[Bowtek]

I'm shopping for my first semi-auto and, after going thru the opinions forum, seem to be zeroing in on an 1100 or 11-87. Could some of you guys enlighten me to the differences between the two models? It will be used mostly for quail, some dove and, occasionally, casual trap shooting. I prefer lighter guns and lean towards 16 or 20 gauge. Also, I will be hitting the pawn shops looking for a deal on a used one. Thanks for your input...

 

[cordite]

I'm shopping for my first semi-auto and, after going thru the opinions forum, seem to be zeroing in on an 1100 or 11-87
It will be used mostly for quail, some dove and, occasionally, casual trap shooting. I prefer lighter guns and lean towards 16 or 20 gauge. Also, I will be hitting the pawn shops looking for a deal on a used one. Thanks for your input...

I say get the 1100. The 11-87 is more money and for what you will be shooting you will never see a 3" shell.
I seriously doubt you'll be finding a 1100 16 ga. in a pawn shop.
I prefer the 20 ga. It is lite in weight and tons O' fun to shoot... 8)

 

[Bowtek]

So the big difference between the two is that the 1100 was originally designed for upland and the 11-87 is chambered for 3 inch, allowing larger game hunting? (i.e. duck, geese, turkey...)

 

[cordite]

So the big difference between the two is that the 1100 was originally designed for upland and the 11-87 is chambered for 3 inch, allowing larger game hunting? (i.e. duck, geese, turkey...)

more or less. The 11-87 is an up-to-date design. The 11-87 is designed from the 1100. The 1100 has one helluva' reputation. I have hunted all my life and have never shot an 3" or 3 1/2" shell, but I have never been duck hunting either... comprende' ? 8)
Of the 4 shotguns I have, I find myself using the 1100 20ga. 99% of the time.

 

[Bird Hunter]

if your going to be buying the 20 ***** i would definatly go withe the 11-87 the ablity to shoot the 3" shells is huge. you can get the remington hevi shot for 20 gauge in 3" and those make all the difference in the world. also the weight of the 11-87 and the 1100 is the same. i owned an 1100 and i actually sold it so i could get a 20 gauge that shot the 3" shells. you can pick a 11-87 20 gauge up from walmart for around 550 bucks. money well spent if you ask me

 

[Bowtek]

I read somewhere that the 11-87 is balanced at the receiver and the 1100 is balanced towards the forearm. The foreward balance is thought to aid in a smooth follow thru on wing shots. Any thoughts on this? I hunt the Arizona low and high deserts. Typical quail hunting here is you find them in the river bottoms, get off a few shots before they fly to the highest hill top they can find (in some cases, mountain). You climb up the the hill, find them, get off a few more shots where upon they fly back to the river bottom. You climb back down the hill and repeat as necessary. Now you know why we like light guns!! It's a great work-out.