Remington model 11 questions

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meh92

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Recently I have gotten a bit of a model 11 bug. These guns haven't been produced in over 50 years, but I see plenty of them floating around at gun shows and online auctions.

I'm considering buying one for a shooter, not a collector. What would be a good source of information regarding these old beauties and is there a particular gunsmith who specializes in them?

Thanks
 
Since the Remington 11 was based on the Browning pat. A5 any smith who is familiar with the Browning will know the Model 11 .

Actualy most smiths should have no trouble dealing with this gun. I know of no particular smith noted for specializing in the Model 11 .

One word of caution when buying model 11's : The most common damage (outside of wood damage) done to these is a cracked bolt. Typically this occures with a steady diet of magnums shot through a gun with a worn friction ring.

The slamming of the bolt to the rear first takes out the fiber buffer at the rear of the reciever , and when the bolt starts hitting the metal of the reciever it will typically crack on the rear left corner area. (where you can not see it without disassembly) .

At the least, you should make sure the buffer is still intact before purchase. The buffer is made of fiber about 1/8 " thick and is held in by a blind rivot to the inside rear of the receiver. You should be able to see it through the ejection port with the bolt forward and using a light to look into the recievers rear section at the hump.
 
Some A-5 parts fit some 11s. Mine had springs and rings replaced. Smith called it the 10K round rebuild.
 
I have a Model 11 that is a switch barrel riot gun/hunting gun. The hunting barrel is a 26" modified tube with a solid rib. The riot barrel was a 28" with some kind of aftermarket cutts compensater/caged choke system. UGLY as all hail!

I had that barrel cut off at 19" and then had Remington Rifle sights installed on it. I have a two round extension for it as well. My gun is one of the post 1928 models. I had a detail clean done on it and replaced all the springs and have used it for some dove hunting and one shotgun class. I had the buttstock cut down a bit and a good recoil pad installed, works fine. A classy old blaster.
 
Lawyerman,

Any chance you'd post a pic? I'd love to see it. I am buying a police model with an 18" barrel and have the exact same plans for mine, including an interchangible hunting barrel. They are very cheap on E-Bay when I last checked.

How did the mag tube work for you? Which parts were necessary (tube, coupler, spring, follower, brace)? Were any internal mods necessary?

Did you do the maintenance yourself or have someone else check it over? I'm an 870/11-87 armorer, but never even held a Model 11. There is a post on Shotgun World covering a detail strip and it doesn't look too bad.

I appreciate all the info. I really would love to see a pic. If you can't post them would you e-mail me a few?

Thanks

Thanks
 
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I actually think that whippet looks neat but I hope it was done on a beater. I have a factory done NEF pardner 410 single shot that has the same stock.

Didn't Clyde Barrow have such a gun?
 
I don't know what model number of extension is on my Model 11. It came out of a "junk" box at a gunshow. It is a Choate and it had a piece of masking tape on it that said "Rem. 11". No spring but the tube was $5 so I figured it was worth the chance. Works fine. I had to come up with a spring and just ordered one out of Brownells I think it was a Scattergun spring but don't hold me to that. On the M11 there is no way to secure the tube to the barrel as with most other shotguns as the barrel moves during recoil. All you can do is tighten it down, I have not had mine move yet.

I had the detail strip and cleaning done by a local gunsmith. I had a coupon for a "clean and oil" that I had won at the Friends of NRA banquet and it seemed like a good time to use it! He also cut the barrel and soldered the rifle sights on for me. I refinished the stock and added the recoil pad myself with a little help from a talented friend. A great book with good info on the Remington 11's and Browning A5's is Patrick Sweeneys' Gunsmithing Shotguns- step by step instructions on breaking them down.

You may encounter some problems in getting a barrel to fit your gun. It's not that they don't interchange, they do but it isn't as simple as an 870 swap from what I understand. I was lucky in that the barrels I bought were part of a set that had been with the gun for a long time, maybe bought together etc....I dunno but swapping them hasn't been a problem. These guns haven't been made in about 50 years and tolerances were different back then.
 
current manufacture 870 mag extensions will work on a model 11 but you need about an 1/8" spacer.
 
Moonclip said:
I actually think that whippet looks neat but I hope it was done on a beater. I have a factory done NEF pardner 410 single shot that has the same stock.

Didn't Clyde Barrow have such a gun?
Click to expand...

Mrs. Parker in 20 ga. as well, Not actually a beater, BUT procured cheap :) Was a build I had been looking to do for quite some time. Did need to change the stocks out though after recut, Brass butt plate and Rubber buffer added, springs clipped until 100% reliable , rings and seals changed out as well, then Gun Refinished in Teflon Black locally (I find this also helps keeps the action nice and slick ) w/ brass bead front sight, REAL handy! . Thanks for the kind words.
Loandr.
 
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Model 11, anyone?

I stopped in at an old gun shop today that I had driven by several times, but had never visited. The guy who runs it is pushing 70 and the shop reminds me of the places that were around 30+ years ago. There was stuff kind of piled in the corners with walnut gunstock blanks all over the place, and a cloud of stale cigarette smoke hanging on the ceiling. He had no new guns in the place, but made up for it by having several pre-64 model 94 Winchesters, a couple of '03 Springfields, an OLD Remington 870 20ga built on the 12ga frame (neat guns; I have one), an old model 12 in 16ga and several other interesting pieces of scrap iron. I asked him if he had any Remington model 11s or Browning Auto-5s laying around. He said he didn't have any complete guns, just a couple of parts guns. He went in the back and brought out two old shotguns without wood. One of them was an Auto-5 that was absolutely THRASHED. It was so rusty that I couldn't open the action. Needless to say, I passed on that one. The second one, however, had my attention. It was a model 11 with the older trigger-guard safety. Someone had installed a Cutts comp and had gone to a great deal of trouble to spray paint the entire thing flat black. Except for wood, it was complete, and the bore shone like a mirror! One problem....it was a 20ga!!!!! :( :banghead: If that had been a 12, I would have had my project gun, and I am sure I could have had it for about 50 bucks. AAARRRGGG!!!!!!!!! Sometimes, the gods of procurement smile on you, and other times, they mock you and pelt you with rotten tomatoes....... :cuss:
 
Well I bought one. It is a police version with an 18" barrel and overall it is in very nice condition. As soon as it comes home it will get a detail strip and thorough cleaning. I have Patrick Sweeney's Gunsmithing:Shotguns book on the way to help me with the mechanicals and potential part replacement. I'm pretty excited!
 
I have my Grandfathers 1937 remmy mod 11. It has a Nydor sight on it. Never seen one before this one. Not ever seen one since. It is a very early holo sight that uses ambient light to present a target.

Took it dove hunting last year. Couldn't hit a bird till I removed it.

Oleg took a picture of it not too long ago.

dotsight.sized.jpg


Sweet shooter, and simple to work on should you ever need to. If you can dissasemble an 870, this one is not bad. Make sure you have the recoil spring set to match your loads.

Edit: One day I will learn to spell, It just ain't today.
 
You might want to hold off on shooting the Nydar. The glue that holds the lense in tends to let go with age. Ive handled one and I have to say, considering the era, awesome sight. Always wanted to try one on a 10-22.
 
i have a M11 that is roll engraved with the legend "Sportsman" on the right side of the receiver. it only holds two in the magazine. offered by the factory about when the three shot limitation became law. it has the safety button in the ttrigger guard, if that means anything.

i bought it, used, in 1948, in pristine condition, after the M48 was offered. i liked the "humpless" 48, but my yardmowing income curtailed my buying of a new shotgun or any new gun.

it had a Nydor sight on it. this sight, i was told, was invented by the man that developed the Norton bombsite of WW11 fame. it was/is mostly a rangefinder, for duck hunting, and not primarily a sight. story was that the circle in the sight corresponded with a Mallard duck's wingtips at a distance of 40 yards, the socalled optimum range to kill said duck. i too, took the sight off after using it for a short period of time. i was disappointed when i could not hit a sitting squirrel, much less a passing dove. removing the rangefinder sight reverted the M11 to what it was, a dasmn fine shotgun. it and i have lived happily ever since. quite an upgrade from a single shot 20 guage. i have always loved it and have taken especially good care of it, therefore, it is in about the same condition as when i got it it is not for sale.

in the late 50s i came into another M11, an old warhorse that had the bbl cut down and an adjustable, Polychoke, on the end of it. it kinda worked as advertised. i swapped it off for a Colt Match Target ,22 pistol with 4" and 6" bbls. i wish to heck i had them both back, but, that was back when guns were tools and not collectibles. not so, now that i am much older.

if you run across a M11 at any reasonable price, consider picking it up.
and, be sure to pay attention to the friction ring for high and low brass loads.
these old guns work as well now as they did back when they were state of the art, and, that is very well.
 
Sounds like a good one, happy old sailor. You wrote,
it has the safety button in the trigger guard, if that means anything.
Click to expand...
Just like demusn1979's, pictured above, right? Mine is that way, too. According to the article at the link I posted above,

{here it is again}

this design was replaced in 1928 by a crossbolt safety behind the trigger. However, it also says that the Sportsman was introduced in 1930. I'm going to guess that yours would have been made not long after that. In any case, there's a list of serial numbers and dates of manufacture on page 5 of the article.
 
My Remington Model 11 came to me as an inheritance from my uncle. It turns out that it was made in 1942. When I got it, it had a light coating of rust covering all the metal, with a couple of mild bulges in the long, full choked barrel. I found a spare barrel and someone to restore it. It now has a 25” barrel, with removable choke tubes, an MMC rear sight, an AO front sight on a Williams base, and shoots slugs into nice groups at 50 yds. I also have an extended magazine for it for use in IPSC 3-gun matches. It is nicely finished in a mat blue finish, and the wood looks great. I have put an inexpensive Ramline front forearm on it to prevent splitting of the nice wood forearm.
 
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