Dan and I got our hands on the brand spankin’ new Benelli M2-G1 and dumped a whole bunch of 12 GA shells downrange through it over the last few weeks. This addition to the Benelli M2 series into a serious tactical contender borrows some of the best features of Benelli’s military-proven M4 and delivers them at a lower price point.
The big one? A short stroke dual gas piston operating system mounted close to the receiver; what Benelli calls R.P.O. (Rear Piston Operated).
Apologies for including a stock photo, but it’s the best way to show all of the M2-G1 variants available at launch. Two of ’em have a fixed, more traditional style shoulder stock and three of them have a tactical M4-style, 5-position adjustable stock with pistol grip.
Our loaner has a hydro dipped MultiCam Black finish on the receiver, barrel, and magazine tube extension and the tactical stock.
This makes for a really good looking shotgun. I’m a big fan of MultiCam Black and nowhere does it look more appropriate than on a tactical Benelli 12 gauge.
Designed for tactical use, the M2-G1 has an enlarged charging handle and bolt release. The loading port is beveled, the lifter won’t snag your thumb, and even the front of the trigger guard has a channel in it to help guide shells into the loading port.
Up top, a ghost ring sight system allows for fast target acquisition and an included Picatinny rail makes the M2-G1 optics-ready right out of the box.
In keeping with the tactical theme, M-LOK slots are found in many locations on and under the handguard as well as on the magazine tube clamp just behind the front sight.
Likewise, QD mounting positions are all over the place on the stock, handguard, and mag tube clamp. They’re equipped with rubber bumper inserts when not in use, which I thought was a nice touch.
One of the M2-G1 models has a 5+1 shell capacity while the other five, including our tester, allow for a full 7+1 rounds of 3-inch 12 GA with a magazine tube extension that ends flush with the muzzle of the 18.5-inch barrel. It’s compatible with all Benelli Crio Plus choke tubes and comes with a choke tube wrench.
Of course, Dan and I couldn’t leave that alone and immediately replaced the factory choke with a JK Armament mount and 195 series 12 GA shotgun suppressor. As you can see in the video at top, most, but not all, of our shooting was done suppressed. It’s a more pleasant shooting experience and the M2-G1 ran absolutely flawlessly in every single way with (or without) the silencer attached.
Now here’s where we get into the truly unique stuff, the R.P.O. system. Rather than putting the gas system much farther down the barrel, the M2-G1 has dual pistons about as far rearward toward the receiver as they can be. It’s a very similar short stroke piston system to the M4’s, but it’s simplified a bit in that it doesn’t auto-regulate gas (i.e. adjust for lighter shooting vs. heavy loads) and isn’t self-cleaning.
That said, the whole point of this system is clean operation and extremely long service life, both in terms of ultimate reliability and in service schedule. We ran a ton of shells through this thing, mostly suppressed, and even the piston itself looked shockingly clean afterwards.
Of particular note was how clean the M2-G1’s bolt, bolt carrier, firing pin, recoil system, and chamber were. Benelli wasn’t kidding; this R.P.O. system and isolated recoil spring assembly keep the moving parts of the shotgun incredibly clean of any sort of fouling. We shot a lot of cheap ammo through the gun (it stank up my safe from all those dirty, smelly 12 GA shells through the barrel and suppressor) and I was floored at how clean the internals were.
Out on the range the M2-G1 shot great (YouTube video here). Dan and I were both really surprised at how softly it shoots with full-power 00 buckshot and slugs. Conversely, it thumps a little harder with birdshot than I would have expected. I can’t really explain that, but I actually prefer how the M2-G1 shoots with the heavier, more powerful loads.
We had 100-percent flawless function start-to-finish. The tactical Italian fed, fired, and ejected every type of mixed 12 GA we threw at it. We got the barrel screaming hot and the M2-G1 kept chugging along without a care in the world.
My only gripe here — and I may be in the minority because I know people like it on the M4 — is that I don’t like the adjustable stock. Yes, it’s nice to have a 5-position stock and it’s certainly very tactical, but it bothers me how much vertical travel the stock has when it moves forward or back. I chose my length of pull based on cheek weld and eyeball height, not on my preferred length of pull. With the stock short, there’s no physical way to align eye and sights. With the stock long, you’d have to use a chin weld to get your eye high enough. I’d choose the standard stock, myself.
The Benelli M2-G1 is an extremely well thought-out, feature-rich, tactical 12 gauge shotgun that’s designed for Hell-and-back operation. Its short stroke dual gas piston operating system is dead-nuts reliable, needs effectively no maintenance, and reduces the rest of the shotgun’s need for maintenance, too. Believe it or not, I don’t own a semi-auto shotgun right now, but you better believe the M2-G1 just shot to the top of my list. What a great gun!