bill c68 said:
I was just sitting down watching TV... and letting my brain rest... does it operate normally when a shell is loaded in the mag? Then when the mag is empty, it blocks the vent?
Other way round actually but you've pretty much sorted out how it works.
This is a shell “catcher” of sorts and the modification is done to limit the number of shells a skeet shooter has to pick up off the ground.
To make this device work there are tiny gas ports drilled into the magazine tube underneath the indentation where the rubber o-ring sits (I did mention another modification to the gun in my first post.)
The aluminum tube replaces the follower in the magazine tube. The magazine cap with a hole replaces the standard magazine cap.
The Remington 1100 and every other gas-operated gun bleeds off gas from the shell through holes in the barrel to work the action. On this gun however if there is only a shell in the chamber and the magazine is empty the gun doesn’t eject the empty hull or lock the action back. The gas goes through the holes in the barrel, into the magazine tube and out the hole in the magazine cap. The hull has to be removed by hand.
But when there are two shells in the gun for doubles the aluminum tube slides forward blocking the gas ports in the magazine tube and the action functions normally, ejecting and feeding the second shell. But on the second shell the aluminum tube has slid back and the action doesn’t eject the final shell which also has to be removed by hand.
So a skeet shooter would shoot singles by loading only one round and ejecting manually. But on doubles the gun would fire twice but only the second empty would have to be removed manually. Instead of picking up 25 hulls the shooter would only have to retrieve four. The Remington 1100 has a reputation of throwing hulls a considerable distance and if you’ve priced 28 gauge hulls you’ll know why this modification might be appealing.
I didn’t know this modification has been done the first time I shot the gun and needless to say I was scratching my head over a gun that worked on doubles but wouldn’t eject the last shell or a singly-loaded round. I didn't find the aluminum tube until after I'd shot the gun and didn't know what it did at first. When I did figure it out I was definitely impressed with ingenuity of the unit.
The smith I showed it to hadn’t seen one either but subsequently learned it was a modification done by the now-defunct Delhi Small Arms in Delhi, Ontario.
This design makes use of existing factory parts except for the aluminum tube. For a shotgun techno-junkie like me this kind ingenuity fascinates me. I’d love to track down who did the work.
Has anyone ever seen one like it or know anything about the people who made it?
