My first Shotgun

[triage1998]

A good friend of mine is the chief of police in a small town. The department is switching there shotguns from Remington 870's to Benelli Nova's.
My buddy wanted to know if I wanted to take my pick from the last 2 that he had. The others were bought by the police officers on the force for personal use. I said sure.

He had a 12 gauge 18" wingmaster with wood furniture, small amount of surface rust, a few dings in the wood but in very good shape.

The second was a 12 gauge 18" Remington 870 Police Magnum. Black polymer speedfeed stock small amount of wear on the parkerized finish (looks like wear from the rack in the police cruiser)and a small amount of rust on the Parked finish also. Bead front site. Looks like it was carried WAY more than shot.

I prefer wood but the 870 Police Magnum looked in better condition and seemed a better candidate for a HD gun. I grabbed the Remington Police Magnum.

Bought it for $150.00. Seemed like a great deal to me.

A few question:

How did I do on the deal?

What is the going rate on slightly used Remington 870 Police Magnum?

How do you detail strip this thing? Is there an Online manuel somewhere?

How do I remove the rust on surface of the parkerized finish?

How do I find out how when this shotgun was made? The partial serial is C2500XXM
if that helps in dating it.


***EDIT***

I found some rust in the barrel also. A bit in the first 1/2". Is 0000 steel wool a wood dowel and a low speed drill with some gun oil the best way to remove the rust or will this damage the barrel?

 

[rappa]

How did I do on the deal?
Sounds like you did great on the deal!

What is the going rate on slightly used Remington 870 Police Magnum?
Check www.gunbroker.com or www.gunsamerica.com. You can run a search and see what people are selling them for.

How do you detail strip this thing? Is there an Online manuel somewhere?
Go to Remington website (sorry don't know URL off the top of my head) and you can download the 870 Manual in PDF format. Also, check the Remington forum on www.shotgunworld.com.

How do I remove the rust on surface of the parkerized finish?
I have a blued 870 wingmaster. I use Hoppes gun oil and a rag. I'm sure someone will chime in with a better suggestion.

How do I find out how when this shotgun was made? The partial serial is C2500XXM if that helps in dating it.
I'm trying to find this out myself for my 870. I tried checking on www.shotgunworld.com, forums section, Remington forum and my serial # doesn't fit into the chart thing they have linked.

 

[MrMurphy]

You did well. I've seen PMs in worse condition for that still bringing $200. 870s never really die, they just get handled to death I've heard many times.

Fit 4 Duty will refinish the gun, maybe replace the barrel for not too much.

Being a synthetic stock gun, unless the stock was a retrofit, it's probably about 15 years old at the most. They've been making the 870 for fifty years, but the synthetic models only came out in the mid 80s I think at the oldest.

If you can find it, try Flitz for minor rust. It's not cheap but if you find some it may work, I took some rust (not much) off a sword blade with it. It's more of a polish than a rust remover, but it will do a little.

 

[Dave McCracken]

Ya did good, but maybe you should have gotten both of them.

Cruiser guns look like heck but usually are near new inside.

Oil on a piece of old panty hose will take off surface rust.

4/0 steel wool on a wood dowel and at low speed with a drill will help.