1100 Vs 1187

[WINGEDSWORD]

I have owned and shot a Remington 1100. In a fit of idiocy, I traded it away.
I am now looking for a new autoloader. I want a steel reciever, so that means
an 1100 or 1187 Has anyone owned both and can advise me whether the 1187 has any truely significant advantages over the 1100?

[Bryan Whited]

Basically the major difference is that the 11-87 is refined 1100.
By refined, I mean it has a pressure compensator in it so it can handle a wider variety of ammo while still being reliable.

[Boomer1961]

Basically the major difference is that the 11-87 is refined 1100.
By refined, I mean it has a pressure compensator in it so it can handle a wider variety of ammo while still being reliable.

What he said....

The 1100, especially after a little wear and allot of trips back to the facotry to have the gas mechanism worked on jams allot more than the 11-87.

Allegedly the 11-87 works where the 1100 disappointed allot of folks. I can't say for sure about the 11-87 as I never owned one but I don't read near as many posts about those suckers not working as I do about the 1100.

I will leave the details of why it is better to the smith's at this forum that actually owned both those firearms.

[randy]

Remingtons have a couple of weak points one is a roll pin that breaks pretty often. They get dirty and the gas system won't cycle the system. You should look on the Brian Enos forums for fixes and what breaks.

Or buy a Benelli.

[WINGEDSWORD]

1100

While this may seem strange to some of you, I am very jingoistic.(Look it up)
I would rather spend the time and money to keep my Remington working right,
than ever buy a Benelli or Beretta or any other. It keeps American workers employed! Also, I like The strength and heft of a steel reciever. The Italian guns are aluminum. The only time I will purchase a foreign gun is if they don't make the type here. I.E. Replica black powder arms.

[stator]

I have owned and shot a Remington 1100. In a fit of idiocy, I traded it away.
I am now looking for a new autoloader. I want a steel reciever, so that means
an 1100 or 1187 Has anyone owned both and can advise me whether the 1187 has any truely significant advantages over the 1100?

I went down that road earlier this year. I ended up with a Beretta AL391 Urika after sampling fellow shooters 1100 and 11-87. I was not impressed with all the problems and breakdowns they experienced.

[rg_1111@yahoo.com]

1187s are fancier better looking than 1100. I have owned both. The older 1100 didn't have choke tube barrel.
Put over 25 thousand shell threw 1100 no problems. I did ware out one mec 600 Jr. 1500 in 1187 no problems yet.

[xenophobe]

The 1100 was only designed to shoot 2 3/4" (well, except for the new G3). The 11-87 was designed to shoot 3".

[!@#$]

bad rubber O rings are the most often problem with the 1100. when i worked for a remington authorized gunsmith we had these guns come in all the time. after telling each person to buy some extra O rings we never saw them again...

[maxicon]

There are 3" 1100 magnums out there, but they don't cycle low power loads well. The magnum barrels have a single gas port, and the 2 3/4" chamber barrels have dual gas ports.

If you want to shoot low power loads in a 3" chambered 1100 barrel, you have to drill out the gas port a bit.

I've got an old 1100 LT-20 magnum dros'ed but not picked up yet, and it'll be interesting to see if it handles the light loads.

The 11-87 claims to handle all the ranges of shells without tweaking...

As for the o-rings, they shouldn't get damaged through normal use, but can get nicked or gouged during assembly. Some folks have trouble with the gas ports having a burr that chews up the o-rings, but others have run the same o-rings for thousands of rounds.

[xenophobe]

There are 3" 1100 magnums out there

Yes, but that was an afterthought. The 1100 was originally designed as 2 3/4" only. The 11-87 was originally designed as a 3" action.

[gidddy169]

My 1100 will only eject high brass 2-3/4"and 3" shells is there a way to eject normal 2-3/4" shells out of it for trap shooting? Other than that I like the gun.

[smle-man]

There are 3" 1100 magnums out there, but they don't cycle low power loads well. The magnum barrels have a single larger gas port, and the 2 3/4" chamber barrels have smaller dual gas ports.

If you want to shoot low power loads in a 3" chambered 1100 barrel, you have to drill out the gas port a bit.

I've got an old 1100 LT-20 magnum dros'ed but not picked up yet, and it'll be interesting to see if it handles the light loads.

The 11-87 claims to handle all the ranges of shells without tweaking...

As for the o-rings, they shouldn't get damaged through normal use, but can get nicked or gouged during assembly. Some folks have trouble with the gas ports having a burr that chews up the o-rings, but others have run the same o-rings for thousands of rounds.

My police model 1187 will shoot low brass #8 and 00 buck in the same tube without a hickup. I've shot it holding it sideways, upside down, and it still functioned perfectly. There is no problem with light or heavy loads in this gun, nothing to switch out. I bought it used, have put probably a thousand rounds through it and not had to change anything. I am sold completely on the 1187. Great gun and lots of fun.

[elsolo]

My 1100 will only eject high brass 2-3/4"and 3" shells is there a way to eject normal 2-3/4" shells out of it for trap shooting? Other than that I like the gun.

Most folks drill out the gas ports in the barrel a tiny bit to get the weak low brass stuff to work in 1100's such as yours. You shouldn't be shooting 3" shells in an 1100.

[maxicon]

There are 2 configurations for the 1100 barrels:

- 3" magnum chamber, with a single gas port

- 2 3/4" chamber, with dual gas ports

Assuming yours is a magnum, since you're shooting 3" shells out of it, you have 2 options for reliable operation with low power loads.

- Buy a 2 3/4" chamber barrel on ebay, from Remington, Brownells, shotgunworld.com, etc. Used ones can be had for well under $120 if you don't mind a fixed choke.

- Drill out the gas port, or drill a second port.

The recommendation for drilling out the gas port is to find the size drill bit that would make the port area close to the same as the two holes in the 2 3/4" version. Drilling a second hole is more flexible, as you could always plug it with a setscrew to return to the original configuration. Be sure to deburr after drilling or you'll tear up the o-ring.

Note that this will increase the wear and tear on the gun when shooting magnum shells, so if you want to shoot both, you're better off with a replacement barrel. Some people claim you can drill a second hole and tap it so you can plug it later, but I've never seen any examples of this.

Here's a list of sizes from a poster at shotgunworld.com, but I can't vouch for these.
#47 drill bit for 12 guage 2 3/4 with 22 thru 34 inch barrels
#44 drill bit for 12 guage 2 3/4 with skeet barrel
#52 drill bit for 12 guage 3 inch with 30 inch magnum barrel

My 28", 2 3/4" 1100 works fine with all the cheap low-power loads I've put through it, so I haven't had to mess with it. I'll be revisiting this once I've taken out my new 1100 LT-20 magnum.


Here's the FAQ from Remington:

Question

My Model 1100 jams when I shoot 2 3/4-inch shells. What's wrong with it?

Answer

If your shotgun's serial number ends in M, N or U, then you have a 3-inch magnum shotgun and will need to use magnum ammunition.

The magnum barrel only has one gas orifice hole in the gas chamber and a field load will not supply sufficient gas pressure to cycle the action in a magnum barrel. Field barrels, on the other hand, have two orifice holes and are designed for the the lighter 2 3/4-inch loads.

Most Model 1100 Magnum shotguns with the exception of pre-1977 Model 1100 20-gauge shotguns can be fitted with 2 3/4-inch field barrels for use with light field and target loads.