farscott
Member
After lots of rounds through my trusty Ithaca M37 home defense gun, I finally broke a part that I did not have in my parts box. It was the action bar. No problem; I just ordered a new one. Well, it took some time to get here, and I decided I best go forward with a gun that has a more robust supply chain. It did not help that I discovered that Ithaca went bankrupt (yet again). So I started looking.
High on my list is the 870. In fact, my choice is an 870. My trap gun is an 870CT and I have more than a few rounds through a 28-gauge Wingmaster, so I know the gun fairly well. But I have a few questions. A lot of very smart people on this forum really like the 870P. The logic makes a lot of sense, and the 870P fits me quite well. The ghost ring rear works really well for my aging eyes, and I like the idea of getting everything at once. However, the 870P with the Wilson GR-rear and the XS front sight comes with a $600 price tag once my dealer and the state are compensated.
I see that I can pick up (and hope to) a used parkerized Wingmaster (marked 870SP) for about $300. So what does the extra $300 buy me in the 870P? I know I will need a shorter barrel for HD and that the 870P sights and the effort to install them are a handy bit of change. But I can get a shotgun that does double duty if I stick with the parkerized Wingmaster for the cost of the dedicated 870P. So I am torn.
So why the 870P? Is it really better than building a home defense gun out of an old Wingmaster? Does the 870P get a better parkerized finish than the 870SP? Is it a pain to find the shorter parkerized barrels that I would need? Are the 870P internals much different? I did read that the 870P needs a little more trigger pull than the sporting 870 models. Anything else different?
Heck, I might end up buying both. But I want to be informed if I do so.
High on my list is the 870. In fact, my choice is an 870. My trap gun is an 870CT and I have more than a few rounds through a 28-gauge Wingmaster, so I know the gun fairly well. But I have a few questions. A lot of very smart people on this forum really like the 870P. The logic makes a lot of sense, and the 870P fits me quite well. The ghost ring rear works really well for my aging eyes, and I like the idea of getting everything at once. However, the 870P with the Wilson GR-rear and the XS front sight comes with a $600 price tag once my dealer and the state are compensated.
I see that I can pick up (and hope to) a used parkerized Wingmaster (marked 870SP) for about $300. So what does the extra $300 buy me in the 870P? I know I will need a shorter barrel for HD and that the 870P sights and the effort to install them are a handy bit of change. But I can get a shotgun that does double duty if I stick with the parkerized Wingmaster for the cost of the dedicated 870P. So I am torn.
So why the 870P? Is it really better than building a home defense gun out of an old Wingmaster? Does the 870P get a better parkerized finish than the 870SP? Is it a pain to find the shorter parkerized barrels that I would need? Are the 870P internals much different? I did read that the 870P needs a little more trigger pull than the sporting 870 models. Anything else different?
Heck, I might end up buying both. But I want to be informed if I do so.