I am thinking about getting a new Remington 11-87 police model. A dealer near me has one for sale. I have a 870 already and love it.

Hear is my question. I have heard from different sources that the 11-87 WILL NOT feed the Federal Tactical (light recoil) 00 ammo. Can someone please confirm or deny this. I have tons of the federal ammo and would like to be able to use it in both shotguns. Also will the 11-87 feed #7 ?

I don't want to have to buy different ammo for the 11-87. I like to keep things simple. Thanks for your help.

Maybe they have changed since I tested three several years ago, but none of the ones I fired were completely reliable with the "Tactical" (reduced recoil and effectiveness) buckshot made by Federal or Remington. (This was before WW started producing the loads) I sent 'em back to Remington. Never tried one since, however, so maybe they are better now. (?)

308, I wish the answer was simple. Two weeks ago I was sheet shooting with a guy that had a 11-87 special purpose. He uses the gun for ducks but wanted to see how it handled on the skeet field. He had three brands of light field loads, Federal, Winchester and Remington. The Remington and Federal worked great but the Winchester failed to feed. It is trial and error. Someone told me that Remington is offering a free something or other that allows the use of light field loads. You might want to go to their web site for more info. You can e-mail Remington with any questions you have. MIKE.

Thanks for the reply's. I have been doing some more research about the subject. I have found several site's that say yes and others that say no. It looks like the older model 11-87 had problems with the light tactical loads. All the web sites that said yes, were referencing the newer models.

I would really like to get the 11-87 for sale at my dealer. Anyone else have any thoughts about this?

308, Why not different loads for different guns? Even if the tactical loads cycle ok they may not pattern well. You might need a different load anyway. I own many, too many shotguns. They all like something different. Two years ago I started using a salt and pepper notebook at the range to record who liked what because it was becoming confusing. I would not pass on a gun that I like simply because I had to use different loads from other guns I own. MIKE.

Mike103>> I hear what your saying. And your right, but it's more of a logistics problem for me.

I do allot of sport shooting, not allot of hunting. I've been stocking up on ammo whenever I can. Lets just say that I now have ALLOT of Federal Tactical OO and Federal Tactical Slugs. I have also have most of it stashed for a rainy day ;) I'm a firm believer in KISS. Therefore I try to keep things simple. Instead of having a bunch of guns in all different calibers, I have several guns in certain calibers.

I try to keep my inventory setup so that all my .308 rifles shoot the same ammo, all my .45 pistols shoot the same ammo, ect ect ect. So I wanted to setup my shotguns to all shoot the same ammo. I hope this makes sense.

308, It is nice to hear from other neurotics from time to time so I do not feel all alone. We all have our own pet peeves, ammo is also one of mine but I take the other route. I want every load made for all of my guns so that I have the perfect load for every occasion. Same church, different pew. MIKE.

You have two choices if you really want an 11-87 and really want it to feed light loads.  
One choice is permanent and that is to have a competent gunsmith or machinist drill out the gas ports a few thousandths of an inch.  I don't remember the exact number on mine.  I had a machinist friend open it up just a few thousandths and we tried it out.  I think we did it twice before it functioned perfectly.  The downside is that it kicks slightly more if using full-power loads.  
The second choice is much easier and is what Remington told us to do.  Simply add a second barrel gas o-ring.  Some guns don't need a second one to function reliably with light loads; some guns do.  
After you get your gun, try it out.  If it works fine, don't fix it.  If it doesn't work perfectly, add a second gas ring and it should run like a champ.
You can buy the rings from Brownell's by the dozen.
www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/store/ProductDetail.aspx?p=324&s=1550#1550
www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/store/ProductDetail.aspx?p=9615&s=24062#24062

Mike103>> I thought I was the only anal retentive person still around!! Nice to know I have company.

EPD1102>> AWESOME! Thanks for the tips. I was starting to get discoraged. I'm going to pickup the gun on Monday and will test it out at the range.

Thanks again to everyone for your help.

Good luck and congratulations.  Let us know how it works for you and what route you take to fix the problems if you have any.

A friend just dropped off a Remington 11-87 Special Purpose. It has a 3" chamber, 26" vent rib barrel and synthetic stocks. He does not want it anymore wants to see if I need it. Well I wish it was 3 1/2" chamber but I will shoot it tomorrow and see. MIKE.

Quoted: A friend just dropped off a Remington 11-87 Special Purpose. It has a 3" chamber, 26" vent rib barrel and synthetic stocks. He does not want it anymore wants to see if I need it. Well I wish it was 3 1/2" chamber but I will shoot it tomorrow and see. MIKE.

calverton or brookhaven?

The 26" barrel will probably shoot the light loads better than a shorter barrel.  You might need to do some "doctor-ing" if you decide to shorten the barrel.
It must be nice to just have people drop off guns with you to see if you want them.  

Hop, Brookhaven late in the afternoon on Sunday.

EDP, I have several friends who have huge collections, much bigger than mine and they like to share. Several years ago I decided to immerse myself in this sport and have met many good friends including people from this site. I have many more invitations to shoot than time to shoot. MIKE.

When I was at Scattergun, we found that the 18" and 20" barreled 1187s functioned pretty well with Fed Light Tactical. When we went to 14", it took some major opening of the gas ports to get them 100% reliable.

Thanks,
Lee