870 Wingmaster quality; then and now?

[Horsemany]

I'm thinking of buying a new 870 Wingmaster 20 gauge for another upland gun. I've noticed the lack of quality coming from Remington recently and have some rifles to prove it. My question is.....has the Wingmaster been changed compared to the older examples? I've found a few NIB that are 15 or 20 years old on Gunbroker but I'm not crazy about the pressed checkering, white line spacers, etc. compared to the new ones.

So I'm kinda up in the air between brand new or older. I know the polish of metal parts will be a little better on the older ones. I'm also wondering if they've replaced some parts with MIM like they've done on the new Express 870s.

 

[DaleCooper51]

Last winter I bought a new 20 ga Wingmaster with a 28" barrel and satin finish on the walnut. The fit and finish are comparable to my older guns (early 70's 12ga). The wood isn't as nicely figured as the older stuff, but it has cut checkering which is a real plus. I'm not much of a fan of the pressed checkering either. My example doesn't have any MIM parts, but Remington did cheese out and use the plastic ratcheting magazine cap with dimples from the express. It functions well enough, but I wish it had the old style retention.

As for shooting it, so far I've put about 3,500 rounds through it playing skeet. All I shoot are my reloads and I haven't had a lick of trouble. It feeds, fires, and ejects reliably. I had one ftf, but it was due to the primer not being fully seated. It's smoothed up considerably, but isn't yet as smooth as my older guns. At 6.5lbs, it's at least a pound lighter than my other guns. I really have to be aware of my swing to keep it steady. If it's all I shoot, I shoot it really well. A magazine weight would go along way to smoothing out the swing and still keep it under 7lbs.

I wouldn't hesitate to get another one, but I would probably look for a lightly used one with choke tubes and save some money over buying a new one. I see a bunch of them on the auction sites.

 

[Horsemany]

Thanks Dale. That's the kind of real world info I was looking for. I won't be afraid of the newer ones.

 

[Virginian]

I also looked at the new ones extensively, before I got an old one last Summer, and from what I have seen the Wingmasters are holding their own. I have an acquaintance who bought one because he prefers the real checkering too (I love the old impressed style, and the white line spacers, and all that '60s style stuff), and he put a detent plunger and spring in the barrel ring, bought an old style cap and magazine spring retainer for his, and he is real happy with it. It is as slick as any of the six I have owned ever were.

 

[earlthegoat2]

I have always thought the new wingmasters did look good and when handling them appeared to be of similar quality as they have always been. I would never buy a new one though because compared to the used ones you can save about 200 bucks or more most of the time.