So what is the deal with my barrel? Is it safe to shoot?

[hometheaterman]

I purchased a Remington 1100 Magnum with a 30" barrel with a fixed full choke yesterday. It was in amazing shape on the outside. 3 small scratches on the wood and no scratches I've seen on the outside of the metal. The inside of the receiver looked perfect too. This gun really looked almost brand new despite being 31 years old according to Remington. When I looked down the bore I noticed it had a few pieces of dust or dirt or something but it was super shiny other than that. I figured from sitting in a gun safe and a gun sock before I got it maybe it was just dirt or dust as I've seen this stuff in my other guns when they have sat for a few weeks. I didn't think much of it.

Anyway, I shot it 8 times today to see how it did. It shot fine. I shot 2 loads of bird shot through it, 5 rounds of Winchester 00 buckshot, and 1 round of Remington 000 buckshot just to pattern it.

I came home today and cleaned it to notice that it seemed to be a piece of dirt or something in the barrel that wouldn't come out. I tried a few more patches thinking it was dirt but it wouldn't come out. So I stuck the cleaning rod down in the barrel to feel and you could feel it's like a nick in the inside of the barrel. The cleaning rod will catch on the nick there. It's right around where on the outside is the band part that slides over the gun when you put the barrel on. It's about in a spot like that on the inside. It's hard to tell how deep the nick is but it is a nick in there.

Is this thing safe to shoot or do I risk having a barrel failure? Should I worry about it or is it no big deal?

I had a friend look at it and he didn't know either but said he had never seen anything like that on a gun that nice so we don't know how in the world it got there. No other gun I've ever seen has had any nicks on the inside. He said he had seen them but they were rusty and worn out. Where as this thing is about perfect other than this.

What's the deal with this?

 

[DaleCooper51]

It sounds to me like you might be describing the gas port.

Is the nick on the bottom near where the barrel support ring is?

 

[Jorg Nysgerrig]

I think Dale nailed it, sure sounds like the gas port to me.

 

[hometheaterman]

Yep it's hard to tell exactly where it is but it looks like it's close to being almost right over the barrel support ring. Would you see the gas port inside the barrel?

 

[DaleCooper51]

Yes you would see the gas port in the barrel. It is used to divert some of the gas to cycle the gun. One way to tell is to take some spray cleaner and blast out your gas port (the small hole at the top on the inside of the support ring). If it is indeed your gas port, you will see some of the cleaner in the barrel.

 

[Jorg Nysgerrig]

Would you see the gas port inside the barrel?

Yes, the gas port is located inside the barrel.

You should download the manual and look at page 16/picture 27 to see where the gas hole is: http://www.remington.com/pdfs/om/om_11001187.pdf

 

[hometheaterman]

It's the gas port. It had me worried. I found the gas port on the bottom and stuck a paper clip through it and it came out in the barrel. Would it be any damage from feeling it with the cleaning rod earlier or should it be fine? Thanks for all the help guys.

 

[hometheaterman]

One more question. How strong are the barrels on these things? I read a thread on another site about a shotgun not a Remington but it was a well known brand having had the barrel blow up in the guys hand due to what he claimed was inferior metal. It was a old thread but I just read it the other day so it has me paranoid.

I noticed on the outside of the barrel it has a tiny nick too. Almost like it just hit something sharp or something. Just a small like indention/nick. Is this fine?
This gun literally has like 4 scratches on it including that spot. 2 tiny scratches on the stock and one small scratch on the forearm the guy selling it had to point out as I didn't see it and I was looking.

I'm amazed this thing is in this good of shape for that old of a gun. I doubt I will be able to keep it near this nice. Only one can hope.

 

[KenWP]

Good thing you asked and never plugged the hole up with something. I never actually looked in the barrel of a shotgun that well to even notice the port.

 

[Fred Fuller]

R e l a x . . .

And enjoy the gun. You haven't hurt anything with the cleaning rod, and a tiny ding on the outside of the barrel isn't going to hurt anything either.

Just don't:

-fall down/drop the gun, plug the barrel with mud and then shoot it without clearing the bore.

-wash a shell or two in some of your hunting clothes, fail to notice when you get a PFFT instead of a Boom! when you pull the trigger, run the action and fire another shell into the wad and half the load of shot still in the barrel from the wet shell.

-drop a 20 gauge shell into a 12 gauge chamber, fail to check the chamber when you ge a CLICK instead of a BOOM, chamber a 12 gauge shell on top of the 20 that's stuck in the forcing cone, and pull the trigger (same thing will work with a 28 gauge in a 20 gauge BTW)

Those are the only things I have ever known of to burst a shotgun barrel, and NONE of them have anything to do with inferior metal, just inferior attention spans.

Follow normal precautions and all safety rules and you'll be fine. So will your shotgun.

lpl

 

[Steve C]

Shotgun barrels will not stand any obstruction in the barrel. I've seen a shotgun with burst barrel that had got a piece of swamp grass in it when the hunter didn't keep the barrel out of the foliage or he was using it to clear foliage.

 

[Sport45]

I came home today and cleaned it to notice that it seemed to be a piece of dirt or something in the barrel that wouldn't come out. I tried a few more patches thinking it was dirt but it wouldn't come out. So I stuck the cleaning rod down in the barrel to feel and you could feel it's like a nick in the inside of the barrel. The cleaning rod will catch on the nick there. It's right around where on the outside is the band part that slides over the gun when you put the barrel on. It's about in a spot like that on the inside. It's hard to tell how deep the nick is but it is a nick in there.

Don't feel bad. I spent a while trying to clean that last bit out of my 1100 barrel too before I figured out they were the gas ports.