Vintage 870 info

[RustyShcklford]

870 experts out there -

I recently picked up this vintage 870 Wingmaster manufactured in 1979 and I'm trying to figure out if it is completely original or not (not that it matters that much because I definitely don't plan on selling it). Anyway, it appears it has sat in a barn in Massachusetts for over a decade and was pretty rough until it recently got into the hands of a gun shop that cleaned it up quite a bit, I also did a pretty deep cleaning on it and it looks pretty incredible now but I can't find much info on this specific model. I know they have 870 Wingmaster, Express, and police models but this seems to be a mix between a Wingmaster and police model (it has the shorter 18 inch barrel and is blued with a chrome bolt, however it has the ribbed forend which I thought was only on police models?) It doesn't have a 3 inch chamber though only 2.75.

Any info would be appreciated, lets see some pics of other 870s out there too - it is a pretty awesome shotgun. The all steel receiver is what got me into them, I am a much bigger fan of that over the aluminum that most have these days. I have a couple of H&R Pardner pumps too and they are also great.

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[Travyboy78]

I had a Wingmaster that looked exactly like this. It was a police trade-in. Had the county Sheriff's office 'engraved' on the trigger guard.
Very nice shotgun, you scored.

 

[WAYNO]

That is an 870 Police Shotgun. And it is beautiful.

Pre-Express, it is a true Wingmaster, and it is gorgeous.

This same shotgun can be fitted with any assortment of 2-3/4" chambered barrels for bird hunting, or with sights for deer or bear hunting. I recently acquired an old 870-Trap, and I quickly found a bird barrel for it.

There are other shotguns with more or different features, but there is not a better shotgun, anywhere.

 

[RustyShcklford]

That is an 870 Police Shotgun. And it is beautiful.

Pre-Express, it is a true Wingmaster, and it is gorgeous.

The only thing I see, not original, is the butt pad, but it is quite tastefully done.

This same shotgun can be fitted with any assortment of 2-3/4" chambered barrels for bird hunting, or with sights for deer or bear hunting. I recently acquired an old 870-Trap, and I quickly found a bird barrel for it.

There are other shotguns with more or different features, but there is not a better shotgun, anywhere.

Awesome, thank you!! I agree with you that it is one fine looking shotgun! The bluing on it is like a mirror its incredible, and the wood is still in very good shape as well. They don't make them like they used to that is for sure! I was surprised at how nice the inside of the barrel was as well but I don't think this saw much action in the field or on the range I'm pretty sure it sad around for a long time.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Looks like "Police / Law Enforcement " furniture ....is the barrel cut to 18 inches from Remington...or is it aftermarket ?
If factory the choke should be Cylinder or Improved Cylinder.

Here is my Remignton Wngmaster from 1962

My first gun...

• Andy54Hawken
• Apr 2, 2018

My first gun . Given to me , by my Granddad when I was 8 or so.
It is a Remington 870 Wingmaster...

Here is a 1981 dated 870 Wingmaster with a factory 18 inch barrel

DSC06837.jpg

• Andy54Hawken
• Nov 6, 2019
• 3

Andy

 

[RustyShcklford]

I had a Wingmaster that looked exactly like this. It was a police trade-in. Had the county Sheriff's office 'engraved' on the trigger guard.
Very nice shotgun, you scored.

That's awesome, I've been looking for some surplus/trade ins but everywhere seems to be out at the moment. I know they kind of come and go pretty quickly. I think it would be cool to have a police model that was actually used by the PD/Sheriff's office or whatever Govt agency might have had it (as long as it wasn't the ATF, just kidding).

 

[RustyShcklford]

Looks like "Police / Law Enforcement " furniture ....is the barrel cut to 18 inches from Remington...or is it aftermarket.
If factory the choke should be Cylinder or Improved Cylinder.

Here is my Remignton Wngmaster from 1962

My first gun...

• Andy54Hawken
• Apr 2, 2018

My first gun . Given to me , by my Granddad when I was 8 or so.
It is a Remington 870 Wingmaster...

Here is a 1981 dated 870 Wingmaster with a factory 18 inch barrel

DSC06837.jpg

• Andy54Hawken
• Nov 6, 2019
• 3

Andy

Andy - I saw your old classified post when I was doing my research! It actually convinced me to buy mine because yours looked so nice. It is factory 18 inch it says "Cyl" on the barrel stamped.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Nothing wrong at all with your 870 Wingmaster @RustyShcklford
A fine looking shotgun for sure.
Andy

 

[RustyShcklford]

@Andy54Hawken @WAYNO Here are some markings on the barrel:

 

[Andy54Hawken]

@Andy54Hawken @WAYNO Here are some markings on the barrel:

View attachment 1927760 View attachment 1927761

"X V" ....Dec. 1979
Andy

 

[RustyShcklford]

Awesome, I knew I would get some accurate info out of the NW Firearms crew. Much appreciated!

 

[Andy54Hawken]

You are very welcome...
However...the X V is when the barrel was made...
It probably is the original barrel , to the 870 you have...but a serial number check would be good to do as well.
Remington used to do this on their website...not sure if they still do.....
Andy

 

[WAYNO]

I had originally stated I thought the butt pad was not original. I have corrected myself, by looking at some old photos with that same butt pad.

Again, that is a gorgeous shotgun.

In those stampings on the barrel, it's relatively easy to discover the manufacture date. I see some extra proof marks, possible as acceptance proof by the police agency it came from, or was scheduled to go to.

Whoops... I see @Andy54Hawken already beat me to this.

But further on the date stamps, Remington hasn't always made it easy to identify the manufacture date. The barrel can pinpoint a year and month, whereas the serial number on the receiver, and depending on the era of shotgun, you can only identify a very large span of time. For example, a Wingmaster I recently posted about here, the s/n could only tell me it was made before '73 or '68, depending on which data base I used.

 

[RustyShcklford]

I see they have the info on Remington where you can decipher the manufacture date by their "BLACKPOWDERX" code, I think the receiver is also 1979

 

[RustyShcklford]

I had originally stated I thought the butt pad was not original. I have corrected myself, by looking at some old photos with that same butt pad.

Again, that is a gorgeous shotgun.

In those stampings on the barrel, it's relatively easy to discover the manufacture date. I see some extra proof marks, possible as acceptance proof by the police agency it came from, or was scheduled to go to.

Good to know! I wasn't sure what the other stamps were besides the typical "Rep" mark for Remington English Proof I think it was?

 

[RustyShcklford]

For anyone curious - I purchased the shotgun from Glenn at Bay State Gun Buyers, he is the owner and they have some really nice older vintage firearms (www.baystategunbuyers.com) Their site doesn't list much of anything but they do most of their listings on Guns International.