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Old September 15, 2010, 07:39 PM   #1
Noonan
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Remington 1100 - How often to clean?

I have an old 1100 that belonged to my grandfather. This past winter, I cleaned it up real good and replaced the o-rings and gas piston. It is working great now, and I am wondering how often should I disassemble it and do a thorough cleaning. I clean the barrel after every hunt, just wondering about the inside of the receiver, bolt, etc. I don't want to take it apart too often.
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Old September 16, 2010, 11:04 AM   #2
oneounceload
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I clean mine after every session - at least as far as the gas ports, barrel, and removing the bolt and carrier. The trigger group I do about every three sessions or so. For ME, a session is 4-6 rounds of 5-stand or a round of sporting clays. I have found if I let it get TOO gunked up, after a bout 6-8 boxes, I start to get a FTE now and again
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Old September 16, 2010, 11:46 AM   #3
Scorch
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Quote:
I am wondering how often should I disassemble it and do a thorough cleaning.
I used to shoot in a trap/skeet league, and the range that had Rem 1100 rental shotguns that got fired pretty much daily (the manager was a retired Marine). Guns that were fired got put in a separate rack so they could be cleaned by the range workers at the end of the day. So they pretty much cleaned them every 50 or 100 shells fired, I would guess. Never saw one malfunction.

I also used to shoot at a different gun range that had Rem 1100 rental shotguns that got fired pretty much daily and they cleaned theirs about once a week. Saw lots of stoppages in those.

So the moral of the story seems to be if you have a Rem 1100, clean it after each session, whether that's 1 round or 100.
Quote:
I don't want to take it apart too often.
I am not sure you can take it apart "too often" for cleaning. But if you do, watch out for the sharp edges inside the receiver.

Cleaning the 1100 should involve stripping the shotgun (remove forearm, gas system parts, remove barrel, remove trigger group), scrub inside and out with solvent, wipe off the gas O-ring and piston, clear the gas ports, lube with a light grease, and reassembly.
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Old September 16, 2010, 11:48 AM   #4
oneounceload
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Just remember, if you take the trigger group out, the the pins both go out one way and in one way - lay them out somehow so you remember (and put the safety on when you do this to prevent the trigger from releasing)
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Old September 16, 2010, 12:17 PM   #5
zippy13
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Scorch is on the mark with his warning about sharp edges within the 1100's receiver. I got sliced the first time I took mine down.

With respect to cleaning frequency, the Remington Owner's Manual says:
Make it a practice to clean your bore every time you're going to shoot. Be sure to clean your entire gun before and after long-term storage and no less than once a year. It's also important to clean your gun whenever it's been exposed to adverse conditions such as rain, dirt, mud, snow, sleet or salt water.
It seems you could follow Remington's guidelines and still have your gun get mucked up shooting under normal conditions between periods of long-term storage. Oneounceload and Scorch may have more realistic cleaning schedules. The last time I shot my 1100, it was less than box of shells and then back to storage. After that I cleaned the bore, bolt and gas works -- the trigger group stayed in, but was misted with RemOil.
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Old September 16, 2010, 12:28 PM   #6
BigJimP
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My friends that shoot 1100's - say they need to be thoroughly cleaned after every 100 rounds ...or you are risking some malfunctions / especially in competition.

Its the nature of the beast - on gas operated guns - that you need to take them apart and clean them thoroughly ...but after you've done it a dozen times, its pretty easy as well. But I have to tell you .....its another reason I shoot a Benelli Super Sport instead of a gas gun when I shoot a semi-auto...(inertia guns shoot way cleaner / and are much easier to fully strip and clean ) ....and a reason all of my primary guns are O/U's instead of pumps or semi-autos ...especially if the boys or some of the grandkids go to the range with me ....cleaning 4 gas guns would drive me nuts vs cleaning or supervising cleaning 4 O/U's ....
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Old September 16, 2010, 09:05 PM   #7
Noonan
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Thanks for the input guys. I'm going to use this gun for doves and ducks this season, so I'll probably break it down and scrub every 100 rounds or so. I have already been sliced - that won't happen again I assure you.
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Old September 16, 2010, 09:13 PM   #8
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It depends on what loads you are running through an 1100.. I've had mine go 250 rounds without a hiccup using good target ammo.. I've had it choke after using only two boxes of a dirtier than usual batch of Remington game loads..
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Old September 17, 2010, 02:09 PM   #9
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To echo .300Wby, I think that ammo quality is a larger factor than ammo quantity.

Growing up, I shot a lot of skeet with my dad. Enough to go from zero to "pretty good." We'd run a patch down the bbl, wipe it down with lemon oil, and put it up. It was lubed with lemon oil or WD40, depending on circumstances.

I just didn't know any better as a kid and the only repeater my dad had ever owned up to that point was a bolt-action JC Higgins.

What saved my bacon was that my dad knew a guy who could get us some really nice, clean-shooting loads cheap (wholesale). I recall disassembling it once as a kid, without the aid of a manual, and going over it in detail (but still didn't remove the trigger group). No internet download of the manual in those days.

I know better nowadays and it is my HD shotgun. I shoot it periodically, but only give it a detail cleaning once a year (replacing the O-ring at this time), as I'd rather not remove my mag ext, & tac light more often (and causing a change in POI).

After each session, I wipe it down, scrub the bbl, and clean out the receiver pretty well with swabs & pipe cleaners. I also use quality ammo, not Wally World bulk packs that seem loaded with "explosive dirt."

I doubt I'd get away with that using crap ammo. I've sen similar things with centerfire pistol ammo. Winchester white box or Wolf makes it look like I'm shooting black powder out of my 1911. Good quality stuff leave little residue.
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