Remington 1100 .410 26 February, 2001



Remington’s 1100 has been with us now for upwards of 35 years. And with the exception of a small break
in production sometime in the 90’s it has remained largely the same throughout that time. This of course points to the fact that it has been a classic design that has required little or nothing to improve it during that time.

In many ways the 1100 has set many of the trends for autos that other manufacturers have only begun to catch up with in very recent years. Particularly, I mean the fact that the 1100 was the first and for many years the only auto to be made in competition configurations as well as field versions.

In the USA where the 1100 reigned supreme for many years, the clay disciplines were mainly skeet but also some trap shooting. And as the auto was, and to a degree still is, the favoured type of gun for many American shooters, so the 1100 had to evolve into skeet and trap models. Sporting clay shooting has only just started to take off in the USA, so for general purpose shooting, the field gun was the most popular model.

Over here in East Anglia we have always been great supporters of the 1100. I think that this is due in part to the fact until the thaw in the cold war we had a great number of US Air Force bases around us; all of which had gun clubs that shot skeet. Consequently a number of 1100 guns found their way over here, and found a great deal of favour amongst the natives.
Of course it must be remembered that at that time competitors to the 1100 were, although very functional, such as the Browning auto five, the Breda, and the Franchi hunter. All were recoil operated which seems clumsy compared to the gas system of the 1100. But not only that they high backed actions to some degree or another. However you look at it, none were as attractive as the 1100 with its smooth rounded action back. Not least also was the enviable handling of the 1100.
Some would argue that there has yet to be another auto built that will handle as well as an 1100, even by Remington. I’ve made it sound like the perfect auto but they were perhaps not that. They certainly handle better than any other, perhaps that is why Remington brought the gun back when the 11-87 couldn’t quite fill it’s shoes.

Perhaps the thing that let the gun down was its reliability; though in fairness we should remember that the gun was designed to work with 32 gram shells. Also it depended on good case quality to feed at its best.

The gas piston assembly and seals need to be kept clean and at their best to work correctly. Plenty of oil is also needed to keep things moving smoothly. Gas ports also need to be kept very clean so that the optimum amount of gas is let through to give the mechanism the biggest boost possible. The piston seal is subject to a great deal of heat and pressure and so it needs replacing every so often unless very well looked after.

Certain parts do break and need replacing, such as the extractor claw, the bolt link and the forend support. Though these parts are relatively inexpensive, and are easily obtained and fitted.

One feature perhaps unique to the 1100 is that it has been made in nearly all common shotgun gauges and some rifle calibres as well.

Not only that but each gauge was scaled to give the relative weight and handling characteristics correctly for that calibre. I am not sure but I think that I can once remember seeing a 16 gauge 1100. But certainly they have been made in 20, 28 and 410. It is a 410 that is the gun in this month’s second-hand gun test.

This particular gun is about 20 years old although it is difficult to be exact as there is no clear way to date them from the serial number. However this gun is in exceptionally good condition for its age and has done very little work. It is a skeet gun and the last owner was a very good skeet shot a few years ago, and had this gun for NASA skeet in the small gauge discipline.

The gun has a 25” barrel which sounds very short, but on a 410 looks perfectly in proportion as this gun is so well scaled and is very elegant for an auto. The stock length is a fraction over 14” and is still finished with its original butt plate, but for some reason doesn’t feel too short when the gun is shouldered.

The barrel is fitted with a ventilated top rib which is parallel and a fraction over 7mm wide. Its top surface is very lightly matted to reduce glare. It has a white foresight and is also fitted with a silver mid bead. Strangely, I thought, it is chambered for 2 ½ inch cartridges only; as a 410 and more particularly an American built gun I would expect to see 3 inch chambers, but not so.
My guess is that the gun will only perform at its best with very good quality and fairly lively ammunition in order to work the mechanism.

Mechanically the gun is very similar to the 12 gauge version, but with all the parts scaled down proportionately. The receiver is finished in a deep gloss black, classic on American guns. This goes for all the other metal parts with the exception of the bolt and the floor plate release, which are bright silver.
The receiver has pressed in scroll engraving, which helps to break up an otherwise plain area.
The gun has been restricted to comply with the magazine restriction regulations. This was carried out in 1989 as indicated by the proof mark, which is when this legislation was introduced.
The woodwork is in extremely good condition and has very few marks on it. It still has the original glossy varnish finish that is common to Remington, and has their classic pistol grip cap still in place.
The chequer pattern is classic of Remington; very decorative with the fleur-de-lis motif. But it is pressed onto the wood rather than cut so it has quite a smooth feel.
The stock drop is 2 3/8” which is quite a large drop and the gun does shoulder very flat, but then again
it is a skeet gun and so should do as some targets will be dropping when they are shot at.
This is a gun in virtually unused condition and combined with the fact that it is so unusual it will command
a good price, probably some where in the region of £450- £500.

[ back to top ]