Intermittent cycling Remington 1100

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tonyotony

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Nov 12, 2019
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Clean, new action spring,new O-ring. 2 3/4 #6, and #4 shells. Sometimes, shell doesn't eject. Am wondering if I need to go to 3" shell, since this particular barrel does accept them, though I have never tried them,yet. Or might I need new piston rings, since the gun is old. Not quite sure what my next move should be.
 
If it is a magnum gun, it needs 3" shells. If it is a magnum barrel on a standard receiver the barrel probably only has one gas port and probably won't work correctly with standard loads (2 3/4). The 2 3/4 barrel has two gas port holes.
 
Yep. Easy to check the gas hole in the barrel. If the barrel says magnum but the receiver doesn’t, get a proper barrel or drill another hole. But then DON’T run magnums in it.
 
If it is a magnum gun, it needs 3" shells. If it is a magnum barrel on a standard receiver the barrel probably only has one gas port and probably won't work correctly with standard loads (2 3/4). The 2 3/4 barrel has two gas port holes.
I dont believe it is a magnum gun. The original barrel accepts only 2 3/4, per the engraving on the barrel. The current barrel I am using for pheasant/turkey, and am having problems with, accepts either 2 3/4 and 3" shells, again per the engraving on the barrel. Haven't used the original barrel in a while, so I don't know if the problem will repeat itself with that barrel.
 
I have 2 Remington 1100s. One is a magnum (3" shells) and one is non-magnum (2 3/4"). As noted above there are 2 gas port hole in the 2 3/4" chambered barrel and only 1 hole in the 3" chambered barrel. My magnum will not eject 2 3/4" shells unless I remove the 3" chambered barrel and put the 2 3/4" chambered barrel. If you look inside the ring on the bottom of the barrel that goes over the magazine tube you will see the gas ports.
 
The barrel sounds like the issue. The only other suggestion is to check the orientation of the metal piston ring. If it’s installed backwards the gun will fire but jam.

I got a great deal on a nice LW 20 that had its piston ring backwards and the seller consigned it as “needs work.” I bought it as a project, took it to the range and 35 seconds after firing the first shot I flipped the ring and it’s been 100 pct since. :thumbup:

Stay safe.
 
Use a pipe cleaner through the holes in the barrel to make sure they are clear. And your piston seal should be installed like this picture. Size 21 Oring.
1100 oring 21.JPG
 
I dont believe it is a magnum gun. The original barrel accepts only 2 3/4, per the engraving on the barrel. The current barrel I am using for pheasant/turkey, and am having problems with, accepts either 2 3/4 and 3" shells, again per the engraving on the barrel. Haven't used the original barrel in a while, so I don't know if the problem will repeat itself with that barrel.
If it’s not a magnum gun with a magnum action sleeve, don’t run magnum loads in either barrel.
 
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Some 3" Model 1100s will eject anything down to 1-1/8 ounce field loads. MANY will not function with anything less than 2-3/4" Magnum loads. The ONLY differences between the 3" and standard models are the barrel and the action sleeve. The only way to determine what a gun will do is to shoot it with the desired load(s). The 20 gauge is more finicky with loads than the 12 gauge.
 
If you order a new piston and ring, be sure to get the old style set up, not the MIM new style one. Also, consider replacing your extractor, extractor spring and extractor spring plunger. Volquartson makes a replacement extractor that is much better than the Remington MIM part.
 
Photo of the barrel,below which I bought from an acquaintance. It fits the gun, but as you can see, it has four ports: two inside the ring, connecting to inside the barrel. The other two ports(holes) are simply on the outside of the ring, which my original barrel does not have.

Barrel.jpg
 
What you have pictured is an 11-87 barrel. The two ports closer to the receiver are the gas ports, and the forward two are the gas relief vents. The circular spring wrapped around the gas ring should seat tight over the gas relief ports. If that spring gets oversprung, cycling issues are common.
All Remington semi-autos do NOT have MIM extractors, but forged ones. The 11-87 has a wider extractor and I have not seen one of those broken.
Is your gun an 1100 or an 11-87 ?
 
What you have pictured is an 11-87 barrel. The two ports closer to the receiver are the gas ports, and the forward two are the gas relief vents. The circular spring wrapped around the gas ring should seat tight over the gas relief ports. If that spring gets oversprung, cycling issues are common.
All Remington semi-autos do NOT have MIM extractors, but forged ones. The 11-87 has a wider extractor and I have not seen one of those broken.
Is your gun an 1100 or an 11-87 ?
I have an1100. Should I even be using this barrel on the 1100? I don't even know what the circular spring you refer to is!
 
Virginian beat me to it. Mea Culpa on the extractor, I based that on the looks of the new Remington parts, and the fact the new ring setup is. How do I know that? Mine broke after @3000 rounds through my 1100 Competition, using only Handicap loads. This gave me a good look at the inside of one, and it was MIM. The Volquartson extractor is EDM, from a forging, and has better edge geometry, though I will add I've personally never had a Remington one fail. I have replaced some that have, for others.
Tonyotony, does your original barrel have one or two ports? PapaG and Virginian both covered why a one port barrel might not function with some 2 3/4" shells.
On the front of the barrel lug of that 11-87 barrel there is a piece of steel wrapped around it. That is a spring. It is there to provide bleed-off of excessive gas pressure from 3" mags and hot 2 3/4" loads. It works in conjunction with the gas seal collar, part 45A in Numrich's schematic: https://www.gunpartscorp.com/gun-manufacturer/remington/shotguns-rem/1187/parts-list-rem1187?page=5
 
The 11-87 barrel will fit on an 1100, but unless you have one of the very few, and rare, early 11-87 fore ends, the fore end will not fit properly on an 1100 with an 11-87 barrel. The barrel gas ring on the 11-87 barrel is longer than the standard 1100 one so the 1100 fore end will not slide on as far as it should to fit properly. I feel the gas seal collar is superfluous, but even without that the fore end still will not fit properly.
If you are having cycling issues with your 1100 with the original 2-3/4" barrel, the first thing I would do is reinstall the original action spring, especially if you did not replace it with a Remington spring. Then, #1 make sure the loads are 1-1/8 ounce field loads or stronger, #2 I recommend getting an old style Gas piston and piston seal. With the old style, they are two separate pieces that fit together on a bevel rather than one part snapping over the other. If you want to shoot less than 1-1/8th ounce loads, the odds are it will work fine with 7/8th ounce loads, but if it doesn't we can then tackle that.
The only differences that matter between an 1100 and an 11-87 are the barrel and the fore end. An 11-87 is only designed to function with 1-1/8 ounce field loads and greater, but there are ways around that. Many work fine with less, but that does you no good if yours is one of the ones that won't.
Why do you prefer the 11-87 barrel ?
 
Thanks folks. I started using this 11-87 barrel because it is already threaded for chokes, while the original is not. So I took it out to shoot birds, with a choke inserted. As I see now, the 11-87 barrel I bought does not have the spring or gas seal ring/collar. (see my photo). I will try the original barrel, which I haven't used in a while, and see how it cycles. If it does fine, I will know its the other barrel. BTW, is it difficult to replace that gas seal collar/spring if I happen to get one?
 
No, just spread it enough to slide over the gas ring to where it rests in the groove.
You can likely have your original barrel threaded for choke tubes cheaper than buying another barrel and for less than what you could probably get for that 11-87 barrel. I have two done by Mike Orlen.
 
If you order a new piston and ring, be sure to get the old style set up, not the MIM new style one. Also, consider replacing your extractor, extractor spring and extractor spring plunger. Volquartson makes a replacement extractor that is much better than the Remington MIM part.
I believe Remington also makes a machined extractor, correct? Also, I understand that the extractor may not grab well and may need replacement, but can I really tell if the spring and plunger need replacement?
 
If it is a magnum gun, it needs 3" shells. If it is a magnum barrel on a standard receiver the barrel probably only has one gas port and probably won't work correctly with standard loads (2 3/4). The 2 3/4 barrel has two gas port holes.

Exactly!!!
 
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