Hunter-Habib
AH legend
The Author With 12 Gauge Remington Model 11 On An Axis Stag Hunt In Kotka (1983)
I don't know where I first heard it (or even who the original quote is from), but amongst avid shotgunners... the old adage goes "English build the best side by sides, Belgians build the the best over & unders, Italians build the best semi automatics & Americans build the best pump actions". This is certainly true, but not without exceptions.
Take America's first semi automatic shotgun for instance- The Remington Model 11. A licensed copy of the world's first semi automatic shotgun, the Browning A5 (designed by American visionary firearms designer John Moses Browning and originally manufactured at the Fabrique Nationale factory in Belgium before production shifted to the Miroku factory in Japan in 1975 before production completely ceased in 1998). The Remington Model 11 is still my favorite semi automatic shotgun of all time.
Produced at the historical Remington factory at Ilion in New York from 1905-1947, the Remington Model 11 employed a revolutionary long recoil operated mechanism (which in my humble opinion, is still the world's finest mechanism for a semi automatic shotgun). This basically works by having the barrel and bolt both move back upon recoil; the recoil spring around the magazine tube then drives the barrel forward as the bolt is held back, allowing the spent cartridge to eject and a new shell to be lifted up from the magazine and be driven into the chamber as the bolt returns, pushed by the action spring housed in the stock. The Model 11 was offered in 3 calibers- 12 gauge, 16 gauge & 20 gauge. For the purposes of simplifying matters, today our focus will be predominantly upon the 12 gauge variants.
Built with a 2.75'' chamber with a 4+1 capacity in the tubular magazine and weighing 7 LB 12 OZ, a 12 gauge Remington Model 11 was offered in the following grades:
11 A – "Standard" Grade
11 R – "Riot" Special
11 P – "Police" Special
11 B – "Special" Grade
11 C – "Trap" Grade
11 D – "Tournament" Grade
11 E – "Expert" Grade
11 F – "Premier" Grade
Vintage Remington Model 11 Advertisement (1929)
When designing a semi automatic shotgun, The trick was figuring how to regulate the force of recoil so it would work with light-recoiling skeet/trap cartridges or heavy-recoiling game cartridges. If built for heavy loads, light loads wouldn’t have the power to cycle; if built for light loads, heavy loads would hammer with excessive recoil that would batter the gun.
Mr. Browning and his brothers reportedly went through several variations, testing each extensively, and finally arriving at a system of adjustable friction rings that slide over the magazine tube and regulate the compression of the recoil spring. If you planned to shoot light cartridges, you set the rings a certain way; for heavy cartridges, a simple adjustment to how the rings were arranged was needed. Not only did they succeed in this designing a magnificent sporting firearm but they also ended up creating a shotgun which reliably served several armies in a variety of armed conflicts all throughout the entirety of the 20th century. Speaking strictly about the Remington Model 11, the shotgun saw some use during the Second World War amongst American soldiers stationed in the Pacific Theatre. Some were also used in the early stages of the United State's involvement during the Vietnam war (before the Remington Model 870 pump action shotgun would become standardized).
Vintage Remington Model 11 Advertisement Showing The Option For Being Ordered With Variable Chokes (1940)
I personally have used a Remington Model 11 for both tactical purposes & sporting purposes. During my wartime service with the East Bengal Regiment during the 1971 Indo-Pak war, we had a fellow Freedom Fighter by the name of Tonmoy at my Company's base camp in Farua who owned a fully choked Remington Model 11 in 12 gauge (it was his personally owned firearm since he was a fellow hunter just like myself). Tonmoy & I would eventually become fast friends, when we were assigned to night patrol together. Loaded with five rounds of Eley's infamous Alphamax LG buckshot cartridges, Tonmoy's weapon of choice saved our unit from more than one unsavory enemy ambush. The rest of us carried a combination of issued .303 Lee Enfields, 7.62x39mm Soviet AK-47s or (as in my case) the .308 Winchester Belgian FN FAL. In the event of an enemy ambush, it would take Tonmoy less than 3 seconds to let off all 5 rounds into the direction of enemy gunfire. That’s 40 large lead .36 caliber pellets being propelled at a speed of 1120 FPS. On many occasions, I took Tonmoy's venerable Model 11 in my own hands during night patrol. I also frequently used it to hunt small game (loaded with Eley Alphamax Magnum 42 gram #4 cartridges), in order to supplement camp rations (imperial pigeons & red jungle fowl were always a welcome addition to our meager food supplies at the Farua base camp).
After the War was over, I opted to pursue a career in forestry while Tonmoy chose to remain behind in the army. Nevertheless, we both remained (and still remain to this date) close friends. During my various postings as DFO (Divisional Forest Officer) of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Maulvi Bazaar & Sundarbans (between 1972-1989), Tonmoy would often come to visit the forests that I was in charge of so that we could both enjoy some excellent hunting together. Needless to say, that Remington Model 11 & I had quite a few adventures together.
In 2005, Tonmoy told me that he was leaving to Germany to be with his children there (although he still comes here to visit once every year) and that he would like to gift me the old Remington. Although I was extremely touched by my friend’s immense generosity, I was a doubles man through & through (owning a beautiful 1987 made 12 gauge 3” Magnum Beretta Model 626E boxlock ejector side by side). So I instead gifted it to my daughter, Kaniz on her upcoming 25th birthday. And Kaniz & the Model 11 have become nigh inseparable ever since. She had fired a few shots from Tonmoy’s shotgun in the past (when she used to accompany us on some of our hunts) and she always preferred a semi automatic over a side by side or an over & under. She loves taking the grand old gun out for driven Kaleej (Asian bush pheasant) & driven muntjac deer hunts at least a half dozen times throughout the year. For Kaleej, she prefers the German Rottweil Weidmannsheil 36 gram #4. For muntjac, she prefers the Spanish RIO 27 pellet 4 Buck.
Built in 1946, Tonmoy’s Remington Model 11 is now 78 years young but continues to hold it’s own with the smoothness & accuracy of a weapon that just left the factory yesterday. Today, many excellent semi automatic shotguns can be found on the market. Amongst the gas operated variants… some good ones include Berettas & Fabarms from Italy, Winchesters & Brownings from Portugal and Remingtons from the United States. Amongst the inertia operated variants, some good ones include Benellis, Franchis & Bredas from Italy and the new Browning A5 from Portugal.
But in my humble opinion, the old long recoil operated Remington Model 11 will always be THE semi automatic shotgun to beat. A testament to a time when American craftsmen took an immense amount of pride in their work, instead of outsourcing to overseas factories. And a time when fine wooden stocks graced sporting firearms, instead of synthetic monstrosities (although synthetic stocks definitely possess their advantages, no doubt).
Do any of you own a Remington Model 11 or original Browning A5 (the long recoil operated variants; not the currently manufactured Portuguese inertia operated ones) ? If so, how has your hunting experiences been with it so far ?
Remington Model 11 Made In 1946
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