[M1AOH6]

Anyone have info on or pictures of the full auto Remington 1100's tested/used by the SEALS?

 

[TB]

So, almost a year and a half after your original post...

I've just learned of the 7188/7180 and have started trying to collect information on the shotgun as I'd like to build a clone.


Here's what I've got so far...

Remington 7188/7180

First developed specifically for use by US Navy SEALs in Vietnam, the first example of the Remington 7188, the Mk 1, appeared in 1967, and was perhaps the most destructive close combat weapon produced to that date. Developed from the Remington 1100, the Model 7188 was a fully-automatic version of that weapon, with some other modifications requested by the SEALs. Though these weapons were never large in number, the Mk 1 version was the most common of them; it had a perforated barrel shroud, extended tubular magazine, bayonet mount, and adjustable rifle sights. The Mk 2 was identical, but used a ventilated barrel rib and front bead sight of a standard shotgun. The Mk 3 was also identical to the Mk 1 but did not have the perforated barrel shroud. The Mk 4 was a Mk 3 with standard shotgun-style sights. The Mk 5 was also similar to the Mk 1, but did not have an extended magazine, and also did not have the perforated barrel shroud. The Mk 6 was identical to the Mk 5, but had standard shotgun-style sights.

While the SEALs liked the fantastic destructive power of the Model 7188 (especially with the custom loads they tended to use), they found the Model 7188 had one big problem: it was highly-sensitive to dirt and fouling, and this made it quite unsuited for general use in Vietnam. In addition, the enormous recoil of a full-auto burst (even at the low cyclic rate of the Model 7188) was difficult to control, and even with an extended magazine, the ammunition supply was thought to be too small by many SEALs. There were never more than a couple of dozen of each Mark of the Model 7188 made, and they were withdrawn from service within a few years, a weapon experiment that ultimately failed. Some were converted back to semiautomatic fire; though this essentially turned them back into Remington 1100s (albeit, with unique markings and an unusual selector lever), they were designated Model 7180s.

Second from the bottom:

If anyone has any other pics or something to add, I'd be grateful to hear.

 

[Bulletman]

The Remington 7188 was developed at Frankford Arsenal in the 60's under a project called "Unconventional Warfare Devices and Techniques" that provided special weapons, ammo, demo devices, etc. for the Special Forces and the Seals. At the time, I was the team leader on the project, which visited the users, got their ideas, made samples and let them evaluate them in the field. The first fully auto shotgun was made by C. O. Greenwood, (Shotgun Charlie) a member of the team out of a Remington 1100. He just modified the sear and extended the magazine to hold 8 rounds. Studies we ran showed #4 buck to be the best load, although we also developed flechette rounds. It had quite a kick, if you weren't used to it, but I recall that Moose Boitnott of ST-2 could spray it like a hose. A number were made by Remington on contract and given to the Seals and SF units, but it never was type classified.

Charlie also came up with the Duckbill shotgun adapter that provided up to a 7-1 horizontal to vertical pattern, making it easier to hit a moving target. It was also used in Nam, but suffered the same fate as the 1100

 

[M1AOH6]

7188

Thanks for the pictures and info. Right now I'm working on a Ithaca M37, with an 1100 to follow... Kevin Dockery wrote an article in the Guns Combat 2001 Annual magazine that talks about the 7188 with a couple of pictures. Also shows the 37 with the duckbill. Good read.

 

[TB]

Dockery's book has a few good pics of the 7180/7188, but as I recall the book had a bunch of bad information in it. Anything I can pick up on as being wrong has got to be pretty bad and I really view the author's work with a lot of suspicion from then on. I only paid a few bucks for the book on ePay earlier this year so I'm not loosing too much sleep over it. Also got Swearengen's book for about $11 off ePay... now that seems like a great book and has more info on the 7180 and 7188 in it along with some great pics. Keep your eye out on ePay as these things can be had for very little money.

Some pics gleaned off the interweb from Swearengen’s book