OT--Remington model 1100 shotgun reliability

[getitdone1]

I have a 20 ga light Remington model 1100 with 21" bbl, screw-in chokes. The 1100 has been a very popular gun and I know many in this group have one. This gun has proven itself to be very reliable and especially so when used for trap and skeet. This particular "light" model has a smaller receiver than standard. Neat little gun.

I'm looking at the owners manuel regarding maintenence. I wonder how I can know when to replace the piston seal, barrel piston and seal. I have cleaned/reamed the little hole that lets the gas go from barrel to gas cylinder. Aren't these parts plus this hole the main things to be concerned about for reliability?

For action cleaning they recommend an "evaporating solvent." I'm not sure my Hoppe's no.9 solvent meets this requirement. I don't think it evaporates, at least completely. Like many of you I cling to this old, great smelling solvent but have wondered for some time about some newer (and not so new) solvents that may be clearly superior.

Bottom line is I'm desiring to know everything about how to keep this gun 100% reliable. With some help from some of you, that perhaps goes beyond the instructions in my owners manual, I think the 100% goal is possible. Then, who needs an expensive Bennelli or other recoil operated gun?

Don

[Beaker]

Go to Shotgun World on the internet and check out the remington group page there are tons of posts on how to keep an 1100 working for years.

[rustyguns]

I have been shooting 1100's since 1972 and if there is one gun in my safe that I can count on to function when I pull the trigger its the 1100. Keep it clean and lightly oil the piston and O rings. The O rings are the only thing I have ever replaced
and that was only because someone told me I should, it was about 15 yrs old by then. This is one Remington got right.

[86er]

I recommend replacing the black rubber O ring with a teflon O ring (usually grey). You can get them from Brownell's. The grey O rings last more than twice as long and make a better seal. They are less reliant on a lubricant or grease. Use a dab of pure petroleum jelly on the grey O ring. As far as the two gas piston seals, a great way to clean them is to put them in a brass or rock tumbler with medium. You can also use a light polishing sponge on your dremel tool. Baking soda, warm water and an old toothbrush will work too. Once a year I'd polish the piston seal and replace the O ring - and once a year for me was between 3500 and 5000 rounds. The action shouldn't be "cleaned" with any solvent. You can use Gun Scrubber or electrical contact cleaner to blast any loose gunk out. Warm water with dish washing detergent and a soft brush is good to get everything clean. Rinse it thoroughly and dry it with an air compressor or hair dryer. Use a super light oil, I recommend RemOil plus with teflon, and spread a few drops around with your finger until the action bars, bolt block, bolt, stiker toggle, and carrier have a wee bit of oil on them. Once per 2000 rounds you need to clean the barrel with a plastic dissolver, not bore cleaner. Brownells Shotgun Wad Solvent is perfect but don't use it in the house, don't get it on you and don't use anything plastic around it including a nylon bore brush. Clean the 2 gas ports with a pipe cleaner before you clean the barrel, as you will push the residue into the barrel. After cleaning the barrel, either use an air compressor or just use a drinking straw and blow through it to make sure no solvent or oil remains in the gas port holes. My guns are very similar to yours, a LT-20 Special Field and an LT-20 Skeet. They function perfectly and last forever if you treat them similarly to what I do.

[cas]

My dad bought me a used 1100LT20 when I was 16.

42 now and I've never done anything to it but spray it down with oil. I don't think it's ever malfunctioned.



The only issue I HAVE had is a common one I believe, when you fail to push a shell into the magazine tube far enough and it slips back under the lifter tying up the gun. Done that 3-4 times over the years, usually when I let someone else use it. You have to punch the pins and drop the trigger group to clear it. That why, while I love the gun and it's been 100% reliable while firing it, I would never trust one as a defensive gun.

[Griff]

Do know how hard it is to NOT say, "... think 870!"

[getitdone1]

Griff,

I KNOW you have lots and lots of company when it comes to the great Remington model 870 pump shotgun. How about 10 million plus other owners!!!!! Biggest selling shotgun--ever. I'm pretty sure it's the favorite of most police departments. Maybe military too.

Take a look at this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remington_Model_870

Now, as you know, others here feel as strongly about the model 12 Winchester and even the model 37 Ithaca. I had an Ithaca 20 ga, with shortened barrel and polychoke. It's one of the pumps you can hold the trigger back, pump, and she'll keep firing!

Too, as you know, the pump shotgun is generally the prefered shotgun for self-defense and police work. That's changing some, esp. with police and the Benelli. Maybe the military too.

While at the Wikipedia site reading about the 870 you might type other famous pump shotguns in the search box and read about them. Interesting stuff.

Lastly. Since your a "Cowboy event shooter" what about the great model 97 Winchester?

Don

[getitdone1]

86er,

Great info on keeping the 1100 up and running. Thank you.

If this keeps up I may have to sign-up for a hunt! As a kind of "pay-back."

Don

[Griff]

Griff,
Since your a "Cowboy event shooter" what about the great model 97 Winchester?
Don

I was just teasin'... I shot an 1100 one time for a round of skeet (rental)... who knows how many rounds had been thru that gun... performed flawlessly for me.

As fer cowboy shootin'... I just bought my very first 1897 a few weeks ago. I HATE them. Maybe that's a little weak... I DESPISE them! For years before the formation of SASS, I tried to argue with the founders that the 1897 belonged squarely in the modern class, along with the Rugers. Finally tried one once, at a match up in Indiana where I was visiting; sliced open the palm of my hand... took 3 weeks and 5 stitches to close up. THE ONLY reason I bought one was for the new SASS "Wild Bunch" matches which require an 1897. Got a IAC Trench gun... And yes, now that I've been shown it's little quirks and proper operation, I actually like it! I bet I was the most surprised at that development!

I'm really a double kinda guy... both side-by-sides and over-unders.

[Lastmohecken]

I got my first 1100 for Christmas in 1978 and it was the only shotgun I owned for quite a few years. I still own it, an I bought another used that I keep a rifle sighted barrel on. When I received my first one, New by the way, I lightly oiled it, and started shooting it. It worked fine for 3 or 4 boxes of shells and then started jamming. I cleaned the outside of the magazine tube, lightly reoiled and it worked fine for a couple of boxes of shells or so, and started jamming again.

I asked an old time gunsmith about the problem, and he told me that trap shooters would not use light gun oil, but instead use a grafite grease or some even used 30 weight motor oil, and that usually kept the gun running for a longer period of time.

So I went home and took the gun apart and I lightly polished the outside of the tube with some emery cloth and then I greased it up really good with the black grafite grease that came in the old Gun Slick cleaning kits. My gun worked flawlessly for a long time, I finally got to where I would just clean it and regrease it at the first of the shooting season, or maybe before a planned special hunt or shoot or something, and then leave it alone until the grease got to looking/feeling a little gummy, which usually took a lot of shooting. I can't even remember the last time I have had an 1100 jam, and I have fixed several friend's guns over the years that were showing the same symptoms as my did, and I never had a complaint back from them.

I trust a proven 1100 even more so then the average 870 as I have seem more people have troubles with them then 1100's on the range. Another shotgun that I would trust my life to, is an old Browning A5 after I have tested it of course, and made sure the washers and spring were set right for the ammo. A good 1100 or A5 will still shoot round for round with about any shotgun ever made, with very little maintance. I even know an old man who carried a Browning A5 in the jungles of Nam, and swore by it. I asked him what he did to maintain it in the bush, as I could not for the life of me, seen anyone taking one down very far in the field to clean. He told me that all he did was take the forend off, and the barrel, and clean and oil that that area, and keep plenty of oil on the rest of the action as best he could. He said it never let him down. He as my dad's lifetime friend, and I know he was one of only a very few that came back from his group.

Now I am sure that probably in the desert, his maintance method might not work in the dust, but I guess in the jungle it did, where rust was the number one enemy. I keep an old A5 as a house gun, as I like it better then the 1100 because of the magazine cutoff.

[Lastmohecken]

As far as having a shell slip back on the carrier of an 1100, I have never had it happen in all of the years I have owned or shot one. but mine are all 12ga, and I could see having a problem with a 20ga, because the shells are smaller and harder to push in and load IMHO, which is one reason I always liked a 16ga better then a 20 in the A5, although I personally never had one kick back on me on anything, except the old model 12 Winchester, but that gun the shells always jumped back to the outside of the gun, it's a carrier thing with them.

Police 870's will often have a slot to fish a shell back up into the magazine, and also used to be a common modification done to old police 870's in the years back, just in case one slipped under the carrier. This one little potential glitch is most common in the Marlin 1894 leveraction rifle, and one reason I personally would not keep one of those as a house gun or protection gun.

[bunyan]

I have a 12 Gauge Ducks Unlimited special model 1100 with straight grip and some shiny gold ducks and geese on the receiver. Its a fine gun that has always functioned well for me. I think 86er brought up a good point that replacement of the O ring is going to vary depending on how many rounds you put through it on a regular basis. I shoot my A-5 better so the 1100 doesn't get much use. Cleaning and lubing the magazine tube on an A-5 is really the most maintenance one needs. Having a gunsmith take down and clean out the action every other year or so doesn't hurt, though. Incidentally, if you are looking to buy a semi-auto shotgun, 1100s look like a pretty good deal right now. Everyone wants fancy berettas and benellis, so the ol 1100s don't seam to be going for as much. At least in my area. Unfortunately, if you're looking to SELL an 1100, then you're probably gonna take a loss on the deal.

[getitdone1]

Someone bought-up the idea that if the recoil type did not receive enough resistance, from shoulder I assume, it might fail on you. This is surely very rare.

Can't you get reliability from an A5 even when shooting it from the hip? Of course same for Remington model 11.

Don

[Lastmohecken]

Yes, you might get a failure if you do not hold the gun tight enough, espacally with real light loads. You can also make a 1911 or a Browning Hi-power jam by pulling you hand back as you shoot. I have done it.