Remington 11-48 help needed

[218bee]

I'm trying to help out a friend of my son who has an older 11-48 shotgun. He told me of two problems...doesn't cycle well meaning bolt doesn't retract far enough to eject shell...after completely disassembling I'm thinking after a good cleaning and maybe some new springs this problem will be solved. Or if anyone has any tips on these I'll listen.
My main question relates to his second problem....last time he shot it the bolt handle would fly off after a few shots. Well I see where there is a "ball" under tension of a spring that fits into the bolt handle to hold it in place. This ball is damaged (rough not round on top) and if I push it down into its recess under spring tension it will ocassionally stick down. Anyone know how the hell to get that ball and spring out???? There is a tiny hole below it in the slide assy but dont see what that would do. I see Numrich has a slide for $27 which I would buy and put in for the kid but dont know if it comes with ball and spring in it. My disassembly book states this is not normally removed during normal disassembly but gives no more info.
I'm hoping someone here can offer some advice. I'd like to see the kid keep on shootin this old girl. Any input appreciated........Thanks

[RSOJim]

I bought two of them a few years ago at gun shows. I now know why then were gun show guns. They did exactly the same thing you describe above. Ok, here is how I fixed mine. First problem, you are right, the bolt is not retracting far enought back to eject the spent hull. To fix this problem, you will have to shoot higher pressure shells, and leave the wal-mart aluminum rimmed stuff at wal-mart. Trust me, I know. You can shoot lower pressure loads by doing what I did. Remove about a 1/4 inch from the main spring, it don't take much. I repeat, don't use aluminum rimmed shells. Next, the bolt handle flying from the gun. I had one actually break off in the bolt. Remove the bolt from the gun and use an appropriate size drill bit and open up the indention in the bolt. Doesn't take much and the bolt handle is harder than hell, use lots of oil. Actually all you want to do is clean up. I did not try to remove the ball and spring from the bolt. I just bought different ones from e-bay. You can't get them now from e-bay. Try gun parts corporation. The load I shoot most often is a Winchester AA hull, 1-1/8 ounce of shot and 18 grains of Red Dot. I can load 5 in either gun and shoot them faster than you can count. I have proven this at our range more than once. This is what I found with my two shotguns and what I did worked for me. I hope this helps. Thanks Jim

[Charlie Sometimes]

Hold the ball down with a small pair of pliers and try spraying out the dirt, etc. that might be in the hole with a solvent spray, let it soak, and then hit it with some high pressure air- that might help. Probably some build up of old oil and such in there causing it to stick, especially if it shows signs of corrosion.

Polish your chamber first and then try it. Some of the old guns got very little cleaning, and dirty chambers grab the shells. The older ones were meant to fire paper shells, and plastic is most all we have now. Most people wiped them down with oil but never took them apart to really clean them good EVER. A good flushing might be all you really need.

Another problem I have found with the old 1148's- the magazine tube will get banged by the rims on shells over time and cause a burr that stops or slows feeding, and the next shell won't feed properly causing it to not chamber the next round. Burr will be just inside the tube, where the next round lies in wait. Check yours for the burr, and polish it away until smooth again, if it shows signs of having one. The magazine springs get weak over time and don't hold the shells with enough tension. Take it out and stretch it some helps.

You can also try getting the parts at MiGa Gun Parts (www.gunpartsales.com), Bob's Gun Parts (www.gun-parts.com), or watch GunBroker for them, if you can't repair it by giving it a good cleaning.

Good luck, and have fun!

[richbug]

I concur on the heavier loads. Mine was a 20 ga, "value pack" or "Promo" loads didn't cycle period.

Win AA 2.5 dram factory loads were fine, any high brass field loads were fine.

[GabbyM]

I'd give it a good cleaning before ordering parts.
Push the reciever pins out to drop the trigger groupd Totally disasemble the bolt and go at it.
They aren't gas guns but they still seam to fill up with powder residue after a dozen thousand rounds.

[johnlaw484]

To adjust for light or heavy loads, remove the fore end cap, remove barrel, then remove the first ring. It will have instructions on it for which side goes up for light and down for heavy loads.

[218bee]

Thanks for all the tips....I'm hoping a good cleaning will help...this one has a ring that ya turn for light or heavy loads and its on light...I guess some had the ring as part of the spring and it was not adjustable...I been soaking the ball and spring with Kroil and such and it moves up and down ok but top of ball is damaged and when ya remove bolt handle the ball tends to then stick down and not hold bolt handle when reinserted...I still cant figger a way to get that ball and spring out

[Charlie Sometimes]

The ball rolls around in the hole when the handle is removed or reinstalled, so it being damaged will always be a problem if it is not replaced properly. It would be easier to find a replacement with a good ball in it. Make sure you ask about that when you order a replacement from somewhere.

The ball is held in there by being swaged around the edge of the hole by a machine stamping it. If you could get a little of the edge removed, it might pop out, but getting a replacement of the proper size back in (that would stay and not jam your firearm later) would not be easy.

Order a replacement, and save yourself the trouble later.

[Bill*]

+1 on replacement

[218bee]

So the ball is supposed to be in the Handle????
On this one the ball with a spring below it are in the Slide.
So when you push the handle in after reassembly (or pull out for disassembly) the ball retracts down into slide while handle pulled out and should then "pop up" so when handle is reinserted it pops into hole in handle.
That is why I was wondering if I order a new SLIDE if ball and spring are already in place.

[Charlie Sometimes]

Sorry, I got my thinking backwards when I was going through it in my head!

I was thinking about one I had (a Mohawk 48) that I lost the detent out of. I had lost a handle because of the same problem you are having, and did what you are thinking of doing (taking the ball out). I had a very hard time getting a proper replacement, and when I did find one, it was a bear to get back in!
There is no easy way as it is staked in, IIRC- a small dental burr can be used to remove the metal to get it out. But getting it secured back is the pain. I managed to do it without buggering the new ball up, and got the thing working again. Once the handle is in place, it won't go anywhere if it is a proper fit.

I took a look at Numrich Arms website, and their parts breakdown for the 1148. It shows the breech block and the handle but not the detent. There are a few breech bolts available there, but you will have to match yours to the description of each to see which one you need (lots of variations apparently). They are runnning around $58, from what I saw.

Sorry for the confusion, and good luck either way you go. I sweated over mine for days! Of course that was back in '88- live and learn, I guess.

[izzyjoe]

i'll have to agree with johnlaw about the light & heavy load adjustment. that part is the friction ring, turn it one way it aplies more friction and other way for less. the a-5 is the same as is the rem. 11, savage 720. J.M.B. i know for a fact that if you have it set for light loads then shoot buckshot, it'll spin you'r arss around. i have a rem. 11 that i dearly love but don't shoot it any more. cause i bought a new 11-87.

[JIMinPHX]

i'll have to agree with johnlaw about the light & heavy load adjustment. that part is the friction ring, turn it one way it aplies more friction and other way for less. the a-5 is the same as is the rem. 11:

I'm a little confused. is an 11-48 the same as an 11? I know that an 11 is the same as an A-5 & has the reversable rings for high & low power shells, but when I look at the picture of an 1148 here - http://www.gunpartscorp.com/catalog/...spx?catid=5645 it does not look like an 11. Does the 1148 still use the same system where the barrel moves back under recoil? or is it something different? I know that the 58 Remington had adjustable gas ports for high & low power shells, but I never messed with a 48.

[Charlie Sometimes]

1148 does have the moving barrel recoil system. I forget what it is called exactly, but it is recoil operated. I've never owned an 11 or a A-5, or had either of those apart. The 1148 is the same as a Mohawk 48 though.

That moving barrel system can cause problems too- when the recoil springs get weak. If you get a case that is slightly stretched (such as in reloads) they will stick and cause the barrel to retract but won't eject because the case is stuck in the chamber. It can require a lot of force to unstick, and can damage the lugs or rails the bolt rides in if you're not careful. Speaking completely from personal experience there. Not having the ring turned the right way will eventually damage something, too, if you shoot heavier loads with it set on light.

It seems that Numrich doesn't have the schematics available on line that they used to have, I think, or I could make a better comparison.

[izzyjoe]

like charley said the md.11 and the a-5 are the same gun sorta. remington redesigned the md.11 making it more steamlined and lighter and it's the 11-48. and i think it come out in '48, i'm not sure on that. but it functions the same as the md.11. and savage made them under the browning patents to. i can't remeber the model but a good friend o mine had a savage with an alloy recevier, that was a nice and light shotgun.

[Charlie Sometimes]

I edited my previous posts to reflect the proper situation and suggestions. Sorry.

[2oldgunguy]

The Remington 11-48 is a great shotgun. It gets a bad rep because some folks don't know how to maintain it. First thing, unscrew mag cap and disassemble spring from tube, wrap emery cloth around a one inch dowell rod and smooth inside of spring in the direction of travel, long ways. Use emery cloth to smooth mag tube in the long direction also. Don't worry about the bluing, it's not important. Clean away all grit and lube outside of mag tube and inside of spring with a very light coating of 10 w 30 motor oil. Gun oil will not hold up as well as motor oil and motor oil is always easy to find. If you do this and keep it clean you should have no further problems. I took one with a 19 inch barrel to Nam on my second and third tour and it never malfunctioned. I still have it and it still shoots just as good as it ever did.

[76 WARLOCK]

You guys are great I have an old 1148 I got in a trade, which I have never fired, now I will try it . It was sawed off a bit so it has no choke, but it would be a great Zombie gun wi 00 buck if it will cycle right.

[Char-Gar]

The Remington 11 was made under license from Browning and was just the Remington version of the long recoil A5. It has the friction ring that had to be changed for light or heavy loads.

The Remington 11-48 was introduced after WWII and was a similar to the Model 11 in some ways, but quite different in others. It was a recoil operated gun, but the ring was self adjusting for both heavy and light loads. It also has a spring in the butt that helps with bolt operation. I have never gone into one of these things so I can't say how that works.

The suggestion of a good cleaning and a light oiling of the magazine tube on which the recoil springs rides is a very good suggestion. Let an 11 or A5 mag tube get dry and malfunctions will happen every time. If that doesn't work a change of either the recoil spring or spring in the stock may be in order.

[garandsrus]

I have a 11-48 that was my Dad's. I had screw in chokes installed and enjoy shooting it.