Comparative recoil tests conducted by Remington indicated that the Model 1100 had forty percent less felt recoil than other autoloaders and fifty percent less than fixed-action shotguns. Takedown was simple and did not require tools, permitting easy interchangeability of barrels of different lengths and chokes.Īnother benefit of the new gas system was a flattened out recoil curve that reduced perceived recoil to the shooter. This gave the Model 1100 cleaner and more dependable operation through the high-volume shooting of trap and skeet tournaments. The gas piston was located outside the magazine tube, rather than within, permitting easier venting of excess gas and reducing carbon deposits in the gas orifice and on the gas cylinder. Gas to operate the action was accessed nearer the chamber, where pressures are higher and more consistent. The wood was given a durable new finish, similar to that used on bowling pins, that was weatherproof, oil-proof, and chip and scratch resistant. The new Model 1100 gas-operated, five-shot autoloader was announced in January 1963 as a shotgun designed 'to make any shooter a better shot.' Handsome styling included scrollwork on both the receiver and bolt, generous, fleur-de-lis checkering on the stock and forend, a white diamond inlay in the pistol grip cap, and white-line spacers separating the stock from the pistol grip cap and buttplate.

It was looking for something superior that combined in one gun the elements of dependable performance, shooting comfort, good-handling qualities, attractive appearance, versatility, and broad-based marketing appeal. But selling three different autoloaders simultaneously didn't make sense, and the company didn't project any of the three as its autoloader of the future.

The engineer's name was Wayne Leek, and his words showed obvious enthusiasm for the latest creation of the design team he headed.11 As history has recorded, his statement was also correct, and prophetic.īy 1959 Remington was making three different autoloading shotguns: the recoiling barrel, Browning-based Model 11-'48, the gas-operated Sportsman-58, and the Model 878. Lifting one of the new guns from the wall rack behind him, a tall, boyish-looking engineer with an infectious smile turned to the agency group and said 'Gentlemen, this is the new Model 1100, and it's going to revolutionize shotgun shooting.' It was the fall of 1962, and a meeting was underway at the Remington firearms plant in Ilion, New York, to brief Remington's advertising agency team on the company's 1963 new gun introductions.

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