We want high-powered rifles that'll shoot a heavy bullet with an absolutely flat trajectory out as far as we can see with benchrest accuracy and no recoil. We want handguns capable of knockin' down an enraged grizzly with one shot yet, at the same time, allow us to spend a pleasant afternoon firing hundreds of rounds plinking at tin cans. We want semiautomatic shotguns that'll digest every possible loading from 3-inch magnum duck loads to Uncle Fred's super-light, teach-the-kids-to-shoot, half-ounce clay-bird loads.

If you think I'm exaggerating, just talk to some of the folks in the booths of the major gun manufacturers during the SHOT Show or NRA Annual Meetings. They hear this sort of thing on a regular basis.

Among the most persistent complaints and requests I hear from shooters relates to shotguns and shotgun loads. I can't tell you the number of times I've had customers come into my shop with concerns about their semiauto shotgun not digesting this or that particular load. Invariably they thought there was "somethin' wrong with the gun."

I see this most often with the Remington Model 1100. It's certainly not because of any mechanical failing of the ol' 1100. Nope, the 1100 is one of the truly great shotguns of the 20th century. With the 1100, Remington has produced one of the finest autoloading shotguns ever designed and has done so at a price that put this gun in the hands of millions of shooters. Since the 1100 was introduced in 1963, around four million of these guns have been produced. That in and of itself is just incredible.

The upshot of the amazing popularity of this gun is that it gets a lot of criticism that's not warranted. For example, take the issue of using light loads.

The 1100 is a gas-operated shotgun. Upon ignition of the primer, the powder is converted into a gas. This gas expands at an incredibly fast rate and pushes the wad and shot out of the shell and down the barrel. As soon as the wad passes beyond the gas port or ports, some of this gas is diverted through the gas port into the gas cylinder. The pressure of the gas builds up and pushes the gas piston along with the action-bar sleeve back towards the receiver. As the action bar moves back through a series of mechanical links, it disengages the locking lug, unlocking and opening the breech bolt.

As the breech bolt moves to the rear, it automatically extracts the fired shotshell and releases another shotshell from the magazine into the carrier. It then activates the carrier, raising the unfired shotshell so it can be loaded into the chamber. The breech bolt continues back into the receiver, compressing the action spring. Once it reaches the end of its movement, the compressed action spring pushes the breech bolt forward, chambering the next round. It's a fairly simple process.