OT Wingmaster.

[Nath]

Not a levergun I know but levergunners appreiciate fine firearms all the same.

I may have a chance to trade for a mint Rem wingmaster at the end of Sep at a gun store just down the road from where we stay in Scotland on vacation.

Being short on cash it will mean trading a double in for it.

The reasons;
A bud of mine had one years ago 20+ in fact and he hates the day he sold it, I loved shooting it too and remember it being very handy. Chucked ball good too!

Most of my Pheasant shooting is done with a muzzleloader now and allthough frowned upon over here auto's are slowly getting accepted etc etc.

I feel sure it would make a good pidgeon, goose and duck gun.

I have also held the belief that if I was to only ever hold one gun to do every task then it would be an 870 in 12g, does that make sense?



Can some one tell me, if the gun was to not fit me to good do you think adjusting at the stock/reciever juncture a possibillity?

Any good Rem 870 tales to tell any one?

Thanks guys.

Nath.

[Old Savage]

Great guns - a friend of mine put over 50,000 rounds through one trap shooting. I have put a couple thousand through mine. I have one in 12 and another (Express) in 20 - I have used the 20 the most. IMO it leaves nothing to be desired. I have shot Pheasant, Chukar, Quail, Duck and Rabbit with mine in addition to Trap and Skeet. Always works.

[morgan in nm]

Well, I'm a winchester man all the way but the 870 is one of the finest pump guns that can be had in my opinion. Lightweight, smooth, good wood, parts available everywhere(I've never seen one actually worn out) and available in most guages. Whats not to like.

When it comes to fitting, most are fitted by the recoil pads.

[86er]

My Dad only had 3 guns, one of them an 870 Wingmaster. I have it and would never part with it. I often adjust cast and drop on these guns in one of two ways:
1) take off some of the edge on the stock head so when you tighten the through-bolt it pulls to the side that was relieved. 1.1mm = 1/4 inch in my experience. So if you need cast off 1/4 you take 1.1mm off the right side and it will pull to the right for you. 2) Instead of taking off of the head, add to it. I use Accraglass built up in 2 mm increments. You put it on the opposite side you want it, ie: cast off you build up the left side, decrease drop you build up the bottom. When the AG dries, sand it smooth and fit the stock. If you have too much, sand more. If you don't have enough you can add more AG right on top of the first layer and it will bond.

I can't think of a Rem 870 Wingmaster that is worth as much as a "good" double, unless sentimental value was a factor. However, the 870 is very reliable and versatile. Mine is from 1970 and has easily 25,000 rounds through it.

[Nath]

Thanks 86er and others.
I thought that may be the case with adjustment thanks.

A good double maybe but not a top shelf example and the wingmaster would have to be perfect!

We will see.

N

[O.S.O.K.]

I have an older 870 Wingmaster 20 guage and it feels like a "wand" and fits my full face very well - I need a bit of drop. Many shotgun stocks are too high for me and pound me in the cheekbone when shooting which does nothing for performance... the 870 feels great.

I also have an 870 express in 12 but its clunky compared to that older wingmaster.

[Mike D.]

The Wingmaster is very worthy shotgun, Nath. I own 3, plus multiple extra barrels. I, too, am a die hard Winchester man, but the Model 12 just doesn't work for me like a Remingtom 870 Wingmaster.

[Old Savage]

Interesting on opinions. I have a friend who has a Model 21 - beautiful, made in 47 in 12. For use I wouldn't trade my 20 870 Express. I had almost the same thought as Joe except - no double is as good as this 870 unless is it something like nostalgia. Personal taste I guess and there is no substitute for if the gun looks where you do. I also don't get on with the Win 12 as well as the 870 inspite of it being a great childhood desire.

Now the Model 88 fits me great. Oh, OT.

[Mike D.]

I also appreciate the Model 12 and have a 3" Duck with barrel cut down to 26" and choke tubes. Great waterfowl gun, but really can't compare with the superior Wingmaster. Feel free to flame away all you Model 12 fiends.

[piller]

Growing up in SouthWest Kansas, we hunted Ringneck Pheasant every year and the 870 was by far the most common shotgun to be seen. I bought a 20 gauge 870 Wingmaster as soon as I turned 18, and it has accounted for quite a few Pheasant. I would love to have a 12 gauge in the same gun, but for now that is not happening.
I remember seeing 1 Franchi, 1 bottom eject Ithaca, 1 12 gauge Auto 5, 1 Sweet Sixteen Auto 5, several single shots, quite a few doubles, some over and unders, but more than anything else was the 870.

[pdawg.shooter]

To bad you are over there and not over here. I would trade my 870 for a double in a heartbeat!

[Cliff]

I really like the 870's. I worked for 23 years at one of my states prisons and was also a firearms instructor. The only shotguns we used were the 870's. We used some with 28 inch modified barrels and some with riot length barrels, 20 inches or there abouts. Some of these guns were shot well over 20,000 rounds, mostly express double ought buck. Never any real problems except some started to show wear on the extractor cuts on the rear of the barrels. It seems the extractor will slam into the edge of the cut slowly wearing it down. Guns continued to function in the proper manner. A number of them were used on perimeter posts, kept inside vehicles, handled a lot, shot seldom. They got pretty rough looking but kept working. Had a half dozen industrial chromed to keep down rust, it worked well for about 18 years, when they mandated regular blued guns. A lot of the prisons, just paid to have their guns reblued about once a year. Nice things about the 870's is you can get all kinds of parts, as mentioned if you wanted a shorter barrel, with screw in chokes no problem. Rifle sights, cantalevered scope mounts on a rifled barrel for slugs and so on. Get the butt stock altered if necessary to properly fit you and it should be one heck of a good game gun. On and on I can rave about them. Good Luck and enjoy it.

[gamekeeper]

I've only had three pump action shotguns, a Savage 12g 24" slug barrel, a Savage 20g and a little 870 Express 28g. They were all good guns but the Remy was a real sweet little shooter!
GK junior always had a green eye for it, so when he graduated from college I gave it to him!

I would not hesitate on buying another in any gauge.

[Barcelona Rick]

Nath,

I have owned an 870 in one form or another for many years. Currently a 870 Home Defense....but I am a double man from my teenage years.....I really love the lines of the Scottish side by sides and have looked at them many times on Vintageguns web site. They are just out of my reach $$$$ wise. I look at Double Gun Journal pretty often and have noticed that the auctions for English side by side guns out of Birmingham sure look reasonable. The importation is out of reason though. I guess we always like what the other man uses (even though my family is Scots and Scots Irish and would never spend the big $$$$ for a tool, probably a gameskeepers side by side at the most).....used 870's are dirt cheap in Texas compared to basic British side by sides. If you can find an early 870 Wingmaster you will be very happy.....

jumbeaux

[Idahoser]

Save up and buy it. Don't ever get rid of any gun.

[Nath]

Thanks folks.
GK I remember you getting that, shame it's gone.

N.

[gamekeeper]

Thanks folks.
GK I remember you getting that, shame it's gone.

N.

Junior will still let me borrow it (I hope)

[tman]

have mine for 36 years. it's the most versatile firearm you can own. BUY IT !!!!!!

[kimwcook]

Used one for work for many a year. Never let me down and I could hit what I was looking at even with just the bead front sight (have also had them with the adjustable slug sights). Parts are never a problem and they can be stripped by anyone with a modicum of ability. I'll tell you, jumping out of a cruiser and racking a shotgun will get you respect almost anywhere.

[morgan in nm]

I've only had three pump action shotguns, a Savage 12g 24" slug barrel, a Savage 20g and a little 870 Express 28g. They were all good guns but the Remy was a real sweet little shooter!
GK junior always had a green eye for it, so when he graduated from college I gave it to him!

I would not hesitate on buying another in any gauge.

My dad has a very nice 870 wingmaster in 28 that is a Comp Trap gun that he will occasionally let me look at if I ask nicely. The only thing I can't stand on it is the let-off trigger. Hopefully, I will inherit it and put some much needed use in it.

Nath, I sure wished you were on the other side of the pond as there is a very nice condition very early 870 wingmaster in a local shop here. Only thing wrong with it is the price ($300) and somebody took of the butt plate and put a recoil pad. Thankfully, they didn't cut the stock so if an original arched plate could be found, it would be a dandy.

[C. Cash]

The 870 has always been a love/hate relationship for me. I've had the parkerized Magnum express which I traded away and now own a nice Wingmaster my dad picked up for me. Compared to a nicely balanced double, it feels like I'm swinging a 2X4. Perhaps this is because I need to reduce the length of the factory pull and get a little closer to the forearm. Long armed folks always seem to like them but it feels like I'm reaching. What keeps me coming back is that I just seem to shoot it so well despite the pull/feel, and it ALWAYS works.

[Buffboy]

I bought my Dad's 1953(bought new) 870 when from him when I was 14 in 1970. He surrendered as I was shooting it all the time anyway. He promptly took my money + a little boot then went to Herters in Mitchell SD, bought a new one with a 3" chamber and vent rib about a week later. His shoulders are so bad he can't shoot it anymore so he gave that one to my youngest brother a few years back, still going strong.

I wore mine white(it was well on it's way when I got it), then had it reblued about 30 years ago, and it's well on it's way to white again. Only problem I had with it was the ejector broke about 25 years ago then the new one broke again within a week of getting it back. It was fixed a second time and it's been good since then.

Have no idea how much ammo's been through it, 30k+, I'd wager, both Dad and I used to shoot a lot of trap.

I shoot my Benelli auto mostly now but the 870 ain't ever leaving me till I die.

[Hillbilly]

Have traded a few 870s over the years... still have a english stocked (straight grip) Wingmaster 12 gauge with the cylinder- choked 21 inch barrel.
My other working shotgun is a 11-87 with choke tubes
you cant go wrong... as good a pump shotgun as one can obtain

Jeff

[tman]

Have traded a few 870s over the years... still have a english stocked (straight grip) Wingmaster 12 gauge with the cylinder- choked 21 inch barrel.
My other working shotgun is a 11-87 with choke tubes
you cant go wrong... as good a pump shotgun as one can obtain

Jeff

would love to have an english grip stock on my 18" 12ga. could'nt think of a better grouse gun in brush country

[Bogie35]

Ok Nath. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that the Remington 870 Wingmaster, IMHO, has the best combination of handiness, pointability, versatility, toughness, and reliability of all shotguns in history that have a shot capacity of 3 or more. However, I'm a diehard fan of the double. But, if you want more versatility, the Wingmaster is the only logical choice. With regards to versatility, the Wingmaster can very effectively replace 3 or more guns in your arsenal (with the right assortment of barrels). If there is such a thing as an effective "one gun arsenal", it's certainly the Wingmaster.

Man, Remington should hire me in their marketing department.

bogie

[rangerider7]

I have a REM 870 for turkey when hunting on core land, but I wouldn't take in trade 10 870s for one Model 12 Winchester. That's what make for the fun in trading guns. I will go buy some 870s if y'all will trade even for some Model 12s. I would just keep them on hand when ever y'all want to let them model 12s go.

[Lefty Dude]

My 870, I found at a Gun Show here in phoenix several years ago. I paid $100.00 for the piece, because it is a 16 gauge. It was made in 1954 and is in excellent condition.
Many think the 16 is an obsolete shell and are not available anymore. Not true, Federal, Remington, & Winchester still make shells for the 16. Most WM's have 16 shells in the Sporting goods section.
I just found a very nice MEC Sizemaster 16 reloader. I have lots of Remington hulls which I reload.

I like my 16, "shoots like a 20, hits like a 12"

[RIHMFIRE]

The 870 wingmaster is the best made shotgun for the money.
I have tens of thousands of round through mine...
and it is my favorite on to shoot skeet with....

[horsesoldier03]

To bad you are over there and not over here. I would trade my 870 for a double in a heartbeat!

I traded an old 870 12 ga Wingmaster to get my daughter a Stoeger .410 SxS. She loves it and it cant be beat for squirels and rabbits. It is nice and lightweight.

Alot of folks will talk bad about a .410, but when I was a kid I had a old man that I knew that shot everything he ever killed (deer included) with his .410 SxS. He had but one gun and didnt need more.

I would love to find me a nice 20ga SxS. For now I use an old J.C. Higgins 12ga 583.? Bolt Action.

[Gene Dip]

It's good to see another 28 Ga mentioned. I picked this one up a short number of years ago. It has the standard 3 chokes. She is a beauty and under certain conditions someone else might be allowed to touch a piece of the wood. It has the now already canceled safety key lock which could still be a needed safety feature for some of my younger grandchildren. I think it has only one box of shells fired in it – a shame. But now that my eyeballs have been restored recently by cataract surgery to 20-20, maybe I can again hit what I point at. I can now focus on the cross hairs of a rifle scope too. Pretty good for a recently turned 73 year old crony. Just got out of the hospital last Sat for surgery to replace temporal bone replacement between the inner ear and the brain too. I had brain fluid leakage for quite awhile. Thank God that Medicare hasn't been dropped. Go ahead, say it – we shouldn't have Soc. Sec., Medicare, Mecaid, etc. Maybe that's what's wrong with me – too much brain area leakage.

[Hillbilly]

I like that 28 Gene...and good luck with the medical recovery!

Bay County( MI) Conservation club raffled off a 28 g 11-87 a few years ago... and I had all my fingers crossed trying to win the danged thing... lost anyway. The 28 gauge should be way more popular than it is.

~Jeff

[Nath]

Just want to say thanks for all the replies, very encouraging.

Nath

[mod71alaska]

I've shot a 12 ga. Wingmaster with multiple (18, 2x28 and 30 inch) barrels for years. They're one of the best!

[sgtgrinche]

horsesoldier03 there is a recall on those old J.C. Higgins please check to see if your firearm is on that list. the bolt could dislodge and strike you in the face.

[Warhawk]

I have several 870s around here, all Wingmasters, and all 12 gauges. The new Express model may be OK, but as long as I can find a Wingmaster for a decent price in the pawn shops that's all I'll buy.

One of mine is a "Special Field" model, it has a 21 inch Imp Cyl choked barrel and a straight gripped walnut stock, and shortened fore end. I had given this one to my dad years ago, and got it back when he passed away. It's not going anywhere.

I also have a 28 inch vent rib modified Wingmaster. It's killed untold numbers of Kansas pheasants, some quail, and even some prairie chickens. As much as I love my side by side doubles, I shoot the 870 better than any of them. If forced to whittle down to one rifle, one shotgun and one handgun, this would be the shotgun. My first grandson will get it someday.

I also have a Magnum Wingmaster (3") that has a 32 inch vent rib full choke barrel. It's done double duty as a trap gun with good results. I haven't duck hunted since steel shot came along, and this was my duck gun way back then, and it looks like an old duck gun.

The other 2 are plain barrel clunkers that I picked up cheap at pawn shops. I've fixed them up and had the barrels cut back to 18 inches and they are both on duty as home defense guns.