I'd like to clean and prep it quite thoroughly prior to its trip to a gunsmith for a safety/ops check.
Anybody have a good source for how to dissemble/clean it?
many thanks!
There are probably videos on it out on YouTube.
Take it to a trusted ‘smith’ for the work. A good smithie will check the action as well as the bore and primary firing mechanism.
A few dollars will pay dividends!
Link:
http://www.amazon.com/.Digest-Book-Firearms-Assembly-Disassembly/dp/0873494008/ref=dp_cp_ob_b_title_2
Unless you really know the gunsmith is good I’d let well enough alone and just clean and oil it .. free owners manual with takedown/disassembly http://www.remington.com/Pages/News-and-Resources/Downloads/Owners-Manuals.aspx
I'd pull the thing apart and clean it just once, and then put it up on the shelf until kingdom come.
Semiauto shotguns are probably the single kind of firearm which has come the furthest in the last fifty or sixty years. The new ones have screw-in chokes so you don't need separate shotguns for every kind of use, they're much more reliable, much faster, much easier to clean, and many have recoil attenuation mechanisms including ported barrels, back boring, and things like the Beretta kickoff.
The Beretta Xtrema-II is one of life's bargains. Beretta makes its money on guns costing 3G - 30G and up and forces dealers to take a certain number of the hunting guns which are generally sold on the internet. The 900 - 1400 pricetag which you see on gunbroker.com for the Xtrema-II in various configurations can't be much more than the cost of producing the thing and shipping it here. It's all either stainless or man-made and totally immune to any and all weather, can handle all 12ga sizes including the 3.5 mags, and has a heavy spring and bleedoff valve so that you can shoot skeets one day and geese the next without changing anything other than ammo. It's startlingly easy to pull apart and clean and doesn't really need much cleaning beyond a bore snake and some chemical to take off plastic wadding residue, which all shotguns need.
The Model 11 is a cousin to the Browning “humpback” A5. Semi-auto, squared-off back of the receiver, semi-auto 12ga.
I found you an exploded view. An exploded view of the A5 might also help.
http://www.okiegunsmithshop.com/Remington_Model_11.jpg
The #1 reason why I would recommend that you not do it yourself is that you probably don’t have the required set of screwdrivers to take down a firearm without mashing up the screws. If you look at the set of screwdrivers used by a smith, you’ll see that they’re precision instruments, with blades that fit the screw slots *exactly* - like with less than a thousandth clearance to the sides. This prevents you from making a mess out of a screw if you need to put some torque into removing it. On top of that, I’m guessing you also don’t have a set of brass punches or drifts and a soft hammer with which to drive them.
If you want to buy such a set of screwdrivers, Midway USA and Brownells sell sets - reckon on from $70 to $90 for a set that includes interchangeable bits that fit most screws.
A smith might charge only $50 to strip and clean it. Since you’re taking it there anyway, I’d just have him clean it, because he’s already going to be into it to check the moving components. NB that parts for the Model 11 are difficult to get, so if you or he screws something up in the take-down, or something already is broken, you might be looking at making the piece yourself to get the gun shooting again.
Why do you want to disassemble? You are asking for problems that don’t exist.
Also... I know you didn't ask, but DON'T store the gun in a case, etc. Get it home clean and just stand it up in a dry place that has good air circulation. (Assuming you don't have a safe.)
+1 on number 10, too. If it’s an heirloom keep it, shoot it now and then, and get something else to hunt with.
Did you check with Remington? You should be able to contact any gun mfg for a copy of an owners manual for models they produce(d).
Isn't that sorta like thoroughly cleaning the house before the housekeeper shows up?
Pay a little extra and have the gunsmith strip it and check it out. He has the proper screwdrivers and brass punches to properly dismantle the gun without damaging the screws or scratching the surfaces of the metal. He can adjust it as needed for proper operation.
thanks all for the advice!
The good news is that my study now has a very manly gun oil/ Outers aroma ;-)
Based om memory, DO NOT LET THE MAINSPRING GET AWAY FROM YOU !! Other than that I don’t recall it being a complicated issue. There is a bronze ring around the magazine tube, mark it with a sharpie so you know which way it goes. It’s Browning all the way as far as design goes.
Here ya’ go,,,
Just remove the barrel,,,
Note the info on the Placement of friction rings for
functioning with different ammo,,,
I just wipe mine down with very LITTLE lite oil and
wipe it Dry,,,
The one I have is below SN 360,000...
P.S. : Don’t mash your fingers !...;0)
I looked this up in my NRA Guide to Firearms Assembly (1980). The trigger group on this old gun doesn't come out as a unit, but rather, in pieces at a time, and can be a real challenge if you aren't sure what you are doing. I have some instructions below that might help you. NOW... If you are like me and like to store history information with your firearms, cut and paste this information to a blank page, then print it out for safe keeping:
*****
"In 1900, John M. Browning was granted U. S. Patent No. 659.507 for a locked-breech, long recoil operated semi-automatic shotgun mechanism. Browning first offered this design to Winchester Repeating Arms Co., as he had done with his arms designs in previous years, but on a royalty basis instead of outright sale as had been his practice. The parties could not reach an agreement, and Browning terminated his 17-year relationship with Winchester.
At that time, no other American arms maker was in a position to produce this shotgun, so Browning went to Belgium where he arranged for its manufacture by Fabrique Nationale d'Armes de Guerre in Liege. Initial production by the FN firm was in 1903.
In 1905 Remington Arms Co. was licensed to manufacture the Browning shotgun in this country. It was introduced that year as the Remington Model 11 and was offered in 12-, 16-, and 20-ga. and in several grades with various barrel lengths and chokes.
The Model 11 No. 0 Riot Grade shotgun with 18 1/2" barrel in 12-ga. only was offered the following year.
The Model 11 Police Special with 18 1/2" barrel in 12-ga. only was introduced in 1921. The barrel was especially bored for buckshot loads and the gun was furnished with sling swivels.
Remington's Model 11 Riot gun was also introduced in 1921. It was furnished with 20" cylinder-bored barrel in 12-, 16-, and 20-ga.
A 3-shot version of the Model 11 was introduced in 1931. Designated Sportsman Model, it was available in various barrel lengths and grades in 12-, 16-, and 20-ga.
Production of the Model 11 shotgun terminated in 1948 and was replaced the following year by the Model 11-48."
*****
If the shotgun is operating properly otherwise, I would not detail strip it (dis-assembly of entire trigger group) for cleaning - just field strip and then the following:
Now, depending upon how well it has been taken care of in the past, the trigger group may or may not be full of dust, grime, and dirt that is attracted to the same oil that was used to lubricated it. This is what I do on any shotgun trigger group that is suffering from what I call "gunk syndrome" in order to avoid completely disassembling it (sometimes though, you have to 'bite the bullet' and take it apart - avoid this if you have the least bit out doubt, and I mean even the tiniest bit, about whether or not you will be able to get the trigger group reassembled): Buy a can of Birchwood-Casey Gunscrubber... Hose the entire trigger group down, work the action for about a minute to get the Gunscrubber everywhere it needs to be, let it sit for 30 minutes or so, then repeat. Upon the second application (and BTW, the pressure from the can of Gunscrubber will blow quite a bit of gunk out of the assembly, so do this in an area that will not get you in trouble with the Mrs. BEWARE OF FLYING GUNK AS IT WILL STAIN CARPET! I KNOW THIS TO BE TRUE!) you should be making some headway in getting the group clean. I also use canned air from the office supply house to blow the gunk out. Now, canned air can introduce moisture, so I apply another strong round of Gunscrubber just after the canned air. Once clean, I let the Gunscrbber evaporate and then I use Breakfree CLP as the final lubricant. If this type of treatment won't do the trick, it is dis-assembly time... I have only had one semi-auto shotgun cross my bench that the above treatment didn't fix - it was a Remington 1100 that someone had evidently dropped in a nasty puddle of mud while duck hunting. The mud had turned to hard clay...
"Pride goeth before a fall..." My grandmother used to tell me that one all the time when I wouldn't listen to her or my grandfather's sage advise... So, if you have any doubts about working on a firearm, make sure that pride doesn't talk you into something that you will be embarrased about later. I can't count the number of firearms I've had to reassemble for folks that thought they wouldn't have any trouble with a complete dis-assembly "just because they wanted to make sure it was 100% clean" and then couldn't get it back together. They can almost never look you in the eye when they bring one in to you in Ziploc bags for reassembly. I try not to give them a hard time unless they have always exhibited a "know-it-all" attitude when I've dealt with them previously. :-)
Unless you are going to be loading up hot 00 Buck loads or heavy slug loads, I wouldn't worry too much about the shotgun, unless it shows signs of prior abuse. If the bore is not pitted, and the stock is not cracked at the wrist, you are probably just fine with any kind of game load short of heavy, maximum, goose-killer loads (and I would venture to say that you wouldn't even run into any problems then unless you were trying to go through a full case of shells in one day.)
Hope this helps!
Regards,
Raven6
Bookmark for more info for my own Model 11.
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