870 Wingmaster

I started with an 870 Wingmaster like many people, 20ga fixed modified choke. I used it for everything I hunted as it was the only shotgun available to me.

I've killed hundreds of pheasants, thousands of duck, hundreds of geese, a few turkeys, dozens of deer (with that modified choke bird barrel), a few timberdoodles, hundreds of rabbits, and a number feral cats, pigeons, starlings, crows, and only a few squirrels.

Never once in when I pulled the trigger did it not fire or feed the next shell. It's been dropped, stepped on, dunked in the water, mud, and abused by an early teen, 20 year old who now knows better. I think you can even hammer nails with it. Too bad the 870 of today make me want to puke.
 
Why do they want to make you puke? The Wingmasters are still made to be nice guns, at least that’s what I’ve heard. The Express models are cheap versions of the 870 and some of those have issues but my 20 gauge Express has never missed a beat.
 
Yeah, I have 870s of nearly every vintage. The most resent one is 2015 and is as good as any.

If they didn’t have the Express I don’t think they could sell enough of the fancier ones.
 
New wingmasters are excellent. One of the absolute finest guns you can get $ for $. I’ve owned about every era, and while I prefer the looks of the white line spacer era, my 2017 wingmaster is as nice a gun as Remington ever made.
 
I think he's referring to the 870 Express. That said, they will probably last forever without the fit & finish .
 
jmuller19 said:
Yep, great gun. My brother in law uses one as his primary and I use one as a back up. Reliable is the best way to put it.
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Very knowledgeable viewers here, so will send out this SOS. Wife has a 20 gauge LW (youth model) 2 3/4 inch that I bought new for her approximately 40 years ago. Although she has others that serve well, it is the 870 that she is sentimental about. It is high mileage, though, and needs a new ejector plus the two springs and two rivets that go with. I'd also need the staking tool. Remington doesn't even answer the phone (bankrupt, I know). Brownells, Midway, Midwest, Numrich and numerous others don't have the shorter 2 3/4 inch ejector.

Anyone have knowledge of a source of these parts?
 
KSnative said:
Very knowledgeable viewers here, so will send out this SOS. Wife has a 20 gauge LW (youth model) 2 3/4 inch that I bought new for her approximately 40 years ago. Although she has others that serve well, it is the 870 that she is sentimental about. It is high mileage, though, and needs a new ejector plus the two springs and two rivets that go with. I'd also need the staking tool. Remington doesn't even answer the phone (bankrupt, I know). Brownells, Midway, Midwest, Numrich and numerous others don't have the shorter 2 3/4 inch ejector.

Anyone have knowledge of a source of these parts?
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Brownell's and Numrich would have been my recommendations, but you've tried those. Perhaps Ahlman's Gunsmithing in Minnesota could help?
 
Glad they could help. I sent them a Franchi O/U that had a tiny broken spring way down in the guts of the action. I couldn't figure out how to get to it and after trying I couldn't get the gun back together properly. A friend recommended them. It was insanely easy. They essentially told me to box it up and enclose a letter describing the problem. I also enclosed the replacement spring that I had bought. They called in about 2 weeks to tell me it was fixed. They processed a credit card payment over the phone. I had the gun back in my hands before the end of the 3rd week. I've never had an experience like that with any other gunsmith.
 
matto said:
Glad they could help. I sent them a Franchi O/U that had a tiny broken spring way down in the guts of the action. I couldn't figure out how to get to it and after trying I couldn't get the gun back together properly. A friend recommended them. It was insanely easy. They essentially told me to box it up and enclose a letter describing the problem. I also enclosed the replacement spring that I had bought. They called in about 2 weeks to tell me it was fixed. They processed a credit card payment over the phone. I had the gun back in my hands before the end of the 3rd week. I've never had an experience like that with any other gunsmith.
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Same kind of good experience here. No hassle, took credit card over the phone - and unlike other unnamed (but major) firms, aren't scalping on prices just because Remington went bankrupt. Again, can't thank you enough.
 
KSnative said:
Very knowledgeable viewers here, so will send out this SOS. Wife has a 20 gauge LW (youth model) 2 3/4 inch that I bought new for her approximately 40 years ago. Although she has others that serve well, it is the 870 that she is sentimental about. It is high mileage, though, and needs a new ejector plus the two springs and two rivets that go with. I'd also need the staking tool. Remington doesn't even answer the phone (bankrupt, I know). Brownells, Midway, Midwest, Numrich and numerous others don't have the shorter 2 3/4 inch ejector.

Anyone have knowledge of a source of these parts?
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Call a local gunshop for parts. You might be surprised at what they have in storage. Very recently I looked everywhere online for a new magazine tube spring and retainer for my 1985 870 Magnum 12 ga. I found the spring at a local gunshop and the retainer on E-Bay of all places.
Frank
 
Frank C said:
Call a local gunshop for parts. You might be surprised at what they have in storage. Very recently I looked everywhere online for a new magazine tube spring and retainer for my 1985 870 Magnum 12 ga. I found the spring at a local gunshop and the retainer on E-Bay of all places.
Frank
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Good info but Ahlman's seemed to have a larger stock of parts than most smaller local shops. Got exactly what was needed, promptly. Also went ahead and got a Benelli M2 recoil spring that the primary suppliers were out of stock on.
 
KSnative said:
Good info but Ahlman's seemed to have a larger stock of parts than most smaller local shops. Got exactly what was needed, promptly. Also went ahead and got a Benelli M2 recoil spring that the primary suppliers were out of stock on.
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Thanks - I'll check them out next time I need some parts.
 
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