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Woo Hoo! I rescued an 870!

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proud2deviate

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Dec 9, 2004
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469
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Missouri
Finally, I was able to lay hands on my ideal shotgun. I picked up an 870 Police Magnum, with a 20" Improved Cylinder barrel, rifle sights, and an extended magazine tube. You wouldn't think that'd be such a tall order, but I've been watching Gun Broker like a hawk for months now. Well, finally my number came up. I won this auction. (clicking the link will get you the "before" pictures.) Looks kind of like someone tried to build a P-Max on a very tight budget. I figured it would be just about perfect if I could get a new stock on it. Turns out, I was right. I got a fantastic deal in another GB auction; a beautiful oil finished walnut stock, with matching for end, including the stock bolt and recoil pad for $40.00 shipped. I was very pleased with this. I got the stock today, and just as the UPS truck was pulling away, my FFL called to tell me the gun had come in. Perfect timing!

I got the gun home and broke it down (been watching some very informative youtube vids over the past week,) the new forend was the first thing to go on. My brand new EOD Robotics breacher bar was almost perfect for handling the ring nut. Everything got inspected, cleaned, and oiled. That goofy stock was the next thing to come off. Oh, it was awful. The epitome of cheap *shudder* The bore was possibly the filthiest I've ever seen on a firearm of any description. I chucked the cleaning rod on a cordless drill, put a new copper brush on the end, and went to work. Chips of lead were just about exploding out of the muzzle. After about ten seconds, I had a pretty respectable little pile. After that, I decided it would be a good idea to take it out on the porch. Ten minutes, five patches, and a teaspoon of Hoppes later, the bore was mirror-bright (I did have to use the end of the cleaning rod to chip out some die hard little icebergs of lead.) Everything was wiped down and reassembled. Finally, we come to show and tell;

870-03.gif
870-01.gif

Purty, ain't it?

It still needs a couple of things. First, the rear sight is incomplete. I need the top portion of that. Second, the gun didn't have a stock bearing plate. I'm not sure how vital this is, but I'll order one because they're good and cheap. A Wilson Combat mag spring and one of their pretty green followers is already on the way. After that, all it'll need is lots and lots of shells run through it.

Does anyone know where I can get a rear sight?

One unexpected bonus; apparently, the seller found the light for the forend before they made the shipment. It's not a Surefire, but it should be worth something. Assuming my step father doesn't want it, I'll probably sell it off cheap-like here on the forums:)
 
Good work buddy!
You can get aftermarket rear sights that will fit on there and you might like them better.....
I think XS makes some and probably Williams as well.
 
I've got a factory rear sight blade if you need one. Drop me a PM with your mailing address and I'll get it on its way.

Nice 870 ya go there. Just about ready to be put to work!
 
NICE job- that definitely counts as a rescue in my book. Consider your PETP* dues paid for the decade.

Attaching your rear sight blade will require a small screw also. Could be that the screw hole in the sliding rear sight base (that allows for elevation adjustment) is stripped out, inspect it to be sure and be prepared to replace the base too if necessary. Brownells has the parts in stock usually, I'd offer but I only have a couple of spare rear sight blades in the parts box right now and no other rear sight parts. Gonna have to fix that...

Stay Safe,

lpl/nc

*People For The Ethical Treatment Of Pumpguns
 
Beautiful job there, looks like a new gun and being steel it will last longer than most. AuctionArms also sometimes has some deals if you are patient, that is where I got my baby. If you do not mind 2 3/4 only you can pick up a Wingmaster and save an old solider, just look for the short forend.
 
Making progress. . .

I dropped by the hardware store today and picked up a couple of screws. One for the barrel clamp; it's not too obvious in the pics, but the barrel clamp was being held together with some sort of sling swivel stud. The threads were all stripped to hell, so someone decided to jury rig it with a hex nut the next size down. This worked okay, except that I needed an odd sized driver to get the nut off, and I put down a couple of fresh scratches struggling with it. No longer. A fresh phillips drive pan head machine screw is now holding things together. It fits perfectly, and even matches the finish.

I also got an itty bitty machine screw to replace the elevation screw. I about drove myself nuts looking for the factory screw online last night; Midway had it listed, but it was a special order part. To heck with waiting 30 days. I prefer an Allen head, anyhow. If I recall correctly, I needed a 3-32 machine screw, 3/8" long. Good to know if you need a replacement.

After that, I picked up some 00 buck at Wally World. Is the Remington Express value pack stuff fairly decent?

I'll probably be able to get out and see how it patterns sometime next week. It's supposed to warm up some. . .

I'd like to thank everyone that offer to send me parts. It's great to know that there are such generous people out there. You all are a huge part of what makes THR great. Thanks again :cool:

I think I've got everything I need on order. The rear sight blade, windage screw, and stock bearing plate are all coming from Midway. I was about a half twitch away from dropping the hammer on some tritium sights, but my miserly ways won out in the end. Maybe later. . .
 
Sir, if you are interested in TruGlo Cabela's has some that are cheaper than tritium. They might not be as cool but they are much more resonable and how often do us normal people expect to be using our weapons at night? :)
 
Aesthetically...the before picture was a better "match". It had a Mad Max kind of look to it. The grip angle on the stock looked bad, though.

The way you have it...the stock is too pretty for the finish that's on the receiver. It just...doesn't work.

Of course this has nothing to do with how it feels or functions, so feel free to ignore me completely.
 
O.K., O.K. twist my arm a little and I'll give you the original $400 you paid for it. :D Nice shotgun I would love to have one just like that.
 
VirgilCaine said:
Aesthetically...the before picture was a better "match". It had a Mad Max kind of look to it. The grip angle on the stock looked bad, though.

The way you have it...the stock is too pretty for the finish that's on the receiver. It just...doesn't work.

Of course this has nothing to do with how it feels or functions, so feel free to ignore me completely.
Click to expand...

Well, you're sort of right. Right now, the stock is a bit too "new". It needs a few year's worth sweat and dirt worked into it. This is mostly function rather than form; right now, it's just a tad too slick. With use, the finish should start to wear, and the grain will raise a bit in all the right places. . . It should match better then.

Other than that, it's perfect. Now a wingmaster stock, with that ultra high gloss finish and fancy checkering, might have been too much.
 
Yep, that is most definately a sweet shotgun there. Great job! It is always a pleasure to see someone buy a so-so gun and transform it into something really respectable. More of us (myself included) should follow the original poster's example.
 
Well, you're sort of right. Right now, the stock is a bit too "new". It needs a few year's worth sweat and dirt worked into it. This is mostly function rather than form; right now, it's just a tad too slick. With use, the finish should start to wear, and the grain will raise a bit in all the right places. . . It should match better then.

Other than that, it's perfect. Now a wingmaster stock, with that ultra high gloss finish and fancy checkering, might have been too much.
Click to expand...

Well, that's good news.

Everything else about the gun, sure just fine.
The receiver finish is nice and matte grey not black or overly blued, you've got a nice full length magazine tube, the clamp-thing that attaches the magazine to the barrel provides a sense of solidity to to muzzle end of the gun, and of course, you've got a good design, large magazine, not much else to ask for.
 
Why did you want the 870 Police? What's different about it compared to other 870s?

It looks like you have a parkerized finish... Wingmasters are blued. Anything different with the action and related important bits?

Basically, why put the time, money, and effort into this 870 when you can get a new express for around the same cost, if not less?

I know you didn't buy that one for the furniture! ;)
 
Very nice job! IMHO, the orignal was butt ugly. :barf: Sure the woods new looking, but you should be able to fix that. ;)
 
strat81 said:
Why did you want the 870 Police? What's different about it compared to other 870s?

It looks like you have a parkerized finish... Wingmasters are blued. Anything different with the action and related important bits?

Basically, why put the time, money, and effort into this 870 when you can get a new express for around the same cost, if not less?

I know you didn't buy that one for the furniture!
Click to expand...

Well, I bought this shotgun with the intention of hanging onto it for a while. Say like, the rest of forever. So I wanted it to pretty much perfect; like I said before, my ideal.

While pretty much any 870 is going to be a rock-solid shotgun, they are assembled to different standards and purposes.

The Express line is a basic, no frills version. Certain things are done to keep costs low. The finish isn't that great. It's a matte, bead blasted blue, and fairly rough. The receivers typically aren't as highly finished as the Wingmaster and Police lines. Some MIM (metal injection molding) and plastic parts are used. They usually have a lower grade of wood for the stock, with pressed in checkering. With that said, I've had personal experience with my step father's express gun, and I found it to be thoroughly decent. The action was smooth, and it'll probably get better with use. It never once jammed or malfunctioned. I'd call it a good gun, but there's better available.

I haven't researched the Wingmaster line too much, so you'll have to forgive me if I make some errors. First, they have a very nice polished blue finish. They'll typically have walnut (I think,) furniture with a high gloss "bowling pin" finish and cut checkering. The receivers are de-burred, and generally subjected to a higher level of attention and scrutiny. All the parts are milled from stock, and the trigger plate (I think that's the right term,) is aluminum.

The Police guns take the Wingmaster quality one step further. They're available with either a Parkerized or polished blue finish, and usually come with an oil-finished walnut stock (like the one I put on mine. Of course, a wide variety of special purpose stocks are available,) They're subjected to, I believe, a twelve point inspection, and test fired. They're assembled in a dedicated and isolated portion of the factory, by people who've worked in the factory for a specified number of years. They have heavier springs.

Basically, the Expresses are very good shotguns, available for a budget price.

The Wingmasters are a highly finished field/hunting gun, though a fair number have found use on police forces. I hesitate to say they're "top of the line", but that's probably an accurate term for their price range.

The Police guns were designed from the get-go as a hard-use weapon. Every step in their production is undertaken with a mind towards the utmost in function and reliability, because they'll probably be used in situations where you really, really don't want your gun to fag out on you.

Of course, in the time it took me to type that, somebody probably posted a PDF which says the exact same thing. Oh, well.
 
Wingmaster is for birds....
Police is for bad guys.....
:D

Mostly the same except for the heavier springs(heavier trigger pull as well)and the option of parkerized finish.
Never heard of the special treatment at the factory before.

Did this one come with the flexi-tab?
 
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