Benelli M1Tac and M1 Field Questions

[DragonRider]

I've been bugging my girlfriend to consider another shotgun, she currently has a O/U Browning Featherweight 26" in 12 gauge. For reasons of commonality with what we have in the house we agreed to purchase either Browning or Benelli shotguns. She does not want a pump!

Well tonight I let her take my M1 Tactical preban with rifle sights to shoot some wobble and she BEAT ME 19/25 to my 15/25.

Our question is. Can M1 Tacticals take regular M1 barrels? I am thinking of picking up another M1 Tactical for her, with the 18.5 inch barrel. Can I also purchase a 21 inch barrel that is made for the M1 Field and use it on the Tactical model? That way she has a sight system similar to her Browning. She liked the short barrel.

Thanks,

John and Sara....

as an update to my post on the H2O Nova, the shotgun has worked great, I didnt....

 

[Duke of Lawnchair]

Can M1 Tacticals take regular M1 barrels?

Yes.

 

[BerettaNut92]

If you plan on doing barrel swaps, the ghost ring models will obviously give you a funky sight picture.

Just so you know, the tactical rifle stock is different from the field stock.

Also keep in mind it'll be $350 for a barrel vs $850 for a new gun...

 

[Schiessuebung]

DragonRider,

Was that 19/25 with the open rifle sights, or the ghost ring ones? Either way, impressive shooting; if GR sights, even more so.

As Skunkabilly said, the Tactical buttstock is different from the Field buttstock. I know this first-hand: I got an old HK-marked Benelli M1 Field which came with the Tactical stock, wanted to put a LimbSaver recoil pad on it, bought the one for the M1 Field, it didn't fit. Found a replacement M1 Field stock at a local gunshop in the miscellaneous parts bin, recoil pad fit the Field stock fine. But the Field stock wouldn't fit snug on the shotgun until I got a drop change kit (shims and locking plates) from Brownells.

If you can find an old used HK/Benelli with the one-piece magazine tube, then barrel swaps will be quick, easy, and spring-free. Just unscrew the fore-end cap, pull the one barrel, replace with the other one, and re-tighten cap. That's it. Although it's really not that more difficult to deal with the spring and magazine extension of a current-production M1.

If you're going to get her her own M1 Tactical, open rifle sights would be better than ghost ring ones if you're going to be doing barrel swapping. Like Skunk said, you get a funky sight picture with the GR and a regular barrel, because the rear aperture is mounted to the receiver of the shotgun while the "bead" is up front. (The open rifle sights, both front and rear, are on the barrel: swap barrels, and you have no rear sight to worry about.)

And while you CAN unscrew the rear GR sight, taking it off and putting it back on as needed to improve your sight picture, I wouldn't recommend it: sooner or later you'll strip the threads from the holes in the receiver.

 

[DragonRider]

It had open rifle sights, as would the other one I'm thinking of getting. I'm just trying to see if the logic is right in my head. Over all she didn't mind the feeling of the recoil operated shotgun, which was the main thing, beating me was a bonus...

John

 

[BillL223]

I have an M1 I use for 3-Gun matches. I bought a 26" field barrel which I use with a 10 round tube when shooting Open class. I tried this last week on sporting clays and shot about as well as I do with my usual clays gun, a Browning 425. I have a preference for ribbed barrels and recently bought a 21" barrel to replace the 18" rifle sighted barrel. The new barrel did not fit the fore-end. At first Benelli denied that they changed anything but after emailing them photos they said that I was right and they had changed the barrel hanger. The lug on the ring that goes around the mag tube is about 1/2" longer then my other two barrels. Benelli offered to modify the fore-end at no charge. I set it up on my router table and modified it myself with about 15 min work.