The Remington 1100 series of semi-automatic shotguns has been one of the most successful self loading shotgun actions in history. It has been configured for a wide range of uses including hunting, trap and skeet and combat configuration.

The shotgun pictured is my personal defensive shotgun and is Remington’s 11-87 Police Model. Although this particular model is no longer manufactured, there are still a large number of them on the market and Remington makes an updated version, the TAc 4 today.
This shotgun came from the factory with wooden furniture and a decent recoil pad. It also came with a military style parkerized finish and adjustable rifle sights. I added the extended magazine which will hold 7 rounds and the Side Saddle ammo carrier on the left side of the receiver as pictured below.

Although trained by the military in slide action shotguns, I became a firm believer in the superiority of the semi auto shotgun in the summer of 1988. I was part of a select group of Army shooters who were selected to attend a 5 day intensive training course by John Shaw of the Mid South Institute of Self Defense Shooting. Shaw’s demonstration of the firepower of his Winchester auto shotgun was truly amazing and convinced me that semi-auto shotguns were the way to go. I bought my 11-87 shortly thereafter.
There are a lot of myths about the smooth bore shotgun as a defensive weapon, such as it being an “Alley sweeper” or, “At close range you can’t miss”. At close range you most certainly CAN miss.

I recently patterned my 11-87 (cylinder bore) with Sellier and Bellot 12 Ga. OO buckshot for an upcoming class. As the photos below demonstrate, this is not an “Alley Sweeper”. Out to 10 yards (30 feet), all pellets remained in the chest cavity area. How long is your living room?
Yes, you CAN miss with a shotgun, even at close range.

Patterning with OO Buck at (from left to right) 3, 7, and 10 yards