Sidearms & Scatterguns 870P or 11-87P, and Why?

Veer_G

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I'm looking to augment what I have, which is currently a Tromix Saiga, a Browning BPS High Capacity, and a venerable Mossberg 500 with wood fore and aft and a slug-sighted barrel. I could probably just run the Saiga for everything, but I don't want to festoon it with doo-dads or mess with replacing the crapola UTG stuff that it came with (long story). The Browning is a slick-ass shotgun, but there's almost nothing for it to improve function. The Mossberg is a receiver-swapping project that I have yet to accomplish. So, grabbing a Remington product just appeals, for reasons of convenience, and ability to supplement it with necessary upgrades. Bear in mind that I'm dealing with arthritis and other issues from various conditions, so, while I can still work a pump fairly well, a semiauto might be more feasible for me sooner than that with which I might be comfortable.
 
Simply for the ability to have 3" shells. 1100 has eaten just about everything, and shoots like a champ, but can be finicky at times. Apparently the 1187 fixes a couple of the issues the 1100 had/has? Something to do with port holes and sizes maybe? Regardless, if I didn't need to spend money, I'd just stick with my 1100, but I'm a glutton for punishment, and always like buying/trying new gadgets
 
1187 will have significantly less recoil.

I don't have an 1187, but do have 1100's and have never had an issue with them, even shooting several hundred rds in a day. If kept clean and fresh o rings when they start to dry, they work great.
 
Unless you can find an older 11-87P I wouldn't touch one. Even then make sure you keep some extra gas orings around. I wouldn't touch any of the newer Remington shotguns.

If I was in the market for a new tactical shotgun in that price range I would get a Benelli M2 Tactical. It's worlds better than any of the current Remington trash and you can find them new for under $1000 if you shop around, Gunbroker is a good place. You can also find gently used ones on gun broker for as low as $800.

That said, I'd still buy a Benelli M4 over any of them and there's a killer deal on a couple of them on the classifieds here right now.
 
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I have allways preferred Mossberg over Remington shotguns due to the arrangement of the safety. The trigger finger is for running the trigger and the thumb for running the safety.
With a conventional stock anyways like I have on my 590A1 if running a pistol grip type stock it's a wash I guess.
Have you looked at the Mossberg 930 Tactical or are you set on another Remington ?
 
I have allways preferred Mossberg over Remington shotguns due to the arrangement of the safety. The trigger finger is for running the trigger and the thumb for running the safety.
With a conventional stock anyways like I have on my 590A1 if running a pistol grip type stock it's a wash I guess.
Have you looked at the Mossberg 930 Tactical or are you set on another Remington ?

Don't have Remington 1 yet, let alone 2. I'm a niche shopper, so the idea of a reasonable Benelli is attractive as well. It's just that the 870s and 11-87s are easily acquired and customizable.
 
Benelli's are just as easy to customize and have plenty of high quality parts available. Taran Tactical, Carrier Comp, and Mesa Tactical are where you want to look. Scalarworks also makes a very nice replacement rail to mount a RMR and cowitness with the factory ghost rings.

I'd buy this

As is that gun needs nothing and it comes with the Surefire forend which is no longer made and a little difficult to track down. It's the mil/le model so it's already got the full tube and is 922r compliant. The only thing I'd do is ditch that stock to the first mall ninja that would give me $250 for it and replace it with a Mesa Urbino.
 
Police trade in 870 or 11-87 can be had pretty cheap. They'll look like they rode 200,000 miles with a 4 way lug wrench sitting on them, cause they probably did.

I wouldn't go shorter barrel 870 due to recoil. I have an 18.5 870 barrel sitting in a closet that I bought off here. Put it on an 870, shot about 15 rds through it and decided to hell with that. Recoil was obnoxious.

I bought 3 Beretta 1201fp trade in's a year or so ago. Gave one to a friend, the other 2 are truck guns. They're light and have a Benelli type recoil operation, so recoil is pretty stiff. Parts are hard to come by and upgrade items pretty much don't exist. I should have looked for 11-87's.
 
In the 1987 era, when gun companies unveiled new models, it was to phase out existing ones. The 11-87 was a shotgun that never should have been introduced, it's sales never surpassed the 1100. It is a heavy POS, far from smooth. I bought one in 1987, lugged that pile for 4 yrs bird hunting, the day I fondled a Benelli SBE, the 11-87 was history.
Like an above poster said, look into a Beretta or a Benelli.
I've laid in stubble fields, picking up wheat chaf, grasses, dirt, mud, rain, snow and never a malfunction, an 11-87 would have failed 10 times quicker.
Like the 1100, look how many times Browning has tried to replace the A5, a century later still the flagship of semis.
 
Benelli's are just as easy to customize and have plenty of high quality parts available. Taran Tactical, Carrier Comp, and Mesa Tactical are where you want to look. Scalarworks also makes a very nice replacement rail to mount a RMR and cowitness with the factory ghost rings.

I'd buy this

As is that gun needs nothing and it comes with the Surefire forend which is no longer made and a little difficult to track down. It's the mil/le model so it's already got the full tube and is 922r compliant. The only thing I'd do is ditch that stock to the first mall ninja that would give me $250 for it and replace it with a Mesa Urbino.

Agreed, I bought a M3 from him a couple years ago, if I didn't have it I'd buy his M4. I"ve used an 1100 to kill ton's of game, I have the Benelli for things that go bump in the night.
 
I say get an old Remington semi. The Model 11 can be found for $350 in my area, get the barrel chopped to 18” and swap out the springs and friction rings for less than $500 total.

The Model 11 is a licensed Remington copy of the Browning Auto 5 and they are stupidly rugged, more reliable than any new Remington semi, and inexpensive. Only in the last 20 years have engineers been able to design a shotgun that cycles faster than an Auto 5/M11 if I remember right.

2 3/4 chamber, I like low recoil Federal flight control 00 buck. They eat it like a fat chick goes through chicken wings. Photo is from a guy on Arfcom who put a mag extension on one.

1539295978886.jpeg
 
Good choice. Clyde Barrow, of Bonnie &Clyde notoriety, favorite load-out for bank job was his double-ended cut down Auto-5 with the round knob butt stock.
Once on the road with his wheel-man working the getaway, he preferred the Browning BAR, also shown.

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I own both an 11-87 and 1100 tac4 and they are both very reliable. Reliability is contingent on maintenance, keep it lubed and it will keep running. the design has been around since 1964 and still works well. The best value in autoloading shotguns today are secondhand remington 1100s and 1187s. Usually could buy 2+ 1100s for the cost of their Italian competition, and id be willing to wager the remington will outlast them being all steel with lots of parts available. Furthermore autoloaders remove some element of human error liability that comes with a pump action....my $.02
 
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