Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing 12ga/1100 seems lethargic during cold Weather for Duck hunting

My 12ga/1100 seems is fine on first shot when it's cold, while hunting Migratory fowl. I clean it quite often but it's still freak'n slow and I have many jams.

I use Rem oil but me thinks the oil thickens and causes the operation to be less than it should be.

Think'n about selling the shot gun...

Suggestions about cleaning material or lubricating liquids..

powderburnATcoxDOTnet

Have you checked the o-ring? If it is loose or dried it may allow gas leakage. E-bay usally has a few listed. Something cheap to check.

Check to see if the gas port in the barrel ring is partially ob- structed wiyh residue. Scrub it out with solvent and a wire pick if it's really persistent. Clean all powder residue off the cylinder tube. Get some quality 0000 steel wool wetted with solvent to do this. Similarly clean the piston ring. Replace the O-ring if it appears worn or hardened. Lubricate the cylinder very sparingly. I simply wipe mine with a cloth oiled (barely) with thinned ATF.

Pull out the trigger group and clean the internal parts with solvent and very liightly relubricate with a light oil. I simply cut ATF with mineral solvents by about 40%. If you think there is too much oil on it there is. Wipe the excess off or use compressed air to chase it off the surface. Mine has run fine at 30 below in the windstream of a helicopter with the doors off this way.

Shoot it dry. One our club trap shooters competes with an 1100 and told me that was the deal with them, shoot them dry. 1000`s rounds later he was right.

Like Tim says, run it dry. Also remove the buttstock, the action tube plug, spring and follower. TAKE CARE since it's under tension. Clean that tube well, degrease the follower, replace action spring and reassemble after applying a bit of graphite to the follower only..

Reassemble, remove barrel, bolt and trigger group. Degrease bolt, receiver rails etc., then reassemble dry..

That should take care of any sluggishness.

Well, you want enough lube to prevent rust. A day at the club isn't quite the same as a day at the pond. The 1100 does seem to work best with very little lube. RemOil should work fine but it's easy to get way too much in there using the spray can. The extra attracts powder fouling which makes a gummy mess that can hang things up particularly when cold. Spray, but wipe off the excess. A THIN coat will do. Be careful, the milled edges inside the receiver can be dead sharp and will cut you.

Another thing that can cause "mystery" failures is fouling in the chamber leading to hard extraction. Intermittant failures to cycle gradually becoming worse. Or on a pump it's just hard to work. The chamber will look clean but a good scrubbing with a chamber brush might be all it takes. My guess is that something left on the shell from the manufacturing process leaves a clear residue in the chamber. Bore brushes don't fit the chamber tight enough to get it. If you don't have a chamber brush a little 0000 steel wool on a bore brush will fatten it up enough for a good fit. Actually the buildup is pretty slow. I see it mostly on guns used for trap where hot chambers seem to speed up the buildup.

The O ring does eventually wear out. Use the proper Teflon replacement as common O rings don't stand up well to hot gasses. Keeping the carbon buildup down where the O ring seats on the magazine tube and where it seats in the cylinder will extend the life of the O ring. Rem 1100's are reliable so a trip to a gunsmith would be reasonable before you sell - unless you're looking for an excuse for a new shotgun <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

(The Remington Internet site has downloadable owner's manuals if you don't have one.)

two question, what shells are you using, and which barrel is on the 1100. because if you are using, for example 2 3/4" 1 1/4oz steel loads at a velocity of 1265fps in a 3" barrel regulated to shoot the old lead magnum 3" shells it will cycle slowly, and when it is very cold it would show up as a problem.just changing to a faster steel load in the 1 1/8th oz at 1450 to 1560fps range may solve all you problems. after cleaning it of course, like recomended above. if it is a 2 3/4 inch gun it could be the same issue.a magnum barrel shooting light loads in the 1100 is going to cycle slow and have ejection issues at all tempratures. just like using magnum loads in a trap barrel will really pound the action, due to the double ports in a target barrel

The best lube I've found is BreakFree CLP. It will not thicken in the cold like others, and it will not cook in the gas cylinder area. I keep that area 'wet' and it keeps residue in suspension - it doesn't bake onto the rings or the mag. tube. Lightly lube the action itself making sure it is CLEAN, and the bolt return spring should also be lightly lubed and clean. Make sure it has enough tension to do the job, as they can compress over time and lose strength. Do this and the 1100 should be super reliable.

grouseman

Another vote for Breakfree. I used it in Alaska around the salt and never had a jam or rust problem. Great stuff. BTW our gunners mates use the stuff by the gallons on gov't guns. Works well there too!
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