BPS vs. 870 Wingmaster?

[Gary O]

Do you folks see any winner here? I would like to leave a 20 gauge to my grandson. What say you?
Thanks...

 

[kudu]

I thinks it's a win win, both are truly nice shotguns. BPS is a bit more scarce, nice elegant lines, bottom feed and ejection, good for lefty's and should last a long time. 870 can be had anywhere and could be handed down to his grandson when he is through with it.

 

[Crawdad1]

I agree with Kudu that both are great shotguns. I prefer the Wingmaster because of its history. Our military and police use them, competitive shooters use them and millions of hunters use them.

"Rudy", to all his friends, held almost every Trap & Skeet shooting title and was a member of 14 All American Teams. He was the winner of the "North American Clay Target Championship" at the Grand American in every category; Sub-Junior, Junior, Amateur, Professional, Veteran and Sr. Veteran, a winner of the North American Doubles Championship 5 times, on 14 All American Trap and Skeet teams, and at 14 years of age won the Kansas State Trap Shoot. At the 1950 Grand, shooting one of the first Remington Model 870 pump guns produced (the same gun he would shoot throughout the remainder of his career) he broke 100 straight in doubles; one of the first ever recorded. He repeated this feat again 32 years later at the Louisiana State Shoot in 1982 by breaking 100 straight with the same pump gun. These titles go on and on, and include winner of the World Live Pigeon Championship HOA in 1966 in Mexico City, winner of the Live Bird Championship in Monte Carlo in 1955, in Madrid 1955, in Paris 1955 and Columbaire Championships in Seville, Spain 1965, Madrid 1966, Egypt 1955 and was high score 3 years in a row at the Grand National Quail Championship in Enid, Oklahoma. Unquestionably, Rudy’s accomplishments with a shotgun place him with the top echelon of the shotgunner’s world.

Only the Model 12 can match that record of accomplishments.

 

[Armored farmer]

I am a 870 fan, so you know what im gonna say. ...

I never liked bottom ejects. Too much shucking to load and unload to suit me.
If you get your hand too far back on the fore end, and block the eject port...you have a single shot.
I don't care for the location of the safety.

So, like I said, you know what I suggest. 870

 

[PapaG]

870 fan for 45 years. TB with 100s of thousands rounds, sons both have Wingmasters, I have five including the Express beater.
Easy to work on, though they seldom need it. Parts all over, reliable.
That said, the Brownings are nice. Have a bit of a M12 look to them.

 

[lemaymiami]

All of my shotgun experience and education revolved around 870's and beat up old Mossbergs... so I have to ask "what's a BPS"....

 

[eastbank]

browning pump shotgun.eastbank.

 

[lemaymiami]

thanks Eastbank - I've long admired Brownings but never owned or fired one....

 

[Sunray]

A 20 gauge is a hunting shotgun. They're all pretty much the same. Does depend on the actual model of either though. A BPS Hunter's MSRP is $699.99. A 20 gauge 870 Express combo(20" rifled slug barrel and a 21" vent rib, Mod choke, bird barrel) runs $609.00 MSRP.
Brownings are pretty and over priced. That extra $90 is for the name. Browning has been marketing on the name for eons.

 

[jmr40]

I've been an 870 fan for a long time. But I think the BPS is the better shotgun. And can often be found at very nearly the same street price. They are less common and available with fewer options. Plus a little on the heavy side. But very well made.

 

[bearman49709]

I've owned both still have the BPS.

 

[earplug]

Both good shotguns. Which one will fit him best should be the question. Buy a couple rolls of Silver Eagles and let him choose. I'm a left Eye dominant shooter and the BPS is a better gun for me.

 

[Mn Fats]

If hes a lefty he might appreciate the BPS more. If not, Wingmaster all the way for me.

 

[gulogulo1970]

870 swings better for me, even so, I don't care for the new ones. The BPS is heavy but a better made shotgun. If I were to get an 870, it would be an older Wingmaster.

 

[Wis-Harpo]

When my son was 14 I bought a Browning BPS for myself, and gave my son my 870 Wingmaster both 12 gauges. After the second pheasant got up I still could not find the safety. The BPS had a tang safety and not a button safety like the 870. So at the age of 14 my son got the BPS, because he had just graduated from a single shot with a hammer and the tang safety was easy to master. He would still have it today but he went over to the dark side and traded it in for a Benelli.

 

[SwampWolf]

I've owned both still have the BPS.

Same here. I think today's Browning is a better-made shotgun than today's Remington-pains me to say that but I think it's true. Imo, the BPS is worth the extra money over the 870. I also much prefer the tang-mounted safety over any trigger guard-mounted safety. Also, if you have to locate a safety on the trigger guard, I like one situated on the front of the guard, (ala, many Winchesters) as opposed to the rear mounted one on the Remington. I use my BPS as mostly a waterfowl gun and the bottom ejection, (ala, the Ithaca Model 37), keeps a lot of debris from entering the chamber area that might otherwise find its way there in a conventional side ejector gun.

But I do agree completely with kudu's assessment in post no. two.

 

[Virginian]

A Wingmaster is as good as ever, and is not to be confused with an Express. I had three BPSs; excellent guns that never missed a beat, but I could never grow to love that bottom loading. Feel the same about 37s. Neither feel as good as a Wingmaster to me either.
I can't imagine anyone buying a gun based on the safety location aside from that dumb in front of the trigger button style.

 

[Armored farmer]

Miles afield hunting Quail, that BP SAFETY gets knocked off. I've seen it too many times for comfort, like it or not.

 

[lemaymiami]

For what it's worth all of my shotgunning was done hunting two legged critters.... I long ago learned to choose the 870 over the Mossy among the rack of shotguns we were issued each day (until I finally rose in rank and could have a shotgun issued to me that didn't need to be turned in at the end of each shift). The only reason was the safety - I was always worried that under stress and in motion I might accidentally clear the tang mounted safety that Mossberg comes with and end up with an accidental discharge. The Remington with it's trigger located safety was perfect for a guy that needed to be absolutely certain of never firing that weapon unless it was a deliberate act. Can't remember how many times I pointed a shotgun at someone with my finger on the safety and never the trigger until that decision was required ( I fired only one shot on the street in 22 years of lots of opportunities.... and to this day would like to have not fired at all.....). Anyone down range would never have been able to see exactly where my trigger finger was in any confrontation -so it worked just as intended....

 

[eastbank]

did i tell you i like remington shotguns, oh i did. eastbank.

 

[FL-NC]

They are both great shotguns. I have several 870s and an ithaca 37 (same basic concept as a BPS). I prefer the Ithaca over 870 for dove hunting, 870 for everything else.

 

[Milkmaster]

For fit and finish I would choose the BPS. For ease of disassembly and cleaning I would choose the 870. I would not throw out the Ithaca 37 as a viable candidate for consideration as well. Any of the three mount and shoot great for me. Any of the three will last and be great to hand down some day. I guess that's why I own all three of them along with my 1928 Model 12 Winchester.

 

[SwampWolf]

I can't imagine anyone buying a gun based on the safety location aside from that dumb in front of the trigger button style.

If given a choice (and the location of the safety would never be a "deal breaker" for me unless everything else was equal) when deciding between front and rear mounted safeties on trigger guards, the front one is in a much smarter place than the rear one for me, mostly because of the way and the where of the position of my shooting hand. When I approach a dog on point, with the safety "on" (as it should be), for me, at the flush, it's far more natural to move the index finger laying parallel along side the receiver (which is how I hold the gun when preparing to fire it) to a front mounted safety, and then to the trigger in one, fluid movement as opposed to moving the finger back to a rear mounted safety, past the trigger, to disengage the safety and then back forward to the trigger. Caveat being on how I hold a shotgun in preparation for shooting it. Depending on the individual, there's no "dumb" or smart place to locate a safety.

I've already stated my preference for a tang-mounted safety on any shotgun but there is one location for a safety that is every bit as fast and natural to deploy as any ever conceived and that is the one found on the long discontinued Browning DoubleAuto. This continues to be my favorite "repeating" shotgun for most upland bird hunting duties and I really like where the safety is: behind the trigger guard so that it is taken "off" with the upward movement of the second finger's first knuckle. Very fast and natural to move indeed.

 

[Ohen Cepel]

The 20ga BPS Upland may well be my favorite shotgun from the harem I have. Light weight, straight stock, short barrel from the factory (with chokes), and bottom eject.

I would far take that one over the 870 options in 20.

 

[Browngirlsdad]

I would be inclined to take that 20ga Mod 12 you have for sale and put the money into referbishing it that you would put into buying him a new gun and give him a vintage classic.

With that said, an early 870 would also do the trick for probably less money. It is about what fits him though like was said. Both the BPS and Rem will be reliable guns that he can hunt with for a long time.