Transform Wingmaster into a tactical shotgun

Have you measured the chamber in the barrel of these guns? Wingmasters or 1100s will have "Magnum" stamped on their receivers if they are made for 3" shells. Even though the magazine will hold 3" or 3.5" shells, when the shell fires, the crimp opens and the crimp is restricting the barrel in the shorter 2 3/4" chamber: Imagine having a chunk of ice frozen inside the barrel - these are well made shotguns, but eventually something will give. It wasn't intended to handle the heavier shells either and you will be stressing the locking mechanism and action beyond what it was intended for.

The replacement barrel that I mentioned is a new production Wingmaster 20" smoothbore rifle-sighted barrel. It is specifically stamped 2-3/4" AND 3". Oddly, the packaging indicates it is 2-3/4", 3", and 3-1/2". Keep in mind that they use the same clam-shell plastic packaging for all their barrels, so maybe they are just covering their butts as far as printing costs. I have seen anecdotal evidence to suggest that it may even be reamed out at the factory to 3-1/2" just to keep the assembly line simple. But I have not confirmed that yet. Regardless, the replacement barrel I have is definitely marked 3", and I have every confidence that it is at least capable of doing this. This does not apply to the original 28" 2-3/4" barrel that I removed and placed in the corner.
 
Love my 25 plus year old Winger that I just swapped the stocks (factory cammo synthetic now) and sold the 28" FC barrel. Installed a Norc or DA 12.5" barrel and now it's my fun gun! :D

My serious 12 ga will be my new 870 Police, my Xmas present to myself! I bought it from Wolverine (board sponsor) !! :dancingbanana:

Cheers and Happy New Year, everyone!

Barney
 
The replacement barrel that I mentioned is a new production Wingmaster 20" smoothbore rifle-sighted barrel. It is specifically stamped 2-3/4" AND 3". Oddly, the packaging indicates it is 2-3/4", 3", and 3-1/2". Keep in mind that they use the same clam-shell plastic packaging for all their barrels, so maybe they are just covering their butts as far as printing costs. I have seen anecdotal evidence to suggest that it may even be reamed out at the factory to 3-1/2" just to keep the assembly line simple. But I have not confirmed that yet. Regardless, the replacement barrel I have is definitely marked 3", and I have every confidence that it is at least capable of doing this. This does not apply to the original 28" 2-3/4" barrel that I removed and placed in the corner.

I bought a second barrel for my wingmaster: The old barrel is a full choked about 30" so it wasn't exactly "ideal" for short distance upland birds, but it looks much better than the Express style barrel with screw in chokes I have on it now. Actually I hate the express barrel because of the vent rib. Not sure if anyone notices the slant of the rib that raises point of impact noticeably. I need to get a mill table for my drill press and mill the thing so it's parallel to the bore. Anyway, I digress: My express barrel is stamped like yours for 2 3/4" - 3 1/2" shells, but my receiver is marked "magnum" and the original barrel is for 3" shells. Even if the chamber would eject the spent 3.5" (which would be 3.75" with crimp blown out) I would still be concerned about the extra stress on the receiver and components despite the barrel being made for it. No doubt Remington, in an effort to make things more efficient/cheaper like you suggested make new barrels the same but I am hesitant to speculate and cause a serious injury. But on the other side of the coin, would Remington make all the receivers and components the same over the years for a lighter 2 3/4" (which was standard until someone decided we needed more... 3", and then even more because of eco-mentalists and leadaphobes...3.5") as the new 3.5" guns? I doubt the 2 3/4" are the same specs, and this would become more certain as the age of the gun increased because 3" shells haven't existed as long as the standard 2 3/4" shells: The 3 1/2" is by that standard, still a new chambering.
 
I bought a well worn Wingmaster from brother-in-law for $200. It was the bright finish with ribbed barrel. Had someone cut barrel to around 19", add 8 shot mag with clamp, and re-install brass bead in rib. After a full cleaning, that thing sounded brand new. Cost me less than $100 to modify. I carried it for about 10,000 miles, on the job, in Northern AB. Switched to Mossberg 590A1 a couple of years ago, but wouldn't hesitate to grab the old Wingmaster still.
 
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