Alright fellas, I have an old fixed choke remington 1100 that I used for quite a while but then gave it to my nephew , he used for about 4 or 5 years and then got a new gun. I have since gotten the 1100 back from him but it won't eject lighter shells, nothing under 1 1/4 ounce. Now I have done everything I know to do which includes a complete cleaning and replacing the o ring and it still is not working right. One other thing, the chamber part of the barrel (on the inside) is pitted from rust and I kinda think this is where the problem is but don't know for sure just thought I'd see what everybody else thought.

I would suggest taking it to a smith. It sounded like an O ring issue, until you mentioned changing them. It certainly could be the rough chamber. It would probably require some intense cleaning. Good luck, maybe someone else will have other advice for you.

If the chamber is actually pitted then I would say with 99% certainty that is the problem. A shotgun chamber must be clean just like a centerfire rifle. If it is pitted then the shells grab a hold on the pits and don't like to let go.

You are able to shoot the heavier loads simply because there is more gas pressure and at a longer duration pushing on the action causing it to "rip" the shells out.

I'm no expert on the 1100 but is this a gun that you can change the sequence of rings in the gas system to allow for shooting lighter shells?

I've owned two of these and as I recall there was a diagram in the foreend that showed the piston arrangement. Just a thought.

Fantail...Is it a magnum? I have a 1100 Magnum that was made in the early-mid 60's, and it WILL NOT eject the lighter loads. It's fine with high-brass shells, slugs and turkey loads. I actually took it in to have it looked at, and was told that there was nothing wrong with it.

I also agree with Vapo!

This doesn't sound like your problem, but I once saw a shotgun that had trouble ejecting ANY shells.
There turned out to be years of gunk built up inside the reciever, behind the bolt.
It had been over oiled, and only had the barrel cleaned, not the action.
This prevented the bolt from completing it's rearward travel, and would contantly cause double feedprobs.

Fantail - if the gun is cleaned, oiled, and has a newO ring -and used to run with regular ammunition . . . As far as the pitted chamber goes, if you know someone who has an 1100 non-magnum barrel in good shape - you might see if you could borrow it to try on yours. If it runs with their barrel, then you have isolated the problem. If it still doesn't, however, then you need the services of gunsmith familiar with all the little quirks of the Remington 1100. Good luck. Roscoe

The gas system is not like the long recoil system on an A-5. The rings only go in one way.

Come to think about it this could also be your problem. Make sure that all of the rings are oriented properly.

Does it not eject, or not cycle properly? Will it strip another round and stove pipe or just fire and leave the spent shell in the chamber without picking up another one? If it is an ejector problem or the the spent shell is grabbing than it should fully cycle and try to feed another round I would think. If it does not cycle fully then there is something wrong with the recoil system. I don't know that gun well enough to even comment on what it could be if that were the case.

I would try swapping barrels like suggested and if that doesn't work find a good gunsmith and have it looked over.

Good luck,
Paul