Remington Model 11 (M11 / Remington Autoloading Gun)

History

In the late 18th century, many of the popular rifle and shotgun designs of renowned American gunmaker John Moses Browning (1855-1926) were exclusively licensed by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. After developing a new shotgun that would become the hugely successful Browning Auto 5, he tried to convince Winchester officials to introduce a new royalty-based charging system based on sales of the design.

Browning was turned away and took his job to the Remington Arms Company in Illian, New York, although the company's then-president suffered a premature heart attack that put the joint venture on hold. With this, Browning acquired production rights in Europe through its existing relationship with the Belgian National Factory (by this time FN had taken over the manufacture of Browning-designed pistols). Over time, the design returned to the United States as Remington had agreed to manufacture the Auto-5 in 1906 under the company name "Remington Self-Loading Shotgun".

When introduced, the Remington shotgun was the first self-loading shotgun made in the United States. In 1911, the shotgun was renamed the "Remington Model 11" and by 1947 some 850,000 had been sold.

The Model 11 has a side-firing, hammerless recoil action for a semi-automatic firing mode. As such, shotguns don't have the more traditional "pump-action" slides that are common in many designs in this weapon class. All internal working parts are housed in a rectangular metal receiver.

The original tables had 12-gauge chambers, although 16- and 20-gauge tables eventually appeared in the 1931-1932 time frame. The wooden shoulder rest has an ergonomically designed pistol grip. The receiver has finely rounded edges and is relatively featureless except for the large ejection port on the right.

The trigger is located under the case, as usual, and is protected by an elongated ring. The front of the weapon has a curved wooden handguard below the barrel, mounted above an internal tubular magazine that holds up to 5 x 12 gauge bullets.

The weapon is charged by manipulating the handle on the right side of the body that is part of the ejection port. The barrel protrudes forward in a conventional manner, with a rear sight mounted above the muzzle. The total weight of the gun is 7 lbs 12 oz.

The Remington Model 11 was one of many shotguns used by the US military during World War II. During the conflict, U.S. war planners procured a variety of weapons, and the U.S. was one of the few nations to go to war with the firepower of a battle rifle. This move has spawned various forms of Type 11 bases, including the "Remington Army Type 11" issued to frontline combatants and guards for riot/prisoner protection duties.

They are roughly faithful to the original Model 11, with barrel lengths of 20 and 26 inches. The Army Air Corps used a slightly modified Model 11 to train aerial gunners in the art of guiding targets in flight.

These shotguns are mounted on special brackets as part of the pseudo-aircraft fuselage in the training spell, and have threaded holes around their receivers for attachment. A Katz compensator is mounted on the muzzle to counteract muzzle rise.

The base model, the Remington Model 11, was called the "Standard" and received the official designation Remington Model 11A. Type 11R Riot Premium, Type 11P Police Premium, Type 11B Premium, Type 11C Trap, Type 11D Competition, Type 11E Expert and Type 11F Premier.

In the years following World War II, Remington reintroduced the Model 11 in a more refined form, the Model 11-48 in 1949. Produced until 1968, these are available in 12-, 16-, 20-, 28- and .410 Calibre.

Again, various grades are available including Standard, Riot, Special, Championship, Premier, Rifled Slug and Sportsman. In 1987, the Model 11 re-emerged with the introduction of the Model 11-87 Autoloader and was available in 12 and 20 sizes. Many markers were added to the base version.

The 1996 Model 11-96 was a short production version (1999) recognized as the European Lightweight Self-Loading Shotgun, rifled 12 caliber.

In addition to the wartime production handled by Remington, the Browning label itself produced approximately 65,000 Remington Model 11s during World War II.

Specification

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Changes