RE: help with 1187
Most brand new guns are shipped from the factory drenched in either light weight cheap oil or some type of petrolem grease. All to protect the gun from rust etc etc while in transit to its eventual owner.
First thing to do with any brand new gun is give it a good cleaning. Infact, most all jamming problems can be solved this way.
If the 1187 he bought is a 3.5" gun, you are going to have to shoot some higher powered loads to loosen everything up. Just the fact of life with 3.5 autos.
The other thing I have noticed with late model 1187s is that they foul VERY fast. Part of that, of course, depends on what type of shell you are shooting, and what sort of powder the manufacture uses. Somes shells are dirtier than others. Cheap federal shells, for example, are some of the worst. While AAs and even Fed Gold Medals are some of the best. Excessive fouling in a gas gun will slow your action down, and make the gun hang up, or cycle incompletely.
As everyone else has said, make sure it is assembled correctly, and give it a good bath.