Remington 11-48 Sportsman malfunction

[AWPeehler]

150871

So my Remington is malfunctioning, I don't think it was greased enough and I also bought some cheaper aluminum rimmed ammunition. It's a 12 ga semi-auto, as you guys could probably tell. Let me know if there is any thing I can do to fix it easily or I should take it to a shop.
Thanks y'all.

[CHeatermk3]

Hello AW--
First welcome to the forum--we try to help one another here so please take the following as an attempt to be helpful.

You have obviously mistaken the single shot gun forum for a shotgun forum.

To try to answer your question anyway, it would be helpful to know what specificly the malfunction is-- fail to feed, chamber, fire, extract, eject?

How was the gun functioning prior to the trouble you are presently experiencing? When was the last time you gave it a good cleaning/lubing?

Could be ammo, could be dry or over-gunked--you mentioned grease...

Could you possibly have a friend or relative who knows about shotguns help diagnose the problem?

My experience with Remington semi-auto shotguns is second-hand only but from what I have observed they usually at least function even with low-dollar ammo, of american manufacture, with some of the foreign stuff, not so much.

Of course if there are parts missing or broken it's a different story but assuming that it worked before the current batch of ammo I'd be starting there. Try some remington or winchester or federal ammo and that might be all it takes.

[skeettx]

Hello
First and foremost, the gun should get a good cleaning
Second the chamber should be polished with 0000 steel wool on a nylon chamber brush
Then, insure the gun was set for light loads, some Sportsman have an adjustable ring set.
Try these and please report back
WELCOME to the site
Mike

fun reading
http://www.stevespages.com/pdf/remington_1148.pdf

[Petrol & Powder]

skeettx gave good advice.
The 11-48 operates on the long recoil principle and like the Browning Auto-5 that it is loosely based on, it's a pretty good design. However, they do not handle heavy and light loads interchangeably and generally must be set up for either heavy or light loads just like an Auto-5.
In addition to ensuring the chamber is clean, make sure the section of the barrel that recoils into the receiver is clean and oiled and that the magazine tube is also clean.
You didn't specify the type of malfunction so that's all I can say right now.

Edit: I forgot to mention, not all 11-48's have adjustable actions IIRC. If it does, follow this advice:
Like the Auto-5, after you get it clean, set it for Heavy loads and see if it will cycle with light loads. If it cycles with light loads when it is set up for heavy loads - leave it alone. It is better to run the gun set for heavy loads if it will run that way and only set them for light loads when needed.

Those were good shotguns. Properly cared for they are very reliable.

Good Luck.

[AWPeehler]

Yeah I couldn't find the shotgun forum as I am new to the site. I'm relatively new to owning guns, so the malfunction was that it was not reloading very well after some shots. The part you see in the picture is where the firing pin is at, can't remember the technical term. It won't move backwards or forwards like it is stuck completely. I haven't had a whole lot of time recently to take it apart as I am at school and God forbid I have a gun on a campus these days. I'm hoping to go to a gunsmith or something if the line soon if I can't resolve the issue myself. I appreciate the input, and if any of what I added helps feel free to try and fill me in. Any intimation helps.
Thanks

**edit: it shot beautifully before this malfunction. Maybe 1 to 3 rounds total that didn't cycle well out of 5-6 boxes shot.

[Petrol & Powder]

That is the bolt. The firing pin is in the bolt.
If the gun is empty, try putting the stock on the floor and pushing the barrel down. It should telescope into the receiver. Without any more information I cannot diagnose the problem but my first guess is that it is dry and needs to be cleaned & lubricated.

There are two sets of springs that operate the action. One that is wrapped around the magazine tube (covered by the fore end) and one inside the butt stock that acts on the bolt. The spring inside the butt stock could be rusted/dirty/dry or broken. The spring on the outside of the magazine tube returns the barrel to "battery" after each shot. That spring could also be binding.

The first thing I would STRONGLY suggest would be to obtain some instruction concerning your firearm.
How to safely operate it, how it works and how to maintain it.

[Petrol & Powder]

http://stevespages.com/jpg/ipb-remington-1148.jpg

[Hardcast416taylor]

Had an 11-48 in .410 ga. as a farm gun back in the early `60`s. We used both 2 1/2 and 3" shells for birds and rabbits and slugs for close range deer hunting all without any feed problems or having to tinker with it to use a different shell.Robert

[Petrol & Powder]

I've read that the smaller gauges didn't have adjustments for low & high power shells but I have no personal knowledge of that. A friend had an old 11-48 that was set up for high power loads and it functioned perfectly with anything you put in it. They were good guns

[AWPeehler]

Thank you all for the replies. I've decided to take our to a smith as I'm still very ignorant in terms of how to fix a problem such as this. Was hoping there was an easy fix but as none of you can physically hold the gun it might be hard to diagnose from one picture. I'll be sure to let y'all know what happened. Once again thank y'all a lot and if you have any more advice go ahead and tell me.

[tazman]

I own one of those and have had it for over 30 years. It has one of the "corn cob" adjustable chokes on it that actually works correctly.
This gun has accounted for a lot of rabbits, squirrels, and quail over the years and I can honestly say I can't recall a malfunction that wasn't ammo related. It would usually eat anything that was close to right but a poor crimp would make it hiccup.
I just keep it lubed and clean and feed it whatever I need to shoot when I go hunting.
Mine doesn't have load adjustment rings.