[Lanyard Stretcher]

I have read a lot of negative reports on SGW and other internet forums about the 1187 SM. What I haven't read is to what exactly is the problem with the gun. "Mostly it doesn't work, it is a POS." Emotional responses. I would like to know what the engineering problems are with the gun.

With the barrel seal they should shoot 23/4 inch target loads. Remove the seal and shoot the 3" and 31/2"ers. So what are the problems, fail to feed, eject, cycle?

Thanks,

Mike

 

[Lanyard Stretcher]

COME ON! Where are you 1187 suffers?

Please tell your story.

Mike

 

[Worc]

I only know one person myself who had an 11-87 in 3 1/2". He works at the same company as I do but, 50 miles away in another building. He sold it because of jam issues. So, not much more information than you already stated you have read elsewhere.
Now, three of my friends did have the 3" 11-87 models. While I did not own one my self I did shoot, clean, and fix them quite a bit. All of them had cycling issues with stove pipe jams the norm. It did not matter what type of shell was used.They did not like to kick out the light stuff either. It helped when the guns were just cleaned but still had problems then.
One model had to have a new barrel due to the choke tube threads tapped at a slight angle and the carrier latch replaced. The other one went thru two firing pins and I had to replaced the extractor and spring also. The last gun never needed any replacement parts. It did as well as one of the other ones from time to time kick out a loaded unfired shell out of the magazine and under the carrier during cycling. It did not usually cause a jam and went unoticed by the shooter most of the time. It was normally caught (seen) by the guy to the side or when you stepped on the loaded shell on the ground. There was no consistency as to when they would do this. It could be a few rounds to several hundred later and anywhere in between.

The quality out of Remington on their newly made semi autos is sloppy at best. The tolerances are just too loose for my liking. Working the action on any other brand that is in the same price range that happens to be sitting next to a Remington in the gun rack is all that's need to see the difference. I will say that I have seen some very nice wood on Remingtons. Their models aslo lack many features that other guns in their class have. They are among the, if not the heaviest models in their class and have wider forearms than other semi auto shotguns. They must be cleaned much more often than other current gas designs. Load versatility is not as good as other current semi autos. Their balance for me may be the poorest that I have ever come across for a semi auto shotgun. Way too much weight at the end of the barrel for my liking.
These are my experinces and opinions of this model. I know there are many who like the feel and have not had issues with this model.

 

[bgoldhunter]

Sorry I can't help you..I have one and know a dozen or so friends and family members that have one. No problems yet...

 

[UltraMag]

I bought a 3.5" 11-87 about 1.5-2yrs ago,it only had an issue one time early in it's duck huntin career,failure to eject, but the problem was a split O-Ring, and me being rather unfamiliar with rem auto's, or any auto for that matter, i only got into auto's about 2 yrs ago, i currently own a 391 as well.
The Factory O-Ring that came with the gun seemed rather soft, and failed fairly soon.
I bought a couple replacement O-Rings from sportsmans warehouse, these seemed much tougher than the one that split, and i've had the same one in for over a year now with zero signs of wear even after many disassemblies for cleaning.
Aside from that "very minor" issue that was rectified for less than $5, the gun has performed flawlessly.
It will cycle everything i throw in it, every brand of 3.5" i can think of has been thru it, including many reloads.
I bought the barrel seal activator thing that's supposed to help it cycle 2 3/4" target loads, well...... It doesn't need it.
It'll cycle even 2 3/4 dram target loads all day long without the extra seal thing.
It hucks most hulls about 15-20 feet :shock:
It is a fabulous gun.I've shot many target loads, 2 3/4" huntin loads, 3" steel loads,3" hevi shot,3.5" steel,all without one hickup.
Sure i've heard of lemon ones, perhaps a lot of the naysaying is the lemon(s) behind the stock, and/or neglect, or lack of off the shelf cleaning/lubing, etc.
I've been tickled pink with mine.
Oh there was one other minor issue i forgot.
The release button thing below the shell lifter wouldn't release the bolt when out at the trap range with it about a year ago, it felt like it wasn't catchin on what it was supposed to be catchin on, but slippin off, so i took a flashlight and saw the culprit, it's a little spring steel sheet metal tab thing that wasn't quite hittin what it was supposed to.
Well, you can ***** about this minor issue, or deal with it.
I took the trigger ***'y. out, bent the little spring steel tab over,
it took quite a bit of pressure to bend it any, spring type steel doesn't want to bend real easy, but i got er bent over bit, and haven't had one lick of problem since, you just have to be slightly smarter than the gun itself, some are not and just complain.

 

[Worc]

you just have to be slightly smarter than the gun itself, some are not and just complain.

Or, you can be as smart as I and buy another model and have nothing to complain about.

 

[Gold fan]

I owned 3 different super mags. The only shells that would cycle correctly were 2 3/4 steel shot. Everything else I tried to shoot had cycling problems. The problems were very inconsistent also. One day this would happen, the next day something else would happen. I cleaned this gun religiously every time I used it. It would work for no more than 3 shots and be back to having problems. I sent 2 guns back to Remington and they were returned with some new magazine springs and some other parts but performed no better. The problems ranged from stove pipes to locked up trigger assemblies and bolts that were stuck back to where the gun had to be disassembled to remove the trigger assembly and live rounds in the magazine. I can't even begin to remember all the "little things" these guns did wrong. I stongly agree that the specs on these guns leave for a very sloppy build. After shooting a Browning Gold for several years now, I would not recommend an 11-87 SM to an enemy. I lost confidence in these guns and felt safety was an issue. With the price you pay for one, I would sure expect more for the money. I use my guns almost daily during waterfowl seasons. The 11-87 SM was a poor investment. There are many other guns that for the same price or a little more money would be less frustrating. I would not gamble on buying one with the hope that you get a "good one". I'm sure there are people that would say exactly the opposite of what I have. There seems to be a lot of evidence against the super mags though.

 

[ground_swatter]

I have had mine for the last 2.5 years, and have been quite dissatisfied. I use mine for duck hunting and admittedly put more rounds through it than most.

First, the feeder latch is an issue. It is supposed to be pressed into the receiver, however any time I pull the trigger assembly out for cleaning, it falls out immediately. This wouldn't be a problem except that it is the device that keeps shells in the magazine. If the top of the latch is bent to far in one direction, then shells will slip out of the magazine when the bolt is closed (this happened to my brother), if it is bent to far the other, then you can't load the gun. On paper, this design looks good, but in action it is flawed.

Second, since I duck hunt quite a bit, I shoot a lot of 3 1/2" shells through it. This beats the crap out of the gun. I honestly don't think its designed for that kind of abuse. My most recent problem is that it would eject the spent shell, but the bolt would hang open and the next shell would just be sitting in the action. This cost me the 2nd shot on many dove and ducks. The trigger assembly apparently got beat to crap, and since it is the mechanism that tells the bolt to close, I have had to spend $100+ to replace it.

I think if you are shooting dove and trap loads through it, you'll probably be alright, although early in my ownership of this gun, I had many jams with dove loads, but if you are really serious about shooting 3" and 3 1/2" shells through one, then look elsewhere.

 

[Bug Doc]

I've had a Supermag for about 5 years now. It has been absolutely dependable. I use it mostly for waterfowl hunting, and have only suffered one jam while in the field (likely a result of my first handloads rather than an issue with the gun). I've used a variety of shells ranging from hot 1oz handloads to 2oz tungsten loads, with 1-1/4oz and 1-5/8oz loads being most common. I've even dropped it in the river during single-digit temps. After fishing it out and swishing the worst of the silt out of the receiver and gas system it worked perfectly.

The only issue I have with the gun is it will not cycle target loads reliably. I have to use 1-1/8oz 1300fps loads when I shoot clays with it. FWIW, my father has one that will cycle any 1-1/8oz target load you feed it. Go figure...

 

[Lanyard Stretcher]

It has been a long time since that was posted, I did buy a 1187 shortly afterwards. I bought the 20 gauge and it has been both upland and a waterfowl gem. It fits so well I haven't used a 12 gauge in two years . 12 gauges just seem so big and clumsy now. Thanks for your responses.

Mike

 

[BPA098]

i have to agree with most said, jamming, shells slipping out of the mag, hard time loading, ejecting and not closing back up with the next shell..........

i started calling it my single shot walking stick

my father had bought 2 of them, one for me and one for my grand father for turkey hunting, which i usually only take one shot at but i also use mine for waterfowl

anyways we live real close to the original Remmy factory and know allot of people who deal/work on these guns and we have tons of them in the family so we are pretty familiar with remmys. well we had them worked on by tons of people and never good results, fix one problem and find another. well finally we got a rep to exchange them for new ones (not sure what bu enhancements have been made over the last few years) and knock on wood i havn't had a problem since