870 Barrel Detent

[WDE91]

I recently purchased a barrel for my Wingmaster

It came with a 28" non rib modified barrel and I purchased a 28" vent rib modifed barrel

on this new vent rib barrel the the detent that the locker rides against does not seem to ratchet down like the other barrel

Is the detent something that can be replaced with new parts?

O ya and for those that are wonder the non rib modifed barrel is now a 18.75" cylinder barrel
hacksaw and some filing

[Mateba]

How old is your wingmaster? How old are the barrels? There have been at least a dozen changes over the years to those guns and not all barrels will fit on all receivers.

Do both barrels have the detent? Older wingmaster magazine caps ratchet on a ball, all 870s now (including wingmaster) use plastic teeth on the magazine spring retainer cap. They will NOT interchange.

[WDE91]

The gun and what I believe to be the orginal barrel are from 1969

I am not sure when the new barrel was made but it is pretty old I believe because it is a fixed choke and 2.75" only

both of the barrels are 2.75" barrels and the Wingmaster is a 2.75"

[aippi]

Any 12ga 870 barrel fits any 12ga 870 as there has been no changes to the 870 other then the flex tab conversion and a couple of minor changes to the chamber rim to meet industry standards. And of course some finish and a few small parts changes that have nothing to do with the barrel. A barrel from your 1969 weapon fits my 2012 weapon and my 2012 barrel fits your 1969 model.

You can oil that detent ball and then push it in and release it a couple times. That should free it up.

[Ribkick]

I recently purchased a barrel for my Wingmaster

It came with a 28" non rib modified barrel and I purchased a 28" vent rib modifed barrel

on this new vent rib barrel the the detent that the locker rides against does not seem to ratchet down like the other barrel

Is the detent something that can be replaced with new parts?

O ya and for those that are wonder the non rib modifed barrel is now a 18.75" cylinder barrel
hacksaw and some filing

You should know better. Did you think that through?

How old is your wingmaster? How old are the barrels? There have been at least a dozen changes over the years to those guns and not all barrels will fit on all receivers.

Do both barrels have the detent? Older wingmaster magazine caps ratchet on a ball, all 870s now (including wingmaster) use plastic teeth on the magazine spring retainer cap. They will NOT interchange.

FUD

Any 12ga 870 barrel fits any 12ga 870 as there has been no changes to the 870 other then the flex tab conversion and a couple of minor changes to the chamber rim to meet industry standards. And of course some finish and a few small parts changes that have nothing to do with the barrel. A barrel from your 1969 weapon fits my 2012 weapon and my 2012 barrel fits your 1969 model.

You can oil that detent ball and then push it in and release it a couple times. That should free it up.

Seems like simple common sense wasn't used above.

[WDE91]

You can oil that detent ball and then push it in and release it a couple times. That should free it up.

Thank you very much JD for all of your 870 insight
that is exactly what I did after your suggestion

I used some oil and the magnet side of a Snap On pocket screwdriver and started pushing the ball a couple times

I got some awful looking brown stuff oozing from that hole
I can now remove the magazine nut without a quarter or a screwdriver like before

[aippi]

I love a happy ending. That little detent ball is the most over looked part on an 870 so I was sure it was the issue and could be freed up to work properly again.

[WDE91]

It worked amazingly
It makes it so much easier to just spin the nut off instead of having to go look for a tool of some sorts

Im guessing the brown stuff is probably cosomoline or rust down in that hole
Im not sure

[aippi]

The technical term for what came out of the hole is "Mess" and it is many years of dust, dirt and other micro mess that builds up. I bet I have cleaned thousands of 870 and not paid attention to the magazine cap detent and your post serves to remind me and other guys to attend to that neglected part of their weapon.

[WDE91]

The technical term for what came out of the hole is "Mess" and it is many years of dust, dirt and other micro mess that builds up. I bet I have cleaned thousands of 870 and not paid attention to the magazine cap detent and your post serves to remind me and other guys to attend to that neglected part of their weapon.

The crazy part is I bought the and the owner said it had maybe 50 or so shells and it looks the part also

Im pretty sure the barrel has seen a pretty easy life but I guess enough dust will jam anything up
Im going to see if I can get more of that out of there

[WDE91]

well Im still getting more brown crap oozing out of the detent hole
o well
the problem is fixed so thats what matters