Ryan N

Too late, I shipped the VM out yesterday. I miss that thing already.

I don't have Benny's VM, but I have read about and seen much about his work. I will be surprised if you are anything short of VERY happy with it. Congrats on your purchase.

Since your barrel is already 28", IMO there is no reason not to do at least a 10+1. Keep in mind that there are some matches that limit your mag tube capacity(Task Force Dagger is one of them). For matches with limiting capacities, just have a plug to limit the tube capacity. This will also make the last few rounds easier to load.

What was the trouble with yours? Did they solve the problem? I hope they don't replace my receiver. I have already opened up the loading port and welded up the lifter.

I never had any ammo issues with my 1100. It would shoot anything that I ran through it(even Winchester buik). I still have it since purchasing the Versamax. The 1100 is now my back up SG. My 1100 is a mostly stock Tac4. It came with the Competition Master loading gate. Some folk prefer the Daves Metal Works "Eazyloader". I prefer the Remingtion CM loading gate because it isn't something that can break off or get hung on something. Keep us posted on your upgrades. There are a few folks on here that still like the 1100.

Remington has issued a service request. My Versamax is going back to the mothership.

A recent discovery that my VM is hitting to the right has had me looking closer at the barrel. Tonight I noticed that the top of the vent rib is not machined parallel with the top of the receiver. I suspect that it is at least 5 degrees off. Weird. Here are a few photos that show a straight edge on the receiver flat and another on top of the vent rib. I have been super happy with this shotgun and I suspect that Remington will make it right. I plan to make a call to Remington tomorrow.

I actually have the means and ability to cut a dovetail for a rear sight. I may explore that option. I have also been temped to try to smack the barrel against a tree. I guess its the kind of thing in which you take the barrel off and smack it, put it together and shoot it, then take it off and smack is some more.

I suspect you might could have even shot 25 rounds without breakage. . Baby steps.

The front sight is solid as a rock. But I haven't removed the screw to see if there is a second pin holding the sight in place.

POI with slugs seems to plague even the greatest 3-gun SG. I have read numerous posts about folks smacking their barrel against a tree and now there seems to be a trueing technique that involves aligning how the mag tube is inserted into the receiver. I got a Versamax Tactical earlier this month. My 1st range trip showed that I was hitting POA with a slug of two at 50 yards. I called it good. But for some reason I am now hitting 4" to the right at 50 yards. I have checked my barrel with a straight edge and it appears to be straight. I have also checked the alignment of the mag tube with the receiver and it appears to be good(although I haven't put an indicator on it). I shot slugs with the barrel clamp on, barrel clamp off, mag tube tight and mag tube loose(made no difference in windage). My mid rib bead is right on center, but my front sight is off center to the right ~.010"(yes, to the right). I am considering moving the mid-bead to the left to correct this problem. My math tells me if I move my mid bead to the left ~.020 then my 4" error at 50yds will be corrected. There is 8.5" between the mid bead and front sight on my VM. I think its worth a shot, no real harm done trying it other than an extra hole in the rib. But the mid bead would be off center .020". Thoughts? I am intrigued by Kurt's invention, but moving the bead is something that I can easily do myself.

How easy it is to forget that this is the most important thing.

The only part besides the o ring that I have replaced on my 1100 is the interceptor latch retainer. Get the 3 pack from Brownells because it comes with varying thicknesses. I suggest going ahead and replacing it with the thickest one. The Brownells retainer seems stronger to me and should be less likely to remove itself from the gun in the middle of a stage.

They show a 24" right next to the 21" but it's a weird model number and the description is alarming. It is also just a little bit cheaper which is even more alarming.

Could this be the extractor relief cut in the barrel not being de-burred? What do the shells look like that are giving your trouble? Are there gouges in the case that are hanging up? If so, it could be the extractor groove is digging into the case just enough to cause FTF.

I have been using the same two 30 round windowed Pmags years now. But I have recently also began using 40 round Pmags. No problems. Funny things is that I kept buying Pmags for years, but I have yet to wear one out.

The edge on the extractor relief is not deburred from the factory. With access to most any tool, I deburred mine with a small half round file. You just don't want that edge to be sharp. Some folks get by with out doing this. I didn't want to chance it, so I deburred it. If you are running the stock mag spring(which is heavy), I would use both shell catch springs. The shell catch springs have to overcome the tension of the mag spring when you press the shell release to release a shell. This is more of a problem when the mag tube is all the way full and the mag spring is at max compression. I run a welded lifter, deburred extractor groove, stock mag spring and both shell release springs. My gun is still very new with less than 100 rounds through it.

Here's a couple of photos of the result. LOP is now 13 1/2". I marked all the way around the butt stock where I wanted to cut and then cut it with a hack saw, following the line all the way around (don't try to cut all the way through the complete buttstock). Make sure to remove the buttpad first so you can determine the max amount to remove (about 3/4") and still retain enough of the buttpad screw holes. You then need to remove material from the buttpad where it inserts into the butt stock. Once it will insert, put the screws in. I put 2 layers of blue painting tape on the butt stock and then sanded the pad to shape with a disk sander. I think I could do a better job of this if I needed to do it again. I can live with that. Thanks for your description and taking the time to post the photos. I will be doing this to mine.

Barney - I thought about trying to cut some off of the buttstock too. How did yours turn out? Any photos? Any suggestions for me if I try it? Does the softcell pad grind/sand down just like a rubber pad does? MickB - you are correct, the one I ordered from Midway is for an 1100 & 870.

Excellent. I didn't figure that I was the only short guy in the group. Id like to go down to 13" but I will likely wait until Remington releases a youth stock now that I discovered this easy fix.

In a quest to shorten my VM tactical buttstock, I ordered VM "field" buttstock from Remington. As it turns out, not only is the "field" buttstock a great candidate for shorting, but the recoil pad fits directly into my buttstock. Its a perfect fit. The field buttpad is 1/2" shorter than the VM tactical pad and therefor reduces the LOP to 13 3/4". It is still a Supercell pad. You just loose a little bit of cushion. Midway #314558

I suggest loading both side by side. I was leaning toward the 1301 when I bought my VM. Then I loaded both side by side and the VM was much smoother for me. YMMV. I am not knocking the 1301, it is a fine SG and I love the LOP too.

I have ran a 1100 Tac4 (Comp Master) for about 3 years now. I have done pretty well with it finishing 3rd in the AM division at the 3G ProAm this year. Mine has served me well and IMO it can be a great starter gun. The longer CM loading gate button (or the EZ loader) is a must for this SG. But I do agree with what is being said here, loading it is still a disadvantage compared to other guns. I just ordered a VM last week after checking out a friends. The difference in loading is like night and day. So, don't spend a bunch of money on a 1100 trying to make it something it never will be. Its a great SG, but just not one that can be loaded as quickly as others.

I'm looking forward to joining you guys this year. This will be my first TFD.

Eeek, that is a killer. My only miss was a target that I actually shot at (at close range) with a pistol on stage 2. lol.