For the THR-ers in limbo who have yet to visit TFL:
Howdy:
I finally got around to putting my Remington 1100 together after buying a Scattergun Technologies +2 mag extender and cylinder bore (cut) 18.5" bbl.
The 1100 was bought used in the 1980s and busted a lot of clays back then.
The bbl was originally a 28" fixed modified choke with no rib and a light weight profile relative to most screw-in-choke bbls. Back when I shot skeet a lot, I preferred this sort of light bbl to anything with a rib or heavier contour plain bbl.
The ST mag extender was bought back before Wilson Combat bought them up.
The whole rig is a bit of a kluge, what with the original high-gloss polyurethane finish on the stock, the polished blue original metal, and the deep park job on the mag extender.
I shot four flavors of buckshot at 7 & 15 yds and on flavor of slugs at 25yds.
Performance Roll-UpG_Manuf G_Model Ga BBL_inch Choke Manuf Model Ga Load Num_Proj Wt_oz Vel_fps Rng_yd Grp_Sz_in Note
Rem 1100 12 18 Cyl_cut Remington 12BT800 12 00B 8 ? 1325 7 3.75 Tac/Low Recoil
Rem 1100 12 18 Cyl_cut Remington 12B000 12 000B 8 ? 1325 7 5
Rem 1100 12 18 Cyl_cut S&B W209SB 12 00B 12 ? ? 7 5
Rem 1100 12 18 Cyl_cut Remington 12B000 12 000B 8 ? 1325 15 8.5
Rem 1100 12 18 Cyl_cut Winchester WL1200 12 00B 9 ? ? 15 9.5 Tac/Low Recoil
Rem 1100 12 18 Cyl_cut Remington 12BT800 12 00B 8 ? 1325 15 11.5 Tac/Low Recoil
Rem 1100 12 18 Cyl_cut S&B W209SB 12 00B 12 ? ? 15 12.5
Rem 1100 12 18 Cyl_cut Winchester X12RS15 12 slug 1 1 1600 25 1.75 2 rnd grp
7 Yard PerformanceRemington 12BT800 12 00B 8 ? 1325 7 3.75 Tac/Low Recoil
Remington 12B000 12 000B 8 ? 1325 7 5
S&B W209SB 12 00B 12 ? ? 7 5
(I was running out of time and omitted Winchester 00B Low Recoil WL1200)
Low-recoil Rem 00B was the best performer at 7 yards.
15 Yard PerformanceRemington 12B000 12 000B 8 ? 1325 15 8.5
Winchester WL1200 12 00B 9 ? ? 15 9.5 Tac/Low Recoil
Remington 12BT800 12 00B 8 ? 1325 15 11.5 Tac/Low Recoil
S&B W209SB 12 00B 12 ? ? 15 12.5
Rem 000B was the best performer at 15 yards and would be my choice for this gun/bbl/choke for HD. The longest shot in my house is ~10 yards. The 000B seems more consistent than the Rem Low Recoil 00B, which does well at 7 yards but goes wonky at 15 yards.
25 Yard PerformanceWinchester X12RS15 12 slug 1 1 1600 25 1.75 2 rnd grp
irst shot was #1 (high left). It was shot offhand.
Next two shots (#3 & #4) POI were 4" high and 1" to left of POA and were shot from a hasty rest.
I was getting sore, as this were the absolute last shots after a box of birdshot and a bunch of buckshot. 1600fps slugs kick a mite.
The last two were shot sort of indifferently. Next time I group slugs, I will have to use a slip-on recoil pad.
===========
I was somewhat worried about reliability and replaced the O-ring before firing. Most shorter Rem 1100s are in the 20"-21" range and I have read about reliability issues with shorter bbls, especially with cut-offs originally of greater length.
I needn't have worried. It ate everything I fed it: Wally-World Value-pack Winchester birdshot, standard & low-recoil buck, and slugs.
It also handled well. Maybe not as well as my preferred plain 26" bbl without the mag ext I used for skeet & bird hunting, but light years better than any of the pistol-gripped shotguns I have fired.
The low-recoil buck was not that much less recoil, IME. The standard recoil slugs sure were thumpers, though.
All in all, if I had a way to store it loaded in a secure manner, it would be my primary HD weapon stoked with Rem 000B and slugs on a butt cuff. But, my two toddlers preclude that and I must be content with a 1911 in a quick-access safe until they are old enough to be reliably safe around loaded weapons not on my person / under my direct control.