Benelli M4 Clones, Worth a shot? Revised thread Initial thoughts on 2 and review

bighonkinjeep

Senior Member
I've watched several videos with reviews on Benelli M4 shotgun clones AKA Turkenellis. Apparently the patent has expired and.several companies are making nearly exact copys that have nearly all parts interchangability with the original Beneĺlis.
The reviewers either seem to love them or hate them. The specific model Ive been looking at is the Panzer M4 and Hickock did a pretty positive review and claimed the one he had on loan would even cycle stuff his true Benelli M4 wouldnt cycle. Then there are others who seem to have very negative reviews.
I'm wondering if any of you guys own or have tried one of these M4 clones ( The Panzer arms preferrably) and what your experiences have been that may be a little longer term than a day at the range for a video review.
At 25% of the cost of a true Benelli M4 ( marinecoat version or ceracoated ones are $499) is it worth taking a shot?
Thanks
 
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Dub

Senior Member
Perhaps I am small minded…..but I‘ll stick to guns, cars & riflescopes made in America, Italy, Germany and Japan.

Back in my dinking days I followed similar thoughts on alcohol sourcing. :rofl:




Small minded and very comfortable with that. :)
 

bighonkinjeep

Senior Member
Perhaps I am small minded…..but I‘ll stick to guns, cars & riflescopes made in America, Italy, Germany and Japan.

Back in my dinking days I followed similar thoughts on alcohol sourcing. :rofl:




Small minded and very comfortable with that. :)
Fair enough but there is a firearms manufacturer that moved their crappy products from the country of Brasil to the state of Georgia and the best most dependable thing they EVER built was a Beretta 92 clone in Brasil once the patent ran out.
Just sayin... LOL

I would still like to hear from anybody who has one.
 

Dub

Senior Member
Fair enough but there is a firearms manufacturer that moved their crappy products from the country of Brasil to the state of Georgia and the best most dependable thing they EVER built was a Beretta 92 clone in Brasil once the patent ran out.
Just sayin... LOL

I would still like to hear from anybody who has one.
I don’t have any Taurus guns. I can’t speak to them. Never saw the appeal of their M92 clone….I stuck with Beretta’s M92 and have never been disappointed.


My pair of Benelli 12ga pretty much took me outa the clays & feather shotgun market…..they will likely serve my needs for a long, long time. …have yet to go deeper into the tactical stuff…..a couple of 870’s take care of the house shotties.
 

frankwright

Senior Member
All the reviews I could find were very good.
For a $1300 difference I would be willing to give it a try.
Might be a nice gun for walking the creek bottoms looking for piggies!
 

ryanh487

Senior Member
Strip them down completely and clean thoroughly. The Turkish packing grease is the consistency of honey and it will not run reliably until you've cleaned and lubed it. Reports I've read say they prefer high brass.
 

georgia_home

Senior Member
not sure exactly which would be the Benelli knockoffs but I’ve considered one of the other Turkish model SA guns. Those that run 300ish

i figures id take it out skeet shooting for a few years, abuse it like a Remington that never stops and see how it does.

so I’d say, if you get one at a price you like, try it, use it, abuse it. Report back after the first few thousand rounds.
 

bighonkinjeep

Senior Member
Finally got a short range session with 2 different Benelli M4 clones. One I purchsed on purpose from PSA (Panzer) and the other was a ridiculously low bid on a GB penny auction that I won to my surprise (Copola)

The Panzer Arms marine coat (Nickle electrolosis finish) M4 clone I got from Palmetto State Armory runs like a champ and is super smooth, eats up recoil, and I'm really impressed with my limited range time. I ran a box of cheap "Venom" Turkish 00Buck through it and 40 rounds of "Venom" brand 1 oz rifled slugs. No malfunctions of any kind so far. The 3 dot ghost ring sights were pretty much dead on and it was shooting about 2-3" high at 25 yards That should put it dead on a little further out say 50 yards or so. Obviously Im going to have to do a lot more testing but Initial impressions are that this thing is a really good value at 1/4 the cost of a Benelli branded M4. This one definitely impressed with its fit and finish and super smooth operation.

I also got to run a Copola T4 which is also a Benelli M4 clone with both shotguns claiming 100% parts interchangability with the Benelli M4 but both do have oversized trigger guards that the Benelli doesnt have.

The Coppola came with a sticker on the box recommending a 25 round break in with high velocity buckshot.
Out of the box the top rail on the Copola branded shotgun was loose and needed tightening up. It had to be disassembled as the rail screws tightened from inside the action. The charging handle was very stiff and after several tries and contacting the importer (Four Peaks) I had to use a pair of pliers to twist and wiggle it free. The rest if the disassembly and initial cleaning and lube was smooth and without incident.
The Copola branded gun bolt release was also pretty stiff. Not sure if running it will break it in or if the shell stop may need polishing to smooth up the release. The Copola T4 also had several failure to fire because of light primer strikes that were visible as such to the eye. The rounds were put back into the chamber and fired when struck again. ( to be fair when searching a fix I found the same problem online with some Benellis both factory and aftermarket.)
It got the same diet as the Panzer.
The Copola is still under warranty so I guess I need to shake it down hard and see if I can get the bugs out before its up.
Im going to take both apart and check for wear and bugs and also see if I can detect what was causing the Copola light primer strikes.
Reviews I've seen are mixed with many really liking the Copola.(most list for $600) Since I had 2 side by side to compare, in my case the Panzer proved to be a much better mechanically exact clone of the Benelli and was 100% trouble free.
In my opinion the Panzer Arms M4 is worth the asking price and feels and runs like a good quality scattergun.

I would have been able to run them both harder as I had a box with quite an assortment of shells to try in each, but theres a "New Rule" at Wilson Shoals WMA that prevents a person from firing more than 5 shells from a firearm that fires multiple projectiles at once. In other words you can fire all the 1Oz rifled slugs you can afford but after 5 buckahot, birdshot etc you're done.
Apparently something about complaints from environmentalists, and lead.

20230309_153335~2.jpg
The next day and I sure dont feel like I ran 20 rounds of high velocity buck and 80 1 Oz slugs yesterday. A+ for soft shooters.
 
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