Home Forums Birds & Dogs Shotguns Rem 11-87 v 1100

Thanks all for the quick replies. For the past week or so, I've been trying to talk myself into buying the 11-87 but with already owning a couple 1100's with multiple barrels, it's a struggle.

I have owned both for years, I find the 1100 a bit more reliable with really light loads. That said all my serious hunting guns are 11-87's. Like all Remington autos keep em clean with a little oil on the tube and they will never let you down.

I use axle grease on the barrel extension to reduce barrel vibration, grease up the action bar and action bar slots inside the receiver, along with the bottom of the barrel that rests on the forearm support and sliding barrel support. No functioning hiccups what so ever.

Doc

I have fired over 8000 rounds in a Model 11-87 with nary a hiccup. Just do the proper cleaning and maybe replace the rubber O ring occasionally.

Like you said if the tube is run wet you will get double the mileage before needing a good cleaning and more importantly easier to clean.

Doc

Had one I put around 30,000 thru and fairly quickly. One day the magazine tube fell out of the receiver. Not sure about trap or skeet, but on the SC circuit 1100/1187's are as common as hens teeth.

I tend to disagree but it may boil down to use and type of lube. Let me explain. The local 4-H Shooting Sports does trap, club guns when I became involved were Remington 1000 in 12 and 20 ga. I was asked to look at the shotguns as they were experiencing weak ejection, stovepipes, then no ejection. And they were replacing O rings like crazy. The shotguns were cleaned by knowledgeable and diligent people.

On disassembly it was apparent the actions and mag tube were liberally sprayed with Rem Oil. (A little is good so more must be better, right?). The bolts and actions had sludge of oil, carbon and unburnt powder. The mag tube which gets hot near the gas ring had a sticky sludge of oil and carbon with carbon baked onto the mag tube near the gas ring. The gas ring had carbon built up where the O ring seats to the point you could pick it off in chunks.

New routine is deep clean the action with MINIMAL oil every year or two based on inspection. Mag tube is cleaned with Ed's Red and wiped dry leaving a minimal oil film as part of normal cleaning. The gas ring is cleaned with a wire brush Brownell's sells for that purpose, takes just a couple quick twists if you keep up with it. Can use steel wool. NO Rem Oil spraying.

Result is much happier shotguns, no extraction/ ejection problems with field strip and minimal cleaning after sessions, like you should always do anyway. With the carbon kept down on the gas ring, O rings die from the heat, they loose their elasticity. Takes a year or two with trap use, depending. Some last longer. Before they got chewed up within a month. Note that a carbon/oil sludge makes a fair abrasive paste. Though the fire control parts are hard that sludge can't be helping anything.

Now that's in a heavy use situation where plenty of heat gets generated. In normal hunting use your mileage may vary.

As to 1100 v. 11-87 they are the same gun except for the spring pressure relief at the gas ring and a few other more or less usual production changes. We use promo loads (saves the kids' parents a few bucks) in the 11-87 with no problems.

Had one I put around 30,000 thru and fairly quickly. One day the magazine tube fell out of the receiver. Not sure about trap or skeet, but on the SC circuit 1100/1187's are as common as hens teeth.

Never called Remington. I parted it out and moved on to something else.

Addition: There is also a long thin bar on the inside left of the receiver that partially functions to keep shells in the magazine. It is peened to the receiver. And repeened and...

When you removed the trigger to clean, it would just fall out. I finally gave up and would just figgle around until I had it lined up and pin the trigger in place with the cross pin.


Nice pointing, but a Beretta, Benelli or SuperX Model 1 it wasn't.

In my experience, the 11-87 is not nearly as reliable as the 1100. Especially when shooting standard loads, like dove and quail loads.

I've replaced the factory tubes on SuperX 1's with steel tubes. They have threads and you just lock tight the new one in. Can't remember what the deal was with Remington's. I just wrote it off

Snapped a trigger pin on a SuperX 1 also. Also had a rib come off when they first came out. The factory rep met me at the gun club with a new barrel. Times have changed.

Makes sense, because as you know the original factory tube would rust fairly easily.

I've used a light coat of oil on the stainless replacements and they still worked.

Winchester used to make a 12Ga shell called the Feather. I think it was 980FPS. The Super-X 1 would even work them. The bolt was moving slow, but it still would feed the next round.

One thing I've found out over the years is that 11-87 owners either love their guns, or hate 'em.....there ain't no inbetween!