870 Wingmaster

[squee116]

Okay, so I've decided to fiddle with my Wingmaster as I wait for a good deal on a 590a1.

So here's what I was thinking:
1) Mossberg 18.5" blued barrel, with bead sight - 120 shipped
2) Choate +5 or +2 shot extension blued, both come with spring and follower, and both are 43+shipping.
3) 870 Police wooden forearm. Not sure about the price, as it is at auction.
4) GG&G single point sling attachment - 25+shipping

I want a flashlight on there, but I don't want to mess with the more classic looks of the thing. Is there a way to still mount the flashlight? I'm not sure if having such a large(+5) tube extension will create performance issues for the gun. Will the extension be in harms way? Since it's a wingmaster, I feel the need to keep the wood and bluing on there, especially since I plan on getting a 590a1 at some point. Also, I inherited this shotgun from an uncle, and I'm curious about the condition of the gun itself. Under normal light it looks fine, but under white light from an LED flashlight, it looks like it's rusted. I can't tell if that's just the nature of bluing or if it's legitimately rusted.


What are your thoughts? If it is rusted, is there anything that can be done about it? Is it even worth upgrading at that point? The reason I want to do this is because I can somehow manage for just around 200.

[aippi]

Are you saying that Mossberg makes a blue 18.5" barrel for the Wingmaster? Are you sure it is blued? or is it some kind of Matte finish. Blued is going to match the receiver of you Wingmaster so you are using the word blued indicating it is going to match. Is this correct?

[squee116]

Yeah, mossberg makes a blued 18.5" barrel for the 870. BLUED. lol I was surprised too, especially for the great price.

[compulsivegunbuyer]

The Remington barrel is much better quality than the one Mossberg makes for the 870.

[aippi]

I would never put an after market barrel on any of my Remington Shotguns, however, the 18.5" blued police/Wingmaster barrel retails for $150 from Remington and since the OP is cutting cost and on a budget then the Mossberg barrel is an option.

I cant not imagine any major difference in the quatlity of the Mossberg barrel but I have not seen the Mossberg barrel so really can not comment.

What is amazing is that a leading manufacture like Mossberg makes an after market part for the Remington 870. Add the fact that there are so many 870 clones out there and there has to be a message in there somewhere.

Also, for anyone not wanting the blued finish, a look at the 870 retail parts list on www.remington.com will show the 18.5" parkerized bead sight I/C Police barrel is only $101.

[BigDogatPlay]

Last time I checked the 18.5 inch replacement barrels that Mossberg makes for 870's were a matte finish, similar to an 870 Express, and very rough. Until I saw the barrel the OP mentions I would have doubts that the Mossberg made barrel would come anywhere near the finish of a blued Wingmaster. Call me curious to see how this one works out. Long story short, the Mossberg made barrel is a deal, but a Remington made barrel won't be that much more expensive.

The Choate blued extension is likely closest to a matching finish at a price point within your budget. The Remington blued extension is very much a matte blue and costs more. You could put a +5 extension on an 18.5 inch, but I'd likely use a 24 inch barrel for that application if it was me. A +3 is as far as I would go on an 18.5 inch barrel.

An OEM 870P fore end... if you have one lined up and it isn't going to break your bank, buy it. They are getting harder than hen's teeth to find. I have the original wood furniture for my 870P and even though I don't / won't use them, I will not part with them either. If the stock on your Wingmaster is Remington's 'bowling pin' finish, the two pieces may not match appearance very well.

GG&G gear = good stuff. I use a number of things from them in different applications. Good design, well made, great value.

From the photos, I'd say it could well be a bit of corrosion on the outside of the tube. Inside the tube looks more like old (factory?) goop with years of dust mixed in. I'd suspect it will clean out easily enough.

A tiny bit of corrosion on the outside should be easy to get rid of with a good solvent and a bit of elbow grease. Very fine steel wool, used carefully, can get any left over that's stubborn. Once any corrosion is removed you might want to de-grease and touch up with a spot of cold blue, or just keep it lightly oiled.

[aippi]

Big Dog - I only knew of the matte blue one but went to the web site and they have the matte blue listed and another listed as blue. Surprised me also. This leads me to believe the barrel is a blue finish and should be close to the blued Wingmaster. I doubt it will be a shinny and deep as the receiver or the blued 18.5" or 20" Remington barrels as it is the polishing prior to bluing that brings out the shine and I don't see Mossberg doing this to a budget after market barrel. I have never seen one so I don't know. And I agree that is deal and fits in the range of his "build fund" so nothing wrong with that.

[BigDogatPlay]

If Mossberg is doing both the matte and a decent, real, blue on those barrels, then color me pleasantly surprised. I'm sure it will fit and will shoot just fine, and it is the bargain of replacement barrels.

Hope the OP will keep us posted on his progress.

[BRUNO1911]

How about...

Hello squee116,just some idea's

1)How about cutting your barrel down to 18.5",this way you still have the WINGMASTER Blue and the original barrel

2)Buy a original REMINGTON "Blue" 2 shot magazine extension http://www.athleticimpact.com/Reming...9_p_22867.html

3)The 870 Police wooden forearm is 7 1/4" long.Cut the WINGMASTER forearm down to 7 1/4" and you're done

As for mounting a FL,the group across the street talked about it http://www.shotgunworld.com/bbs/view...p?f=7&t=254736

Like I said "just some idea's"

Good Luck and post some pic's so we all can look. We Like To Look!

p.s.

get some 0000 steel or brass wool and some oil,put some oil on the rusty area's and go at it with the S/B wool
"don't go crazy! just enough to get that nasty rust off.

[squee116]

Last time I checked the 18.5 inch replacement barrels that Mossberg makes for 870's were a matte finish, similar to an 870 Express, and very rough. Until I saw the barrel the OP mentions I would have doubts that the Mossberg made barrel would come anywhere near the finish of a blued Wingmaster. Call me curious to see how this one works out. Long story short, the Mossberg made barrel is a deal, but a Remington made barrel won't be that much more expensive.

The Choate blued extension is likely closest to a matching finish at a price point within your budget. The Remington blued extension is very much a matte blue and costs more. You could put a +5 extension on an 18.5 inch, but I'd likely use a 24 inch barrel for that application if it was me. A +3 is as far as I would go on an 18.5 inch barrel.

An OEM 870P fore end... if you have one lined up and it isn't going to break your bank, buy it. They are getting harder than hen's teeth to find. I have the original wood furniture for my 870P and even though I don't / won't use them, I will not part with them either. If the stock on your Wingmaster is Remington's 'bowling pin' finish, the two pieces may not match appearance very well.

GG&G gear = good stuff. I use a number of things from them in different applications. Good design, well made, great value.

From the photos, I'd say it could well be a bit of corrosion on the outside of the tube. Inside the tube looks more like old (factory?) goop with years of dust mixed in. I'd suspect it will clean out easily enough.

A tiny bit of corrosion on the outside should be easy to get rid of with a good solvent and a bit of elbow grease. Very fine steel wool, used carefully, can get any left over that's stubborn. Once any corrosion is removed you might want to de-grease and touch up with a spot of cold blue, or just keep it lightly oiled.

I'm a little curious about the bluing matching up as well. But there aren't really any local products for me to compare so I took a leap of faith on that one. I decided to go with the +3 choate extension like you said. The OEM 870 police forearm was a good deal by my estimation. $25 shipped from numrich. I tried to find the darkest wood possible item, as the wood on my furniture is pretty dark. However, the forearm was refinished, and they didn't shine it up at all afterwards, while my furniture has a very shiny finish to it, so I may have to play with it a bit before it matches up to my expectations.

I appreciate the tips on how to deal with that stuff. I need to get that done sooner rather than later.

[squee116]

Hello squee116,just some idea's

1)How about cutting your barrel down to 18.5",this way you still have the WINGMASTER Blue and the original barrel

2)Buy a original REMINGTON "Blue" 2 shot magazine extension http://www.athleticimpact.com/Reming...9_p_22867.html

3)The 870 Police wooden forearm is 7 1/4" long.Cut the WINGMASTER forearm down to 7 1/4" and you're done

As for mounting a FL,the group across the street talked about it http://www.shotgunworld.com/bbs/view...p?f=7&t=254736

Like I said "just some idea's"

Good Luck and post some pic's so we all can look. We Like To Look!

p.s.

get some 0000 steel or brass wool and some oil,put some oil on the rusty area's and go at it with the S/B wool
"don't go crazy! just enough to get that nasty rust off.

Yeah, modding my current equipment definitely appealed to me, though I lack a lot of tools I'll need to do these. I decided to get new parts partly because I might want to switch em back from time to time, to go clay shooting for example, and partly because I don't want to work over the gun my uncle gave me. I was looking at the Remington shot extensions, but for the +3, choate gave me a lot of bang for the buck. It came with the spring, follower, and front swing swivel for the same price. Though the I worry about the bluing matching up, which is a separate worry.

Thanks for the tip on how to deal with that ugliness in the tube.

[squee116]

I will definitely put up photos of before and after. The parts are all expected in a week and a half or so. Also here's an updated list of things I've purchased, price(shipped), and location:

Mossberg 18.5" blue barrel: 120.95 - Amazon
Choate 870 blue +3 shot extension kit: 56.95 - Brownells
Streamlight magazine tube flashlight mount: 24.34 - Brownells
870P wood corncob forearm: 28.70 - Numrich

Grand total: 230.94(assuming I DON'T need to touch up finishing here and there, which I probably will)

[squee116]

Okay so here are pics:

Before:

After:





Enjoy.

[aippi]

OMG, Had I realized you were going to put all that on such a beautiful Wingmaster I would have tried to save you from yourself.

[squee116]

I thought I kept it classy >_>
No red dots, or picatiny top rail, kept the forearm wood, and polished it up a bit...

I'm happy with it, but now I wonder if I went too far.

I still have the original parts, so there's that.