Remington 1100 and 870 Questions

9

9guy

Moderator
First a little background, then the questions...

I asked my Dad to borrow a shotgun to take dove hunting next weekend, and he gave me a couple of his Remingtons...an 1100 and an 870, both with 28" barrels.

He's retired from bird hunting, and said he'd never shoot them again and would like to know they're being put to good use. He just chases rabbits with beagles now. :)

He bought the 870 new when he was about 15, which would put it at around 40 years old. He said it was a hell of a dove gun, though it needs to visit the gunsmith because of feeding problems.

The other one was an 1100. He bought this one used back in the 70's, so I'm guessing it's somewhere around 30-40 years old. This is my favorite. It feels lighter and more well balanced. I haven't shot either one of them yet though.

Other than the 870's feed problems, they're both in pretty good shape, considering their age and their heavy use as dove and quail guns.

Will current 1100 and 870 parts fit these older guns? What about stocks? Will new stocks fit these guns?

I'm thinking about having them parkerized and getting some new stocks.

Any and all advice and info is appreciated...
 
First I would go get both checked out by a gunsmith to verify that they are still safe to shoot after being in storage/unused condition for so long. If they are in need of repair let the gunsmith do it. I would also recommend a good blueing, with a teflon coating (if doing any waterfowl hunting), Yes the stocks and foreends are easily replaced with aftermarket ones. If you are going dove hunting I would recommend the 1100 over the 870 just because of the better ergonomics (handling) and the faster follow up shots needed for doves.
 
Both the 870 and 1100 have changed very little over the years, and current factory-new parts and stocks will fit your older guns with no problem.

If you really wanted to do it right, you could send them back to Remington for restoration to factory-new condition.
Remington also does a very high quality parkerized finish, which they use on their Police guns.
 
The 1100 "feels" lighter? These are both 12 gauge guns?
My 1100 12 Ga. does not feel lighter than my 870's with the same length barrel.
Perhaps the 1100 has an LC (Light Contour) barrel or the 870 has a replacement barrel (you said it was an old one) that is post-lawsuit?
Neat guns though and I am always envious of anyone who can get a legacy shotgun.
Good luck with them.
Mike

PS. Remington will not restore an 870 (not sure about 1100's). I spoke to them about a recently aquired 1950 870 and they referred me to a guy in Stroudsburg PA.
 
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