11-87 to an 870

A

Arisaka

Inactive
I had a Remongton 1100 untill about two years ago. I sold it and got a Remington 11-87. I sold the 1100 because it was unreliable when shooting low base shells. I am experiencing the same thing with the 11-87. I am going to be selling it as well although it worked fine with high base shells, especially slugs.
I bought a ridged canteliever super slug fully riffled barrell for it and put a 4X Leupold scope on it. It was capable of shooting with the right slugs, a 3" group at 100 yards. Because of the unreliablity of the auto's I'm going to an older 870. Would like to trade the 11-87 cantilever riffled barrel for a like barrell for the 870. Any one interested ???
It's too bad I feel like I have to go Italy to find a reliable auto 12 guage that can reliably feed all types of shells. I don't even care about 3" or 3.5". Just want a reliable 2.75" chambered gun. Frustrating.
 
Was your 1100 you had a 2 3/4" version?

I had a 870 Express Super Magnum and if you want reliability that's not the gun I'd buy. If you get a 870 I'd make sure I got a wingmaster.
 
2 3/4 inch target barrels are available for a 1187 and will handle the lightest target loads. So if you like the 1187 enough just get one and sell or keep the 3" field barrel.:D
 
Is the o-ring that goes behind the gas ring intact? I had that problem and the ring had split, worked fine after replacement.
 
1100's & 11-87's have to be kept clean. When I shot them, they got disassembled & cleaned every 200 to 300 rounds. I never had a failure to eject target loads in 1000's of shots.
 
Unlike pumps and standing breech guns, auto-loaders are not relatively care free. Remington 1100 and 11-87s have good reputations but when they are bad they can be horrid. Problems with low power loads should draw your attention to the gas system. In addition to maintaining the gas seal (O-ring) and having the piston and piston seal in the proper orientation, the outside of the mag tube must be kept clean and LIGHTLY oiled. An item often overlooked is the barrel vent hole(s). They need to be cleaned with an appropriately sized punch or drill. If the gas supply is junked-up, then a failure to function with low power loads can be anticipated.

Something as simple as porting the barrel or using extended choke tubes can change the pressure in the vent hole area. Remington sizes the vent holes based on the anticipated use of that barrel. If your use is out of Remington's assumed window, you're in for trouble. When they established the vent area for the original 1100 Skeet model, a 1-1/8-oz, 2-3/4 Dr Eq was the lightest load you'd see on a Skeet field. These days folks are shooting Lite, 1-oz, and 20 and 28-ga equivalent loads in 12-ga guns. In such situations you may have to alter the gas vent openings to increase the gas supply. For comp Remington autos it's not unusual to have the gas system race tuned. If you're going to shoot a Remington (or any) auto loader, you need to learn all about its care and feeding or have it serviced by a pro.
 
The 11-87 has a 28" barrel, and a 3" chamber. The gun was just great with the rifled 20" barrel, and scope. A friend of mine had a special hunt where he had to use a shotgun. He put many boxes of slugs through the gun till he found the most accurate shells for that gun. He ended up getting a trophy buck with the gun, I put in a new rubber O ring before I gave it to him, and used that same O ring when I went out to shoot clays with it. It didn't have 30 shells through it using that O ring, and would not cycle a single shell, and we tried 3 different brands of shells.
Yes the 1100 was a 2 3/4" chamber, and yes I am sold on the older Wingmaster. I was not aware that a special barrel was made for the 11-87 that was designed for only 2 3/4" shells.
 
Arisaka said:
…I went out to shoot clays with it. It didn't have 30 shells through it using that O ring, and would not cycle a single shell, and we tried 3 different brands of shells.
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Were you using the 28" barrel or the 20" when it quit after 30-rounds? If it was the 20" rifled barrel, I'm not surprised, its intended for powerful sabot loads, not target loads. And, shooting shot in the rifled barrel could cause it to muck-up in a hurry and reduce the gas flow.

You're correct, it's the 1100 that offered 2-3/4" only barrels. The basic 11-87s can do 2-3/4 or 3" shells with the option of 3-1/2" available in newer guns.

The bottom line: You're on the right tract. Since your experiences have killed your confidence in the 1100 and the 11-87; then, by all means, go with an 870. You're not alone, many folks who happily shoot auto-loaders in the filed and at the target range don't use them for HD. Good luck with the barrel swap.
 
clean mag tube throughly, clean all other parts and lube lightly w/Rem oil or dupont silicone w/teflon. no petroleum based products. petroleum evaporates whats left prevents gun from cycling normally
 
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