Guess I Was a Bit Suckered Buying an 870 TB...

[Kestrel]

Well, I got an older (used) 870 TB, in good shape. It had a spacer between the recoil pad and stock, but was pretty well done. The receiver says "TB" on it and it has nicer figured wood than regular Wingmasters.

The thing is, a Remington warranty gunsmith told me that the TBs had "Mod Trap" or "Modified Trap" on the barrels. Mine only says "Mod". (No "trap").

I guess the barrel had been switched out.

Sigh.

 

[anapex]

Congratulations on picking up a great shotgun! I'm not normally a fan of 870s but I do own one, which just happens to be a TC. Great guns. I'm not sure about your barrel, mine is marked *target* because it's an overbored barrel. Hopefully Dave will add on some more info here. He's owned his TB longer then I've had mine.

 

[Dave McCracken]

The one on my TB says, "Full". IIRC, Remington made the Letter grades from the early Fifties to around 1990. In that time there were a number of changes made.

anapex's TC, which I covet greatly, has different lettering than mine. It was made in 88. The checkering pattern is different, the finish doesn't quite match mine and his has the extra long forearm.Nice wood.

Both straight and MC stocks are found in all vintages of Trap grade 870s.

The barrel on my TB may not be original to the gun. No big thing, it's a good barrel. It is contemporary to this TB,ca 1978.

Note if the markings on the barrel and receiver are in the same font. I've not seen any T grades with "Trap" on the barrel,but I've seen less than 20 examples.

My guess is you didn't get suckered at all.

Now go shoot it and see what an amazingly good trap tool you have...

 

[Kestrel]

Thanks for the info. It makes me feel better about the gun.

Steve

 

[Dave McCracken]

You're very welcome,Steve. A couple things....

I have seen one 870 that was worked into a trap style. Magnum receiver, MC stock, 30" barrel. IMO, it would work fine for trap as well as waterfowl but the shop wanted too much for it.

Back in the days of yore, trap hustlers would buy both a TB and a TC. At that time, TCs had an overbored barrel that was greatly admired and cost more. The hustlers would swap the barrels and sometimes the wood. Then they'd sell off the TC and keep the TB. Mine may have been such, the barrel mikes at .733".

That's a mild overbore.

anapex's barrel runs .745-.750" and has a section towards the muzzle that narrows the bore down to about .727".This enabled Remchokes to be used though the sizes would be off. A tube choked .727" in a standard bore would be a Cylinder, but in that barrel it'd give Modified patterns.IOW, that barrel is very good for stuff where some choke is needed but not,say, Skeet.

The Trap barrels right from the start had and have the rep of being very well made.

Don't forget to pattern, then shoot some trap with your new shotgun. At the end of the first round, you'll probably look down at your TB, smile and quietly say, "Yes"......

 

[Kestrel]

Dave - thanks again. Maybe this was one of those type guns that had the barrel removed. I was wrong about the choke - it's a full choke - fixed. The checkering is also pressed/rolled (it's not cut).

If you're interested, here are some pictures of it. Sorry for so many - I just don't know how much of this thing is actually original. I was disheartened to find out that the rib is sloped down to the left a bit. When you shoulder the gun, the top plane of the rib is higher on the right than on the left. Maybe that's why this gun had this barrel swapped onto it. I obviously missed that when I bought it... The barrel has a mid bead, too. The muzzle is just a tad scuffed inside the rim of it - just very slightly. Kind of like someone used a cleaning rod from the muzzle a bit vigorously. Maybe that also why this gun ended up with this barrel...

I guess I'll need to replace the barrel. The gun is clean, though. Does this spacer in the stock look like it was installed correctly? Maybe the wood has shrunk a bit over the years.

Anyway, here are a few posts with the pictures.

Thanks again for all your help!

 

[Kestrel]

And a few more...

 

[Kestrel]

And the last few...

 

[Kestrel]

Does anything look funny about this gun? Do these look like they are probably the original stocks?

Thanks again.

 

[Dave McCracken]

While mine has an MC stock, the checkering patterns match. TCs had cut checkering, TBs and TAs had the impressed stuff.

As for your rib being higher on one side, loosen the magazine cap and center the barrel, then tighten up. Bet that fixes it. If not, check your mount. The spacer may make this a bit long for you, which could cause a cant.

And yes, the spacer seems OK. That is a standard Rempad behind it.

Yours shows little wear. You've got a new shotgun there.

If you want to know when it was made, call Remington at 800-243-9700. Give them the serial number and they'll give you the year.

 

[Hawk]

This one's from 1978.

I believe the spacer is original.

Ya done good.

 

[Kestrel]

Thanks for the info. Dave, I got excited when you mentioned re-centering the barrel, but that didn't work. I also checked it again by mounting the gun, doing it left handed and looking at it straight down the center from the butt. The rib is not actually canted, but the right edge of the rib plane is higher than the left side. I've attached a picture with a rough illustration of what I'm trying to describe.

I really don't think it's a fit issue, although I'm going to post a separate post about shotgun fitting. I'm not at all sure how to tell if a shotgun fits properly. I'm 6' and wear a 35" sleeve, so I haven't really run into a shotgun that felt like it was too long for me, but I don't know much about how to tell the fit, anyway.

I also called Remington and they told me it was made in 1972. I also described the barrel markings to her and she said it very well could have been original, that they didn't actually say "trap" on them, but several folks have said their's said "trap" on their's, so she's evidently mistaken.

(By the way, what is an "MC" stock? A Monte Carlo stock?)

I''m not sure what to do about the barrel. I guess just replace it.

Thanks again for all the help,
Steve

 

[Kestrel]

Well, the picture wouldn't post. Second try...

This is the view of the rib when shouldering the gun and pointing. (A bit exaggerated for illustration.)

 

[Dave McCracken]

MC=Monte Carlo.....

Never seen a barrel like that before.

Before replacing that barrel, try it out. See what it does to the clays.

6'2" or so, 36 inch sleeve here. Currently experimenting with a LONG stock, close to 17". Will advise....