I purchased an 11-87 20ga many years ago in the Sportsman model for teal hunting. It was reasonably priced and perfect for the intended purpose. This shotgun has functioned flawlessly for me over the years. I picked up some extended choke tubes and a rifled slug barrel for it. It's a do anything workhorse type gun.... great option.
As soon as I said I wasn't going to buy any more 20 gauges...trying to keep the ammo 1 caliber.. I walk into a nice gun shop to get some more magazines for my Sig and someone just traded in an early model 1100 20 ga with a short barrel. Someone had cut it but they did a good job and even put the front sight back on. Perfect truck gun in my opinion. The price was fantastic so I figured there might be some issues with it. I took it home and cleaned it up and the barrel is very shiny inside, but sure enough, the little plate that holds the ball and spring for the charge handle was broke and I almost lost the little ball. I was able to put it back together and while the gun is assembled, it will stay in place. The action spring follower was worn, don't think they ever put any grease in it. It will work though. The mag tube cap was missing but it will work without that too. It was filthy inside, and I mean filthy but no sharp edges on the slide rails inside. The trigger had a small piece of the tab broke off where the pin goes through, just a partial piece missing so it still works but I was able to find the parts on Numrich and they should be here in a week or so. I went ahead and ordered a new action spring too. Probably will put on a +3 mag tube extension. I'm going to go shoot it later today. The O-ring is hard but still intact so I put some vaseline on it to try to soften it up, but I have some of those coming too. Dang it. LOL. Hope you've been doing well!
It's a nice gun- wouldn't mind adding one to the safe. I have a thing for twenties anyway. I bought a new 20 ga 870 Express last year- it would appear that Big Green have upped their game. For a budget gun the fit and finish was entirely up to par, and significantly better than an earlier 12 ga 870 Express I had before. Now, do you think we could convince American manufacturers to chrome shotgun bores as standard?
There is no reason. While it sounds good, shotgunreport.com/2017/05/26/chroming-barrels/ "a nice little plus, but not of any earth shaking consequences if you keep things clean on a regular basis. . . .. "It’s for sure that cheaper guns get the chrome bores and more expensive ones are standard polished metal. None of the English Bests are chromed, nor are the Belgian Brownings, Krieghoffs, Perazzis or high end SO Berettas."
I live right on the coast (as in 400 yards from the beach) and hunt in salt marshes. Rust is a constant challenge for me, even with dehumidifiers and regular attention.
That may be Savage Renegauge territory-- as in the melonite barrel. Naturally, there are several Cerakote / chrome-lined options out there, such as the Retay Air King, and so forth.
Randy if we could buy this Australia I would. However I have to stick with the only 20G triple crown in Australia (special import from USA) if I want three rapid shots.
Mine will jam after about 40 rounds of the value 100 round packs which are real dirty ammo. But it really loves the reo 1oz loads. After over 300 rounds its still cycling fine with the reo loads.
I cannot count how many 1187s I’ve had to fix, brand new guns. Easy fixes and good after that, but why should anyone have to fix any gun out the box? And this has been going on since 1987. Just a little polishing in the barrel chamber and it runs great. Speaks of the quality coming out of Remington. If you don’t have the ability to polish a chamber, spend the extra money and get the 1100 WingMaster. And I agree, it’s a great looking gun though. But there are two sets of quality at Remington between the WingMasters and the “other” guns, like the 1187 and 870 magnums. Just add the step of polishing out the ream marks or lathe marks in the barrel chambers. Like they do with the WingMasters. Then you have a world-class gun out the box!
I've had *FAR* more problems with recent Browning, Benelli, and Beretta autos than any other brands. It isn't even close. Remington also has a written lifetime warranty-- Browning has no warranty, and Beretta offers just one year.
Randy Wakeman Yep. I think Benelli is 10 years. And maybe it sounded like I was bashing Remington, and I was, just a tad. But I’ve owned probably 20 of them in my life and worked on a ton more. And I’m about to get another 870 mag 3.5”. I just polish up the chamber and they run like a champ. I buy used 1100s from pawn shops and fix them up and occasionally sell one here and there. Mostly trade them up for something else. I think I’m gonna have to try one of those Retay inertia shotguns. I give them heck because they so copied Benelli, but they got the legal issues fixed and are a legit company. But I cracked up with their #1 sales slogan of, We fixed the Benelli click. I literally blew a soda out my nose laughing at that. It just cracked me up for some reason. But they are getting fantastic reviews. Think I’m going to have to try one. Thanks for the video. My first shotgun was an 870 WingMaster 20ga. Full choke. Fantastic gun. Never had one issue with it ever.
$2199 MSRP for the www.benelliusa.com/shotguns/ethos-best-shotguns Ethos. That's a nasty rip-off. The Gordion Waterfowl is $899 MSRP . . . and, a better shotgun as far as I'm concerned. Beretta-Benelli is off their rockers on price.
Randy Wakeman Yeah. I know. I have a Montefeltro and I love it. I shot an Ethos when they first came out. I loved it! But it is expensive, but beautiful. I’m a travel nurse and I’m all over the place. Never seen a Retay in a store. I’d have to hold it before I bought it. I’ve never bought a gun online that I never saw and held in person. Reviews are great, but I still have to see it first.
Randy Wakeman I never was a Browning or Beretta fan. Nothing against them, just wasn’t the popular brand which the crowd I grew up with. I loved my Winchester Super X Model 1 and my SX3. I bought an SX4 and I actually liked the ergonomics of it. It shot well and all, but dang! Top Gun field loads, it kicked my shoulder like a blind mule! I had red streaks on my shoulder after 25 rounds. It was not an upgrade to the SX3 in my opinion. I sold it after a week and got the Montefeltro. I shot 300 rounds this past weekend with the Monte and didn’t even get sore. That spoke volumes to me. Never done that with any other shotgun before. 12ga too.
Hello Randy (London Calling). Couple of questions: Firstly, is this Remington 11-87 20 gauge made 100% in the USA and not China or Turkey? Secondly, my Beretta A303 12 gauge and Benelli 28 gauge Raffello Crio. Neither of these will cycle 65mm cartridges. The Benelli will cycle 16 gram 67mm but not 18 gram 65mm. The Beretta will cycle 24 gram 67mm but refuses to cycle 28gram 65mm. This problem applies to both inertia and gas systems. Both guns are kept spotless inside being thoroughly cleaned after ever use. Any thoughts? Julian
Yes, the 11-87 is made in the U.S. The Beretta 303 12 gauge is an excellent gun, but was not designed for 24 gram loads-- that's 0.846 oz., light even for a 20 gauge much less a 12 gauge. You'll have to see a local gunsmith for inspection on what you have.
I took my 11-87 20 gauge duck hunting recently and it was very hard to re assemble compared to before the hunt, I had fired about a box of 3 in magnums in it, is it possible my gun beat itself out of spec?
I love the gun and I'd hate for that to be the case, totally agree with your review. It's killed partridge, puddle ducks, wood cock, squirrels and a large doe in gun season. As good as you can for northern Wisconsin.
Randy, do you think it is still worth getting due to Remington going bankrupt? Just wondering about any warranties and parts later on. I have a V3 I bought a few years ago and would like to add a 20 gauge auto to the collection. Thanks!
Neither one. www.randywakeman.com/RetayMasaiMaraTwentyGaugeRealtreeTimber.htm is the pick of the 20 gauge litter, your choice of camo or polished blue and walnut.
Well, I suppose you have to buy a cheaper gun. For durable goods that won't wear out in 20 or 30 years of hunting, buying the best you can afford always pays off.
