Thread: Shotgun loading port mod

G'Day Gents,
Had a crack at pimping the loading gate of my shotty as per what pro's do to get the 12 ga shells in quick and easy.
Reqd for that task are a die grinder, cutting/sanding attachments, rouge, safety glasses, a vice & something to hold the shotty in, some masking tape & Speights Cider (this last item is extremely critical as a steady hand is required for this task).
Watched/googled plenty of vids and articles on this to get the idea first, and then ripped into it(obviously conservatively at first so i wouldn't root the gun) .
Used the coarse cutter first to remove material and then sanding/polishing attachments to final shape, sand & polish.
Make sure you cover the immediate area around the loading gate with the masking tape to prevent accidentally marking the receiver finish(like i forgot to do the second time i did this).
Overall result i am very happy with and it definitely makes the old 1187 (and ive done an 870 as well)way easier to get the shells into quickly, combined with a descent follower, polished tube internals & proper length spring.
No where near as slick as some of the benelli guns you see on YT just flicking 2 shells in there in 1 second, but you get the idea and it cost SWTFA.
I will punish it on the range live when able to see how it goes then attack it again to take more metal out if i think it will improve things further.
Hope this helps anyone who may be considering doing this

Is the loading gate supposed to hang out?


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Originally Posted by MSL

Is the loading gate supposed to hang out?


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Nah that alloy thingy hanging down (Daves metalworks ezi loader i think)is an aftermarket bolt release mod for the 1187, it replaces the factory one

You got before and after pics ? kinda hard to see what you've done ond how this effects the speed of getting the shells in

Originally Posted by dannyb

You got before and after pics ? kinda hard to see what you've done ond how this effects the speed of getting the shells in

No sorry dude, but if you look at this random factory pic you should be able to see the difference.
Its cut away bout 4 - 5mm much higher on both sides & also the entrance to where the follower is , has had much more contour and metal removed,
Hope that helps

I see now


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Yea hopefully no more sliced fingertips and busted fingernails.

Nice, I've been meaning to do the same to one of mine. What sort of carbide burr worked best, a flame shape?

Originally Posted by Reprosniffer

Nice, I've been meaning to do the same to one of mine. What sort of carbide burr worked best, a flame shape?

I used a uniform/straight profile one mate, it was a bit grippy on the straight bits on the side, but worked good for the round/curved bit.
I brought them ages ago so just cracked on once the shops closed.

Originally Posted by Luke556

G'Day Gents,
Had a crack at pimping the loading gate of my shotty as per what pro's do to get the 12 ga shells in quick and easy.
Reqd for that task are a die grinder, cutting/sanding attachments, rouge, safety glasses, a vice & something to hold the shotty in, some masking tape & Speights Cider (this last item is extremely critical as a steady hand is required for this task).
Watched/googled plenty of vids and articles on this to get the idea first, and then ripped into it(obviously conservatively at first so i wouldn't root the gun) .
Used the coarse cutter first to remove material and then sanding/polishing attachments to final shape, sand & polish.
Make sure you cover the immediate area around the loading gate with the masking tape to prevent accidentally marking the receiver finish(like i forgot to do the second time i did this).
Overall result i am very happy with and it definitely makes the old 1187 (and ive done an 870 as well)way easier to get the shells into quickly, combined with a descent follower, polished tube internals & proper length spring.
No where near as slick as some of the benelli guns you see on YT just flicking 2 shells in there in 1 second, but you get the idea and it cost SWTFA.
I will punish it on the range live when able to see how it goes then attack it again to take more metal out if i think it will improve things further.
Hope this helps anyone who may be considering doing this
Attachment 137984

Is this lip where a shell might catch when getting fumbled into the magazine?

Thats the metal shell follower, an aftermarket one.
That whole factory lip in that area is more or less removed and polished so the shell just slides in with less friction than the factory parkerised finish.
There is a wee lip inside on each side of the mag tube that retains the follower but doesnt seem to effect loading.
ive seen pics of guns that have had way more metal taken out than what ive done

Be careful when you reload your shotgun as those after-market loading gate plates are only investment cast and the skinny little pivot arms can break very easily. I borrowed an 1100 with one fitted at a championship speed shoot in the USA many years ago. The course of fire was repeated three times and included quick reloads. I was in first place, 1.5 seconds ahead of Robbie Leatham and just starting my third run, when one of the wee pivot tabs fractured and jammed the gun solid. What a bastard!!

Originally Posted by gundoc

Be careful when you reload your shotgun as those after-market loading gate plates are only investment cast and the skinny little pivot arms can break very easily. I borrowed an 1100 with one fitted at a championship speed shoot in the USA many years ago. The course of fire was repeated three times and included quick reloads. I was in first place, 1.5 seconds ahead of Robbie Leatham and just starting my third run, when one of the wee pivot tabs fractured and jammed the gun solid. What a bastard!!

Yea for sure - sh#t happens at the worst time.
That little cheap PoS robbed you of victory against the guru mate.
The guy who i bought the gun off used if for 3 - gun with no dramas(back when we had the freedoms to do such things).

Been thinking about doing similar to my M2, really want a solid aftermarket loading gate I think it’s called,keep splitting my finger with the factory one,anyone know where to get one?

How timely & nice job on yours, I was just last night looking at M1-2 mods & found a video of a guy chopping his down, gave it much more than yours & the race guns have them really whacked out, those guys can reload 4 shells in less time than I take to get one shell out of my belt, crazy awesome those guys !

As you must of been to @gundoc on that day !!