Best barrel for 870 wingmaster

[dustind]

Hello everyone, I have a 196X(I think) Remignton 870 wingmaster, I use it for clay pigons and pheasant hunting, it also is my HD gun for the time being. I rode hunt and have to walk through thick tall grass/brush and would like a shorter barrel. My current barrel is a 30", smooth bore, 3 inch Magnum, with a heat rail and midbead, with screw in choke tubes. I would like the same thing in 20" or 22" I have only seen a few websites online but none match what I want.

I am guessing I do not want a rifled slug barrel since I doubt I will ever fire a slug, just 8-6-5-4, or OO for home defence.

Would the best option be to have a gunsmith cut my barrel down and retap it for choke tubes, and new sight beads? Or does someone sell replacement barrels, I could not find them on Remington's sight?

How much mid or long range accuracy will I loose if any by going to a 20 incher? I do not usually shoot at anything closer than 30 feet.

Thanks everyone, I have mined to archives with little luck, but I did learn some useful things.

 

[Preacherman]

For Remington barrels, see here.

For Mossberg barrels for the 870, see here (scroll to the bottom of the page for the 870 barrels).

For an idea of retail prices on barrels, Cheaper Than Dirt lists a whole bunch - see here. Cabela's also has a good selection - see here. Other suppliers are out there.

All of the Remington short barrels seem to have rifle sights and/or cantilever scope mounts. Mossberg makes an 18½" barrel with bead sight.

 

[dustind]

Thank you Preacherman, any advice on barrel size? Would I loose pheasant knockdown power at medium range with a 18.5" with the proper choke tube ofcorse?

 

[Preacherman]

No - a 20" barrel will have precisely 6" less range than a 26" barrel!

It helps to have removable chokes, of course. With these, even a short barrel can be tailored to the range and load in question. With a fixed choke (on the Remington barrels, usually IC) you have less flexibility.

You could always buy the (much cheaper!) Mossberg 18½" barrel and have it threaded for Hastings or other aftermarket chokes. The total cost will probably be equal to a genuine Remington barrel, but with the added flexibility of a choice between IC/Mod/Full chokes, which the short Remington barrels don't necessarily give you. Alternatively, check out some of the Hastings barrels at Cabela's - I don't know if they make a shorty for the 870, though.

If you have a Freudian problem, check out the the Hastings 32" screw-in add-on barrel. It screws into your existing barrel's choke threads, for a total length of almost five feet!

 

[dustind]

Do you by chance know how the Mossberg 18.5 barrel comes threaded? or are you saying it has a fixed choke? Does it have a vent rib? It says it has bead sights, I just want to make sure it has the rib too. I think I will go with it, but I think a few people in my hunting party will freak out at the sight of my evil assault gun.

Thank you, you have been a big help.

 

[Preacherman]

No, the Mossberg 18½" barrel is not threaded for chokes, and comes in cylinder bore. It does not have a vent rib, AFAIK. It's available through Cabela's for $89.99, cheaper than on the Mossberg Web site. You'll find the Mossberg 870 barrels are lighter (i.e. thinner-walled) in construction than the Remington barrels, but hey, you pay for what you get - and the ones I've seen seemed to work just fine.

If you really want a vent-rib barrel, it might be worth your while to buy one of, say, 26" or 28" and have it cut back to the length you desire. You can probably find a used barrel on Gunbroker or one of the other auction sites, or just buy one through one of the sites I listed above. I don't know of any shorty barrels that come standard with a vent rib.

You might also want to check with your local gunsmiths. I bought a 20" barrel for an 870 from a gunsmith for $25! It started out as a 28" fixed-choke barrel, and its owner fired it while it was plugged with mud, or something like that. Blew the end of it into tattered steel filaments. The gunsmith ordered and fitted a new barrel for the shotgun, which made the owner happy: and he cut off the damaged part and re-crowned the old barrel for me, which made me happy too!

 

[sm]

Preacherman gives good advice-as always.

'nuther thought , I personally like the longer bbls, keeps me from stopping my swing. I do the clay and hunting with long tubes. Ok that said, I'd scour / leave a note at some ranges and clubs. Some fellas get the short tubes and want the longer tubes for trap, for example. You might get lucky.

Also you have a nice gun and set up. You may be able to find a new/used Express, with choke(s) , cheaper than a new bbl alone. WM's have nice wood, you wouldn't care so much about the wood on an Express.

Have cash, be patient, act un-interested---pounce!

Might want to contribute to Preacher's church--at least have him light a candle...he has "Divine Luck" with shotguns of late.

 

[dustind]

Ok, what is wrong with thin barrels? Are they less accurate, or just more prone to damage?

The 30 incher I have now is the way I like it, how much do gunsmiths usually charge to cut down a barrel and rethread it for a choke? It has a removable choke now, but if its cut, you know...

 

[Preacherman]

re1973 gives good advice, too...

If you're willing to spend up to $200 on a new barrel, I'd take his advice and go for a new 870 Express, or look for a used Wingmaster in pawnshops (there are a couple available here, in reasonably good shape, for $250 or thereabouts). You could then have that barrel cut down to suit you.

There's nothing wrong with thin barrels at all - it's purely an economy measure taken to lower manufacturing costs. They have to be "proofed" with the same-power loads as heavier barrels, so they're safe enough. However, they get hotter faster, and some of them may be difficult to thread for choke tubes, as there may not be much metal to work with. Some choke manufacturers (Briley for sure, and perhaps Hastings) offer special "thin-wall" chokes for such barrels, but they have to be specially fitted, and not many local gunsmiths will do it - you have to send your barrel to Briley, for example, if you want their thin-wall chokes installed.

My local gunsmith charges me $25 to cut and re-crown a simple (i.e. non-vent-rib) shotgun barrel, but that's a pretty low charge - we're friends, you see. You might pay someone else double that... As for fitting screw-in chokes, I pay $65 for the work of threading the barrel, and buy chokes as needed (Hastings is what my gunsmith sells, and they work fine for me, but most of my shotguns now have Rem-Chokes in the factory barrels).

 

[sm]

If bbl too thin difficult to install choke-not enough "meat".

I would NOT cut that bbl !

You are going to get into labor, plus price of each choke. Most cost effective is as I stated above. Once cut--you can't put it back.

I also will add anytime one does have chokes installed to shoot bbl as is and determine POA/POI (point of aim/point of impact). First gun fit is important, if the gun shoots where you look that's great, if not have that corrected. ALWAYS check after you get a gun back form having chokes installed that it STILL shoots POA/POI. Reputable persons like Briley or Nu-Line. The shade tree gunsmith may have your gun shooting into the next county.

See these links:

http://www.briley.com/

http://www.nulineguns.com/

http://www.nulineguns.com/services.htm

In your state check with Mr. Ned Chritainsen, real gentleman and I'd check to see if could be of assistance.

http://www.m-guns.com/index.php


I have a '74 SX1, it came with a fixed mod bbl. I compete[d] hunt -do everthing with this gun. In around early '80s I had Nu-Line install screw- in chokes. I prefer external , knurled to protect muzzle and I hate wrenches. (they get lost, don't have when need, I don't want to be dependent on a stupid wrench). I did not cut my 28 " bbl down. I did have the forcing cone lengthened just a wee tad; this bbl was overbored from the factory--even in '74.

For me, this was cost effective, at that time not many guns had screw chokes. I shot as much as 20K rds a year--for many years in competition. Oh-my gun was ok for steel shot too, when we had to go to non-toxic for waterfowl. Yep the gun still runs 'em, ducks fall and grey missles explode.

So do a bit of research.
Like woodworking...measure twice cut once...once cut it it either fits or becomes scrap.

 

[Dave McCracken]

I had a barrel cut down and rethreaded for tubes, and have regretted it ever since.

There's not enough steel left to use Remchokes, so this one is the old Truchoke setup,tubes by Colonial and Hastings.It's complicated logistics here ever since.

The 21" turkey barrel would be nigh perfect for what you want, and is set up for Remchokes. Either a barrel or complete Express can be bought. Price will be about the same as for doing your old barrel.

 

[sm]

Dave,
Ooops, forgot about that Turkey bbl, thanks.

Goodness, I'd forgotton about the Tru-Choke. IIRC someone I knew tried that...same experience as yours. Ended up I think having to use a Poly-Choke. Ended up buying a new bbl and wishing he'd never converted.
He could have adjusted loads and patterned to needs the original bbl.

 

[Dave McCracken]

The setup works OK, but another set of tubes here I didn't need. Extra expense and hassle.