Humpback disease

[ctgodog]

I did it again....

There was a local rod & gun club gun show this weekend, and I didn't even go....trying to recover from the gun buying disease!!!!

Instead, I stopped by my favorite gun shop on the way home, to visit with my neighbor-owner, and we had a nice visit about search and rescue for lost hikers and hunters, deer and elk hunting, his gold mine, and chuckar hunting!!!

So, I decided to peruse the wall of used rifles and shotguns. OH MY GOSH!!! Remingtons, Winchesters, Sears, Mosseburgs, and everything in between. There it was!!!

REMINGTON 11, 12 GAUGE, AUTO!!! A REAL humpback!!!

Picked it up, looked it over, shouldered it, cocked the operating handle, pulled the trigger, SWEET!!!

Original metal is excellent, no rust, wood is fairly nice, with a repaired crack in the fore arm. Has had some type of varnish applied to the wood. I played around with it until I was convinced that it was in fairly decent original condition. I measured the length of pull and the barrel. LOP is 14 inches with a limb saver pad added. Barrel is full choke, and has been cut off to 24", and the bead sight replaced. So choke has been eliminated.... I broke it down to check the crack and the repair job,....nicely done!! Chambered some 12 gauge shells, and ejected them a couple times. Functions nicely....Checked the date code for mfg. date...June 1936!! Don't know what grade it is, it is a Sportsman with engraving, three pheasants on the right side, and three mallards on the left, and the stock and forearm is checkered.

This is a consignment shotgun, for $165. I offered them $130...call the owner....!!!! Settled at $150. It followed me home!!!

I will steel wool the wood and finish it with tung oil.

This should be a great brush gun for chuckars!!! Short barrel for fast shooting, and don't have to worry about using it in rough country where falling down and bad weather is the norm.

Clint

[sighthound]

You got a good price on this Clint, these with 3 birds on each side are not encountered often, couple of questions if you don't mind, does the serial of the barrel match the receiver? The reason i ask is I have never seen one of these with 3 bird engraving this late, all I have seen is 1930/31. However, information on mfg. dates on 11s is very incomplete (need a Henwood Book on 11s) and during the cleanup period at end of production everything seems to have been dug out of parts bin and assembled, but I am thinking your barrel with date code may have been changed. Have done this myself to improve appearance on my wall while saving the original to give future owner option of having original barrel. 11s are my first love before 8s and going back to my Dad's in the mid 1930s when at 12 i started using it. Thanks for sharing info on your find. Jerry

[ctgodog]

Jerry,

Serial # on barrel is the same as the receiver....#506608, and the date code stamp is PE. I double checked the serial #'s when I broke it down at the gun shop. We looked up the date code in a Remington book. Maybe we didn't do it right....feel free to correct me if I am wrong. When was the end of production for Model 11's?

Clint

[imfuncity]

The mask is traveling...! Another amazing steal! Good job.

[sighthound]

See something new daily, makes life and collecting interesting, that serial certainly is 1936 production according to best info I have. Production of 11s supposedly ended in 1948 with introduction of 11-48, however, apparently cleanup production with leftover parts continued, I have seen many 12 ga. Sportsman models with serial higher than 602,466 which is highest number on info I have. Another question does your gun have prefix S on serial? Some early ones did, but not all. Need to get mine out and look them over again.
There was a post on Remington Society in 2005 by John Tipton of information compiled by Sam M. Alvis,Manager 1/7/72, Illion Research Division that gives serial numbers of all model and gauges from 1905 thu 1948, however, the list is incomplete and last time I looked was no longer there. Also, there was a post on this forum in June 2011 of handwritten Remington records that is a can of worms, no wonder Remington records are such a mess and incomplete. If you Clint or anyone else would like a copy of what I have, shoot me an 8-1/2 x 11 SASE and I will copy and snail mail the 25 pages of the info I have. Since I am mostly computer illerate I can't do it online. Jerry

[sighthound]

CRS struck again, forgot to add mailing address to previous post.
Jerry King
3313 Camrose Ln
Boise, ID 83706-2712

[imfuncity]

Jerry, if you would like I'll get your 25pgs on-line for you, on your confuser or on mine which ever is handier for you.

[gramps35]

Nice find! Gotta love those humpbacks. I've had my grandfathers Model 11 for a couple of years now and it functions perfectly.

I cleaned her up after a complete teardown and the only thing I found wrong was the small fiber washer at the rear of the receiver needed replacing. It was brittle and cracked. You may want to check yours. You should be able to see it with the bolt forward and shining a light inside.
My only complaint is not being able to shoot steel shot through the girl. That keeps me from shooting her near any wetlands, so duck hunting is out.

[sighthound]

Thanks for the posting offer Mitch, posting will be easier and widely distributed. I had thought the hand written info was posted on this forum but in reviewing am now sure it came from Remington Society site as well as the Tipton posting. Checking my 3 bird Sportsman 11s, one is 1936 like Clints. CRS is at work again. Will get copies in mail to you. Jerry

[DWalt]

Due to the obvious interest here in the various humpback shotguns (Remington, Browning/FN, and Stevens) and their very close kinship with the Models 8 and 81, maybe there should be a subforum on this site devoted to them. It could be beneficial in increasing interest in this forum.

I truly regret selling the two Remington 11s (1-20ga; 1-12ga) I once owned. I don't believe there was a finer semi-auto shotgun ever made (but maybe lighter-weight ones).

[imfuncity]

Good idea, was thinking the same thing myself. And I could post the research that Sighthound is sending me.

[Sarge756]

Dewalt....I second Imfuncity with a ditto. Look forward to the exchange of information on the 11`s and A 5`s. Joe

[ctgodog]

I think that is an excellent idea DWalt,... I would like to learn everything that I can about them. I am sure that there are some of you who have had some experience with them. At the present time, I am redoing the woodwork on my Model 11. The previous owner had used a spray varnish or shellac and it look really tacky. Hopefully I can do a better job.
After a light sanding to remove the ugly finish, I used #000 steel wool to smooth out the wood, and then applied Old Masters tung oil. It is not like this one is an unaltered original, with the 24" barrel and the butt pad that has been added. Besides, I plan on shooting the s--- out it, providing it shoots. I'll find out in a few days.

This 75 year old shot gun is in amazing shape other than the wood finish. After sanding off the varnish, the wood looked absolutely great. There were only a couple of minor dings....one on the butt stock, and one on the fore arm. Not really even noticeable.... just enough to give it the used look, and add a little character.

I forgot to mention that it has a solid matte rib barrel.

Looks like Cam has a new page to produce. Thanks Cam.

Clint

[DWalt]

Good to know there is another devotee of Tung oil as a stock finish. I am in the midst of refinishing the stock set for my new (to me) M81 using Tung oil, the latest of many I have done. My normal procedure is to dissolve the existing finish with acetone (won't work with synthetic finishes, though), work it down with 0000 steel wool, wipe down with paint thinner (mineral spirits), and apply at least 4 coats of oil, with steel wool and and a paint thinner wipedown treatment between each coat.

I have tried steaming out dents in the past, and the best I can say is sometimes it helps and sometimes it does not. It doesn't hurt to try, but it does raise the wood grain which means some extra work. I avoid any heavy sanding, and would rather just leave the dents in place as a sign of use. Occasionally I have to fill deep holes, as were present on my current project. The best way to do this (if you can) is to save your sanding dust, and mix it with Super Glue as a filler (some use Elmer's Glue), as it matches perfectly. I just used regular walnut filler this time on mine, as the holes were small. I did have to do a little touchup on the filled spots with a brown magic marker to match them better with the surrounding wood.

[ctgodog]

I have finished my refinishing project on the Model 11 stock....I think that I will take some pictures and send them to Mitch to post for me. I have also finished the stocks on my Grandpa's 1911 30 Rem, and my 1907 30 Rem. Get ready Mitch!!!! I can't seem to resize my pictures so that I can down load them to the sight. Guess that I should try again.

Clint

[imfuncity]

Send away. Often when you email them your email provider automatically downsizes them - as a work around you might try emailing them to yourself and re-saving them to see if that works on the downsizing. Notwithstanding, I can usually get them on the forum - especially if you put me in your will for that Python.

[ctgodog]

Fired six rounds through the 1936 Model 11 today....functions perfectly!!! I really love this shotgun....the wood refinished very nicely, and it looks great.

Clint