Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing 1100 20 gauge lightweight bolt handle ?

I remember there was a problem with the tension in the bolt to handle fit. have an old style with the bottom divot not the back notch. have tried new handles and changed out the ball bearing still won't give any type of friction fit . know the bolt handle will go flying at some time. anyone come up with a repair that will work for a customer's gun that is sensible and works. ( locktight and welding isn't :o) !

There can be a couple of things one can try.

Increase the divot depth IF the detent ball is not impeded in it's height.

Inspect the detent ball and see if it's impeded/set too deep etc.. That can be alleviated to allow greater contact with the operating handle..

Ensure it's (detent ball) travel is free and that pushing it downward is met with rather stiff resistence.. If not, it's possible the spring under it has broken/collapsed.. Then the ball must be removed and the spring replaced..

I just lost the Bolt Charging Handle on my Left Hand 1100 while dove hunting last week, started to load it after a shot and it was gone, couldn't find it . I replaced with a Briley Tactical but not sure I'm going to like it on my Sheet Gun and may go back to the factory.

Doesn't help with the problem but your comment about "the bolt handle will go flting at some time" reminds me of a problem my father had.

While we were duck hunting one morning the bolt handle from his Remington 11-48 shotgun sailed off into the lake after a shot. Since the 11-48 was a long-recoil action (not gas operated as in the 1100) it was easy to simply drop a shell into the action and let the bolt slam shut before loading the magazine. If the chamber was empty with the bolt closed....he would just set the butt on the bottom of the boat and grasp the barrel. A pull downward would open the action and load a shell from the magazine.

After the hunt I "assumed" he would have the problem fixed. However, more than a year later we went squirrel hunting and before daylight he loaded his shotgun at the truck and then set it on the ground and "worked" the action with the barrel. I looked at him and said, "I thought you fixed last year".

His answer...."I been meaning to do that, but it works alright like this so I just haven't took the time to get it done". And this from a man who WAS a gunsmith at the time and ran a shop.

Guess it was like the story of the mechanic who's car never runs right. Might not be "right" but it worked! Try that trick with a gas operated semi-auto!

Thanks but have tried all the tricks. new ball bearing and retaining spring. stronger spring. got new handle from rem. they drilled the hole through. I already tried a deeper divot and burnished with original. they all give almost no friction fit. new handle with the hole is a real piece of work. later models have the rear divot but not really sure that will work as all handles seem really loose. still thanks for your time.