Help with 870 barrel choice

[Frisco3Gun]

Hey fellas,

Am looking to pickup a 28" barrel for my 870 Wingmaster which currently has an 18.5" w/ rifle sights. Was a police riot gun trade-in, but would like to do more with it, no longer for home defense.

Here's my question.. I'm getting conflicting information on barrel interchangeability between the Express, Wingmaster, etc. Which barrels will fit my Wingmaster?

Would I be able to pickup something like this?

Also, what is the difference in this case between a 2 3/4" vs a 3" (what is listed)? I don't believe my Wingmaster can chamber 3" but I may be wrong (haven't tried). Is this the wrong barrel to look at?

Looking for something ~$100-$150 if possible, and doesn't have to be new.. Am planning on going duck hunting in a few weeks with a friend for the first time.

[Brandon04GT]

You can use a 3" chambered barrel in your Wingmaster regardless of whether it's 2 3/4" or 3"...just don't shoot 3" shells out of it if the receiver doesn't have a 3" ejector setup.

I kind of have a project PD-trade in Wingmaster myself with a newer 18.5" 870P 3" barrel on it. I'm planning to upgrade to a 3" ejector later.

[pesty3782]

That is a good barrel at a good price. I have both long and short barrels for my numerous 870's I own. The barrel you are looking at uses screw in chokes which is the best way to go. The older barrels had fixed chokes.

Tony P

[Thefeeder]

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Express and Wingmaster barrels are interchangeable. The express is a matt finish and the WM is a polished blue

The receiver on your WM will have a " M " in the serial # if it is a magnum receiver..... "V" for standard 2 3/4" shells

You want a barrel with interchangeable choke tubes. Next best is a fixed Modified or Improved Cylinder choke for use of steel shot.

[Frisco3Gun]

Gotcha. Is the warning in the listing that "this won't work for a Wingmaster" incorrect then?

[RandyD]

I have done the same thing. I bought an 870 Police Magnum, that was a police issued shotgun, it came with a short barrel with rifle sights. The finish is close to the Express Model finish, so I bought a 28 inch Express barrel with interchangeable chokes. I paid around $100 for the Express barrel. This is now my back up shotgun, when I go on hunting trips. I will also loan it out to another hunter that has a malfunctioning shotgun.

[hogbody74]

870 Barrel

I'd be interested in the short barrel if you want to sell it. Thanks hog

[870classic]

Short answer: all Remington 870 Wingmaster, Express and special purpose barrels are interchangable, (within the same gauge) however. The Remington 870 "Field Special" and (I believe) the super magnum barrels are not interchangeable with the aforementioned Remington 870 barrels. The "Field Special" barrels have the magazine ring placed about 2" closer to the receiver than the standard 870 barrels. The "super magnums", I believe, have a longer tab on within the receiver portion of the barrel and may not fit within the standard or magnum receivers.

Using a 3" magnum shell in a standard (2-3/4") receiver is not recommended. However, having said that, I have witnessed an indecent where the shooter accidentally loaded a 3" magnum shell into a standard 870 Wingmaster receiver's magazine, chambered the shell, fired the shell, and then could not extract the shell due to the extended case length. We took the barrel off of the receiver in order to remove the 3" shell from the shotgun.


From an article I found on line some time ago, below gives a good guide.

Here is the deal with 870 barrels. Remington has used 2 different methods for keeping the magazine cap tight.

The first method uses a magazine cap detent that protrudes from the barrel guide ring and matches up wsith the serations on the bottom, outside of the magazine cap. As you tighten the cap, you hear a ratchett type sound. That is the serations going over the detent. This method of mag cap retention was/is used on older Remingtons.

The second method, normally found on Express and other newer models uses a system where the magazine spring retainer acts as the detent system that will match up with serations on the inside of the magazine cap in order to keep the magazine cap tight. There is no magazine cap detent on the barrel guide ring. You will see either a hole with no dent protruding on the barrel guide ring or possible no hole at all.

You may ask why should I care? The answer is that you must have something to keep the magazine cap tight, which keeps the barrel tight. You will damage either your barrel, but more likely the inside of the receiver if the barrel is loose.

You can put barrels with mag cap detents on the barrel guide ring on an 870 that uses the magazine spring retainer detent system with no problems. The barrel will not come loose. Plain English means there is usually no problem putting old 870 barrels on Express and other newer 870 models.

You can't put barrels that have no mag detent on the barrel guide ring on shotguns that do not use the magazine spring retainer detent system. There will not be any detent system there to keep the magazine cap from loosening. Plain English means there is usually a problem when putting new barrels on older Remingtons.

If you need barrels that use the older mag cap detent system that uses a detent on the barrel guide ring, but you can only find newer barrels that don't have the detent, you can purchase a detent and detent spring for less than $5.00. Drop the spring in the hole first, then the detent, then stake the detent in place. Problem solved.

Reference:

http://www.glocktalk.com/threads/are-all-870-12-gauge-express-barrels-interchangable.1190140/

Best regards.