tactical may be the most respected but there are several. They can be made 922r compliant very easily, as I understand it.



Thanks.

I didnt think about that until I read what you said, and your right. When I was shooting it, I wasnt even aware of my right hand doing anything other than working the trigger, it wasnt taking any load. My shoulder just took it all, which isnt a problem I can deal with recoil. I found on the second loading I just had to lean into it a bit more but, rapid fire with loads that heavy and heavier, the muzzle climbs. I could only stop that with a tight sling.

I dont believe this ARGO gas system is as effective at handling heavy loads as the 11-87 either. It wont reliably cycle under 1 1/4oz loads and my main working load on ducks and geese, when we could still shoot lead, were handloads. AA hull and wad, and 1 5/8oz lead 5 shot at 1250fps over my Chrony. Not easy getting all that shot in a AA hull, but it does fit with a bit of tapping and, not always easy setting a good crimp (hot glue helps). Those loads in that gun were fine but, nothing like this ARGO system. I think the ARGO system is more versatile with load choices but I dont think these guns are made for shooting several thousand full house loads. If it manages 1000 before I have to replace the bolt I'll be a happy shooter.

Opinions and experiences are why we're here. Keep em coming. I'm well versed in shotguns but not combat shotguns, or accessories.



I almost forgot to mention, I broke it down last night just to have a bit better look at it and pulled the gas pistons out. I gave them a quick measure with my micrometer and, I think, one piston is ~.014 shorter than the other. The long one, with the barrel assembled on the receiver mates to the bolt with zero play. The other has, I'm purely guessing here, .005-.010 excess travel. The piston that wasnt making 100% contact is the one with 0 play which may be why it hasnt peened over. There are no burrs on the face of the bolt rails on either side. The one with play also had a slightly loose gas plug. Part no. 271j in the assembly diagram.

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For anyone looking to buy one of these, pull the mag cap off, remove the forends, reseat the barrel into the receiver, check gas plugs for tightness and see if theres any play in the piston travel. I believe, they should be tight against the bolt when fully assembled. Maybe Jim @Chan Eil Whiskers can check his Benelli sometime for clarity on this. When I get the time to sit and clean this one fully, I'll properly mark the pistons so I know which is where and get an AOL of them both. Neither piston face has any marks or burrs. Both pistons however may be out of round by about .007. I'll get a more accurate measurement on them both when I can, if only for curiosity sake.

I don’t own a semi- auto combat shotgun... Yet.

But looking at the diagram, are we sure the shorter piston isn’t purposely designed not to touch the bolt simultaneously with the longer piston?

Ya know, kinda like riding a 10 speed bike? In order to slow down on that 10 speed without flipping over, ya gotta pull the right hand brake that slows the rear tire first, just before you hit the left hand brake that slows the front tire?