Gas Shotgun reliability

[thesheepdog]

Hello all,

I just put an Auto on layaway and wanted to hear from you on how reliably your Autos have performed/what has broken/maintenance.

I know Gas Autos use o-rings and such vs Inertia, so please no Inertia responses.

How many rounds before an o-ring needs replacing? Any other issues?

 

[Grant D]

I bought a Remington 1100 18 years ago, and have fired thousands of rounds through it shooting dove, skeet, and trap, with nary a problem.

And come to think of it, it still has the same o ring in it as the day I bought it.

And I bought it used, so God knows how many rounds have been through it.

Needless to say it's my favorite of all my shotguns, and I have seven.

 

[BigD_in_FL]

Only a Remington 1100 needs an O-ring, Beretta gas guns do not, as do most other brands
What brand and model did you get?

If you do not use oil-based products where the O-ring resides, it should last for many thousands of rounds. If you bought a Beretta, it is a non-issue. As long as you keep the port(s) clean, you should not have any issues

 

[thesheepdog]

I got a CZ 712.

 

[joe45c]

I bought both my 1100's 2nd hand in the early 90's and have not had to change the o ring. Even if I ever need to I don't think they cost much.

 

[Virginian]

I have had 12 Model 1100s, and still have my 1963 original. It still has the 'O' ring I installed about 1966 so I wouldn't lose the original metal 'V' ring. Call it a test in progress. I have never had one fail in service. They do not move in service; they are a static seal. I pinched the one in the 20 gauge talking and not paying attention while putting it together. I have dropped two on the concrete floor and rolled over them with the chair wheel and ruined them. As long as you use Viton, and are not ham handed when cleaning the gun, they should last forever.
Most modern name brand gas semi autos work just fine. We can argue everybody's personal choice ad infinitum.

 

[jmr40]

Kept reasonably clean I don't think there is any real difference in reliability between quality gas guns and quality recoil operated guns. "O" rings last a long time and are cheap. I always felt it was a good idea to replace mine every few years just to be safe. I probably threw away a few that still had a lot of life in them, but spending a few dollars every 3-4 years was cheap insurance. For a guy who primarily shoots clays I think gas guns are probably the better choice. They tend to be heavier and along with the gas system felt recoil is less.

Recoil, or inertia operated guns are more likely to keep running when neglected or if they get really dirty. They are simpler, easier to take apart and clean with fewer parts. They are going to have a tad more recoil because of how they operate and the lighter weight. As a hunter these are features I find more important.

 

[JWT]

My Remington 1100 has never had any problems. If you do have to, or want to, change O rings on the 1100 they're easy to find and very inexpensive. Just keep the gun clean and you'll have no problems.

Gas operated guns have an advantage of less perceived recoil.

 

[NoSecondBest]

I had a Remington 1100 SA Skeet back in the early 80s. I once let it go to see how many shots it would go and function reliably without cleaning. I got a little over 4,000 rounds before it needed cleaning. Great gun BACK THEN. Remingtons are pretty much junk anymore in my opinion. I have had seven different inertia guns, all Benelli, and they are the best to be had for reliability and quality. They are my go to hunting shotgun. For clay birds, with an auto, my absolute favorite are the Beretta gas guns.....by far. I shoot those as well as my high end O/U in all clay disciplines. I don't know anything about the CZ shotguns. If they were of reasonable quality you'd see them on the sporting clays fields or the skeet fields. I shoot a lot and I haven't seen one yet. Just me speaking, I'd buy what is proven to be good and not be an innovator.

 

[AllenJ]

I've owned three gas operated shotguns, a 1100, a 11-87, and a Browning Maxus. The 1100 and Maxus both have never had a failure. The 11-87 did, and it had many. I learned that it had to be cleaned daily, did not matter if you fired it once or 50 times, clean it or the next time it was used your going to have problems. Once I started doing that it was a very dependable gun.

 

[BigD_in_FL]

I had an 1100 in 28 gauge, lost the original O-ring to using oil on the area where it sat (lesson learned); lost another as it stretched on one side (reason never found), but I had plenty given to me so no biggie there. That said, after a round of sporting - as others have mentioned, it needed cleaning, especially the gas ports. I have a Beretta A400 in 12 with their new "BLINK" system that is supposed to be self cleaning. I haven't had ANY failure with it in over 5000 rounds; I do not clean it every single time I use it; I do use brake cleaner on the ports when I do and a little oil on the spring/rail area. Works great.

Point is, any gas gun can be consistently reliable if kept clean and lubed per the maker. Some are just more forgiving in that aspects than others.

Enjoy your new gun

 

[Tony615]

I have a FNH 18" SLP and have fired 700 rounds out it now. There are two gas pistons with the shotgun but I am using the light piston. Since I'm using my SLP for HD I use full power 00 buckshot rounds and slugs.

I have tried some of the low recoil LE132 #1 buckshot 9 pellet 00 buckshot, LE133 8 pellet 00 buckshot rounds. LE133 stove piped and LE132 rounds was a crap shoot. Sometime I was able to shoot a full magazine other time it didn't cycle the action reliably.

Full power 00 buckshot or slugs going 1325 FPS or faster reliably cycles the SLP action. I've never had any failures except when testing low recoil rounds.

 

[thecelt]

semi auto shotguns have recently become my favorite type of firearm and ive done tons of research on all the different systems etc... i put a 930 on order about a year ago and it took a while to come in. it didnt use o rings and is a decently reliable set up based on everything you read although some are hit or miss from the factory which is a QC issue. i didnt have many rounds down range in mine and decided to sell it because i didnt want to take a chance of mine being one of the bad ones down the road. i boiled my decision down to a remington versamax or the benelli m2. the issues that the vm was having with the bent barrels and soft hammers steered me away from them, and the lighter weight and inertia system brought me to the benelli. all guns will have their problems, but what ive seen fairly consistently is that even with little to no maintenance the benelli keeps running with the least amount of failures. and that was worth something to me (even though i clean after every use). i dont want to own a gun that MUST be cleaned after each use to be able to depend on it. as for the 1100/1187's ive read stories of people that never have problems, and ive read stories from people who are constantly replacing o rings. any gun i own i want to be able to have full confidence that i can defend my life with it.

Btw, the most reliable gas system is the argo system in the benelli m4 which the versamax is modelled after and I do plan to own a vm in a couple more years.

 

[BigD_in_FL]

Full power 00 buckshot or slugs going 1325 FPS or faster reliably cycles the SLP action. I've never had any failures except when testing low recoil rounds.

I'm sorry, but if your gun will not work with anything except those hot rounds, something is not operating correctly - either you have the wrong pistons in, the ports are clogged or something similar is amiss

 

[BigJimP]

Today's technology in gas operated semi-autos is vastly superior to the older technology ( Remington 11-87's, 1100's etc )....they shoot cleaner, require less maintenance and will shoot a wider variety of shells ( in a 12ga ) from 7/8 oz of shot at 1100 fps....to 1 1/8 oz at 1300 fps...consistently and reliably....especially from the bigger names in gas semi-autos like Beretta and Browning/Winchester.../ because I do think when it comes to shotguns - and many other guns -- you get what you pay for !

However, that is not to say the older technology are bad guns ...but you do have to take better care of them in terms of cleaning, etc...

But I also don't understand the mentality that says you don't want to clean and take care of a gun...?? I don't care if you're shooting clays ...or using it for Defense...if you put 200 shells thru it ...why not just take it home and clean and lube it properly ...so it'll work 100% the next time you need it. ( every week - when I shoot my primary carry handgun - a 1911 --- I clean and lube it when I get home --- and I don't care if I put 16 rounds thru it or 300 rds...it gets taken care of the same way - every time - especially since its my primary carry gun ! ----- but I do the same with my primary target handguns and shotguns too ...)

Some of the old technology were more finicky with light weight loads ( in a 12ga probably with velocities under 1200 fps and payloads less than 1 oz )...but today's gas guns have figured out ways to fix all that with different gas valve systems.

I don't know much about CZ's shotguns...I don't see many of them around on clays courses...but if you break it in properly and take care of it ...cleaning and lubing it properly - hopefully it will perform well for you.

 

[Tony615]

I'm sorry, but if your gun will not work with anything except those hot rounds, something is not operating correctly - either you have the wrong pistons in, the ports are clogged or something similar is amiss

Unfortunately the indoor range I go to only allows 00 buckshot or slugs to be shot there. They do not allow birdshot or steel shot to be fired there. I'm using the light piston as it is red. The heavy piston is black. When I clean the piston I use a soft toothbrush and solvent.

 

[Virginian]

The biggest enemy of any semi automatic shotgun is the nut on the back of the stock.

 

[BigJimP]

If that gun won't cycle lighter loads of "OO" Buck - Tony615 ....like 1 oz @ 1200 fps...I suggest you clean and lube it again....and see if it makes a difference.

 

[Tony615]

If that gun won't cycle lighter loads of "OO" Buck - Tony615 ....like 1 oz @ 1200 fps...I suggest you clean and lube it again....and see if it makes a difference.

All of LE132 and LE133 that I have tried are less than 1200 FPS. That is why I use Federal XM127 9 pellet 00 buckshot for HD.

 

[BigD_in_FL]

Standard target loads are 1200 fps, since when is the LE 00 less than that?

Anyway - OP - you realize the CZ does not make those shotguns and that they are made in Turkey for them? Some folks have an issue with buying a Turkish gun. There ARE some so-so quality guns coming form Turkey, and there are some pretty decent ones as well.