11-87 Super Magnum Barrel Seal Activator
I bought one about 5 years ago, I liked the way the gun shot, but very seldom did cycle all three shells thru, like a previous poster said, it seemed to cycle the 3.5 better than the 3' shells, and I did clean the gun often. I ended up buying the Remington Versa Max 2 years ago and have nothing but great reviews for this gun, I've never had it not cycle a shell while duck hunting or goose hunting, one of my boys bought one this last year and has had great results with it also, I know they're alot more money but I believe alot better gun. Targetmaster, I have used Supermags but I do not own one. I believe the SP-10 is superior to the Supermag. It's a better design for heavier payloads, and the larger bore patterns better. It's also more comfortable to shoot.
Used 11-87 Super-Mag, new piston & seal kit as soon as I got it (see here: ) Took it out today. Shot about 70 rounds of low brass 2 3/4 inch shells today with the barrel seal activator that I got from Remington. All cycled without any problems.
The 3.5' shell really pushed the envelope on the 1187 platform, and early guns had issues. Would I buy an 1187 Supermag? If the price was right and it had the barrel I wanted, yes. But I'd rather have an SP-10. The Supermag would probably serve me well, because I use the heavy loads for coyote hunting, and that's pretty low volume use, and shot stringing is not an issue.
If I was really into waterfowling, I'd rather have the SP-10. Having said that, I can understand some people not wanting an SP-10. It's quite a bit bulkier and heavier. That's the tradeoff for better reliability and especially more comfortable shooting. As for the Supermag not shooting anything but heavy loads, that has not been my experience.
At least not the ones I've shot. They cycled 3.5', 3' and heavy 2-3/4' OK. They also cycled the cheap promo loads, but there is a sleeve (barrel actuator) that has to be installed after the gas rings for them to work. It would not cycle anything lighter than the heaviest trap load.
Having said that, there are people who state that they can't get 2-3/4' loads to cycle other than buckshot or slugs. I bought it for hunting.
11-87 Super Magnum Barrel Seal Activator
I'm shooting the 28' black SPS version. I do not use it for targets but have shot some trap and skeet rounds with it before the season starts. The gun cycles 2 3/4' light target to 3 1/2' with out issues. I use the piston adapter ring as the factory instruct you to. Could be why some guys have cycling issues. I would recommend one. I like the matte finish on it also.
Remington 11 87 Barrel
I have not had any rust issue either. I heard that the finish process has changed over the last few years. You might want to look into that. I did add the Hi-Viz sight system to it. Works well with low light conditions.