old semi auto

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Jonah71

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When my friend told me to dig "the longest" shotgun out of his closet yesterday, I thought I had an old Browning semi auto 12 ga. Looked just like one. I wouldn't know this if I hadn't just watched a "Lock & Load" episode recently on shotguns. The gun has been in bad need of a good clean up for years. But as I was looking closer at the etching on the side (birds, grass, etc,) I saw that it was a model 11 Remington and not a Browning. Big old long ribbed barrel heavy thing. He bought it after he returned home from WW 2 for $65. (I'm not sure it that's new or used....much before my time). He gave it to me. I had no plans on selling it. Won't sell gifts from best friends. But out of curiosity I made some calls to see what an old semi auto Rem sold for. Every person I talked to said it may be worth $200 but not much more. I was sure surprised. But since I wasn't gonna sell it, it wasn't a dissapointment. I'll just give it a good cleaning and add it to a small (but slowly growing) collection of odd firearms I seem to be accumulating.
 
Nothing wrong with the Model 11 in my opinion. Clean it, oil it, and then do it some respect by shoooting it. Repeat as often as possible! Makes for a good life habit.
 
I'll do that. May not hit what I'm shooting at, but I guess that's not the point. This is one of several he's given me that I can shoot. As well as the old H&R .22. The 1888 Merwin Hulbert .38 is retired though. He and his family have been there for me for over 25 years. His son and I hung out together until he died 5 yrs ago. He has no family left that are the least bit interested in firearms. We have spent many hours over the years just sitting and talking.... "solving the problems of the world....if they'd only listen." I'll miss him.
 
My oldest semi auto is a Winchester MDL 40 I don't think its half the gun your Remington MDL 11 is. As mentioned take it out for a drive.
 
call Remington to get a copy of the owners manual - 1-800-243-9700

Don't shoot it till you do. Make sure the friction ring & piece are set for "heavy" loads and try it out. If it cycles leave it set that way, if not, move it to "Light" and try again. It's recoil operated, just like the Browning A-5 light. No sense in beating it up.
Check out the remington society for more info, too.

The Model 11 is a darn fine gun. What choke is the barrel? Barrel length?
 
my oldest is a 1907 winchester 1897, i still shoot trap with it. the remington 11 is the exact same gun as a browning A5, just a different name stamped on it. basically browning set up shop in belgium and then licensed several of his designs to be produced in America by remington and winchester and probably some others. get it checked by a smith if you want, then shoot it, though i think as it is a recoil operated gun you have to tune the system to each load you use, not sure on that though.
 
A few parts interchange,Jimmy. The friction rings and pieces, most springs. OTOH, the fiber buffer at the rear of the receiver is unique to the 11 and getting quite scarce, I hear.

The 11 is a class act,OP and so is your friend. Appreciate them both.....
 
The story of JMB is a good one. His interest in one of his inventions stopped when he had it operating at his satisfaction, then he would sell the rights to manufacture to Winchester almost exclusively at first. He refused to be involved in developing the guns for market and started to see how rich Winchester was getting using his designs. When Whinchester balked at the price and the newness of the A-5 he went to Europe and sold FN the Europian manufacturing rights to the A-5. When he returned U.S. Remington wanted A-5 design so he sold U.S. rights to them.
The 2 guns are made to same design but manufacturing development of both were done slightly different and that's why the parts won't enterchange.
He also sold Colt a number of designs, but Colt was a hard sell as both the company and JMB were cranky and hard to get along with.
I read somewhere and I can't swear to it, that JMB didn't make a dime off his greatest inventions, his 0.30" machine guns and his 0.50 calibre machine guns which he gave to his country while they were at war. The 1919 was in active use by several countries til recently and the M-2 is still in use by U.S. forces today. Many of his inventions are still inproduction by many manufacturers and countries.
One of his greatest supposed inventions he had very little to do with and died before it's design completion, the Browning P35 High Power. An FN engineer named Saive brought the gun to market and the original JMB drawings and shop model doesn't even look much like a High Power. Please forgive spelling and punctuation it's 03:30
Very Interesting Genius
 
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Craftsmanship!!

Howdy!
I agree with Kernel, in that the craftsmanship and handfitting is evident everywhere you look, on this old gun. NO-ONE uses hand fitted setscrews on repeater receiver/action screws anymore, that I know of, and that's just the tip of the iceberg.
It's really an ingeneous design, by the master himself, John Browning, and had many imitators, over the years.
Look how long it was produced, by various manufaturors, if you want proof of it's respect. It certainly wasn't manufatured for the better part of a century because it was the easiest/cheapest shotgun which could be built.
I inherited a 1937 built, Mod 11 Remington, "Sweet 16", from my dad, upon his death. It was one of his most used but still perfectly functional guns. He had bought it from a hunting buddy who knew my dad had admired it for years.
The use is evident in the worn checkering, all but gone blueing and a very minor ding in the barrel.
It still shoots as well as I can imagine a shotgun should.
It's a bit heavy, by modern standards, but with that weight comes all the beautifully machined and fitted forgings, so much NOT in evidence on later offerings. By the way, that weight is not really noticed, as the majority is in the action, which balances, for me, better than any repeater I have ever tried. You won't see another shotgun made like this, because it would just cost way too much.
Hang on to it and use it. You won't regret it!
Thanks for your time.
 
Howdy!
One little story, which goes with this gun, explains why John Browning had to go to Europe to get it produced.
He was in the waiting room of the president of a major American gunmaker (Winchester, I believe), with the plans for this shotgun. The preliminary agreements were in the works, but, as Browning waited outside the office, the president of the company died inside the office. This squelched the agreement and Browning took it to Belgium, where it was produced, for decades.
Thanks for your time.
 
that was Remington's president that died. That was after winchester told him to walk when he wanted to be paid royalties instead of selling the design outright, which all other previous designs had been acquired outright. Then he went to FN. Remington did get a deal for the American market and started production in 1905.
 
Honor your friendship by taking out that model 11 for a bit of shooting every now & then.
 
when i was in highschool, many years ago, my buddy had a model 11, i loved the way you could hear the action cycle after the shot. sounded like an artillery piece. have not been around one since. 200 dollars you say...
 
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