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Remington 1100 Syn Comp - Good news, bad news...

2K views 21 replies 8 participants last post by  Dave Holmes 
#1 ·
First the bad news: According to the Remington website, the price on the Synthetic Competition is now listed at $1242. Bit of a bummer.

Now the good news: I received one of the guns from Remington to demo. It's worth the money. The gun looks good. The rib was exactly centered on the receiver. The 1100 trigger I mumble about was quite serviceable out of the box, with none of the annoying finger slap on rebound I get on my Sporting and my original Competition. The gun functioned perfectly with everything I put in it, 1 oz., 1 1/8, 7/8's.

The Remington Supercell pad deserves more credit than I would have ever given it without shooting with one. It is soft, but has a finish that doesn't hang up on clothing. I don't know if that will break down with use, but it certainly works fine out of the box. I'm usually changing pads mucho pronto on any new gun, but won't on this one, unless I decide I have to shorten the pull. It's longer than I usually shoot, but I shot it well today. Temp was in the 30's, gray skies and a 20 mile an hour wind.

The bolt doesn't have the grooves found on the earlier comps and G3's. The dimples are gone as well. It is a smooth bolt body. The extended release on the lifter of the original Competition ( mine was built in 2004) was gone, with this one having the standard length release. Not a big deal, but the long one was nice. It will be interesting to see if the long one returns when the guns are in full production.

This one weighs 9 lb. 3 oz. out of the box.

If there is a softer shooting out-of-the-box gun than this one, I've never shot it. Even with the price increase, IMHO, this gun stands out in the crowd.
Dave
 
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#2 ·
Ok, now that you have sampled both of big greens new offering and you were going to train for the NSCA Nationals tomorrow, which one would you pick and why?
 
#3 ·
For me, with the current level of experience I have with both guns, the Synthetic Competition. The 1100 trigger is better, so there's nothing to get used to and I love that slim, steel receiver. The adjustable buttplate and adjustable comb of the Syn Comp also offer more precise adjustment than the Versa Max's stock adjustments.

If I could master the Versa Max trigger, and someone with larger hands might well do that, the gap would narrow. If Remington does indeed offer different comb inserts, the gap could narrow. If I wanted to hunt with my clays gun, the Versa Max easily takes the lead. (There's a little devil in me that would like to take a camo gun out and beat guys with K and P guns.)

I think we should have a hunter class and it should be shot with hunting guns. Seems to me it would be a good way to get some of the bazillion hunters out there interested in shooting clays. It would all be shot gun down. Oh, and if you shoot this hunter class, you can't use a golf cart. You walk, just like you do when hunting. Might make the sport a bit more appealing to the average hunter if he felt it was more hunting relevant and he didn't feel like he needed to spend $10,000 on a gun, buy a golf cart and get a $40,000 pickup to haul the cart with.

Dave
Dave
 
#4 ·
Interesting, thanks for your take. So if Versamax makes it past the first 18 months, maybe we'll see more features on the gun and that might make it more attractive to competition shooters.
 
#5 ·
Dave: You won't get the hunters out to shoot til you give them all ego transplants.

Otherwise, b/c they once hit a flying bird , they are testosterone imprinted w/ the idea that they are great shooters of flying objects....and thus they get their asses handed to them at a real SC's event.

It's not about gun down or no carts (all these guys have $14,000 4 wheel drive Off road vehicles, anyway) , it is about the dismal scores they shoot.....when they "just knew" their DNA was programed to make them the next Daniel Boone.

8) :lol: :mrgreen:
 
#6 ·
Sera,
I understand what you are saying, but I used to shoot combat handgun matches and eventually gave up due to the equipment race it became. That was recognized in the sport and the IDPA (if I remember correctly) was formed to promote out of the box, or very minimally modified equipment to encourage practical handguns and carry systems, rather than race guns in ice cube tray holsters. That created a sport more appealing to newcomers. I see that same need in shotgunning. I've watched shooters come out, look around at the guns and give it up because they thought they had to have one like that to be competitive. It wouldn't be a part of big shoots, but it is something that could have some success on the club level. The more we can get to dabble in the sport, the more we have a chance of getting to jump in as they progress. Moderately priced equipment can help foster that and that is one of the aspects of the 1100 Syn Comp I find quite appealing. It offers everything a shooter needs in a reasonably priced package.
Dave
 
#7 ·
Dave: I think reasonably priced equipment is always welcome.

BUT--when I hear about a guy who comes to a shoot and sees the "high priced" guns and quits , I say...too bad , so sad, no guts (or no sense). First , the new guy needs to have some perspective about competing , time in grade (so to speak) and then lastly equipment.

When I ask the new guys why they'll shoot a fluffy fundraiser but not NSCA , many tell me that the NSCA targets are simply too hard. In a fluffy fundraiser , they might shoot a 70/100 while in an NSCA shoot the best they can do is 45/100.

Their egos require a 70.
 
#8 ·
One of our local clubs (Fairfield County Fish & Game Protective Association) throws the state shoot every year. They also throw a number of bun-tightening shoots to challenge the big shots throughout the year. However, they also throw Pump Gun only, SxS, and NRA shoots where you can see everything from grandpa's Ithaca 37 with polychoke to a AyA #4.
 
#13 ·
1996: Wrong.

People still drive even though only a few folks can afford a Ferarri. People still buy homes even though some can live in mansions.

Why do the "new guys" think that the only component of shooting well is the nice gun the old guys shoot? How arrogant? " If I only had a K 80 , I'd win the tournament , too?"

What self-delusion?

Look at the reverse side of what you're saying--"wow , we can sure fake out those new guys and let them live in a fantasy world where they think they can win even though they never practice.....HAHAHAHAHAHA."
 
#14 ·
People HAVE to drive, so they buy what they can afford to drive.
People HAVE to live somewhere, so they buy where they can afford to live.

People DO NOT have to shoot sporting clays, and if everyone at the top of the tournament results is shooting a $10k gun, what else is a newbie to think but that such a gun is required? If they can get past the initial feeling that they can't compete because they don't have the right equipment, then they try a tournament... and see the guys with the $10k guns hitting all the targets they can't seem to touch.

Put yourself in the shoes of a brand-newbie at his/her first tournament... they get their egos badly bruised, they learn that sporting clays is freaky-hard and they see that the top shooters use guns that cost more than a year of college. If they don't have someone, a friend, a fellow shooter, to put it into perspective, that's all they take from the experience. Look at it that way and it's a wonder why anyone at all would shoot their second tournament.

I am NOT saying that there is anything wrong with shooting expensive guns, or difficult targets or intense competition. There is, however, something very wrong if we expect the new folks to get beaten up and feel like their equipment is woefully inadequate and yet still want to come back for more.
 
#15 ·
OK , Mike : Let's just say it....Why does one think his gun is inadequate and not his ability?

I started w/ a SBE Benelli...couldn't hit but 1/2 the targets....but I never blamed my GUN. I knew I couldn't shoot and if I wanted to score higher , I needed to learn how to shoot.

I eventually bought different guns , but there was nothing wrong w/ my 1st one.

I think they QUIT b/c it's hard and they don't want to devote the time , energy and money to get good--which-- of course-- is a valid reason....the gun is only an excuse.
 
#16 ·
Sera,
I suppose you've been told you have a 'tude, so one more person saying it won't matter. So I won't.
It's the Indian, not the arrow. I joined a small club having never shot clays on a regular basis and after figuring out where the bathroom was, who was who, and the difference between skeet, trap and five stand, joined an evening five stand league and led the adult division about 3/4 of the way through the season (when hunting season started) when I coudn't make it any more.

I shot my first (and only) 25 straight with a model 12 heavy duck gun the first time I shot it.

The following year I moved to "the city" and shot at (didn't belong to) the big city club. I got interested in sporting clays and from the second round typically shot in the high seventies. I suppose I shot the course ten or fifteen times, often with a different gun, and a couple of rounds with my new (to me) Model 42 .410. Mostly I shot my go to hunting guns, a Sweet 16 and an old beater of a SBE with thousands of goose loads through it.

I'm not trying to impress anyone now, nor was I on the range. I was trying to become a better shot so fewer birds flew off crippled. I know my "accomplishments" at clays shooting were pretty minor. I got to see some real masters shoot, including Tom Knapp and Bob Brister, not long before the latter passed. I shot with some very serious competitors and never once felt intimidated or talked down to. In fact, the best shooters went out of their way to be helpful and free with tips on everything from where to break a bird to stance, etc.

I really enjoyed it and hope to get back into it, but between hunting,fishing and working there's not a lot of room in the schedule. Or extra money.

Just remember that clays games are just that - games. There are only so many combinations of shots and it is about muscle memory and repetition as much as anything. Even the best courses can offer nothing like the challenges and variety of shooting wild birds. I have guided people who get paid to shoot shotguns on goose hunts and I can attest that they are excellent shots - in most circumstances. Sometimes, it takes them a while to make the adjustment when the sun comes up and the wind dies down and the shots go from 35 yards to 50. Some also seem to have trouble with birds flaring back with the wind after the first volley (to be fair, so do I sometimes and I've had lots of practice).

Next time you see a guy with an old beat up black duck gun at the club, welcome him and help him find his way around. May change your attitude.
 
#17 ·
I think people focus on the equipment because it's the main difference they can actually see. That other guy there, the one with the trophy, he's wearing the same jeans and shirt I am, I saw him drive the same truck I have, we are shooting the same ammo... but his gun (that I've only seen in magazines before today) costs 10 times what mine does and his score is 3 times mine. Yup, it must be the gun 'cuz that's the only difference I can see. Or maybe it's just his chokes. :wink:

A newbie can't see the hours of expensive instruction or driving to far-away shoots, endless practice rounds over many years or the frustration learning to hit various presentations. All he sees is what is in front of him - and can only conclude that to compete he needs to shoot expensive guns.

Now if that top shooter took Mr. Newbie aside and explained out to him that 10 years ago he started exactly where Mr. N is today, that he bought (or was given) his expensive gun as a reward and only after he put in countless hours of instruction, practice and poor scores in tournaments, that he could still shoot his old gun(s) as well as, or better than, he can shoot that gorgeous K/P gun... well then we might have Mr. Newbie come away from his first tournament thinking that just maybe he can do this too. But until then, I think we drive more people away in tournaments than we encourage.
 
#18 ·
dog: I do have attitude. 8) That's just me. :wink: I have also done as much as anyone to help get new shooters started in this game. Ask the 20 people on this BBs who've shot w/ me what I did to encourage them, help them , etc. I have set targets for 3 different clubs for free. I've been on the national and state boards...for free , too. I have given back to this sport I love.

I ask the new guys at the club to shoot w/ me all the time....I ask new guys who've never been to a gun club if they'd like to shoot. I let any and all of them shoot my ("fancy") guns.

I show them that their own guns are plenty adequate to break little clay discs. We always have fun, while we're shooting.

Some stay at it. BUT to blame the fancy gun crowd for others small appendages , is just going no where.
 
#19 ·
Mike: I was exposed to the snobbery when I started , but frankly , I have not seen it much at all in the last 4-5 yrs.

What I have seen is overly hard targets that are nigh on impossible for a new guy to hit.
 
#20 ·
Newbies shoot in tournaments?

That's typically not the case. People shoot Clays for fun, and some compete. By the time someone bothers with organized competition, he's usually shot enough to get an idea of what the tough targets are, and how guns differ.
 
#22 ·
Talk about a high jacked thread! :D I think one thing that often gets missed in the philosophical discussion of the sporting is that there are real regional differences between shooters and or the number of shooters with the necessary disposable income needed to embrace the sport. I love big shoots, but I have to work them to even consider attending and at that will only make it to a few a year. (I'm one of those poor white trash guys who gets miffed because he can't use reloads.) Others don't have that option of generating any cash flow at a shoot and have to forego them cause there are bills to pay.

Sera's part of the country, the Gulf coast, isn't the same as Michigan, where I am and it isn't the same here as the east coast or the west where a close shoot is 500 miles away. There isn't one cure out there that addresses the different areas. In the long run, I'm not sure the health of the sport is dependent on registered shooting. It is dependent on viable local ranges. As long as ranges are busy, there will always be a few shooters migrating to registered shooting--and that percentage will always be small.
Dave
 
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