Bought my first shotgun / Remington 870 Magnum

Nice shotgun. I have three older wingmasters. They are great shotguns.
Unless you live on a farm I would get a 18 or 20" barrel for it. Maybe a vang comp magazine extension.

I have a 1976 Wingmaster Magnum with a 28" Light Contour barrel on it. I had a '74 I shot better than any other gun I ever owned, and gave it away in a blinding flash of stupidity. Went thru 6 others before deciding the one I have now was as close as I was ever going to get. Still love to shoot a few ducks with it.

grammontS said:

I'd like to get the 18 inch barrel , it has a 25inch now.

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Great choice.

I'll be villified from now on for saying this but I'm used to it. If you want the 18" barrel, don't hunt and don't plan on moving the shotgun along, you always have the shorten what you have option. In today's world, that might well be your best and perhaps only real option.

That said, a 26" Wingmaster sits in my closet. Short enough for quail and therefore short enough for me. It's a 2 3/4" shotgun which is fine since my HD round is 9 pellet 2 3/4 inch 00 buckshot. My most favored shotgun for sure.

That is a great price for an 870. People are going crazy now panic buying shotguns. I have two 870s and think they are the only thing Remington is still doing right. People complain about the steel rusting but if you do the minimum maintenance it isn't an issue.

870s are one of the shotgun workhorses in American hands being carried from rural dove fields to our urban police cruisers. Über reliable when all the chips are on the table. That’s a great price and you did well in today’s gun buying market.

I love 870s and have several, all in specific guises. Since this picture I have added magazine extensions to the police trade in and the slug gun commensurate with current social events. Sadly the cost of extra barrels will cost you as much as you paid for you gun, especially in this current market (good score on the gun though!). Take some time to thoroughly familiarize yourself with it and shoot it a bunch to get comfortable with it.

Boattale said:

Great choice.

I'll be villified from now on for saying this but I'm used to it. If you want the 18" barrel, don't hunt and don't plan on moving the shotgun along, you always have the shorten what you have option. In today's world, that might well be your best and perhaps only real option.

That said, a 26" Wingmaster sits in my closet. Short enough for quail and therefore short enough for me. It's a 2 3/4" shotgun which is fine since my HD round is 9 pellet 2 3/4 inch 00 buckshot. My most favored shotgun for sure.

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Not when you can find barrels all over the place in every pawn shop

George P said:

Not when you can find barrels all over the place in every pawn shop

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If so, then of course yes.

I'd like to get the 18 inch barrel , it has a 25inch now.

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Good choice. That is sold as a 26" barrel. The accurate way to measure them is from the front of the breach instead of where the barrel meets the receiver. And every Remington with a vent rib barrel that I've ever measured was about 1/2" short of the advertised length.

Another vote for just cutting the barrel down. Extra barrels are out there, but will cost as much, or more than you paid for the gun. Especially shorter barrels. I'd cut that one down and if you decide you need another standard barrel you'll do just as well to buy a 2nd gun. You need to cut right at one of the vent rib posts. You will have the option of 23", 21" or 19". The next rib would be 17" and illegal. I've cut several and found 21" to be a good place. And if I were to mess up at 21" I have one more chance at 19".

The metal is soft and easy to cut. I used a file and a square to get the end of the barrel square and file down rough edges. You can buy some cold blue to touch up the end, or just leave it alone. I used clamp on fiber optic replacement sights on the ones I've cut. They have proven to be quite accurate with slugs.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1005969089?pid=219733

Or for a lot less money a simple front bead.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1005814545?pid=139552

I meet people who take their shotgun to range like a pistol range, run 10 slugs through it every month (at a buck per slug) and feel like they are Rambo.

please consider taking your shotgun to a trap/skeet/sporting clays range. You will meet people who know something about shooting and guns in general (vs internet hype). Target shells are often about 1/5 the price per shell of a slug. And if you can hit a 4” target at +20 yds moving 40 mph, whatever goes thump in the night will be easy.

Absolutely! heading to gun club tomorrow for some skeet as well as checking some 38spl loads

Nice first start, you can't go wrong with a solid 870 .

I can't really tell from the angle, is that a parkerized finish? If so, I have a used, parkerized take-off barrel from a 3" 870 police model (bead sight) that you may want to check out. Send me a PM is you're interested.

Stay safe.

grammontS said:

Unfortunately pawn shops are kind of a rarity here in good old Taxachusetts.

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Road trip!...........PA should have some...........maybe Maine as well.

For home defense... along with that short barrel (18 - 20") buy some basic 2 3/4" 00 buck rounds. Yes you have a magnum but it's still a one shot fight ender with ordinary rounds... There's no need to use magnum rounds for self defense. Those shorter, less expensive, and certainly easier to shoot, 2 3/4 rounds will do all that's needed in a self defense scenario -despite what you'll hear from all those "rambos" around that just have to have the most powerful ammo they can get their hands on.

If you do replace that hunting barrel.... store it in good condition and you'll get every penny back that you spent on the short barrel if and when you choose to sell it...

I'm not a fan of cutting down shotgun barrels (although it's certainly do-able, in the process you lose whatever choke that barrel came with from the factory...).

Lastly however you set up - as a hunting gun or a home defender - make a point of patterning the weapon (to see exactly how the shot disperses from the barrel at various ranges and with the ammo you're going to use regularly...( a basic riot barrel, 18", with an improved cylinder choke should disperse the shot at one inch per meter from the muzzle... that means that at 21 feet you're only looking at a seven inch pattern..). Once you have a good idea of how it patterns then burn up some ammo until you're comfortable with your new gun. Then shoot some more until you build up your skills with it - and your confidence. As I've said before - at close quarters (less than fifty feet) a short barreled shotgun is a one shot fight ender.... One other minor point, if home defense is your intent, also make a point of doing a bit of measuring around your house or place of business so you know exactly how far from the entry doors you might be standing in an emergency - as well as the actual distance from one part of the house to where you might need to engage an intruder - it will be an eye opener (and probably a lot closer than you think... ). At least that's my opinion...

grammontS said:

It is a parkerized finish , could you PM me , I'm not sure how to PM on this site.

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Click on the person's avatar and click on "Start a Conversation"

I cut the barrel down on my 870 20ga. Maybe a few inches too short. It patterned about as you would expect. It currently sits behind the door with a new 18.5" barrel on it, with a collapsible stock. The old barrel was trash.

With the 18" barrel, it is very compact and handy.

That sure doesn't look like a Parkerized finish with that Buttstock and fore end. Matte black is my bet.

Any finish barrel fits on any finish gun, For HD who cares....

All 870 Express in 12 gauge are magnums.
They standardized when that model came out.
Previous to the Express, was the "sportsman".
They had non walnut wood stocks and a blued finish.

The Express was non walnut and a matte blued finish.
Although later some Express could be had with a matte finish walnut.

The Special Purpose was initially birch w matte finish, but after a couple yrs went walnut or synth.

The Special Purpose receivers differ from the Express in that the sight plane is machined slightly recessed (used to be, maybe not on newer ones).
The Express just has a flat. And the Sportsmans, were round topped (no flat).

There may have been some later military or police model 870s that were Parkerized, but the Express guns were not.
Just matte finished.

The 1100 Special Purpose however, was Parkerized.

I have an 870 Express Supermagnum, 23" Remchoke vent rib turkey model.
Its limited out on doves and is short enough to work for HD too.
Bought it like new used, and it's been a champ.

Sure would like to find another.
As I just got a 26" (25.5" Remchoke vent rib) bbl like new.............for $100. Newer, so it has the 3.5" chamber.
That will be my steel shot goose bbl, could score a reg 3" mag 870 Express and drop my 3.5" 23" bbl on it (as I only run 3" when turkey hunting).

Matte finish kinda sucks, as oil won't sheet, and water won't either........it will cling due to surface topography.
I do think after a few yrs of proper oiling it they become less rust prone, but I have not tested to verify that.
Many complain about Express finish and Remoil..............but both seem to work together fine for me.

But then I'm probably a person that sweats gun oil.

Parkerized is a brownish/greenish color, I scored an 1100 SP in that and it has some weird staining (dark brown) on it. So it is now Gunkoted black.