Current state of 12 gauge pump actions

[David S.]

870 Wingmaster build: Based on lessons learned from @Dagga Boy 's shotgun classes.

[JHC]

I think the best suggestion was the one suggesting hitting the pawn shops, used racks at the gun shops and look for a older used 870 Wingmaster. I'd also suggest looking for something made prior to 1995, from what I've read, that seems to be about when Remington's quailty started to decline. Luckily, there are date codes stamped on the barrels so one could figure out when one was made. I'd look for a 870 made in the 70's or 80's, and as was mentioned before send it to Wilson Combat, and have them go through it. When yougot it back, you'd have a reliable well made shotgun, that should hold up for a long time. Seeing how Remington has made about 3 million of these things since the late 50's it should'nt be too hard to find a older Wingmaster in really good shape, seeing how most folks only used them a few times a year, and basically shot them very little.

That's what I did when I stumbled onto this late '50's 870 in a local shop. $185. Solid mechanically. 2 3/4" chamber limitation but I really hate long gun recoil anyway so for my modest purposes, it works.

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[Nephrology]

I have a 70's era Wingmaster 20" riot gun and a 90s era 18" 870P. Been very pleased with them.

[Unobtanium]

I just shot my Supernova Tactical prone with some slugs. Fired a dozen or so. I dunno what Benelli is doing, but they are doing it right. No flinch, slugs all landed in tight touching clusters at 25 yards, fun fun fun!

From what I am reading, out of the top 10 competitors that compete with pump guns, only a couple, if that, don't use the Supernova or Nova.

[flux]

So I found an 870 special purpose, with 26” barrel at a great price. I’m considering taking it and having the barrel cut down to 18”. Any thoughts on the current state of the pump, seeing that it’s a few years later since this thread was created.

[TCinVA]

So I found an 870 special purpose, with 26” barrel at a great price. I’m considering taking it and having the barrel cut down to 18”. Any thoughts on the current state of the pump, seeing that it’s a few years later since this thread was created.

Remington going out of production and going back into limited production under new ownership. The new guns I've seen don't handle any better than the pre-shutdown Express models I ran into. They still aren't vibra-honed to give that nice smooth action that us old 870 guys like. Parts for the 870 can be harder to find to do upgrades or replacements. Barrels, especially, seem to be in shorter supply making the process of having a competent shop solder sights on your barrel more sensible since you can't just buy a rifle-sighted 870 barrel as easily anymore.

The days of snagging 870 Wingmasters and Police shotguns for $200 a pop seem to be over.

One thing that is different from when this thread started is that I've had the chance to see a fair number of pieces from Cotton Branch Customs in the last few years. They're a solid option for helping build a shotgun you're looking to modify.

There is a seemingly ceaseless supply of garbage tier Turkish import shotguns that will break the first time you shoot them. And some of them are bullpup configurations with box magazines...so that's a fresh kind of hell we didn't have before.

[flux]

Remington going out of production and going back into limited production under new ownership. The new guns I've seen don't handle any better than the pre-shutdown Express models I ran into. They still aren't vibra-honed to give that nice smooth action that us old 870 guys like. Parts for the 870 can be harder to find to do upgrades or replacements. Barrels, especially, seem to be in shorter supply making the process of having a competent shop solder sights on your barrel more sensible since you can't just buy a rifle-sighted 870 barrel as easily anymore.

The days of snagging 870 Wingmasters and Police shotguns for $200 a pop seem to be over.

One thing that is different from when this thread started is that I've had the chance to see a fair number of pieces from Cotton Branch Customs in the last few years. They're a solid option for helping build a shotgun you're looking to modify.

There is a seemingly ceaseless supply of garbage tier Turkish import shotguns that will break the first time you shoot them. And some of them are bullpup configurations with box magazines...so that's a fresh kind of hell we didn't have before.

I should have mentioned, this one is second hand from what I can see is one of the older production models. The price it's going at is what the Turkish new pump actions are going at. I briefly owned a new model express, and got rid of it once I saw how inferior it was to the older police models etc.

[LHS]

Remington going out of production and going back into limited production under new ownership. The new guns I've seen don't handle any better than the pre-shutdown Express models I ran into. They still aren't vibra-honed to give that nice smooth action that us old 870 guys like. Parts for the 870 can be harder to find to do upgrades or replacements. Barrels, especially, seem to be in shorter supply making the process of having a competent shop solder sights on your barrel more sensible since you can't just buy a rifle-sighted 870 barrel as easily anymore.

The days of snagging 870 Wingmasters and Police shotguns for $200 a pop seem to be over.

One thing that is different from when this thread started is that I've had the chance to see a fair number of pieces from Cotton Branch Customs in the last few years. They're a solid option for helping build a shotgun you're looking to modify.

There is a seemingly ceaseless supply of garbage tier Turkish import shotguns that will break the first time you shoot them. And some of them are bullpup configurations with box magazines...so that's a fresh kind of hell we didn't have before.

This, but I will add that the new-production 870s I've seen in person seem to have less issues with sticky chambers than the FG-era guns. They seem to be a bit more reliable than the guns pumped out in the last few years.

[TheNewbie]

Remington going out of production and going back into limited production under new ownership. The new guns I've seen don't handle any better than the pre-shutdown Express models I ran into. They still aren't vibra-honed to give that nice smooth action that us old 870 guys like. Parts for the 870 can be harder to find to do upgrades or replacements. Barrels, especially, seem to be in shorter supply making the process of having a competent shop solder sights on your barrel more sensible since you can't just buy a rifle-sighted 870 barrel as easily anymore.

The days of snagging 870 Wingmasters and Police shotguns for $200 a pop seem to be over.

One thing that is different from when this thread started is that I've had the chance to see a fair number of pieces from Cotton Branch Customs in the last few years. They're a solid option for helping build a shotgun you're looking to modify.

There is a seemingly ceaseless supply of garbage tier Turkish import shotguns that will break the first time you shoot them. And some of them are bullpup configurations with box magazines...so that's a fresh kind of hell we didn't have before.

What are your thoughts on the current Mossbergs, or even their Maverick 88s, as a cheap shotgun option? Not something that would be shot at anything close to PF round counts.

[TCinVA]

What are your thoughts on the current Mossbergs, or even their Maverick 88s, as a cheap shotgun option? Not something that would be shot at anything close to PF round counts.

I've had several brand new 590A1 shotguns come to class only to have to go back to Mossberg because the internals were so rough the action locked up.

I had a private client Friday who brought a new-in-box 590A1 that functioned superbly.

So, crapshoot.