How to Disassemble and Clean a Remington 1110 Shotgun

With hunting season approaching, it's a great reminder to clean our weapons in preparation, but it's always good practice to clean them before and after any use to prevent any malfunction.

It's important to clean your firearm after using or firing it, because the gun powder and dirt can begin to form within parts of the weapon and cause it to rust, become inaccurate or even jam. Depending on the severity of the jam, it could cause bodily harm to the user if extreme cases so make sure you clean your gun.

The following is a description on how to disassemble and clean a Remington 1110 automatic gas-operated shotgun. Not all shotguns are the same so if you are using a different model please refer to the specific operating manual when disassembling as the steps and some parts may vary.

WARNING: WHEN DEALING WITH ANY FIREARM SAFETY IS A PARAMOUNT. MAKE SURE THE FIREARM SAFETY IS ON AND NEVER POINT THE WEAPON IN AN UNSAFE DIRECTION. PERSONALLY CONDUCT A CHECK TO ENSURE THERE ARE NO ROUNDS OR AMMUNITION IN THE FIREARM AND IT IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED THAT YOU HAVE ANOTHER PERSON FAMILIAR WITH THE FIREARM CHECK FOR A CLEAR AND SAFE WEAPON IF POSSIBLE. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS BEING TOO SAFE WHEN IT COMES TO HANDLING A FIREARM.

REQUIRED SUPPLIES:

Here are the basic items you will need to disassemble and clean your shotgun:

A bottle of gun clean solvent.I used Hoppe's 9 Synthetic Blend
A bottle of gun oil to lubricate the gun after cleaning. I used Remington's Rem Oil.
Barrel cleaning rod with attachable wire brush and mop-tip.
A cleaning rag. Do not use a rag that will leave any residue. An old tee shirt works great.
Soft brush
A battery or electric powered hand drill
Hammer
Q-tip
Drill bit or safety pin
Needle-nose pliers

Step 1: Making Sure Your Gun Is Clear and Safe

As I mentioned in the warning section, every firearm should be handled with the upmost safety. Before attempting to clean your shotgun it is imperative that a physical inspection of the firearm to ensure the safety is on and that it is free of any rounds. The safety is located on the trigger guard and when engaged the red ring on the safety button should not be visible. Next you have the pull the operating handle to the rear until it locks in the rear position which will give you a clear view of the barrel to make sure there are no rounds in chamber.

Once you have physically inspected your shotgun and the safety is engaged, then and only then, can you proceed to step 2.

Step 2: Removing the Forearm or Magazine Cover

Remove the magazine cap by unscrewing it.

Once the magazine cap is removed, slide the forearm (or sometimes also referred to as a magazine cover) forward until breaks away from the gun.

Step 3: Removing the Barrel

After the forearm has been removed, taking off the barrel is a quick and easy step. It's important to have a firm grasp with one hand on the stock of the shotgun and the other on the barrel. Pull the barrel forward or away from the stock until the barrel parts from the stock.

Step 4: Removing the Pistons and O-Ring's

Next, pull the operating handle straight out and place aside.

After removing the operating handle, it's important to take note of where the pistons and O-Ring are placed and which way the threads are facing on the magazine tube so I recommend is taking a picture with your phone.

Carefully remove the O-Ring and piston assembly by sliding them forward along the magazine tube and across the threaded end. Special attention is required when handling the plastic O-Ring because the are fragile and can easily be damaged.

Finally, after the O-Ring and piston assembly have been removed use your rag and a little solvent to remove any buildup of dirt and grime and wipe clean. A soft brush can be used on the pistons to remove an stubborn residue, but do not use on the O-Ring.

Step 5: Extracting the Action Bar and Bolt

The step can be a little tricky if you are not that familiar with operating a shotgun, but it will become second nature after a little practice.
Place your finger through the carrier release along the right side of receiver and find the feed latch. It is a small rectangular lever that may take some time to discover. Once you have found the feed latch press on it and it allow the action bar to slide out to the front and remove.

Step 6: Detaching the Trigger Assembly

Use a gun mount or something to prop the gun upright, I used a towel, it make it easier to access the pins.

Once you have propped your gun up, find the two pins on the trigger guard and using your wooden dowels and a hammer gently tap on the pins to punch them out. I do not recommend using any metal tipped tool, like a screw driver or steel punches, because it could damage the pins.

After the pins have been removed simply pull down on the trigger guard from the rear to detach the trigger assembly from the receiver.

Step 7: Extracting the Spring Link

Using your needle-nose pliers, grab the spring link and in one motion compress the spring and pull it forward. This will release the link and allow you to extract it with from the receiver with your fingers or even tweezers. I use my fingers to avoid any opportunity of scratching the gun metal.
This is the final step in the disassembling process, or also known as "field stripping," and now we can begin the cleaning and lubricating process.

Step 8: Cleaning the Gas Chamber

As a rule, I always start with the gas chamber because during the cleaning process some of the dirt will leak into the barrel so it only makes sense to start there so I don't have to repeat any steps. The gas chamber is arguably the most important part of the gun so it is imperative that it is virtually spotless.

Take a rag soaked with solvent and generously apply throughout the gas cylinder and let sit for 5 minutes. Repeat this step until gas cylinder is residue free and use a fine grain Scotch pad or steel wool if necessary to remove any stubborn build-up. The piston should move freely back and forth once in the cylinder once it is completely cleaned.

Finally, it is important to inspect the gas ports to ensure they are clean and not obstructed by any residue or the weapon runs the risk of back firing. If needed, use a drill bit or safety pin to clear all ports from any obstructions.

Step 9: Cleaning the Barrel

Once the gas chamber has been cleaned I move onto the barrel.

Take a cleaning pad soaked in solvent, squeeze any excess solvent to avoid dripping, and connect the pad to the mop-tip cleaning rod.
Insert the cleaning rod into the barrel and apply to all the sides of the barrel.
Next, place it to the side and allow the solvent to sit and loosen up the stubborn dirt within the barrel for 5-10 minutes.
After the wait time has expired take the wire brush and attach it to the cleaning rod.
Insert the cleaning rod into the hand drill and place into the barrel.
Turn on the drill and make sure the brush is making contact with all sides of the barrel and working up and down the barrel. This will help you maximize time and effort.
Finally, take a dry pad and attach it to the cleaning rod and begin to work it in the barrel to collect all the dirt and debris. Repeat until dry pads are free of dirt and a visual inspection of the barrel reveals no evidence of residue.

Step 10: Cleaning the Action Assembly, Bolt and Receiver

Compared to the previous cleaning steps this one is easy and straight forward.

When cleaning the bolt and assembly, take a cleaning pad along with some solvent and apply to both the inside and exterior parts of the bolt and assembly. A Q-tip may be used to reach some of the smaller crevices and wipe with a dry pad to finish.

The receiver attracts more residue and debris than the bolt or assembly so you may need to use a soft brush, a tooth brush also works, along with cleaning pads and solvent to remove all the dirt and build-up. Wipe with a dry rag when all residue has been removed.

Step 11: Cleaning and Oiling the Trigger Assembly

There are a lot of moving parts and delicate pieces in the trigger assembly so be very gentle when handling and cleaning.
Apply a thin coat of solvent throughout the assembly and using a Q-tip or a soft brush and gently remove any excess residue.

Once complete, wipe all excess solvent off with a rag and sparingly apply gun oil to all the moving parts. Then operate all the parts a couple of times to allow the oil to settle in and lubricate the parts. Again, wipe away any excess oil.

Step 12: Lubricating the Shotgun

After you have cleaned all the above mentioned pieces, I recommend wiping all the other parts down with a little solvent or general gun cleaner and a rag.
Finally, an essential step in the whole process is oiling or lubricating key moving parts within the gun to prevent them from sticking and causing the gun to misfire. There are two parts that require oil and those are the inside of the receiver and the action.

Using a rag that has been saturated with the gun oil start wiping the inside of the receiver until a thin coat can be seen on all the parts.

Next, using the same oily rag wipe the action applying a thin coat of oil throughout.

Once your shotgun is totally clean, lubricated, and reassembled I recommend dry firing the weapon a couple of times to make sure it is operating correctly.