Remington 1100 Action Stiff when empty

[JBSJr]

Hey guys,

I have a Remington 1100 that I bought new around 30 years ago. It was the first shotgun that I bought with my paper route money. It probably hasn't had 500 rounds shot through it in its life and It has always had this same problem. It is really hard to pull the bolt back when there isn't a round waiting in the mag. When there is a shell in the mag it feels normal when you pull the bolt back.

It isn't so hard to pull that I couldn't manage it but my 12 year old son in on a trap team and he is wanting to use the 1100 (he is currently using his 870)and it is almost too stiff for him to pull the bolt back. Just trying to see if there is a quick solution for this.

Thanks

 

[zippy13]

Greetings JBSJr, and welcome aboard.

Let's see, you have an older gun with very limited usage. And, the problem has been with you since the beginning. So, most likely we can rule out a problem associated with long term storage.

Since your problem has to do with difficult operation that's dependent upon the condition of the magazine, let's look for something that might interfere with the bolt's travel that's associated with the mag condition. The immediate candidate is the feed latch. It's long and thin and staked to the right side of the receiver. They are known to come loose but still function properly as long as they stay on their pivot. Also changing with the mag operations is the interceptor latch; but, I can't remember it it can rub the action bar. It's forward, on the left side and retained by a pin and spring clip.

Do you recall, years ago, when you weren't on your paper route, did you mess about with your new gun? Might you have removed and replaced the trigger assembly? You could have mucked up the feed latch in the process.

I suggest, following the procedure described in the Owner's Manual (available on-line from Remington if you've lost yours), dropout the trigger group and look for something exhibiting rub marks. My money is on the feed latch. Unfortunately, it's one of the few parts that's a bit of a bother to replace without special tools. For most folks, it would probably be easier to have a gunsmith stake a new feed latch than to try it at home.

Good luck