Remington 1100 with FULL choked barrel!

[OdysseyDK]

Hi guys...

As i know, there are a lot of americans on this forum, so i have a question for all of you, hope you can help.
And as the gun is from the US, i thought it might hit close too home with you guys. Other non US personal are ofcoarse welcome to join in

I have an older Remington 1100 - 12/70 with a 28" barrel that is FULL in chokesize, though it is not with removable chokes.
It is a second hand gun i bought cheap, and restored with original parts, and it works like a charm. It is post 1986, so it is not the older version.
I replaced all the worn parts in the reciever and the piston. Sanded it down and painted it mat black, and then fitted a synthetic original stock.
Can´t tell you the exact year of production, but it is now in good shape.

My question is this. With this barrel which is FULL, can i shoot a 12/70 Remington steel shot 35gr. (11/4 oz) size 2 through it, or will this damage the barrel?
I am going to use it for ducks and geese primarely, and in the wetlands.

Here´s a picture of the project:

[Corjack]

Steel shot was fairly common in the US in 1986, I am sure that your barrel is approved for it, but will check when I go into town today.

[OdysseyDK]

Hi Corjack.

I think it is prooved for steel, no doubt there, but it was more the load i am thinking of putting through it.
35 grams of size 2 steel, is a lot for a full barrel, i think !?

[skeetshot]

I would shoot the gun

35 gram load of # 2 steel shot is not a very heavy load.

As Corjack suggests, the barrel is probably already proofed for steel, but in the event it is not, what could happen?

Well, for one thing, it will not blow up on your face.

In the worst case scenario, it would open the choke up.

Not sure ? Tie the gun to a fixture, use a long string and fire off ten shots.

Still uncomfortable ? Get a properly proofed barrel or some other shotgun

[dinsdale]

Go ahead. No problem at all.

I shoot that load and alot stiffer out of a 1100 no problem for resident geese.

Almost always with a full choke, I shoot the same #2's for turkey too so I have just one type of ammo sitting around. Gun patterns good with the full choke too.

[SPEEDY]

I had a Remington 1100 back in the days when we could still have them here, I really miss that gun

But as to shooting steel shot in a gun not proofed for it, I don't think that it would blow up but I had a cousin do that in Grandpa's SXS and it went from a 30" down to a 24" gun over night, it split from the choke right down the side

[deerhunter338mag]

Full Chokes and steel shot in any gun is not a great thing to do. Steel is not like lead want pack in as good. We went to steel over here a few years back now and it was recommended not to use full choke's and steel shot at all. I'm almost out of lead so I will have to make more as I have a lead shot maker the residents next door always ask me what's that smell Lead kills better I think if it was me I wouldn't I have 4 shotguns all Beretta and are well made as it's a Remington well mmmmmmmmmm..lol I wouldn't but as Skeetshot said try the rope trick If you have gone to the trouble of restoring the gun Just go and have chokes fitted then have open or skeet chokes in good luck with it.

[dinsdale]

If you scroll down here to 1100 barrels you will note that all steel barrels came ONLY with FULL chokes from the factory and as such are approved.(29505;29509;30"/28")

http://www.remington.com/sitecore/conte ... ables.aspx

You can also see here that Remingtons help line has answered this question; last paragraph;

http://remington.custhelp.com/app/answe ... ed/1/sno/0


Also just found my manual and the cards that came with all three of my Remingtons and all list use of steel shot with any choke for all types of shot.....except for xtra full or turkey chokes on my 870's. Here they state that "limited" shooting is OK, but high volume is not.

I am shooting "Black Cloud" in both the 3" and 2 3/4" lengths.

[OdysseyDK]

Thanx dinsdale, that was the Remington recommendation i was looking for.

I just got back from the range after reading some of the posts, and its just a couple of miles away from my home. I just fired 10 rounds of these shells through, and there was no trouble. Well, it got hot for sure, but no deformation at all!

Actually used the string trick for the first shell, but when that went okay, i kinda thought it was a bit wimpy, so i just started blasting clays normal style.... Boy, do clays die when hit with these loads

Just to let you know, this was not the normal clay range where i shoot. This was an old gravel pit close by, and we used a hand launcher for the clays. Just so not no one gets the wrong idea. It was all safe and alowed

Thanx for all your help guys..... I knew i could count on you folks. Cheers from Denmark

[NORMA]

Hi guys...

As i know, there are a lot of americans on this forum, so i have a question for all of you, hope you can help.
And as the gun is from the US, i thought it might hit close too home with you guys. Other non US personal are ofcoarse welcome to join in

I have an older Remington 1100 - 12/70 with a 28" barrel that is FULL in chokesize, though it is not with removable chokes.
It is a second hand gun i bought cheap, and restored with original parts, and it works like a charm. It is post 1986, so it is not the older version.
I replaced all the worn parts in the reciever and the piston. Sanded it down and painted it mat black, and then fitted a synthetic original stock.
Can´t tell you the exact year of production, but it is now in good shape.

My question is this. With this barrel which is FULL, can i shoot a 12/70 Remington steel shot 35gr. (11/4 oz) size 2 through it, or will this damage the barrel?
I am going to use it for ducks and geese primarely, and in the wetlands.

Here´s a picture of the project:

I would avoid using any steel load with pellet sizes larger than #4’s through that choke. You’ve got approximately 0.030-inches of constriction with that integral ‘Full’ choke – this can possibly cause a ring bulge with that 35g load of 2’s.

If the gun is specifically used for waterfowling, I would consider fitting aftermarket thin wall chokes such as Briley’s Series 1 (VX). These offer the opportunity to shoot the tightest choke with steel or any other non-toxic shot product. Similarly, they offer the opportunity to extend the patterning performance range well past many factory choke systems.

Alternatively, you can get the choke reamed out to about 0.020-inch constriction (Modified/half choke) and comfortably shoot steel as large as BB’s through that barrel. This choke arrangement will give you good reliable patterns out to about 45-47 yards for duck in smaller pellet sizes i.e. US #2, 3, 4/UK #1, 2, 3 for geese this range extends out to about 50-55 yards with US BBB, BB.

Speaking of which, I noted your use of the 35g load of 2’s for both ducks and geese. I’m not entirely sure what load your using or the specific species you’re hunting. With this in mind I can only guess the 2’s you refer to are either 3.8mm (0.150”) or 3.6mm (0.140”) in diameter in either case they are either too small or a marginal candidate for any goose species, particularly if these birds are taken past 40 yards (36.6m). A pellet diameter of 4.1mm or larger should be sought for these larger birds - 4.6mm is just about perfect.

[OdysseyDK]

Here in Denmark, we are not allowed by law, to use bigger than #1 = 4,00mm pellets. And as patterning with #1 is poor in my Browning O/U, and with less pellets, i went for a #2 for geese.
I wrote it wrong earliyer, as i use 32g. #4 and #5 for ducks. Steel in the wetlands and Tungsten in the woods, This is also law here in Denamrk, the part with Tungsten in forrests.

But i think i might do what you say, regarding having the barrel opened up a bit to MOD i think. Makes it a bit more versatile in use.

[dinsdale]

How's the pattern the way it is ?

I find this discussion interesting....I live in the North East where Remington dominates the landscape for shotguns. (The factory is about 2 hrs from me)I must know a dozen shooters who put some serious round counts out of their guns, and I have never heard one discussion of what to put down a barrel with a tighter choke.

If it patterns good....it goes.

I help shoot resident geese off a farm and polo field near me. We don't hunt...it's animal control on big fat corn fed resident birds. I shoot a box of 25 as fast as you can load; and never even think twice about the barrel. But we are held still by DEC to use non-toxic shot, but don't have to plug the gun to 3 shots.

I must have a few thousand non-lead rounds out of my 1100, mostly steel cause they are cheaper than bismuth or other lead substitutes. I have two barrels one with the fixed factory full and one with screw ins.I almost never use the screw in and shoot everything thru the fixed. I shoot sporting clays with it cause I like the 30" barrel better. Now we are shooting Federal "Black Cloud" cause we have the polo guy's paying for it.

Good luck!

[NORMA]

Here in Denmark, we are not allowed by law, to use bigger than #1 = 4,00mm pellets. And as patterning with #1 is poor in my Browning O/U, and with less pellets, i went for a #2 for geese.
I wrote it wrong earliyer, as i use 32g. #4 and #5 for ducks. Steel in the wetlands and Tungsten in the woods, This is also law here in Denamrk, the part with Tungsten in forrests.

But i think i might do what you say, regarding having the barrel opened up a bit to MOD i think. Makes it a bit more versatile in use.

Hi OdysseyDK,

The #1’s will work fine on geese, however, you should try to limit shooting distances to about 40-45 yards (36.6-41.15m) and not further if you are to avoid wounding/losing these birds.

As I indicated earlier, a Modified (0.020”/0.5mm constriction) choke will give you good results this side of about 45 yards (41.15m) for duck and a little further for geese with steel shot ammunition. Given that you cannot use larger pellet sizes for geese, again shooting distances should be limited to under 45 yards.

If possible, I’d advocate the heavier 35g payload for both duck and geese, particularly if distances are likely to stretch beyond 40 yards (36.6m). For ranges of 40 yards or under, a 32g load will be just fine. The combination of a Modified choke and this heavier 35g load weight, will provide the necessary pattern density needed to kill game birds effectively, particularly when the proper pellet sizes have also been matched to the game species.

I highly recommend the following pellet sizes for varying sized game ducks.

Large duck i.e. Mallard use US/Spanish #2 (UK/Norwegian/Italian #1) 3.8mm diameter pellet size. This provides outstanding performance. If this is not available, drop one size down to US/Spanish #3 (UK/Norwegian/Italian #2) 3.6mm steel pellets. This smaller pellet is also a very good performer and an excellent general purpose shot size for all ducks.

Small duck i.e. Teal use US/Spanish #4 (UK/Norwegian/Italian #3) 3.3mm diameter pellet size right out to 45 yards. For ranges up to 40 yards, use US/Spanish #5 (UK/Norwegian/Italian #4) 3.0mm diameter pellet size.

For wounded birds, keep a 32g load of US/Spanish #6 (UK/Norwegian #5) 2.8mm diameter. This is an excellent swatter load.

Hope this helps.