My buddy has an original Remington 1100 Tactical 22" 12GA. It's beautiful, runs great, and I've wanted one for a really long time. Finding one in the configuration I wanted wasn't happening, so I decided to build one myself.
When building a Remington 1100 Tactical, you have 2 configuration options to match the original. 18.5" with 6+1, and 22" 8+1. Now, while Remington made 18.5" 1100 barrels, they certainly don't anymore, and finding an original is not an easy task. What you will find are barrels that have been cut down to size. However, the reason why so many are 18" cut-downs are for sale is because they typically will not cycle lighter loads. I have heard the gas ports for these barrels are the same for 22" up to 28", so theoretically you could only cut to 22" and still have reliable operation.
I started with a Remington 1100 that I got cheap from an estate sale. It had a 28" barrel complete with RMR cuts on the rib vents. The previous owner used it for 3 gun competitions. While it wasn't the classic blued receiver I wanted, it did have the classic engraving, so I was ok with the parkerizing being my only concession. It also had the right stock, speed loading gate, and the oversized charging handle.
First order of business was sourcing a new barrel and removing the 10+1 mag tube extension. I found a used 22" barrel in great condition with the traditional rifle sights. I also sourced a +4 mag tub extension which took capacity to 8+1 and lined up perfectly with the end of the barrel. Once this was done, I removed the parkerized breech bolt assembly and replaced it with the stainless engraved assembly to match the original. After a replaced o-ring and a good cleaning of the internals, I dropped in an oversized safety, cleaned up the receiver as best as I could, and called it a day.
Very happy with the end result. It may be softest 12GA I own and is a dream to shoot.
If you have a google account, here's a video of the first 5 rounds.
Remington 1100: First Rounds
When building a Remington 1100 Tactical, you have 2 configuration options to match the original. 18.5" with 6+1, and 22" 8+1. Now, while Remington made 18.5" 1100 barrels, they certainly don't anymore, and finding an original is not an easy task. What you will find are barrels that have been cut down to size. However, the reason why so many are 18" cut-downs are for sale is because they typically will not cycle lighter loads. I have heard the gas ports for these barrels are the same for 22" up to 28", so theoretically you could only cut to 22" and still have reliable operation.
I started with a Remington 1100 that I got cheap from an estate sale. It had a 28" barrel complete with RMR cuts on the rib vents. The previous owner used it for 3 gun competitions. While it wasn't the classic blued receiver I wanted, it did have the classic engraving, so I was ok with the parkerizing being my only concession. It also had the right stock, speed loading gate, and the oversized charging handle.
First order of business was sourcing a new barrel and removing the 10+1 mag tube extension. I found a used 22" barrel in great condition with the traditional rifle sights. I also sourced a +4 mag tub extension which took capacity to 8+1 and lined up perfectly with the end of the barrel. Once this was done, I removed the parkerized breech bolt assembly and replaced it with the stainless engraved assembly to match the original. After a replaced o-ring and a good cleaning of the internals, I dropped in an oversized safety, cleaned up the receiver as best as I could, and called it a day.
Very happy with the end result. It may be softest 12GA I own and is a dream to shoot.
If you have a google account, here's a video of the first 5 rounds.
Remington 1100: First Rounds
