1187 Trouble. Any advice?

DoubleCK

DoubleCK

New member
My 1187 jammed the other day. That is the action wouldn't open after a stand. I pulled that barrel in order to get it unloaded and got it going. It did it one more time when I was test cycling it without ammo. I think it opened after I pushed the follower in in the magazine tube.

Anyone have any advice?
 
Usually the problem with just about every 1100 and 11-87 that comes into my shop is either the shell latch tip is broken {Remington had a bad run of these} or the action tube has gotten water in it and rusted so bad that the action spring and plunger cannot move properly to allow the action to function. The shell latch wont make the gun not open, it will just fail to feed properly and jam. The action tube issue will certainly make it not open and the give away to this is typically that the bolt feels really rough when you are moving it.
If it is the action tube rusted you will need to remove the stock. Remington used a slotted nut that comes off with a large straight slot screw driver {if it comes off at all, you might have to soak it and sacrifice the stock to save the action tube.} Be careful, if you mess up the action tube it has to be brazed into the receiver and that means a refinish. Remington has an upgraded nut that is a hex and is driven by a socket.
There is of course a lot of other things it could be and without having the gun in my hands....well, too bad we are a country apart. Otherwise ask away or give me a call, I might be able to talk you through it.
 
After further testing the lock up happens intermittently. When it locks up I am able to make it work by pushing in the follower in the magazine tube.

Something simple I think. Any thoughts?
 
You either have something really strange going on there or coincidence with the follower...the follower, by and of itself has nothing whatsoever to do with the rest of the actions function. All the follower does is interact with the shells and moves them into feeding position as required. The follower only acts on the shotgun shell its pushing and the spring it gets the "push" from.
Does the bolt as well as the rest of the moving parts of the action seem to move smoothly when they all move {manually, by hand}????
 
I have had the action tube and plunger or follower as some call it bind intermittently but it usually does not do it to lock the bolt closed. Just to be clear...this gun will lock with the bolt closed and you cannot open the bolt until you push in on the magazine follower????
Is there any chance that the magazine tube itself has come loose from the receiver??? If it has moved forward this can cause the bolt to lock. You can tell by the barrel moving a little front to back when the forend nut is tight and the bolt is open.
Without seeing this thing I am afraid I cant be of much help, sorry to say. I guess the best thing would be to send it to me...short of that, I would suggest you begin taking it apart and look at all the parts very carefully for a glitch. Can you get the gun to lock fairly regular or is it something that just seems to happen at random whenever it wants to???
 
Originally Posted By: msincJust to be clear...this gun will lock with the bolt closed and you cannot open the bolt until you push in on the magazine follower????

"Correct. Crazy, but it works every time."

Is there any chance that the magazine tube itself has come loose from the receiver??? If it has moved forward this can cause the bolt to lock. You can tell by the barrel moving a little front to back when the forend nut is tight.

"No play in the barrel or mag tube.


Without seeing this thing I am afraid I cant be of much help, sorry to say. I guess the best thing would be to send it to me...short of that, I would suggest you begin taking it apart and look at all the parts very carefully for a glitch.

"Know, very crazy. I have a good Smith here that I trust completely. Just wanted to see if we could figure it out first."


Can you get the gun to lock fairly regular or is it somethign that just seems to happen at random whenever it wants to???

"It seems to happen after I have let the action slam shut a few times."
 
I took the spring and follower out of the tube, replaced the end cap and the action will not lock in the closed position now.
 
There is a part in the receiver called the shell latch. It is a stamped steel sheet metal part that is staked in. It usually don't stay staked in place and will sometimes fall out if you take out the trigger group. I would suggest you remove the trigger group and have a good look at the shell latch. It has a tiny little "finger" on the end of it that breaks off {probably the second most common repair to the 11-87} It causes the gun to do some strange feeding problems. It may fall out of the receiver when you drop the trigger group, don't worry if it does...the staking in place is just to make it easy to replace the trigger group but you can do it easy enough with out the part staked in place.
Other than that I cannot imagine what could possibly be up with the follower to cause the gun to lock itself shut.
The strangest thing 1100/11-87's do is when they fail to feed staying locked open each shot but the next in line shell will be laying on the shell lifter or carrier. This is due to the magazine spring being weak. Each time this gun is fired the shell gets kicked out and the bolt locks open. The shell next in line pops out of the mag tube and hits a little rocker thing in the trigger group that releases the bolt to close so you can fire it again. When the mag spring is weak it wont push the next shell out hard enough to trip that little rocker and the bolt wont release. If you ever have one doing that you can do a fast fix in the field by simply stretching the mag spring...works until you can get a new one...
I cant wait to hear what is wrong with this thing.
 
Not really...the trick is getting it to stay in its groove while you reassemble the gun {put the trigger group back in.} Remington staked it in place so it stays in the receiver if you have to drop the trigger group for cleaning or service. One of the pins that hold the trigger group in place goes thru a hole in the shell latch so it cannot come out once the gun is reassembled. If the hole doesn't line up during reassembly of an "unstaked" shell latch you will have to use a drift to center it back into alignment so the pin will go thru.
The real trick is knowing when the thing is broken...that little finger that breaks off is like 3/16" or 1/4" long and about 1/16 wide. If you are not familiar with the shape of the part it is easy to overlook a broken shell latch.
 
I would also take a look at the interceptor latch and its spring...rare to have trouble with this part, but it happens sometimes that the spring gets misplaced or broken. If you remove this part for whatever reason be mindful that there is a inside and outside to the retainer...it's hard to see but it's actually a small "tru-arc" just like the ones used in car engines to retain the wrist pins. It has a semi rounded surface that goes inward toward the latch. The flat side goes toward the outside. If this little retainer is reinstalled "wrong side out" it could flip off of the stud and you can loose the interrupter latch and spring while shooting. The slight rounding of the one surface can be hard to see on this small part...I always have to check it under a pretty stout magnifying glass.
 
Originally Posted By: ackleymanIs there a trick in getting that shell latch back in place once the stake has broken?

The one on my 11-87 has not been staked for some time now. It's a royal pain to get the trigger group back into place but it CAN be done. I've done it numerous times.

Lots of help on this issue at www.shotgunworld.com in the Remington Owners section.
 


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