Easy Repair for 1100

[Clemson]

I had a problem with my 20 gauge Remington 1100 that I would like to share. Shells became difficult to load into the magazine. It fed and operated fine once loaded, but loading that first shell into the magazine took variable effort -- sometimes a hard push and sometimes a Herculean shove. This gun is a 15 year old LT20, and it has always given me good service. I was perplexed, and I took it apart to see if I could find a problem. Nothing apparent, but the stiff loading continued. Finally I ordered a new magazine spring and follower from Brownells. The old follower (a piece of black plastic) was somewhat scratched up looking, and the spring was kinked from previous assembly-dissassembly forays. The new follower from Brownells is colored orange -- a useful safety feature. After reassembly the problem was solved. Apparently the old follower was dragging on the latch enough to make shell insertion a real pain. I note that Brownells has a Stainless Steel follower for 20 gauge 1100's for sale in their latest flyer (the one that came with my parts). Others must have had this problem also.

By the way, inserting a magazine spring into a magazine can be a royal pain. I inserted a 5/16 dowel into the spring and then put the works into the magazine. I was able to slide the spring off the dowel without kinking the spring at all.