The 20 ga. can be "tactical"!

[Grumpyoldretiredcop]

I pulled a number of project shotguns from the back of my safe this week that have languished unfinished for more time than I care to admit. One of them is a Remington Wingmaster "Heavy Frame" 20 gauge. Since I don't bird hunt these days, it's not been fired since my daughter used it to take her first pheasant, which was some years ago. If I have the right info, it can't be newer than 1979, the last year in which Remington made the "Heavy Frame".

I'd scrounged up a spare barrel on eBay - not an easy task as the "standard" Remington 20 ga. barrel won't fit this shotgun, which is built on the same receiver as a 12 ga. 870. I finally found one chambered for 3" shells, not a big issue although this shotgun is equipped with a 2 3/4" ejector it will still fit and function with 2 3/4" shells. The spare barrel went onto my mill after I marked a spot for the new bead (MUCH easier to do while the old bead is still in place) and after I'd hacksawed it to just over my desired length. Then I carefully leveled the barrel in a set of aluminum V-blocks and face cut the muzzle off at the desired length. A muzzle chamfering tool removed the bulk of the sharp muzzle edges and swarf, and a sanding pad removed the rest as well as breaking the sharp edges of the muzzle. Install the bead, a bit of grinding to contour the bead stem to the bore, a swipe of cold blue and it was done. The magazine extension is a 12 ga. extension, which works on this shotgun as the magazine tube is identical to the12 ga. Wingmaster's. The wood is the original, I've thought about changing it out for a collapsible stock to make the length of pull better fit my daughters but just can't pull the wood off of it. Let's face it, I'm a sucker for blue steel and walnut... If I do keep the wood, I'll have to change the buttpad as this one's hard as a rock due to age.

Took it out today and fired it at my local range. The heaviest shot that I could find locally was #3 Buck. Most pellets stayed on a B-27 silhouette at 25 yards; I was a little surprised at that. I thought that would have been outside the effective range of buckshot from that shotgun. Unfortunately, I was unable to fire at ranges less than 25 yards on this public outdoor range to determine the actual maximum effective range (the range at which all pellets stayed on the B-27), nor was I able to find any 20 ga. slug locally to try that. Nonetheless, since the patterns from both #5 shot and #3 buck were well centered, I'm willing to bet that this shotgun will do well with slugs when I can get my hands on some. This is only the second time I've installed a shotgun bead and the first shotgun barrel I've shortened, so I'm pretty happy that everything is centered and it shoots straight.

All in all, this shotgun performs just the same as the 870 I'm used to seeing in the patrol car rack, it's just softer shooting.

The Wingmaster is the center shotgun in this photo, the others are two more project shotguns that I got to this week (High Standard C-200 on top, Stevens 94B .410 bottom):

pic removed by Photobucket because I wouldn't pay their blackmail!

[G-Man WC]

Nice. thanks for sharing GORC.
I like the wood on the bottom single shot.
Info please. Browning?
-g

[Grumpyoldretiredcop]

Would you believe... "Tenite" plastic? It's a Stevens 94B from sometime prior to 1950. It's the only Tenite stocked shotgun I've ever seen, I understand it's a pretty fragile material and can't be glued if it breaks.

[bigbearbear]

Interesting, I've been looking at some 20 gauge shotguns myself. Right now both my shotguns are 12 gauge and it makes it easier for wife and I to both carry the same ammo when we shoot during weekends.

However, I keep seeing the shelves of Walmart stocked full of 20 gauge shells that nobody seems to want to buy and shoot. And now that I'm getting better with trap shooting, I'm thinking maybe I should get a 20 gauge to make things a little more challenging, especially when shooting manual trap at Los Altos, the 12 gauge is way overkill for me now.

[tmh1]

We had an old Mossy 500C (20 ga) with 28" bbl sitting in the safe for years. As we had an upcoming defensive shotgun class, I 'converted' the old Mossy for my wife. Went from this:


To this:


Great with #4 buck!

[Grumpyoldretiredcop]

Nice job, tmh1! I think a lot of folks don't realize that the 20 ga. has its uses other than birds and bunnies. In each shotgun class that I instruct, I see someone struggling with the recoil of a 12 ga. I might have to bring this one to the next shotgun class as a loaner.

[aippi]

Good job. Don't forget the barrel bracket as the mag tube coupling on that Remington will not stand alone and the only thing keeping the tube from back off is the bracket.

For those of you that are doing this with a 20ga Light weight you will soon be able to put any 12ga 870 on a 20ga light weight. I get with Mesa Tactical and gave them a concept for a design that allows this. It is now in production and will available in a month or so.

[rromeo]

Here's my truck gun, it was my first 20ga. I bought the receiver and slide for $50 at a gun show, the barrel took some patience on eBay, I had the pistol grip but I'm looking for a real stock.

[Bill Steele]

Would you believe... "Tenite" plastic? It's a Stevens 94B from sometime prior to 1950. It's the only Tenite stocked shotgun I've ever seen, I understand it's a pretty fragile material and can't be glued if it breaks.

My first shotgun was a Steven 94B in 16ga, same plastic stock. It was a hand me down from my brother. That gun shot a lot of pheasant and ducks. First time on a trap field I shot 23 out of 25 with it, when the guy running things asked where I learned to shoot, I said, "ducks and pheasant, a long time ago", I was like 16. A long time ago, yeah.

I loved that gun.

[Tenacious-B]

I agree with keeping the wood on the 20 gauge. The wood gives it character that can't be matched by other furniture. Really nice job.

[Grumpyoldretiredcop]

Good job. Don't forget the barrel bracket as the mag tube coupling on that Remington will not stand alone and the only thing keeping the tube from back off is the bracket.

Good reminder from JD. Turns out that neither the 12 ga. or the 20 ga. Remington brackets will fit. The 12 ga. bracket fits the mag tube but not the barrel, and vice versa for the 20 ga. bracket. Anyone doing this mod with a newer Lightweight won't have this problem, it's because this is a Heavy Frame 20 ga. However, a little redneck engineering in the form of two pieces of motorcycle inner tube cemented to the inside of a 12 ga. bracket works just fine. The bracket is solid. The only thing left to do is replace the recoil pad, got one on order from Midway along with a GG&G single point sling adapter. Then it should be ready for duty.