Dave McCracken
February 11, 2005, 02:50 PM
For those out there searching for great shotguns at reasonable prices......
Met Anapex at PGC today by arrangement to check out his "New" 870 TC. For those coming in late. this is an 870 Wingmaster Trap gun with C grade wood. Remlumber comes in divers grades, there's only D and F grade above his. Cut, not impressed checkering done well with no overruns nor gaps. The forearm was the extra long one.
When Anapex opened the plastic hard case, I noted the new appearance of everything. The chokes, all 5, showed no use and looked new. So did the TC, though a phone call to Remington revealed it was made in 1988.
This did indeed have one of the fabled overbore target barrels. Remington went with the overbore craze back then and made some barrels with the bore about .745" instead of the standard .729" or so. The bore comes down in diameter before the choke area, to standard size, so standard Remchokes can be used. They're marked differently and differ in diameter from what you'd expect. A choke that would give Skeet dimensions in a standard barrel will give IC to Mod patterns in these, the .011" choke already in the barrel makes a running start on constriction.
So, we shot. Anapex was getting the feel of things and I shot less well than I wanted to with Number 6. So, I switched to my TB for the second round. I wanted to compare and contrast the two.
Halfway through the round, Anapex started getting light hits and some misfires. So we adjourned to the clubhouse where we took the TC apart. The firing pin spring was broken.
The bolt from Number 6 was pressed into service and we continued to shoot.
We used this time to drill Anapex in takedown procedures and PM.
We shot two rounds of standard wobble. Then we shot a flurry, and by that time Anapex was hitting most of them with his new gun. Then,a low gun round followed by shooting from Skeet positions 2 and 6, half a box at each. Much fun, and the different conditions had us concentrating hard on the birds. Wind gusts to 30 MPH helped on that also.
We compared and contrasted the two T grades. The TB was made in 1978, and has impressed checkering vs the well done cut checkering on the TC.
A similar barrel was offered for sale on trapshooters.com recently. Asking price, IIRC, was $300.
The big TC barrel has a higher rib with a step at the rear. A short cone, but otherwise very close to all the bellsnwhistles for barrels on target shotguns.
At the end, where Anapex was centering his birds quite frequently and grinding them into separate molecules, I noted that he had the case, $100 worth of chokes and a superb 870 Target gun for about what one pays for an Express alone at a chain store.
So for those of us looking, take heart. The deals are still out there.....
Met Anapex at PGC today by arrangement to check out his "New" 870 TC. For those coming in late. this is an 870 Wingmaster Trap gun with C grade wood. Remlumber comes in divers grades, there's only D and F grade above his. Cut, not impressed checkering done well with no overruns nor gaps. The forearm was the extra long one.
When Anapex opened the plastic hard case, I noted the new appearance of everything. The chokes, all 5, showed no use and looked new. So did the TC, though a phone call to Remington revealed it was made in 1988.
This did indeed have one of the fabled overbore target barrels. Remington went with the overbore craze back then and made some barrels with the bore about .745" instead of the standard .729" or so. The bore comes down in diameter before the choke area, to standard size, so standard Remchokes can be used. They're marked differently and differ in diameter from what you'd expect. A choke that would give Skeet dimensions in a standard barrel will give IC to Mod patterns in these, the .011" choke already in the barrel makes a running start on constriction.
So, we shot. Anapex was getting the feel of things and I shot less well than I wanted to with Number 6. So, I switched to my TB for the second round. I wanted to compare and contrast the two.
Halfway through the round, Anapex started getting light hits and some misfires. So we adjourned to the clubhouse where we took the TC apart. The firing pin spring was broken.
The bolt from Number 6 was pressed into service and we continued to shoot.
We used this time to drill Anapex in takedown procedures and PM.
We shot two rounds of standard wobble. Then we shot a flurry, and by that time Anapex was hitting most of them with his new gun. Then,a low gun round followed by shooting from Skeet positions 2 and 6, half a box at each. Much fun, and the different conditions had us concentrating hard on the birds. Wind gusts to 30 MPH helped on that also.
We compared and contrasted the two T grades. The TB was made in 1978, and has impressed checkering vs the well done cut checkering on the TC.
A similar barrel was offered for sale on trapshooters.com recently. Asking price, IIRC, was $300.
The big TC barrel has a higher rib with a step at the rear. A short cone, but otherwise very close to all the bellsnwhistles for barrels on target shotguns.
At the end, where Anapex was centering his birds quite frequently and grinding them into separate molecules, I noted that he had the case, $100 worth of chokes and a superb 870 Target gun for about what one pays for an Express alone at a chain store.
So for those of us looking, take heart. The deals are still out there.....