870 Wingmaster as a combat shotgun

My old 870 is 2 3/4". I have a skeet barrel on it, took out the plug, added a side saddle for 4 12ga 00.
Good to go.

horsemen61 said:

What he said!

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Yep! The more crap, the heavier and more unwieldy it gets and more cumbersome to maneuver with.

I like 870s. There is a lot available (or used to be) to customize them. That said, I wouldn't go overboard. One thing I'm on the lookout for is a smoothbore slug barrel, 20-22 inches long. Preferably with changeable chokes. Maybe a unicorn, but I think that would be a sweet spot for both buckshot and slugs out to 100 yards.

My older Wingmaster wears a Remington 20” cyl barrel with rifle sights, a Choate +2 Mag extension, a police take-off forend and buttstock, 1 1/2” sling and a 6-round sidesaddle ammo carrier.



Mag tube is loaded with 6 Federal #1 Buck 2 3/4” shells, the sidesaddle has three more #1 shells up and three Winchester 1oz 2 3/4” segmenting slugs down.



The only thing I’d love to add is a Surefire LED light forend...someday.

I have lots of love for the 870, I’ve ridden, qualified and deployed them in lethal and less lethal form for almost all of the last 30 years.

Stay safe.

cdb1 said:

I believe a Wingmaster makes an excellent Combat, HD and SD shotgun BUT, to do it right I believe one should wear a double bandolier and go commando when carrying/using a Wingmaster for the three purposes stated above. I’ve been told this by a number of THR members so it must be true.

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Go commando? But I chaff easily...

Speedo66 said:

Go commando? But I chaff easily...

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We all have to make sacrifices.

My kids like my Protector 870 clone.

Riomouse911 said:

The only thing I’d love to add is a Surefire LED light forend...someday.

I have lots of love for the 870, I’ve ridden, qualified and deployed them in lethal and less lethal form for almost all of the last 30 years.

Stay safe.

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I like that side-saddle! What brand is it or where'd you get it?

For a good LED light forend for a bit less money than the Surefire you might try the Streamlight TL-Racker. I have one for my Mossy and it's pretty good for $150.

It’s a Tac Star 6-round side saddle. It uses round head hex screws that replace the trigger group pins to hold it in place.

Even though it’s rigid it really doesn’t get in the way, and the extra weight lies between the hands so balance isn’t changed much.

The only negative is it covers the serial numbers on guns with the numbers on the left lower receiver. If you use one it pays to engrave the serial on the sidesaddle itself, the underside of the synthetic stock or other replaceable location, as you’ll need to pull it off to read the numbers if you ever need it (Taking it in for repair or Warranty work, etc.).

Stay safe.

Here’s some ex police 870s, kinda pricy though.
https://www.sportsmansoutdoorsuperstore.com/products2.cfm/ID/261119

And here’s my authentic combat Wingmaster from the Ohio National Guard.

USMC1775 said:

I have 2 Mossberg 590A1s all decked out in combat regalia, it's just that the action and reliability of an 870 Wingmaster is so much smoother and it never hesitates.

I would like opinions on converting a Wingmaster into a combat shotgun, there are plenty of after market doo dads to accomplish the mission, your thoughts please.

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The only dressing up I do is loading the magazine. Other stuff is play pretty to me. To each their own.

Roknstevo said:

The only dressing up I do is loading the magazine. Other stuff is play pretty to me. To each their own.

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I’m not sure what “combat regalia” is but it is almost certainly unneeded on a fighting shotgun.

JCooperfan1911 said:

I’m not sure what “combat regalia” is but it is almost certainly unneeded on a fighting shotgun.

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I'm not really sure either, but then again, I don't really worry about what others think of my set up. I set them up for me.. But I will say that if your "fighting shotgun" only has 5rds and you are facing multiple threats, my 10rd tube has an advantage, plain and simple.

I think I might buy a second barrel and a magazine tube extension and call it good.

Maybe a headlamp would be useful. I am not sure why a light would have to be fixed to a gun. There's normally plenty of light around my place in Suburbia to identify a potential target. I might be missing something here, never had to shoot in the dark. Short barrel and long magazine is my preferred configuration. No sling in the house, but can be useful for a getaway gun. So, for myself, the shotgun stays bare naked, with hearing protection just beside.

Quick detachable sling swivels sling, two AA batteries incandescent Maglite and more ammunition in the bag. A good hunting knife, a Leatherman tool and a disposable lighter. A map and a compass. Food and drink. First aid kit. Half a roll of toilet paper. 100 feet rope, Ty-Raps, duct tape. Nylon tarp. Not on the shotgun. In the bag.

My vintage Wingmaster is my best shotgun. I hold my own with it in the field and the trap range shooting against very expensive shotguns that are valued at over ten or twenty times its value. It could easily be converted into a combat weapon but I would never want to do that to my Wingmaster. I would buy one of the many cheaper combat shotguns currently available for that purpose.

I used wingmasters, police models, and express models in the mil both for antipersonnel use and in the breaching role. I prefer the 870 to other pump shotguns.

Frostbite said:

Maybe a headlamp would be useful. I am not sure why a light would have to be fixed to a gun. There's normally plenty of light around my place in Suburbia to identify a potential target. I might be missing something here, never had to shoot in the dark. Short barrel and long magazine is my preferred configuration. No sling in the house, but can be useful for a getaway gun. So, for myself, the shotgun stays bare naked, with hearing protection just beside.

Quick detachable sling swivels sling, two AA batteries incandescent Maglite and more ammunition in the bag. A good hunting knife, a Leatherman tool and a disposable lighter. A map and a compass. Food and drink. First aid kit. Half a roll of toilet paper. 100 feet rope, Ty-Raps, duct tape. Nylon tarp. Not on the shotgun. In the bag.

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A headlamp is a terrible idea in a tactical situation. Any light may "blind" a target, but if you aren't looking directly at the target, it only marks your head as the target for the other side. A light attached to the gun enables the shooter to identify targets in low light (you can't hit what you can't see) and when it is attached to the weapon, it isn't another object you have to control with your finite amount of hands. You only have light around your home when you have power, and turning lights on in your home when a situation is "ongoing" illuminates your position for the bad guy, and requires additional movement. Since it is dark on this planet about 50% of the time, with crimes occurring disproportionately during these periods of darkness, having a light on a HD gun and getting the training in its use may be worthwhile.

Riomouse911 said:

My older Wingmaster wears a Remington 20” cyl barrel with rifle sights, a Choate +2 Mag extension, a police take-off forend and buttstock, 1 1/2” sling and a 6-round sidesaddle ammo carrier.

View attachment 986404

Mag tube is loaded with 6 Federal #1 Buck 2 3/4” shells, the sidesaddle has three more #1 shells up and three Winchester 1oz 2 3/4” segmenting slugs down.

View attachment 986405

The only thing I’d love to add is a Surefire LED light forend...someday.

I have lots of love for the 870, I’ve ridden, qualified and deployed them in lethal and less lethal form for almost all of the last 30 years.

Stay safe.

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You may also consider using the Magpul fore end with M-Lok slots. This provides flexibility to mount different lights or no lights at all, depending on your application. And you can mount at 3, 6, and/or 9 o’clock positions.

FL-NC said:

A headlamp is a terrible idea in a tactical situation. Any light may "blind" a target, but if you aren't looking directly at the target, it only marks your head as the target for the other side. A light attached to the gun enables the shooter to identify targets in low light (you can't hit what you can't see) and when it is attached to the weapon, it isn't another object you have to control with your finite amount of hands. You only have light around your home when you have power, and turning lights on in your home when a situation is "ongoing" illuminates your position for the bad guy, and requires additional movement. Since it is dark on this planet about 50% of the time, with crimes occurring disproportionately during these periods of darkness, having a light on a HD gun and getting the training in its use may be worthwhile.

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Thank you for the education.

Frostbite said:

Maybe a headlamp would be useful. I am not sure why a light would have to be fixed to a gun. There's normally plenty of light around my place in Suburbia to identify a potential target. I might be missing something here, never had to shoot in the dark.

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I suppose everyone's needs vary. I've noticed that half of each 24 hour day it's dark, and indoors it's always dark without the lights turned on. Most folks (but not all obviously) work days, so if someone breaks in during daylight hours it's a robbery. No one's home so nothing is lost except property. If someone breaks in at night it's a home invasion; they almost certainly know and expect you to be home and they don't care. Homes have lights and light switches but in my place for example the living room switch is by the front door, pretty much as far way from my bedroom it gets. So I may or may not be able to turn on the lights.

On a sidearm I think a light can be useful but isn't mandatory; after all you can train techniques to use a handheld light with a gun. That's hard to do with a long gun. And since a long gun already weighs maybe 6-8 pounds a few extra ounces for a WML is trivial. Once the light is affixed to the shotgun you may use it or not use as circumstances dictate. It's not really in the way nor an impediment to using the gun even in daylight and very useful in darkness.

Check out the configuration of the ONG (Ohio National Guard) combat shotguns. They were 870 Wingmasters, some had the folding stocks, a bunch just had wood stocks and forends. They looked awesome. If I were you, or I still had mine, I'd be in the process of making it look as close to a ONG Wingmaster as I could. They were sweet.

As already noted, the 870 Wingmaster can be (and was) a great combat shotgun. The smooth action really makes it a joy to operate.

Folding ONG 870 Wingmaster





If the host 870 is an older one, you will want to add the flexitab system so shells can't get jambed between the carrier and the bolt.

Article about the flexitab system.

The MESA side saddle shell holder has a "window" to read the serial number. They come in 4 and 6 round - both polymer and aluminum. They are stout and rugged too.