I need to tap your vast knowledge of shotgun goodness. I have been shooting my dads Remington 1100 for years and love it. I recently acquired 1100 that according to Remington was manufactured in 1970. It has a fixed full 30 in barrel. I would like a barrel with chokes. Should I purchase a new remington barrel? Are there third party aftermarket barrels? Should I have chokes installed in the orginal barrel? Where is the best place purchase one. Is there a certain barrel that I should be looking at? I shoot some trap, skeet and little sporting clays, a little bit of all of it which is why I would like the chokes.
Thanks for your insight
Sam
Dear Sam,
The first question to ask is whether, disregarding the choke, the 30″ barrel that you have now suits you. Do you like the balance and the weight? For trap, a 30″ auto is spot on. Ditto for sporting clays. For skeet, even though barrels have gotten longer recently, 30″ might be a bit more than is commonly used in an auto. Remember, the auto has an extra 3.5″ of receiver compared to an O/U, so a 30″ auto is equal to a 33.5″ O/U in overall length. Try some skeet with your 30″ barrels, ignoring the full choke, and see how you like the balance and swing. If it’s OK, then the smart move would be to get your existing 30″ barrel retrofitted with screw chokes.
If you don’t like the 30″ length, or want to keep it just for trap, then buying a new barrel is the way to go. You’ll probably get the barrel from Remington as most the the other producers of 1100 barrels that I have seen make specialty barrels, not standard target ones. Don’t overlook getting a used Remington barrel from one of the web sites.
If you like your existing barrel and want to go the screw choke route, just about anyone can stick screw chokes in a single barrel gun like an 1100. Lots of metal to play with. Colonial Arms, Trulock and Briley (all have internet sites) all come to mind. I’ve seen excellent work from all of them. Screw choking an 1100 barrel isn’t brain surgery. Any of them ought to do a good job at a fair price. Don’t spend extra money on fancy chokes. They are just like those shining fishing lures that do more to attract the fisherman than the fish. Be aware too that if you get extended chokes for your gun, it will add something around an extra ounce right at the muzzle of your barrel. You might not want that on a 30″ auto.
One final alternative might be to just have the existing barrel wiped out to Modified (.020″) and shoot it for everything. It’s a little tight for skeet, but usable. For 16 yard trap and sporting clays it is ideal.
Best regards,
Bruce Buck
Shotgun Report’s Technoid
Shotgun Report® 
…or buy a skeet barrel for your 1100. I own one.
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just buy a used choke barrel and keep the 30 full. they are better barrels for doves pheasants and trap
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I own an 1972 1100 with a fixed full 30 barrel and that thing crushes targets. In mean it annihilates them. DO NOT MODIFY It AND DO NO LISTEN TO ANYONE WHO WOULD TELL YOU TO BECAUSE THEY DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE. You can probably find a used choke tube barrel for a good price if you want to keep it or trade your fixed choke barrel for one because you don’t have to have it fitted, it slide right in. BUT PLEASE DON’T MODIFY IT.
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Spot on from the Technoid.
If you want to open it up to a fixed mod. that would probably be the less expensive solution. On short sporting clay shots you could use a spreader load and it would solve the problem. On longer targets out past 40 yds. AA SHCP 1 1/8 oz. 7 1/2’s should do it. Good luck with it.
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