Tactical Shotgun: Upgrading Your Remington 1100

Few tasks really feel extra private than engaged on a firearm that has been round so long as you may have. My Remington 1100 got here into the world within the early ’80s. It carries the damage of trustworthy use and the quiet reliability that made the design a favourite for generations of hunters. I’ve at all times loved tinkering, which implies I hardly ever depart something precisely as I purchased it. That features weapons. After I lastly dedicated to giving my 1100 a set of tactical upgrades, I needed the method to really feel purposeful. I needed to reinforce its utility for the woods the place I hunt. I needed a shotgun that would tackle home-defense obligation when wanted. I didn’t wish to erase its roots.

Engaged on a platform just like the 1100 provides a selected type of satisfaction. It has a historical past price appreciating. It shoots easily due to a fuel system that softens recoil. It has served clay shooters, hunters, and opponents throughout the nation, and has been one of many best-selling autoloading shotguns in American historical past. Many people grew up seeing them in fields, duck blinds, and behind closet doorways. Working with one seems like a small dialog throughout time.

This mission began as a curiosity. It ended as a reminder that previous instruments can adapt to the occasions with a bit endurance and the proper components.

Basic Remington 1100 earlier than upgrades

A Transient Historical past of the 1100

Launched within the early ’60s, the Remington 1100 adopted a line of gas-operated designs that paved the way in which for smoother-shooting autoloaders. Earlier fashions used totally different techniques, however the 1100 refined lots of these concepts. Its fuel system bleeds strain from ports close to the forend. That strain drives a sleeve across the journal tube. The motion cycles the motion and units the subsequent shell in place. It fires normal 2¾-inch shells with out adjustment on most variations. Magnum variants deal with heavier hundreds as effectively.

These options gave on a regular basis shooters a softer recoil impulse. That mattered for lengthy days within the area or the vary. Hunters and goal shooters alike seen the distinction. By the early ’80s, the 1100 had change into the dominant autoloading shotgun within the nation when it comes to gross sales. Manufacturing continued by way of quite a few variations and particular editions. Anniversary fashions appeared. Artificial competitors fashions joined the road. Tens of millions of 1100s sit in closets and safes in the present day — nonetheless able to work.

My very own instance started life as an ordinary area gun. It got here with a protracted chook barrel and easy wooden furnishings. It pointed simply and swung with a well-recognized really feel that introduced again recollections of my early hunts. However modifying one thing like this carries accountability. You need enchancment whereas respecting it for what made the design nice.

It doesn’t take very many instruments to disassemble, add new parts, and reassemble. All of those are more likely to be discovered at your native ironmongery store.

Why Construct a Tactical 1100

Individuals improve weapons for various causes. Some desire a defensive setup that matches their dwelling. Others desire a instrument that adapts between a number of roles with out switching platforms. I needed a shotgun that tracked deer the place I hunt, however I additionally needed that very same gun to deal with dwelling safety if wanted. My plan required a set of tactical equipment that would shift between barrels and provides me constant ergonomics. I most popular to construct the setup myself fairly than purchase a premade tactical 1100. For me, half the enjoyment sits within the course of.

Upgrading an older shotgun modifications its presence. Black artificial furnishings, {a magazine} extension, a rail for an optic—this stuff add operate, but in addition they alter how the gun seems. A tactical look alerts goal and should ship the improper message within the area. Deer and birds don’t care, however folks do. An all-black shotgun can draw consideration at a rural fuel station or in brush nation. You may want that for a defensive function. You may not need it if you end up carrying your grandfather’s previous chook gun into the woods.

That stress pushed me towards an answer that gave me tactical options however softened the visible impression. I needed the components to mix into the woods, however I additionally needed a firearm that also felt like a hunter’s instrument fairly than one thing constructed for breaching a door. That need finally steered me towards a easy camouflage paint job for the brand new parts.

Tearing down a the Remington 1100 semi-auto shotgun could appear a bit extra complicated than a carbine, bolt-action rifle, or handgun, however it’s pretty easy. Organizing the components in a scientific approach will make reassembly a lot simpler.

Breaking it Down

Engaged on the 1100 begins with a fundamental area strip. You begin by eradicating the forend and taking off the barrel. The fuel system parts slide off the journal tube. Eradicating the set off group is simple after pushing out its retaining pins. Then, you separate the inventory for those who plan to interchange it. There’s a particular instrument that exists for taking off the nut within the backside of the inventory. However for those who don’t have that available, you possibly can improvise with an impression driver and a 5/8 flat boring bit.

As soon as the shotgun sits in its field-stripped state, you possibly can lay out the parts you propose so as to add. A tactical construct often wants a shorter barrel, an prolonged journal, a rail system, and a inventory that brings higher management beneath stress. My aim was a versatile system that felt the identical whether or not I carried it for searching or saved it staged for dwelling safety.

Wooden parts give the Remington 1100 its basic, old-timey aesthetic. Whereas there may be nothing improper with this, trendy artificial components will enhance grip, management, and sturdiness.

Reassembly follows the identical order as elimination. The brand new inventory attaches on the rear of the receiver. The brand new forend slides in because the barrel seats over the journal tube. The extension threads on after the barrel and forend lock in place. The provider and rail mount on high of the receiver. None of those steps change the inner operation of the shotgun. They merely give the consumer extra choices for dealing with, sighting, and loading.

What issues most is a mindset of moderation. Since this shotgun was gifted to me by my father, I didn’t wish to paint over the manufacturing unit receiver, barrel, or unique journal tube. These remained untouched, preserving the historical past of the gun, and defending its worth. The unique wooden inventory and forend relaxation safely in storage.

Tactical 1100 Construct

For my searching construct, I needed a sturdy inventory with improved management. I selected the Mesa Tactical Urbino. It shortens the size of pull and brings the gun into the shoulder extra naturally when carrying layers. The Choate journal extension provides capability with out extra weight. The Khyber Optics MDO Mini Dot offers me a transparent sight image in dim woods. The Choate tactical forend offers higher grip when palms develop chilly.
These items work collectively to remodel the texture of the 1100. You get faster goal acquisition. You get higher dealing with in tight bushes. You additionally get a shotgun that appears markedly totally different from the one which sat in your grandfather’s protected. That visible shift is why ending touches matter.

My unique 1100 carried heat wooden tones that blended into the sector with out effort. The artificial replacements confirmed up darkish and daring. They solid a tactical silhouette that appeared misplaced within the woods or out within the fields. That distinction impressed me to color the brand new components in a camo sample modeled after the setting I’m surrounded by.

If portray a element feels intimidating, observe on a chunk of scrap paper or cardboard field. And for those who paint a chunk and it’s to not your liking, you possibly can at all times begin over. A number of further layers of paint gained’t harm it.

Mixing In

Camo paint could make or break the look of a construct. It may possibly additionally soften the presence of a tactical shotgun when searching. Rust-Oleum’s Camouflage line works effectively for this as a result of the end eliminates shine. I like colours that match native terrain: sand, darkish earth, darkish inexperienced. These create a pure palette. The paint helps the shotgun seem much less aggressive and lets me mix in whereas sitting quietly within the brush.
When portray camo, I like to start out with the colours I’d wish to be essentially the most outstanding: tan for grassy brush, and darkish inexperienced for leafy vegetation. Gentle colours on the underside and darkish colours on the highest mimic the shades of creatures that roam the land. I then use darkish earth and the stencil supplies to make the patterns pop.

Portray a set of parts requires endurance and the proper supplies. It additionally requires a mild contact. You need your sample to really feel natural. You need it to appear like it belongs outside. I exploit native vegetation as stencils as a result of they create gentle edges that mimic pure shapes.
As soon as the items dry, a matte clear enamel helps defend the end from scratches and moisture. Put on will nonetheless come over time. That’s a part of the attraction. A shotgun ought to look used. It ought to document seasons and moments. Paint merely helps it try this for a bit longer.

The Remington 1100 Tactical Shotgun Upgraded for House Protection

Closing Ideas

Constructing a tactical 1100 demonstrates the worth of adaptation. Previous weapons have tales. Additionally they have potential. With endurance and a lightweight contact, a basic area shotgun can step into new roles with out shedding its previous. My 1100 now handles searching season and residential safety with equal confidence. It blends into the comb in a approach that respects each the land and the individuals who transfer by way of it. All it wanted was considerate upgrades, a bit paint, and an appreciation for what it as soon as was. Anybody can comply with an analogous path. That’s the fantastic thing about working with a platform that has served hundreds of thousands of shooters throughout generations.

Remington 1100 Tactical Shotgun Giant Sport/House-Protection Construct

By incorporating a shorter, threaded barrel, this setup is healthier suited to searching massive creatures with slugs. An additional bonus is that it has entrance and rear sight posts illuminated by fiber threads for a bit aiming redundancy. Including a lightweight to the forend will gentle up a room if wanted to seek out intruders at midnight.

• Gun: Remington 1100, circa 1984
• Barrel: 21-inch threaded barrel
• Inventory: Mesa Tactical Urbino Tactical Inventory
• Shell Service: Mesa Tactical SureShell Shotshell Service with Picatinny rail
• Journal: Briley +6 spherical magazine extension
• Forend: Choate Tactical Forend
• Gentle: Streamlight ProTac 2.0 RM
• Optic: Khyber Optics MDO Mini Dot

Remington 1100 Tactical Shotgun Chicken Searching Construct

Though it is a little heavier and takes up extra room, the additional size retains shot patterns tighter at additional distances. This makes it extra deadly when searching recreation birds, and makes hitting clay pigeons a bit simpler.

• Gun: Remington: 1100, circa 1984
• Barrel: 30-inch easy bore
• Inventory: Mesa Tactical Urbino Tactical Inventory
• Shell Service: Mesa Tactical SureShell Shotshell Service with full-length Picatinny rail
• Journal: Choate 7 Shot Magazine extension
• Forend: Choate Tactical Forend
• Optic: Khyber Optics MDO Mini Dot

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Editor’s Notice: This text has been modified from its unique model for the net.

Written by Patrick Diedrich