I have an old Remington Model 11 that dates to around 1942 to 1943. Since I don't know that much about it I started kicking around the auction sites to see what they were selling for. I found a description that matches almost exactly what I have (minus the second barrel) and am wanting to get some opinions on the sellers description and conclusions about his shotgun. For informational purposes, his shotgun sold for almost $650. Seemed really high to me. The description is as follows:
Remington Model 11 SPORTSMAN 12 gauge automatic shotgun, with US Military property marks and in Good to VG condition overall. It comes with 2 barrels, which also are both military marked. This shotgun has some strong points and a few detractions, but is mechanically sound, complete and is not a cutdown. The Model 11 shotgun was originally a copy of the Browning Auto-5, sold by Remington on the commercial sporting market. It was the brainchild of John M. Browning and was the first reliable and successful self-loading automatic shotgun. During both WWI and WWII, the US military purchased Model 11s to suppliment trenchguns, as training weapons or issued them for soldiers on guard duety. Most were sold off as surplus after the Second World War. Today most have been lost, destroyed, or modified into sporting arms. The shotgun I am selling here is pretty nice. It is not all matching, but does appear to be all original military and is proofed as such. It seems mechanically sound, with all its parts; though I have not testfired it myself. I do trust the longtime customer of mine who brought this one in and he states it is functional. So lets get into the markings. Receiver is serial 7103xx. It has the usual Remington and Browning paten markings on the left side and after that has 'US' followed by the Flaming Bomb proof mark, and then has 'Military Finish' stamped on it. The buttstock has the Crossed Cannons stamp and the well known 'FJA' inspector's mark. I didn't notice anything marked on the forearm. Both the 20" and the 26" barrels appear to be original military parts and not cutdowns. Both have the usual Remington and Browning patent markings, 12 GA for 2 & 3/4ths, and R.E.P. in a circle followed bya six pointed Star. Both also have 'US' and the Flaming Bomb on their tops. The 20" barrel has 'CYL' for cylinder choke and 'XL' , which is perhaps the datecode? The 26" barrel has IMP CYL for Improved cylinder and BL., as what i guess again to be the date. Neither barrel's serial matches the receiver, but both appear to be military as i said. This seems to be a SPORTSMAN model rather than an actual Model 11, as it has the shorter magazine tube and forearm. The tube holds 3 rounds rather than 4, plus 1 in the chamber. The bolt however, is not matching and is marked Model 11. So again it must have been mixed up some time in this shotgun's past. Still all parts are Remington and since everything else is military, I bet the bolt came out of a military issued Model 11 too. Probably got mixed up during cleaning or was used as a replacement part when the original bolt brokedown in the field. The metal finish on everything is in nice shape with no rust or pitting and only normal wear from age, use, and storage. The action is tight and the trigger crisp. I really truely do not think this weapon has been fired much, especially not considering its age. There are 3 detractions to this old shotgun. First off, it probably has an aftermarket buttplate, but an old one. The plate is marked: 'Trade WHITE LINE MARK' and 'Pachmayr Gun Works, Las Angeles 15 California, USA.' Based on this rollmark, this is quite an old recoil pad. I have seen so many Model 11s with similar pads, i begin to wonder if some were not fitted by the military themselves? but I will play it safe and say its probably a civie add-on.
Remington Model 11 SPORTSMAN 12 gauge automatic shotgun, with US Military property marks and in Good to VG condition overall. It comes with 2 barrels, which also are both military marked. This shotgun has some strong points and a few detractions, but is mechanically sound, complete and is not a cutdown. The Model 11 shotgun was originally a copy of the Browning Auto-5, sold by Remington on the commercial sporting market. It was the brainchild of John M. Browning and was the first reliable and successful self-loading automatic shotgun. During both WWI and WWII, the US military purchased Model 11s to suppliment trenchguns, as training weapons or issued them for soldiers on guard duety. Most were sold off as surplus after the Second World War. Today most have been lost, destroyed, or modified into sporting arms. The shotgun I am selling here is pretty nice. It is not all matching, but does appear to be all original military and is proofed as such. It seems mechanically sound, with all its parts; though I have not testfired it myself. I do trust the longtime customer of mine who brought this one in and he states it is functional. So lets get into the markings. Receiver is serial 7103xx. It has the usual Remington and Browning paten markings on the left side and after that has 'US' followed by the Flaming Bomb proof mark, and then has 'Military Finish' stamped on it. The buttstock has the Crossed Cannons stamp and the well known 'FJA' inspector's mark. I didn't notice anything marked on the forearm. Both the 20" and the 26" barrels appear to be original military parts and not cutdowns. Both have the usual Remington and Browning patent markings, 12 GA for 2 & 3/4ths, and R.E.P. in a circle followed bya six pointed Star. Both also have 'US' and the Flaming Bomb on their tops. The 20" barrel has 'CYL' for cylinder choke and 'XL' , which is perhaps the datecode? The 26" barrel has IMP CYL for Improved cylinder and BL., as what i guess again to be the date. Neither barrel's serial matches the receiver, but both appear to be military as i said. This seems to be a SPORTSMAN model rather than an actual Model 11, as it has the shorter magazine tube and forearm. The tube holds 3 rounds rather than 4, plus 1 in the chamber. The bolt however, is not matching and is marked Model 11. So again it must have been mixed up some time in this shotgun's past. Still all parts are Remington and since everything else is military, I bet the bolt came out of a military issued Model 11 too. Probably got mixed up during cleaning or was used as a replacement part when the original bolt brokedown in the field. The metal finish on everything is in nice shape with no rust or pitting and only normal wear from age, use, and storage. The action is tight and the trigger crisp. I really truely do not think this weapon has been fired much, especially not considering its age. There are 3 detractions to this old shotgun. First off, it probably has an aftermarket buttplate, but an old one. The plate is marked: 'Trade WHITE LINE MARK' and 'Pachmayr Gun Works, Las Angeles 15 California, USA.' Based on this rollmark, this is quite an old recoil pad. I have seen so many Model 11s with similar pads, i begin to wonder if some were not fitted by the military themselves? but I will play it safe and say its probably a civie add-on.
