1100 not cycling

[cookhj]

i had taken my 1100 to a gunsmith a few weeks ago to get ghost ring sights put on, the barrel cut and to have it parkerized. it cycled before i took it to the gunsmith, but now it won't cycle at all. i believe that the parkerizing caused a build-up in the receiver therefore slowing down the bolt and not allowing it to cycle. i plan on cleaning the receiver out tonite and i ordered a new recoil spring system from brownell's. hopefully that will cure my problem. anyone else have any suggestions, or have i answered my own question?

[sm]

I'd check to see if gas ports are clear, the rings are assembled correctly and the "O" ring is in place.

HTH
Hope its that simple.
OH what loads were you using? Some light loads won't cycle, i.e. some super speed 7/8 oz stuff. I do know someone changed the gas port size to shoot light loads in a 20 ga, heavier loads caused malfs.

[cookhj]

i was using full power 2 3/4" OO buck. the O-ring is intact and the gas rings are in correctly. i had tried to use light loads when i initially bought the shotgun (when it had wood stocks and a long hunting barrel on it), it wouldn't cycle light loads (it's a magnum receiver) so i tried to use max 2 3/4" loads, and they cycled fine.

[Jim Watson]

How short did you have the barrel cut?
Need some dwell time after the gas port.

Otherwise the parkerizing may well have roughed up the works.

[cookhj]

i had the barrel cut to just over 18" (just enough to keep it legal). i haven't had a chance to smooth out the receiver yet, but i should be able to within the next few days.

[Dave McCracken]

I'd run a box of cheap field loads through it and see if things slicked up. Copious lube might help. Remove it when things are OK, excess lube adds to grunge PDQ.

HTH...

[3 gun]

You may need to get the gas port opened up to off set the loss of pressure by going to the shorter length. I know some of the USPSA guys had to do that after adding a comp. Even though the overall length was the same the loss of back pressure caused problems until the port was opened up.

[cookhj]

i smoothed up the action a little bit last night using good old fashioned elbow grease and a bore brush. it feels a lot smoother now, and hopefully that's all that it'll need. my new recoil spring system should be in today or tomorrow, so after i get that installed i'm gonna shoot it and see if that helps. if not, i'm gonna take it to a gunsmith and have him look over it from there.

[cookhj]

i found out the problem (i hope). the gas rings were binding up inside the gas port housing. i might have to open up the gas port as well, but for now i am going to just polish out the housing.

[Dave McCracken]

Good luck. Whether or not this is a fix, let us know, please.

[Neil Casper]

When I cut my standard 2 3/4" 1100 down to 18.5" I had to open up the gas ports one drill size. Now it's running fine again.
Hope that's all it is. I have found my 1100s to be very reliable.

[cookhj]

ok, here's an update so far. the gas rings were binding up in the gas housing, so i polished them up and the inside of the gas housing. figuring that might be it, i took it out and shot it. the shotgun didn't cycle, but the bolt did come back far enough to recock the hammer. SO! last night i opened up the gas port to just over 78/1000ths (using a 5/64" drill bit). HOPEFULLY i can get a chance to do a test fire tonite. if it won't cycle, i'm just gonna take it to a gunsmith and let him play with it.

[cookhj]

:cuss: IT STILL WON'T CYCLE! i took it out last night, and the only thing that it would do is fire, and recock the hammer. the bolt still won't go back enough to feed another shell. SO! i took it to a gunsmith and told him to look at it. HOPEFULLY it won't be too expensive. :cuss:

[Dave McCracken]

Cool down,it'll get fixed. While it's undergoing corrective surgery maybe you can borrow an 870.....

[cookhj]

i know, i have faith that everything will be ok. it's just aggrivating when you've put work and money into something that won't work. i'll let y'all know what happens as soon as i get it back.

[Dave McCracken]

Thanks and good luck. One of these days over a cold drink I'll tell you the tale of a few aggravating money pits in my history...

[rick_reno]

I'd like to know what the fix is - I've got a 28 ga. 1100 that has no modifications that doesn't cycle reliably either. It never has and I'm using Rem. factory skeet loads. I stopped screwing around with it and put it in the back of the safe and started using my 28 ga. 870.

[cookhj]

check your gas system. that's the biggest problem (at least i believe that's what's wrong with mine. then check the recoil system, and lastly, i would check to make sure you're using the right loads.

[Virginian]

The magnum 1100 uses a softer spring and one gas port, versus a stronger spring and two gas ports on the 2-3/4" model, so be careful switching around components. Also remember you can put a standard barrel on a magnum and it will work, but the reverse won't work. If you are only going to shoot 2-3/4" loads, you might want to consider getting a standard barrel and the twin ports should compensate for the slight pressure you lost cutting the barrel. Note, extended shooting of 2-3/4" barrels with hot loads has been known to crack magnum recievers at the rear of the bolt notch. Good luck.

[cookhj]

thanks for that bit of info, i didn't know that the standard 1100 had 2 gas ports. i reckon the "doctor" will have to drill out the gas port slightly bigger to compensate.