Remington Mohawk 48 Question (Updated)

[Rogmatt]

gunnut69,

I have a Mohawk 48 that has a 28" barrel on it. It was cut due to prior damage from 30" and is now at Cylinder bore. I have no use for a 28" cylinder bore.
I know that a magazine extension ( 7 or 8 ) for an 870 would fit the 48 and work as it has been done before .
The question now is if I cut the barrel down to 18 or 20", will I lose pressure so that it will not cycle? I would be using high brass loads, buckshot at the range and for home defense hoping the heavier loads would guarantee it to cycle. Thoughts??

I have another 1148 in 12 Ga with 28" mod choke, so I have no desire to find another barrel for the Mohawk, just get some use out of the existing one. Besides, you rarly see a 48 with a mag extension as a tactical shotgun. I have seen Remington 11s with short barrels, so I am hoping this will work.

[gunnut69]

I believe we've discussed this before and arrrived at the conclusion that it could be made to work with a few caveats..  The 11-48/mohawk 48 are recoil operated..  There is no gas pressure interaction with operating the action.  The friction piece decelerates the recoiling barrel assembly to aviod problems with reeiver damage.  This is very similar to the M11..  This means that a magazine tube extension wouldn't cause problems with recoil operation of the action as long as it was NOT attached to the barrel..  I.E. NOT barrel brackets to support the extension would be allowed.  The added weight to the weapons may even improve operation a bit.  Removing barrel length may have an effect but it would be because the shot charge would have less barrel time there would be less recoil impulse delivered to the barrel assembly.  This may adversely effect operation.  M11 riot guns were never used with magazine extensions in my observation..  The 11-48 was always a finicky eater and was replaced easily by the 1100, a gas operated weapon.  All recoil operated weapons are a little picky about operating when held off the shoulder(hip shooting) or used one handed in a worst case scenerio.  The standard magazine shell count should be entirely adequate for a home defense weapon..  If an extension is used be certain to thoroughly test fire the weapon to ensure functional reliability.  The most important aspect of ANY defensive weapon is total reliability!  Firepower is great but reliability has to be the foremost concern.  You may also reconsider the buckshot as a choice for home defense.  It will readily penetrate most interior and many exterior walls and retain plenty of puch to kill on the other side.  I use light loads of birdshot.  Penetration is greatly reduced and this improves the safety of children in adjacent rooms, while stopping power is hardly reduced at all at in home ranges.  Shot charges remain a fluid mass at ranges of up to 30-40 feet(a long way in an in home scenario) and expand very rapidly at impact.  The result is a devastating wound to the intruder with a reduced chance of a miss penetrating a wall(or walls) and injuring a loved one or a neighbor.  Run some tests yourself.  Using drywall board and buckshot/birdshot and check out the difference.  In a defensive situation chasing someone into the outdoors is viewed as no longer being in a 'defensive' mode.. and can land you in hot water in some jurisdictions. Good luck!!

[Rogmatt]

GN,  here is the result!!
This gun has gone through several transformations, but it has now found it's purpose. I am not into the tactical stuff , but I did want to have a dedicated defense gun. Gun is a Remington Mohawk 48 made in the early 70s. It is a latter version of the 11-48 started in 1948. It is a 12 Ga. recoil operated semi-auto, and is extremely reliable. Gun has
an 18 1/8" barrel with a 7 mag extension made for an 870 which fits perfectly only with a slight modification.

Gun went from this-


To this -



And this -


to finally this -

[gunnut69]

Looks like a beautiful job!!  What kind of blue on the receiver?  Looks like a nice polish too..  That short extension shouldn't cause any problems.   Now how about a lazer to add to the utility?  I'm considering a optima style reddot on my bedroom gun.. It's not nearly as prtty as yours though..

[Rogmatt]

What kind of blue on the receiver?

Sandpaper, steel wool, then Oxpho a couple times a day for a week.

I am considering one of those shell holders that mount to the reciever, I am sure the 870 will fit it. Would that ruin the look?, Maybe I should leave as is.