I'm a two barrel lover and know nothing about Remington's autos.....a friend wants a 3" for goose hunting and asked me to find out which was best.

There's a 3" 1100 in excellent shape at a local store he's looking at....

From Rem's website it seems the 1100 is exclusively a target gun.....

Is the 11-87 the same action as the 1100?
Thanks guys for the advice.

I don't think a 3" hardly qualifies as a trap gun. This sounds like a regular field gun. The action of the 11-87 is basically the same as the 1100 except the gas system is different. The 3" M1100 is designed to handle 3",2 3/4 magnums, and some will function with the 3 3/4dr. 1 1/4oz. heavy loads ok. Don't try to open the ports for the lighter loads, this will overstress the action when magnum loads are used. The M11-87 should function with all loads except the very light trap type loads. Bill

quote:

Originally posted by Bill Meyer:
I don't think a 3" hardly qualifies as a trap gun. This sounds like a regular field gun. The action of the 11-87 is basically the same as the 1100 except the gas system is different. The 3" M1100 is designed to handle 3",2 3/4 magnums, and some will function with the 3 3/4dr. 1 1/4oz. heavy loads ok. Don't try to open the ports for the lighter loads, this will overstress the action when magnum loads are used. The M11-87 should function with all loads except the very light trap type loads. Bill

What Bill said - I've owned several of both and the 1100 is strictly a 2 3/4 OR a 3" proposition. I have an 11-87 at the moment that will shoot anything I put in it from 3†magnum loads to the 3-1-8 ElCheapos from Wally world. Not all of them will do this but this one just seems to keep on keeping on. Now, if I could only figure how to get it back form my son….
If he is going to have the one gun I would buy the 11-87, not the 1100 3†– as said, it is a 3†gun or heavy load 2 ¾†only.

I inherited an 1100 3-inch mag shotgun that also came with a shorter skeet-choked barrel in 2 3/4-inch. The shorter barrel has 2 holes for the gas port while the longer, 3-inch chambered barrel has 1 hole. I've never shot the gun - is it safe to do so with either barrel or do I need to stick with the long barrel with the single hole for the gas port?

Pass on both Rems. and buy a Beretta 3901 with a synthetic stock or a Winchester SX3 Composite. Either will function with light or heavy loads. Both are soft shooters too, which is nice with goose loads.

Calif. Hunter- You can fire target and other light Game or dove loads in your skeet barrel and use the 3" barrel for all magnum loads it will function with.
The 11-87 is an "improved" version of the 1100, many parts interchange with as mentioned the major difference is in the "gas" system for operating.

Unless they've changed it up, the 1187 is heavier and in many shooter's opinion doesn't handle/point as well as the 1100 but it will almost certainly last longer without breaking. We used to call 1100s, "550s" on the trap line because they worked about half the time. All 1100 trap shooters carried a basket full of parts with them as well as keeping spare guns handy.

That said, I've shot both and like the 1100 better considering its limitations. Probably more a matter of what you're used to than anything else.

I'm not trying to push anything off on you or anybody, but I picked up a 3 inch 1100 with some rust and pitting thinking I might use it to turkey hunt. In spite of how it sounds, the gun is not a dog, just taken duck hunting a time or two and not taken proper care of. Without looking I think it has a fixed full choke barrel, but it might have tubes, I've never shot it, so can't remember. That was some years back and so far the turkeys have not thrilled me enough to force me to hunt one, plus I think they taste like warmed over cardboard. Anyone wants it, it would be $300 shipped, all FFL rules, etc. Any serious interest let me go find it and describe it better. It might get cheaper but won't be anymore. Since it's vapodog's thread, he gets first shot.

PS: Skinner gave you some good advice.

I would BUY the 1187 if even if the others were offered to me free!

I am a dyed in the wool 1100 guy and my experience whils shooting Skeet was the complete opposite of what others mentioned above. I do recomend however, taking spare o-rings all my 1100's hsve spares in the hole in the stock behind the buttplate just in case.

I think the 1100 is the best Autoloader ever built and the 1187 is just an improvement.

JTEX:

Like you, I had owned several 1100s and 11-87s. To be truthful,I didn't have the perception about them that you guys have posted about them. I liked them both (and I came very late in life to autos, having been almost exclusively a Rem.870 fanatic) I hated both autos sometimes - on one particular kind of occasion - assembling in near darkness -and where the heck was that ring! -that I had just dropped in the grass -and trying to resist the temptation to use a flashlight -and all the while cursing Remington design engineers.