ammo for the 12 gauge?

[Flexmoney]

O.K.  I just bought a synthetic 1100 from Walmart.  They also had a some Federal ammo in a "Value Pack".

100 rounds for $15.88

#7 1/2 shot

1 1/8 oz.

3 Dram

says it has a top velocity of 1,200 fps. and extra hard shot.

Any good?

[icer]

Flex---

While every shotgun is different and you never know what will function in a given gun until you try, that particular load should give good results for 3-Gun matches.

I like the smaller shot because it tends to pattern better, less flyers, thus I get more lead on big poppers. I don't go to a different shot size for long targets I use a tighter choke. The smaller shot also has a denser pattern for the moving or stationary clays, no big holes in the pattern mean less misses.

If the steel is in tight, 10 to 18 yards, or there are a lot of clays I will use an improved cylinder choke and go for top speed. If the steel is past 18 yards and I'm shooting on the move I use a modified choke. Anything farther out, or if I'm shooting from a supported position I may go to a full choke, but this is rare. For slugs I use a modified choke.

The best advice I can give is to keep the gun simple and quick and to find a reliable load and stay with it. Spend $30 and bust 200 rounds of the Federal through your new toy, expect 100% reliability and see if getting it dirty causes it to quit.

Good luck......

[Chriss Grube]

Kyle,

The Federal stuff will work fine. I've been using it for a couple years. Wally world also has Rem Hi velocity 7/8 oz. for 29.80 a case (250) actually a better price than the Fed. It will take down the steel too.

[Flexmoney]

The steel that I have seen are pretty close.  I think that the cheaper (and lighter) loads that Chriss suggests will work for my local matches.

-----------

Icer,

I like you idea of putting some rounds down the tube.  Hell, I even like the idea of shooting all 200 rounds at once.   Should I stop and clean at any point?  

[Patrick Sweeney]

I've loaded my own for a while, and settled on the following;

WW AA hulls

Winchester white wad

20.0 grains 452AA

Whatever primer fits

I load the IPSC ammo with 7-1/2's and the pin loads with #4's.  We set our poppers far and hard, so the most open choke I use is IC.

[icer]

Flex---

Give the new gun a good once over and make sure it was assembled properly at the factory. Then lubricate it well with a quality oil and hit the high friction areas with a moly grease to cut down on wear and smooth things up.

Out at the range burn the 200 rounds in a steady solid practice. The purpose of this is to be as hard on the gun as you would in a match. Any more rounds and your shoulder will be sore, any less and your not pushing the gun to its limits. Make sure the ammo cycles the action and patterns well.

At the last 3-Gun Nationals we had to deal with both dry windy conditions with dust and heavy rain. In my squad alone we had 3 Remingtons go down for the day. Your shotgun needs to be reliable as well as fast.

The lighter loads may work all right but I like to shoot at least 1 1/8 ounce loads with 3 drams in competition. Guarantees the gun will work and takes down the steel quick.  

[Bill H]

I agree with shooting the 1 1/8 loads. Nothing sucks more than hitting a piece of steel and moving out of the box only to see the steel still standing there.(except maybe blowing a reload)

[Patrick Sweeney]

I forgot to mention, 1-1/8 ounce of shot in my load.  I picked it becuase I can substitute any primer and five other wads and still load ammo.  The pattern varies a small amount, but not enough to be a concern with poppers or plates.

Don't believe the old skeet and trap shooters who tell you to shoot your Remington dry.  Keep it lubed and it will keep working.  My brother and I went through the Gunsite shotgun class using Rem 1100's, and ours worked fine.  The three Benellis all died, though.

Our club designed and built a dropping steel target for shotgun.  We cut plate to the shape of head, A and C zone combined.  They have a rectangular steel loop on the back.  The loop rests on the shelf at the top of the post.  Hit the plate, push it back and the loop slips off the shelf.  Viola, plate drops straight down.  We set them up back in the triple-canopy jungle, (well, the MI equivalalent) and go running through the woods.

[Flexmoney]

What about slugs?

There is a match in Toledo on August 3rd.  They tell me about 16 rounds of slugs.

I am shooting the synthetic 1100.  Long barrel w/ modified REM choke.  

Still just has the bead sight.

[icer]

Flex---

If your gun will run them I recommend either Remington Reduced Recoil or Federal Tactical slugs in a 2 3/4" chambering. They both are easy on the shoulder and also tend to group better than their more stout big brothers.

Modified should be a perfect choice for slugs but you can never know for sure unless you take the time to sight in with each load. Know where the gun shoots at 3, 10, 25, and 50 yards.

Obviously for slugs a ghost ring sight would be preferable but you can get by with a bead. Just not as easy to make tough shots with confidence.

If you get a chance pick up an extended tube to up your capacity. A good shop will probably install it for you if you buy from them, or DIY. A 16 round stage will go by a lot faster if you only have to reload once.

Good luck.....

[Bill H]

Check out http://www.ammoman.com/ for great prices on Federal Tactical slugs.

Bill

[Nik Habicht]

Ditto on Bill's recommendation.....good prices and shipping is included. (Unless you live in N.J., then you have to drive to pick it up......because  N.J. Law forbids having ammo shipped to you from an instate dealer, but somehow it's o.k. if you order from California, Texas, etc. etc.  But ammoman is really good about that too and discounts his prices if you pick up your order.)

[Coop de Ville]

Flex,

That's what I keep loaded for HD work.  Inside of 5 yards or so It's one big hole.  For anything else, it patterns pretty bad out of my 870 PM.

Best,    -Coop

[talon]

Pat, The Benelli's (sp?) all died ? I remember a post by Brian saying all the top shooters were moving to them because of reliablilty and I was looking for one myself.

Was it a paticular model that was having trouble ?

[Singlestack]

I gots to dissagree with Patrick on the lubrication of a Remington. If you put any lube at all on your mag tube it will turn into a sludge that only slows the action down and will eventually cause it not to cycle. I have found that this occurs very fast even using good quality ammo. I run my mag tube very dry (after cleaning I wipe it down with acetone) and my gun cycles very fast and all day long.

I do agree on the Benellis though. Seen several die. Easier to load a 1100/11-87 with a Easy Loader too and you don't have too worry about hitting a button. I was not there but I heard the Benellis were dieing left and right at the 3-gun nats.

You can't beat an 11-87 for reliability IMO.

My favorite shot right now is Winchester AA High Velocity Sporting Clays. I use 7 1/2 or 8s. Those babies get out there at 1350fps.  

(Edited by Singlestack at 11:53 pm on Oct. 3, 2001)

[Patrick Sweeney]

At Gunsite and Second Chance, the reports were (this is a few years ago) that early-production Benellis worked great.  Everything else had reliability problems.  I wish I'd kept better records, but I don't recall a particular model or pattern to the malfunctions.  No broken parts falling off, just failures to feed or fire.

As for running 1100's wet or dry, in MI we have to worry about rust.  All the 1100's I ever had to work on that suffered reliability problems had rusted gas systems.  I suppose you could run it dry for the match, but if you left it dry it'd rust, and the next match would be a sorry affair.

We all oil them here, and wipe the sludge off and re-oil as needed.  At Second chance that was once a day except for the slug match, where we'd wipe them every hundred rounds or so.  At Gunsite, my brother and I wiped ours at lunch, and back at the motel, and never had a problem all week.

[Singlestack]

Yet another advantage to the 11-87. The mag tube is stainless. I believe if I had an 1100 I would have the mag tube hard chromed. Rust is a problem in Georgia too........

Patrick,

When you refer to "rusted gas systems", what was rusted?

[ErikW]

Yup, gotta keep my 1100 dry around the mag tube and rings or it's not happy.

[Patrick Sweeney]

The tube and gas rings would rust, and the rust would chew the hell out of the o ring.  Given enough exposure, the gas hanger tube on the barrel would rust inside, and bind on the gas rings even if they were clean.

The solution was a wire wheel on everything and a coat of oil.  And a new o ring.

The 11-87 is stainless, but I'm sure some of my customers could have rusted it too, given enough time.

[tlafrance]

I've found that my pre ban Benelli gags on 7/8 loads.  After reading this and the other thread regarding a broken M1 Super 90,  I think I may try the Wolff 25% reduced recoil spring.  Thanks for the info

Tom

[Chris Jordan]

Rust on the gas tube?? I lived in Florida and shot a Rem 1100. My gunsmiths advice was Oil the Hell out of everything and stand the gun up in the corner. What she don't need will leak out! Also I use NAPA bearing grease on the O-ring. This maintainence program was good for 1100+ rounds with no problems at all! Before anyone freaks I'll justy add that I bought this gun off a fella who was with SEAL team 5 out of Jacksonville, Fla. He trained with it so it drank lots of saltwater. Just my two (s)cents worth.

P.S. Get a Hi-Viz sight and you're set for cheap.