Benelli M4 TRIARC Custom Builds and the M1014

From a 1998 Army solicitation to the M1014

The M4 was built to order. In May 1998 the US Army’s Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center at Picatinny Arsenal asked for submissions for a new 12-gauge semi-automatic combat shotgun. Benelli Armi of Urbino, Italy, designed the M4 Super 90 for it and delivered five samples to Aberdeen Proving Ground in August 1998. After testing, the M4 won.

In early 1999 the Joint Service Combat Shotgun contract went to Heckler & Koch’s US subsidiary to import the Benelli. The test designation XM1014 lost its X on adoption, and the shotgun became the M1014. Italy and the United Kingdom also adopted the M4; in British service it is the L128A1.

That was a change for American forces. Since the First World War, as American Rifleman put it in its 2003 test of a pre-production civilian M4 Super 90, large-scale military procurement had meant one pump shotgun or another. Marines interviewed for that piece liked the semi-auto operation; one called fast follow-up shots in close quarters “a definite advantage.”

How the Benelli M4’s ARGO system works

Benelli had built its name on the Inertia Recoil System, which runs the action on recoil energy. The M4 was its first gas-operated shotgun. American Rifleman asked Benelli why, and the answer was accessories: the military wanted to mount night vision and other equipment, and an inertia gun has to stay within a certain weight range to cycle reliably.

The answer was ARGO, for auto-regulating gas-operated. Two self-cleaning stainless steel pistons sit just ahead of the chamber, fed by two gas ports just forward of the forcing cone. Because the gas is tapped so early, while it is hotter and cleaner, American Rifleman notes, the system stays cleaner than most gas-operated semi-automatics. The pistons drive the bolt carrier rearward, and the bolt itself is the familiar Benelli two-piece arrangement: a carrier and a rotating bolt head with two lugs locking into the barrel extension.

The system regulates itself. The design takes 2¾-inch and 3-inch shells of different power levels without the shooter adjusting the gas system. Low-power rounds such as less-lethal baton rounds are a known exception and have to be cycled by hand, and how any particular load runs depends on the load and the gun. The military design shows elsewhere too: ghost-ring sights made by LPA in Italy, a Picatinny rail on the receiver, and, in factory configuration, a modular layout that lets the main assembly groups be exchanged without additional tools.

M1014 and the civilian M4

The civilian M4 is close to the M1014 but not identical. American Rifleman’s 2003 test listed three differences in the civilian M4 Super 90 of that time. The M1014 had a collapsing stock; the civilian gun’s stock was fixed in the extended position to comply with federal law at the time. The M1014 had a full-length magazine tube; the civilian tube held four rounds, shortened and capped with an aluminum blocker, because the barrel ring at the end of the barrel has to slide over the magazine tube. And where the M1014 has a fixed modified choke, the civilian M4 takes Benelli’s interchangeable choke tubes.

The rest is shared: an anodized aluminum receiver, a phosphated steel barrel with a chrome-plated bore, and a takedown simple enough that the reviewer had it in its basic parts in under a minute. On the gun American Rifleman tested, the removable factory bolt handle doubled as the tool for taking the ARGO gas system apart. Capacity today varies by version, covered below.

Benelli M4 upgrades on the TRIARC builds

TRIARC Systems, in Mansfield, Texas, was founded in September 2013 by Chris Reeves, whose 14 years of military service included time as a paratrooper with the 1st Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne, and in Iraq as a squad leader and platoon sergeant with the 4th Infantry Division. Alongside its own AR-pattern rifles and parts, the company does custom Cerakote and custom upgrade work. The upgrades below are the ones listed in our video description for these builds; we describe what the photos show and attribute the rest to that list.

Finish. Cerakote is a ceramic-based coating, and TRIARC applied it in camo. On the standard black M4, steel parts are phosphated matte black and aluminum parts are hard-anodized. On the gray build the camo covers the receiver and handguard, while the barrel and magazine tube are black; on the white build the barrel is in camo too.

Handguard. A Midwest Industries M-LOK handguard replaces the factory fore-end, so M-LOK-compatible lights and accessories mount to the slots.

Magazine. Capacity depends on the version. According to Wikipedia, the standard civilian M4 holds five 2¾-inch shells in the tube plus one in the chamber, while military and law-enforcement guns are 7+1, and two-shell extension tubes are made for the civilian gun. The list for these builds includes a +2 extended magazine tube.

Loading port and follower. According to the build list, the loading port in the bottom of the receiver has been machined larger and the magazine follower is aluminum. The photo below shows where those parts sit.

Controls. A GG&G extended charging handle gives more to grab when running the bolt, and an A&S Engineering enhanced trigger guard replaces the factory part. The grip is stippled.

Benelli M4 TRIARC build at a glance

Item	Benelli M4 TRIARC build
Base gun	Benelli M4, Benelli Armi, Urbino, Italy
Gauge	12, 2¾-inch and 3-inch shells
Action	Semi-automatic, ARGO gas system, rotating bolt
Magazine	Tube; +2 extended tube listed for these builds
Sights	LPA ghost ring, Picatinny rail
Finish	TRIARC Systems camo Cerakote (white build, gray build)
Handguard	Midwest Industries M-LOK
Charging handle	GG&G extended
Trigger guard	A&S Engineering enhanced
Other	Enlarged loading port, aluminum follower, stippled grip (per build list)

On the floor at OSA

The two M4s in our video are part of the Old Steel Arsenal collection and are not among the pieces below. These 12-gauge shotguns are in our case:

• A Mossberg Model 1000 Super 12, made by Howa in Japan.
• A CZ-USA Hammer Coach side-by-side with 20-inch barrels, a short 12-gauge of a very different kind.
• A Belgian Liège side-by-side with Japanese Yokosuka markings.

The grid below updates by itself as pieces come and go.

General information for collectors and shooters, not legal advice. Aftermarket parts and finishes vary by builder; check the individual shotgun.

Sources

• Wikipedia, “Benelli M4” — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benelli_M4 (1998 ARDEC solicitation, Urbino, five samples to Aberdeen in August 1998, H&K contract in early 1999, L128A1, XM1014 to M1014, adoption by Italy, the UK and the US, first gas-operated Benelli, ARGO pistons and rotating bolt, 2¾ and 3 in shells without adjustment, less-lethal rounds cycled manually, Picatinny rail, tool-free modularity, phosphated and anodized finishes, civilian 5+1 and military/LE 7+1, two-shot extension tubes, M-LOK aftermarket handguards)
• American Rifleman, “Benelli M4 Super 90: Combat Modernity” (originally April 2003) — https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/benelli-m4-super-90-combat-modernity/ (pump shotguns in large-scale military procurement since WWI, Marines on semi-auto operation, why Benelli went to gas, ARGO pistons and gas ports, two-piece bolt with rotating head, LPA ghost-ring sights, anodized aluminum receiver and chrome-plated bore, removable bolt handle used as a takedown tool, pre-production test gun, differences between the M1014 and the 2003 civilian M4 Super 90: collapsing stock, four-round shortened tube and barrel ring, fixed modified choke versus choke tubes)
• TRIARC Systems, home page — https://triarcsystems.com/ (founded September 2013 by Chris Reeves, 14 years of service, 1/505 PIR of the 82nd Airborne, squad leader and platoon sergeant in the 4th Infantry Division in Iraq, Mansfield, Texas, custom Cerakote and custom upgrade services)
• Old Steel Arsenal, “Not Your Standard Benelli M4 | TRIARC Systems Custom Build” (video description) — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIAgBMqOhOk (list of upgrades on these builds)