I have 2 11-87 20ga Youth shotguns I got for 2 youngest sons. They both have the same issues with the 3" magnum waterfowl loads. When fired, the bolt locks up or gets jammed in the receiver. After researching, it was recommended to remove the barrel seal. On one of them this fix seems to work but the other keeps jamming. The one that will work without the barrel seal, ejects the empty hull 10-12’ away which tells me there’s still not enough recoil absorption and probably will do the same as the other eventually. I did phone Remington and they said that I was not supposed to remove the barrel seal and that I should send it for repair. It seems to me that the recoil spring would be to light. They both function flawlessly with barrel seal and light target loads. Any suggestions or experiences with this? Thanks.
11-87 20ga 3" magnum issues
- Thread starter 338x
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The recoil springs located in the stock were cleaned. Also, ran a mop in the tube. If the barrel seal stay than both shotguns will malfunction. In the manual for the 11-87 super mag 12ga, it does say to remove the barrel seal if I remember correctly.
We are talking two different things. I am talking o ring seal and you the barrel seal activator which blocks the flow of gasses to the relief vents so you have enough pressure to function with "light" loads.Yes it has to come out for 3" rounds . Is the o ring factory remington and do you have it assembled as the pic
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"Gas cylinder collar spring", on the gas piston, I think.
I am talking o ring seal and you the barrel seal activator which blocks the flow of gasses to the relief vents so you have enough pressure to function with "light" loads.Yes it has to come out for 3" rounds . Is the o ring factory remington and do you have it assembled as the pic
That's true for the 12 gauge Super mag, but not for the 20 gauge gun. Leave the barrel seal activator in for all loads, according to the instructions. That's how mine functions with both target and 3". However, I think it is worth the experiment to see what happens if you leave it out.
I was told it is the same for the 20ga from remington so it gets interesting. There is no other reason for it to be even there on the 20 ga if not since one size port hole cannot do all
Reminds me of the old 1100 with the 3" barrel single port. Yes some would cycle 2 3/4 but they were rare ones and we could never figure out why nor would they do all brands of 2 3/4
.
Cheers
Right from the Remington manual:
MODEL 11-87™ SUPER MAGNUM™ OWNERS PLEASE NOTE: A BARREL SEAL ACTIVATOR IS USED ON
THE MODEL 11-87 SUPER MAGNUM FOR 23⁄4" LOADS. MAKE SURE THE BARREL SEAL ACTIVATOR IS
IN THE CORRECT POSITION (SEE PICTURE 31, P.17) FOR USE WITH 23⁄4" LOADS. REMOVAL OF
THE BARREL SEAL ACTIVATOR IS RECOMMENDED ONLY WHEN USING 3" OR 3 1⁄2" LOADS.
8. FOR 11-87 12-GA. SUPER MAGNUM ONLY:
Slide the barrel seal, barrel seal activator (when using 23⁄4"
shells), and piston/piston seal assembly from the magazine
tube. See Picture 23a.
IMPORTANT: A BARREL SEAL ACTIVATOR IS USED ON THE
MODEL 11-87 SUPER MAGNUM WHEN USING 23⁄4" LOADS.
REMOVAL OF THE BARREL SEAL ACTIVATOR IS RECOMMENDED
WHEN USING 3" OR 31⁄2" LOADS.
FOR 11-87 12-GA. (23⁄4" - 3") ONLY. Slide the barrel seal and piston/
piston seal assembly from the magazine tube. See Picture 23b.
FOR 11-87 20-GA. ONLY. Slide the barrel seal, barrel seal activator,
piston and piston seal from the magazine tube. See Picture 24.
MODEL 11-87™ SUPER MAGNUM™ OWNERS PLEASE NOTE: A BARREL SEAL ACTIVATOR IS USED ON
THE MODEL 11-87 SUPER MAGNUM FOR 23⁄4" LOADS. MAKE SURE THE BARREL SEAL ACTIVATOR IS
IN THE CORRECT POSITION (SEE PICTURE 31, P.17) FOR USE WITH 23⁄4" LOADS. REMOVAL OF
THE BARREL SEAL ACTIVATOR IS RECOMMENDED ONLY WHEN USING 3" OR 3 1⁄2" LOADS.
8. FOR 11-87 12-GA. SUPER MAGNUM ONLY:
Slide the barrel seal, barrel seal activator (when using 23⁄4"
shells), and piston/piston seal assembly from the magazine
tube. See Picture 23a.
IMPORTANT: A BARREL SEAL ACTIVATOR IS USED ON THE
MODEL 11-87 SUPER MAGNUM WHEN USING 23⁄4" LOADS.
REMOVAL OF THE BARREL SEAL ACTIVATOR IS RECOMMENDED
WHEN USING 3" OR 31⁄2" LOADS.
FOR 11-87 12-GA. (23⁄4" - 3") ONLY. Slide the barrel seal and piston/
piston seal assembly from the magazine tube. See Picture 23b.
FOR 11-87 20-GA. ONLY. Slide the barrel seal, barrel seal activator,
piston and piston seal from the magazine tube. See Picture 24.
Yes sir fully aware of what the original owners manual has printed BUT
Cheers
The but from others with the issue and matches what I was told
Somewhere on this site there was a discussion about the need for the barrel seal activator on the 1187 20 ga. I couldnt locate that thread, so I wrote Remington today as follows:
"Web chat groups debate whether the barrel seal activator on the 1187 20 ga. should be removed or not when shooting magnum loads. The manual says nothing about it for the 20 ga. So my question: was the 1187 20 ga. designed to shoot magnum shells (3” or 2 ¾” mags) with the activator installed?
Would it hurt the gun to remove the activator? My action is well broken in and will eject even light loads 8-10 from the gun. I would like it to eject shells closer to the gun and thought that removing the activator might reduce bolt velocity a bit.
I would appreciate if an engineer would respond the my questions or at least review the answer from tech support."
Here is the reply Remignton's tech support: "The barrel seal activator should only be used with low brass shells. The "rule of thumb" is basically to use it only when the gun will not cycle. Thanks,"
My further question is that if this is the case why does the manual say nothing about it. Does anyone on this form have thoughts on this?
And while I agree that Remington needs to address and revise their owners manual or at least send a revised attachment to those who have registered a 20 gauge gun with them. The statement in the manual regarding removal of the actuator for the Supermag 11-87 should clearly send up a red flag question to any 20 guage owners who are thinking of using the gun for 3" loads since their gun uses the same part.
Also, I finally spoke with a tech rep who was on the ball and understood exactly what my problem was, who told me that the activator should absolutely be removed when shooting heavy loads, he even said "it's in the manual", though I pointed out that the manual only makes that recommendation for the 12-ga Super Mag, not the 20, and he agreed that it was unclear and needed to be amended.
Thanks,
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Agree. I wonder if the Op cleaned the ports with a welding tip cleaner. Sometimes a bit of carbon builds up and one cannot even see it
I cannot think of anything else that could be wrong with his guns can you
Cheers
the spank
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No wonder I quit shooting remington semi’s 30 years ago! BTW 3macs1 I got my 3200 back yesterday. It looks good and is ready to go and I’m still leery to shoot it for fear something will break in the middle of a round but damned it looks good! 
No wonder I quit shooting remington semi’s 30 years ago! BTW 3macs1 I got my 3200 back yesterday. It looks good and is ready to go and I’m still leery to shoot it for fear something will break in the middle of a round but damned it looks good!
Cool .So what did he have to do to fix it. Was it the shim related
Cheers
the spank
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Planet Earth Wearing My Tinfoil Hat
Yes needed the shim removed and forend iron screw adjusted properly. He said the shim really didn’t need removing yet as after adjusting the forend iron you could no longer feel any movement once locked but since he was stripping and dismantling the entire gun to go through it he took the shim out so the hood would slide further forward. He said the gun was in excellent shape with no wear. Figures it hadn’t seen any significant amount of use. Said it should be good for 100,000 rds before needing anything, lol.
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I thought so. Been a long time since I had one of those apart but remember when I did it was usually playing with shims to correct what you were describing
Regardless she is tight and good now for another 100,000 rounds
Enjoy it they are sweet as you know
take care
the spank
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Planet Earth Wearing My Tinfoil Hat
Interesting fellow, he took a 34” 870 trap barrel, made his own monobloc, sweated the barrel onto the monobloc, installed a high rib and made it into an unsingle that he fit it to a 3200 he had. Said he shot it for years along with a 90T HPAR he owned and both guns were stolen off a rack at a shoot in Arizona a few years ago.
Unreal. Don't see many of those 34" 870 barrels any more and when you do they go for at least 500 US
Cheers
Hello guys, back in the thread... You guys got busy! So, Remington in confirming that the barrel seal activator needs to come off with makes a lot of sense. If with the barrel seal activator is removed and still have the bolt to lock in the receiver, should I also remove o'ring seal?
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