Remington Sportsman 48 loads?

[.455_Hunter]

Greetings,

I have a 12 ga. Remington Sportsman 48 that I bought in 1998 for $120 to go on a Colorado pheasant hunt when my other 12 ga. was in Maryland. The gun shot real well, comparing favorably to the other guys with their fancy Weatherby O/Us. After a couple of years, I had a gunsmith drill out the mag tube dimples turning it from a 2+1 to a 4+1 (I will have to use a plug if I take it hunting again).

This gun has a recoil operated action of early design. It seems to me that if any gun would be fussy about loads, this would be it. Interestingly, the opposite is true. The gun has NEVER jammed with any 2 3/4" loads- light target, heavy field, “magnums", buckshot, slugs- they all cycle fine.

Is this gun a fluke?

Is there any load adjustment on the gun (in case of future problems)? I have heard people mention a "friction ring", but I am not sure what they are talking about.

Any insights from past or present Sportsman 48 or 11-48 owners would be welcome.

Thanks,

Hunter

 

[Superreverb]

I have an older Sportsman 48B in 20-gauge. I found this post to be very useful and very, very informative:

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=165598

Ed

 

[Rogmatt]

I have a Remington 11-48 in 16 Ga., an 11-48 in 12 Ga., and a Mohawk 48 in 12 Ga., they are extremely reliable.

 

[peteinct]

Sportsman 48 is a good gun

Hi, I have a sportsman 48 and I like it alot. It is well balanced and is a soft shooter. It's heavy so I don't know if it would be good to carry through the woods all day.

Hunter, the friction ring is a brass/bronze ring that sits next to the recoil spring around the magazine tube next under the fore arm. It has an arrow on it because it is supposed to be flipped over or moved when you change loads.

The only problem I had with mine is that I lost the bolt cocking handle. It is held in by a ball detent and it shook loose. I was able to get a replacement and remington sent me a photocopied manual and information packet for it.

Pete