11-87 3" Sportsman Reliability?

[Crazy Coot]

I traded around for an 11-87 Sportsman (up to 3" only, not a Supermag) a few months ago. I will be using this primarily for duck hunting. I've heard both good & bad about this gun. What have been your experiences with it?

 

[eastbank]

i own two 1187,s, a sps and a light weight walnut and both shot any thing i run threw them,trap loads,high brass 2-3/4 and 3 inch mags, i do have a extra 21 inch turkey barrel that doesn,t like low brass shells. i like them and use them and would recommend to any one. eastbank.

 

[Klusterbuck]

Mine has never failed... it is utterly reliable.

 

[jmr40]

In my experience with other 11-87's they tend to be pretty reliable with heaver loads. Mine would choke on rare occasions with lighter loads.

 

[tryshoot]

My 11-87 is a premier 3" with 26" barrell. Has never jammed with any of my target loads (1200 fps 1 1/8 oz). Of course it has never jammed with 3" #4 Hevi-shot.

 

[45crittergitter]

I had a brand new 11-87 SP that broke during the first box of lead squirrel loads. It also rusted if you just looked at it.

 

[Noah]

The 11-87s I shoot trap with at the local range feel great, and are a joy to shoot, BUT have ejection and feeding problems maybe once or twice per round. Twice now have had the gun fire, then fail to extract the shell, just chambering the hull again. And way too often, the empty shell hull will get jammed in the bolt. They also have moderate surface rust in a few areas.

Is there a 99% chance 99% of the problems are from the relatively heavy use and mediocre maintenance they receive, as well as the low power shells? Yes. Has it made me choose to never buy an 11-87 for myself? Yes. Give me a pump or a double any day.

 

[45crittergitter]

And that, my friends, is why I no longer purchase any Remington centerfire autoloading firearms.

 

[Virginian]

Remington haters aside, the 11-87 is a very serviceable platform. It is advertised to shot 3" down to 1-1/8 ounce loads at 1200 fps, so don't whine if it sometimes doesn't like the lighter stuff. There are ways to address that too, but out of the box they will pretty much do what they say.
I have been shooting 1100s and 11-87s for 49 years with one broken extractor 30 years ago the only part failure with 11 different guns. I still own 5. If they weren't reliable, I wouldn't own one. But, I will add, whether I shoot 1 or 500 rounds, ALL my guns get a quick 5 minute cleaning before they are put away. That is probaly why mine remain dead reliable.

 

[Master Blaster]

5 year old 1187 sport model bought at DIcks on sale. I use it to teach new trap shooters and shoot it myself a good bit. Thousands of shells, 2 3/4" #8 1 1/8 oz loads whatever is on sale, never had it fail once. They like to run DRY overlubing will cause them to jam so wipe with an oily rag don't squirt oil in it, many folks overlube them and that is what causes most problems.