New to shotguns, basic questions

ndking1126 · January 5, 2009, 12:14 AM

I spend most of my time over in the Rifle section, but I have inherited my grandfather's Remington 11-48 after he passed away. I don't really know anything about shotguns.

First question, is there anything I need to look for before taking it to the range? I know if you pull the bolt back it will stay. When you hit the bolt release button, it slides forward. I've cleaned the barrel out and it looks pretty good.

I shot this once when I was hunting as a kid. It was probably 15 yrs ago, everything worked normally then.

2nd question, is that pitting on the barrel? I've heard of the term, but don't know what it is. Is this something that structurally weakens the barrel?

3rd question, I've read this shotgun completely changed the way shotguns were designed, but I was looking for just general comments... do you like them? Were they reliable? etc, etc.

Thanks!

Scattergun Bob · January 5, 2009, 12:55 AM

Congrads on the 11-48

This was the first new shotgun design produced by Remington after WWII. It is basically a light weight profile receiver wrapped around the proven john browning recoiling barrel design. It incorporated an attempt at recoil "taming" called a "self compensating recoil reducer system". This scattergun hit the fields in 1949 and was around in inventory until the late 1960's. As you call tell by the receiver profile it is the test bed for the gas operated 1100 so in a sense it is still going today.

If I were you I would strip down this gun and make sure that there is no buildup of debris in the receiver before going to the the range. here is a link to a online owners manual.
http://stevespages.com/pdf/remington_1148.pdf

The pitting on the barrel can be a issue, however your picture does not show enough detail. If the pitting is deep into the metal of the barrel, I would have it looked at! With half a million of these fine shotguns produced, there must be many spare barrels around.

My agency had a couple of 11-48R models when I first came on board. I remember shooting them and they worked as advertised.

Good Luck & Be Safe

ndking1126 · January 5, 2009, 01:16 AM

Quote:

a online owners manual.

Spectacular. I saw some on ebay, but free is better. The smaller wording I can't see, but I'm fairly mechanically inclined, so I'm sure it's plenty.

I'm unemployed currently and my wife is a teacher and goes back to school tomorrow. To reserve a spot at daycare for my daughter we had to send her back now even though I could stay at home and take care of her. I'm sure I could find some time to get it apart and cleaned in the next few days.

Thanks for the reply. More comments welcomed!

Scattergun Bob · January 5, 2009, 01:30 AM

the link is to a PDF document so you can look at the tool bar and there is a window to make the page bigger!

Dave McC · January 5, 2009, 08:17 AM

Nice shotgun.A coupla things....

11-48s in varied gauges were used for skeet by lots of folks. They held up under high round counts and some are still in use today.

A friend has one in 20 gauge with a Cutts installed. It may be the loudest shotgun in the county but it has little kick and busts clays very well indeed.

As with all JMB designs, the 11-48 depends on tight tolerances but takes over engineering to the level of Art. Neither your nor your kids will wear it out, though some small parts like springs may need replacing someday.

Some deep cleaning and lubing is called for. Same with conservation, you have a piece of your heritage there.

HTH....

ndking1126 · January 7, 2009, 02:06 PM

Alright, got the shotgun taken apart and it was surprisingly clean. No doubt it had been cleaned before being stored for all these years.

Everything seemed kosher (to my untrained eye) except one thing. When the bolt is pulled back, the shiny metal cover to the firing mechanism will move slightly back and forth if you tip the gun up or down. Now the metal piece that your finger rests on when you pull the whole bolt back doesn't move, and it doesn't feel or sound like anything inside of the shiny cover is moving. Just the shiny metal cover. (Obviously shotgun terminology isn't my thing, I apologize!!)

Any concerns with that? I appreciate your help as right now I am unemployed and a trip to the gunsmith wouldn't sit well with my wife. If it's necessary, that's what we'll do, but I'm trying to gain as much knowledge as possible and hopefully avoid that trip.

hogdogs · January 7, 2009, 02:21 PM

ND, Do-ma-hicky, gizmo, thing-a-ma-jig and other such terms are scientific terms that work well... them exact names are for the miscreant, knuckle draggin' folks trying to look smarter than they really are! Seriously... in no time at all you will know an automatic is a machine gun and an auto loader is a dern fine shotgun. Levers, rails and bars all get a word stuck in front of them and in no time you will know them all!
Brent

January 5, 2009, 12:14 AM	#1
ndking1126 Senior Member Join Date: January 26, 2008 Location: Madison, AL Posts: 1,932	New to shotguns, basic questions I spend most of my time over in the Rifle section, but I have inherited my grandfather's Remington 11-48 after he passed away. I don't really know anything about shotguns. First question, is there anything I need to look for before taking it to the range? I know if you pull the bolt back it will stay. When you hit the bolt release button, it slides forward. I've cleaned the barrel out and it looks pretty good. I shot this once when I was hunting as a kid. It was probably 15 yrs ago, everything worked normally then. 2nd question, is that pitting on the barrel? I've heard of the term, but don't know what it is. Is this something that structurally weakens the barrel? 3rd question, I've read this shotgun completely changed the way shotguns were designed, but I was looking for just general comments... do you like them? Were they reliable? etc, etc. Thanks!

January 5, 2009, 12:55 AM	#2
Scattergun Bob Senior Member Join Date: February 29, 2008 Location: Nine Mile Falls, Washington Posts: 1,186	ndking1126 Congrads on the 11-48 This was the first new shotgun design produced by Remington after WWII. It is basically a light weight profile receiver wrapped around the proven john browning recoiling barrel design. It incorporated an attempt at recoil "taming" called a "self compensating recoil reducer system". This scattergun hit the fields in 1949 and was around in inventory until the late 1960's. As you call tell by the receiver profile it is the test bed for the gas operated 1100 so in a sense it is still going today. If I were you I would strip down this gun and make sure that there is no buildup of debris in the receiver before going to the the range. here is a link to a online owners manual. http://stevespages.com/pdf/remington_1148.pdf The pitting on the barrel can be a issue, however your picture does not show enough detail. If the pitting is deep into the metal of the barrel, I would have it looked at! With half a million of these fine shotguns produced, there must be many spare barrels around. My agency had a couple of 11-48R models when I first came on board. I remember shooting them and they worked as advertised. Good Luck & Be Safe __________________ First, with the most, WINS! Regards, Scattergun Bob Last edited by Scattergun Bob; January 6, 2009 at 10:31 AM.

January 5, 2009, 01:30 AM	#4
Scattergun Bob Senior Member Join Date: February 29, 2008 Location: Nine Mile Falls, Washington Posts: 1,186	ndking1126 the link is to a PDF document so you can look at the tool bar and there is a window to make the page bigger! __________________ First, with the most, WINS! Regards, Scattergun Bob

January 7, 2009, 02:06 PM	#6
ndking1126 Senior Member Join Date: January 26, 2008 Location: Madison, AL Posts: 1,932	Follow up Alright, got the shotgun taken apart and it was surprisingly clean. No doubt it had been cleaned before being stored for all these years. Everything seemed kosher (to my untrained eye) except one thing. When the bolt is pulled back, the shiny metal cover to the firing mechanism will move slightly back and forth if you tip the gun up or down. Now the metal piece that your finger rests on when you pull the whole bolt back doesn't move, and it doesn't feel or sound like anything inside of the shiny cover is moving. Just the shiny metal cover. (Obviously shotgun terminology isn't my thing, I apologize!!) Any concerns with that? I appreciate your help as right now I am unemployed and a trip to the gunsmith wouldn't sit well with my wife. If it's necessary, that's what we'll do, but I'm trying to gain as much knowledge as possible and hopefully avoid that trip.

January 5, 2009, 08:17 AM	#5
Dave McC Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 13, 1999 Location: Columbia, Md, USA Posts: 8,811	Nice shotgun.A coupla things.... 11-48s in varied gauges were used for skeet by lots of folks. They held up under high round counts and some are still in use today. A friend has one in 20 gauge with a Cutts installed. It may be the loudest shotgun in the county but it has little kick and busts clays very well indeed. As with all JMB designs, the 11-48 depends on tight tolerances but takes over engineering to the level of Art. Neither your nor your kids will wear it out, though some small parts like springs may need replacing someday. Some deep cleaning and lubing is called for. Same with conservation, you have a piece of your heritage there. HTH....

January 7, 2009, 02:21 PM	#7
hogdogs Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 31, 2007 Location: Western Florida panhandle Posts: 11,069	ND, Do-ma-hicky, gizmo, thing-a-ma-jig and other such terms are scientific terms that work well... them exact names are for the miscreant, knuckle draggin' folks trying to look smarter than they really are! Seriously... in no time at all you will know an automatic is a machine gun and an auto loader is a dern fine shotgun. Levers, rails and bars all get a word stuck in front of them and in no time you will know them all! Brent