Ok, since I rarely shot shotgun but I'm starting to get into it I know very little.
I just picked up this 1100



I'm wondering what you as 3 gunners would deem as helpful additions. I'm not going all out but I started sifting through all the accessories on line and so far I know I want the XS dot to relace the front bead sight.

After that I'm pretty much lost. I know one answer will likely be practice. But I'm looking for anything that might enhance reliability or function without breaking the bank. Also where to buy from? Are there 3 gun specific sites I should look at?

Also this shotgun has the extended tube and a side saddle already.

Love 1100's.  Love mine.  Any idea how many rounds through it?  Extractors should be a maintenance item, is there a low drag follower in already ?  Common when adding the extension.

The XS sights are very nice,   but
You can do fine with a bead front sight,  you may find you want to swap the barrel and/or throw that cash at choke tubes.

How well does that suit your physical size?  The first thing I would do is swap out the furniture for some plastics; save the wood.

You may find a short stock fits better and is easier to manipulate.

You can find foregrips that will make quadloads much easier than the wood.  And with plastics, once you find your grip on cheek weld, the plastic is easily stippled, sanded, mared, painted, etc..

Something like this Plastics w/speed feed foregrip

Or this pistol grip stock

The price of shotshell holders will add up quickly.

Practice loading, both hands, a lot.  Practice loading 2-3 times more than you shoot.  I keep a bucket to unload shells into at the range when loading practice, then practice loading while walking, if you have somewhere safe.  For most of my local matches, loading is a huge time killer for alot of guys.

The photo is not very clear - does the gun already have an EZ Loader installed? This vital accessory should be the number one priority; ideally, install using a solid pin or a piece of music wire inside the roll pin, and consider shortening the EZ Loader to improve reliability.

After that, replace the following known-weak parts: action spring, forend support, barrel seal, magazine spring (get a couple of the Wolff Extra Power spring, then experiment to find the optimal length). While you are ordering, buy an extra of each so you have spares in your range bag. Also, inspect the gas seal/piston assembly and the link for cracks or other evidence of impending failure - I have broken a couple of each over the years. Also inspect the circlips that secure the interceptor latch to be sure the latch does not have excessive play... if it does, Brownells sells a kit with circlips of different thicknesses to tighten things up.

After installing the new parts, give the whole thing a damned good cleaning, especially around the magazine tube where the piston runs (do NOT use steel wool in this area - nylon or phosphor bronze brush only), lubricate lightly then run it. Clean and re-lube religiously after each use. Lastly, read THIS VALUABLE ADVICE and follow the recommended maintenance rigidly.

I ran 11-87s for about 15 years and they always performed well for me. The platform is not as robust as more modern designs (hence the need to keep a close eye on weak parts), but it can give loyal service and won't lose you the match if you do your part.

Thanks for the input, I acquired a synthetic stock and forearm at a decent price and ordered the front sight.

It does not have an easy loader but I will put that on the list. As well as those smaller parts.

Thanks again! I will keep this updated with any progress I make.

I haven't really handled an 1100 in a long time.  Can you open up the loading port to facilitate quad loading?  


Something like this is common on many 3-gun shotguns.






I have opened up my Benelli but not to that extent.  


I would urge you to shoot some matches with that shotgun before you spend a lot of money on it.  The Stoeger is the best value shotgun in 3-gun IMHO.

I saw that page for 1100 maintenance years ago and could never find my way back to it.  THANK YOU!  Getting bookmarked!