Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 1100 LT 20

I found a rem 1100 LT 20 that had a single bead barrel and the tag said ( heavy loads).

Can someone explain if this is normal or what it means. I haven’t come across this before and know little about the 1100. I’m guessing the single bead is just a older gun or barrel.

Thanks for the help.

I had one about 30 years ago that was basically a single shot with light loads. Maybe that's what the tag means. Don't remember how many beads it had.

1100 magnum 12 ga.has one gas port in the barrel collar and will function if clean 100% of the time with 2 3/4" express loads (3 3/4× 1 1/4oz at 1330 fps. Maintained and clean mag tube and gas rings as well as barrel collar it will function 100% with 3 dram x1 1/8oz heavy trap loads only if you keep the gas system clean and lube with a all weather high viscosity gun lube. 12 ga 2 3/4"field guns have TWO gas ports in the barrel collar and if cleaned and maintained as above will reliabily function with 1200 fps 1 oz loads. I had a 3" 20ga ,2 3/4" & 3" mags work the best but if cleaned and maintained as outlined above 1 oz 20 ga Express loads were no problem these were 1220 fps loads of yesteryear. These days the 1 oz premium 20 ga pheasant loads to 1350 fps should certainly work fine. When you start talking 7/8 & 1 oz skeet and field loads in a 2 3/4" 1100lt you need to keep your gun scrupulously clean. The chamber needs cleaning as often as your gas system for reliability and once ever year or two you need to pull the butt stock and push out the recoil spring pin removing the spring clean it and use a patched rod with solvent to clean the recoil spring housing ( tube). It's sheltered well but if the recoil spring housing will collect grunge and mess with your 100% function reliability. 1000's of guys used 1100's & 1100LT's for skeet in years past they have a proven track record. It sounds to me like the one you are looking at needs maintenance and outlined above.
Good luck .MB ps is the barrel marked 3" and is the receiver marked MAGNUM?

I had a Lt20 model 1100 once. It had a vent rib barrel and a 3 inch chamber.

I will have to check what the barrel says.
The blueing looked real good and the price was 350.
The price is why I’m interested.
Thanks for the great information

Good price.

Remington 1100 Barrels

https://www.shootingtimes.com/editorial/gunsmithing_st_1100loads_200808/100259


One other cause of problems with light loads is the use of a barrel designed for a heavy load. A barrel designed for 3” magnums will have a single, small gas port, while a barrel set up for standard 2 ¾” field or skeet loads will have two larger ports. The magnum barrel will vent out less gas because it's under greater pressure. If you use light loads in that same barrel, you'll not get the amount of gas you need to cycle the action for proper functioning.

What Reloader28 said. I brought my son an 1100 12 gauge off my first boss here in AK. My son used it for competing shooting, but we bought a new barrel for it. Doing some research, I found out about the barrel difference etc. While the 12 gauge didn’t have the amount of issues as I could find on the 20, it was eye opening to say the least. After getting the new barrel, we never had another issue, other than some o-rings that were dry rotted and caused a jam.

My old 3" 1100 taught me many things as I outlined above. A friend liked mine and bought one. He was the kinda guy who just beat the hell out of everything he touched and didn't take much care of anything at all. Well one day he chambered a rd that had been rolling around in the bottom of the boat, the primer went off. Sending the shot out the end of the barrel but left the wad in the choke. Without checking that he chased the wad out with the next rd and it split the muzzle back 3.5" or so. He bought a new barrel for it and later I bought the wrecked one. I had checked it out every inch on outside dimensions and figured it would be okay to hacksaw it off at 26" even. No choke drilled and tapped it for a Simmons worm glow front bead. As I recall it took a #46 drill bit size to clean the fouling out of the gas port so I opened it up 2 drill bit sizes for more gas. It then functioned with heavy trap loads all the time. Made a hell of a waterhole dove gun. With 3" 1 5/8 ounce #4'S AND 6's it would pound the hell out of rising roosters to 35 yds. But keeping a 1100 clean is still the best reliability policy. MB

Armed with the knowledge of the barrel types & given the wonderful used 1100 market prices, I bought two mint condition 2 3/4” 1100’s for $400 each & replaced the stock set with Remington factory synthetic camo in two different patterns. Refitted them with RemChoke barrels. One is my high brass gun & the other for low brass. I now have two nice 1100’s that are even better readied for service than when new. I am so proud to look at them every day.

Having hunted with an 870 & BPS all my life I did not seek out semi-auto’s until 2018 when I seemed to develop a lazy stroke on the slide. Cost me two Squirrels back to back & that certainly does not cut it with me.

I now hunt with an Auto 5 & the 1100’s. The Auto 5 is a whole other level of reliability & quite nostalgic. It makes me smile toting either into the Squirrel woods.

Hahah, that's kind of how I remember mine, but it was a single shot with all loads.

I bought a Rem 1100 LT 20 ( 2 3/4 inch)for my grandson that had a 26 inch fixed Mod barrel. I sold the barrel off here on the campfire after finding a Rem 1100 LT sporting clay barrel at Midway USA. I load 3/4 20 gauge loads for skeet shooting the shotgun would not eject....and 7/8 oz load was fine. Somewhat surprised me the 3/4 oz loads would not cycle in a "LT" 20 gauge.