What load to cycle an 1100?

UPDATE

So I took in for opening day of dove in here NC this morning. Seemed to cycle just fine, but with some regularity it fails to chamber the last round of the magazine. The round gets fed from the mag to the carrier, but fails to load. I have to hit the carrier release for it to load. As I said, only on the last round in the magazine. I had a new carrier (supposedly) put in it last year, it didn't work and I took it back where they adjusted and supposedly tested it. Still failing. Ideas?
 
Last round only would seem to indicate either dirt/gum in the magazine tube or a weak mag. tube spring.

Ooops, I see you put a new tube spring in already.

Possible 'bad' new spring???

Again, will it cycle more powerful loads efficiently?

You probably are and please don't take this offensively but when shooting the less potent shells, are you really pulling the shotgun into your shoulder?
 
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Did you thoroughly clean out the mag tube when you installed the new spring? They tend to get rust at the receiver end from hands. Is your follower in good shape?
 
I will double check that tube when I clean again. Is it possible that the mag spring is not pushing the last round far enough onto the carrier for the carrier to release it, thus not a carrier problem?
 
It is very probable it is not ejecting the last round onto the carrier fast enough to trip the carrier latch on time. Could be a weak spring, a dirty tube, or a messed up follower, or a combination. I hope you have the plug in dove hunting.
A quick fix/check is to put a dowel in the magazine tube in front of the spring to pre-compress it.
 
I have a old 1100 that does the same thing from time to time. It just does not feed the second shot while shooting skeet or sporting clays. Maybe 2 times during a 100 shots. Press the button, goes right in. I got so mad the last time out it did it 4 times. I bought a over under. I still love the fit of my 1100. I bought a sure cycle system new o rings piston and ring. Nothing has helped. And you have to shoot 50 to a 100 rounds just to test it. Mag spring seems tight follower is smooth. Should these be the next step?
 
A quick fix/check is to put a dowel in the magazine tube in front of the spring to pre-compress it.
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The spring feels pretty stiff, but I am not sure how stiff it should be. How long of a down would you put it to make the right compression?

Also, how do you know if the Follower is bad?
 
You can cut the dowel 2 3/4" load 4 shells(provided you have no plug in for dove as V-n-LA stated) and see if it shoots those four. If it does then more than likely the follower is bad...provided the tube is clean. If it does not, I would replace the follower.
 
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I am guessing the dowel should be of diameter large enough to compress the spring right? Stupid I know, but still........ and yes I have it plugged for dove.
 
Over the years I have seen so many 1100s that their owners just can't seem to get to run right. I have a friend who is now far away, and he's a Beretta fan, and he has seen much the same thing. It seems it is always some small thing, and I have yet to see one I couldn't get running right except for one with a cracked receiver and drilled out ports (guy drilled 1/8" 11-87 sized ports in an 1100 barrel with no gas relief system - "I measured the ports in my other barrel!?").
If there are two shells in the magazine and the second one doesn't feed, it could be the trigger group and/or the interceptor latch. If the gun is loaded with at least three shells in the magazine, and cycles all but the last one, that rules out trigger group, shell latch, and/or interceptor issues. Which means something is amiss in the magazine. Which narrows it down to crud, a messed up follower, a weak spring, or a combination. If the follower is plastic and the receiver end of the inside of the tube is rusty, it can drag. Unless a spring has gotten rusty and been cleaned off and is therefore weakened, I haven seen a spring by itself be too weak to cycle the action. I have five 1100s at present, have had 12, and have yet to replace ANY springs in any of them.
In this case, I would first remove the plug and load three shells in the magazine and check that out. If the first two cycle, I would then smooth up the follower with fine sandpaper, and wrap a bore brush with steel wool and polish the inside of the mag tube with an electric drill. Do NOT got too far because if that snags the shell latch you will have a train wreck. Good luck.
An aluminum follower isn't a bad idea if you need to replace the follower. The original steel ones are good too, but they will eventually batter the receiver. On my '63 the nose of the follower will occasionally just catch the tip of the carrier after the last shot. As long as you clean the gun properly you shouldn't ever have a problem with the mag tube or the plastic follower either, but apparently that doesn't always happen.
 
^^^OK... Thought it may have possibly been a homemade one catching afoul and slightly hanging things up.
 
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I have five 1100s at present, have had 12, and have yet to replace ANY springs in any of them.
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If you have been shooting them a decent amount, not changing them every 5000 rounds is like waiting until your septic backs up to have it cleaned out - not the smartest thing to do
 
If you have been shooting them a decent amount, not changing them every 5000 rounds is like waiting until your septic backs up to have it cleaned out - not the smartest thing to do
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You are entitled to your opinion. My oldest one probably has North of 115,000 rounds thru it. With 3" parts I shot a many a HEAVY waterfowl load out of it, too. I know what to watch out for. I have broken one (1) part - an extractor - in 50 years, on any of them. I must be doing something right.
I have a bunch of spare parts from when I used to work on them a lot, and a few I bought for myself, but haven't used them. I see these posts where someone buys one and has any kind of issue and they start throwing parts (and money) at the problem. If it ain't the right part, it's money wasted.
 
Over the years I have seen so many 1100s that their owners just can't seem to get to run right. I have a friend who is now far away, and he's a Beretta fan, and he has seen much the same thing. It seems it is always some small thing, and I have yet to see one I couldn't get running right except for one with a cracked receiver and drilled out ports (guy drilled 1/8" 11-87 sized ports in an 1100 barrel with no gas relief system - "I measured the ports in my other barrel!?").
If there are two shells in the magazine and the second one doesn't feed, it could be the trigger group and/or the interceptor latch. If the gun is loaded with at least three shells in the magazine, and cycles all but the last one, that rules out trigger group, shell latch, and/or interceptor issues. Which means something is amiss in the magazine. Which narrows it down to crud, a messed up follower, a weak spring, or a combination. If the follower is plastic and the receiver end of the inside of the tube is rusty, it can drag. Unless a spring has gotten rusty and been cleaned off and is therefore weakened, I haven seen a spring by itself be too weak to cycle the action. I have five 1100s at present, have had 12, and have yet to replace ANY springs in any of them.
In this case, I would first remove the plug and load three shells in the magazine and check that out. If the first two cycle, I would then smooth up the follower with fine sandpaper, and wrap a bore brush with steel wool and polish the inside of the mag tube with an electric drill. Do NOT got too far because if that snags the shell latch you will have a train wreck. Good luck.
An aluminum follower isn't a bad idea if you need to replace the follower. The original steel ones are good too, but they will eventually batter the receiver. On my '63 the nose of the follower will occasionally just catch the tip of the carrier after the last shot. As long as you clean the gun properly you shouldn't ever have a problem with the mag tube or the plastic follower either, but apparently that doesn't always happen.
Click to expand...

I did exactly what you said, but haven't touched the follower yet. Mag spring is new, tube is clean (and was before I polished it) and I use a factory plug. Here are a couple of pics of the follower. It is not molested, but certainly marks where it has had friction with the tube. By the way, would you oil the mag tube?

9b5r.jpg


nyj2.jpg
 
Carrier Latch?

Hi again. I have read the Carrier Latch can become easily bent and thus a problem. How does this one look?

jew8.jpg
 
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