3" chamber in older 870?

Rugerman

Rugerman

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Please excuse me if this has been asked before. I was talking to a friend and I mentioned I preferred my 870 Wingmaster but couldn't afford a new one at the moment with a 3" barrel.
He said he was sure you could put the barrel from an 870 with a 3" chamber on a Wingmaster 870 that shot 2.75 shells.

We are going hunting early Saturday morning and he says he will put the barrel on and we can try it but I am wondering if this is possible (and safe). I thought that it wasn't but he insists I can do it. Anyone have any firsthand knowledge of this?

Thanks.
 
I may be wrong, but this is what I have been told. I was told by someobdy that you can swap to a 3" chambered barrel with littl problem other than the ejector (I think). It can be disconnected, and restaked further back and the problem is solved. You cannot use 3" rounds ina 2 3/4" barrel though.
 
If you put a 3" barrel on a 2 3/4 " *870 receiver you can fire 2 3/4" and 3" shells safely in it. This is NOT true for a 2 3/4" barrel which can only fire the 2 3/4" shells safely.

The 2 3/4 " and 3" 870 receivers are identical with the exception of the ejector which has its bump located a little further forward on the 2/3/4" . So as a result if you try to eject a 3" fired shell fast it may hamg up on the forward edge of the ejection port and need to be pulled out with a finger. Remington does not even catalog the 2 3/4 " ejector any more so if you have to replace it you can only get the 3" version. The ejector is riveted on the left wall of the receiver and the hole locations are identical on both versions
 
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JohnC said:
Remington does not even catalog the 2 3/4 " ejector any more so if you have to replace it you can only get the 3" version. The ejector is riveted on the left wall of the receiver and the hole locations are identical on both versions
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Hey, thanks guys, this is really helpful. Do you know if it is a lot of work to remove/replace the ejector? I figure I better change it because if you can't eject rapidly I am going to miss out on some geese. I don't want to be fumbling around pulling out hulls while the geese are flying by smirking.

It sounds like getting a gunsmith to replace the ejector is the way to go. Do you think these parts would be in Brownells or will I have to contact Remington?

Finally, while I have your attention, is there a barrel with interchangeable chokes for steel shot available. If not, what are your recommendations for a barrel. I won't be shooting over decoys all that much.

Thanks
 
Do not shoot 3 inch shells out of 3 inch barrel on a 2&3/4 inch receiver. A 3 inch receiver has a M in front of the serial # for a reason. This designate it as a magmun receiver. It is case hardened different than a 2&3/4 inch receiver and is a lot stronger.
 
reloader said:
Do not shoot 3 inch shells out of 3 inch barrel on a 2&3/4 inch receiver. A 3 inch receiver has a M in front of the serial # for a reason. This designate it as a magmun receiver. It is case hardened different than a 2&3/4 inch receiver and is a lot stronger.
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That's the biggest bunch of BOLLOCKS I've ever heard.

Remington does not case harden their recievers.

The recievers are the same except for the ejector.
 
reloader said:
Do not shoot 3 inch shells out of 3 inch barrel on a 2&3/4 inch receiver. A 3 inch receiver has a M in front of the serial # for a reason. This designate it as a magmun receiver. It is case hardened different than a 2&3/4 inch receiver and is a lot stronger.
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OK, back to square one.
 
WILSON was taking in police 2 3/4 in guns and refurbishing them and converting them to 3 in. They were parkerizing them which would hide the years of wear and abuse and would repair where the ejector was removed and replaced. I believe a couple of years ago they were doing this for about $150 us.
 
BEARMAN said:
WILSON was taking in police 2 3/4 in guns and refurbishing them and converting them to 3 in. They were parkerizing them which would hide the years of wear and abuse and would repair where the ejector was removed and replaced. I believe a couple of years ago they were doing this for about $150 us.
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It's called the Remington Steal and now it's $230 USD.
 
I contacted remington about this exact same thing. I have a 1960s wingmaster and wanted a new 3 inch matte ventrib barrel.
They said yes you can do it and there will be no damage done.
The others are correct about the 3 inch shells getting stuck. From
personal experience they do. If you are like me and are allergic to any
kind of bird it doesnt matter.
One thing i can say is the barrel is a bit crooked on the receiver but is
solid and works perfectly with 2 3/4 shells. Ive had 3 different barrels and
they all had a bit of a cant to them. If ever in doubt contact remington
Here it is with that super smooth wingmaster action
MyRem870-TAC.jpg

IanC
 
Reloader had a point

Well I met my duck hunting buddies and we had an incredible shoot this weekend. Got some really larger than usual mallards. Between my son and myself we got 11 grouse as well. Not a lot of geese yet but some great pass shooting on ducks.
I had a look at the 3 inch chambered barrel my friend wanted me to try and put it on. Fits perfectly. I tried shooting some 2 3/4 inch shells just to make sure. No apparent problems. Was going to try some 3 inch shells next and then I read what was stamped on the barrel. It says not to use the barrel on a 2 3/4 inch receiver unless it is a magnum receiver. This is a Remington factory barrel.

So it appears to me that Reloader had a point. I think I am just going to save up for a Remington Wingmaster with a 3 inch chamber.

I appreciate everyone's advice but I don't think I can ignore what is stamped on the barrel.
 
You can do what you want, no harm in buying another shotgun, but the only difference between a new wingmaster receiver (not the barrel) and an old one is the location of the ejector.
 
They say that on the barrels so people don't ##### to the company when they start having problems ejecting 3" shells. Swap the ejector and you'll be fine.
 
This is great news for me. I have a wingmaster 2 3/4 reciever with a 3 inch rifled barrel. I have wondered for a long time if it was OK to shoot 3 inch slugs through it.
After comparing with my express I see the spring steel on the ejector of the 3 inch receiver has the bump starting sooner than on the 2 3/4 ejector. This is what your talking about right?.
 
reloader said:
Do not shoot 3 inch shells out of 3 inch barrel on a 2&3/4 inch receiver. A 3 inch receiver has a M in front of the serial # for a reason. This designate it as a magmun receiver. It is case hardened different than a 2&3/4 inch receiver and is a lot stronger.
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I'm not so sure about that!!!! One of my 3" magnums has an A in front of the serial #.....Another has an F........Not to mention that some 2 3/4 shells that are magnums like buckshot and slugs and produce higher pressures than some 3" shells!!!!:cool:
 
What your barrel says is the following:

Use 2.75" or 3" shells in magnum receivers.
Use only 2.75" in all others.

Which means your barrel is capable of firing 3" shells, but REM wants you to use 3" shells in magnum receivers only because the extractor in a 2.75" receiver is different. It's staked in the same place, but cut different.

If you have a barrel that only accomodates 2.75" shells, you can't shoot 3" shells to eject reliably. That's what they mean by using only 2.75 in all others.

The only difference between 2.75" guns and 3" guns is the slightly differently cut ejector. Nothing else. It's even staked in exactly the same place. ... and if you have an Express receiver, the Express models have an MIM extractor instead of a tool steel one.

The reason there's an M suffix on magnum receivers is for no more than to distinguish that the so M marked receiver has the 3" ejector.

That's all for now.

Regards.
 
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Rugerman said:
.... Finally, while I have your attention, is there a barrel with interchangeable chokes for steel shot available. If not, what are your recommendations for a barrel. I won't be shooting over decoys all that much. Thanks
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Yes they're called REM chokes.

REM sells a Full REM choke for steel and lead. Otherwise you can safely shoot steel out of an IMPROVED cylinder bore. I'd even shoot steel out of a MOD without too much worry. Not too sure about FULL, especially not the older barrels.

Regards.
 
The barrel and receiver design combination determines what can be shot from your 870 gauge.

All barrels are clearly marked with the chamber information.

Receivers are marked with letters at the end of the serial number that determine ejection size as follows:

V -- 12 -- 2 3/4" Only
M -- 12 -- 2 3/4" or 3" Only
A -- 12 -- 2 3/4", 3" or 3 1/2"
W -- 16 -- 2 3/4" Only
K, X -- 20 -- 2 3/4" Only
U, N -- 20 -- 2 3/4" or 3" Only
J -- 28 -- 2 3/4" Only
H -- .410 -- 2 1/2" or 3"

Suffix letters in serial numbers represent nothing more than REM manufacturing date codes.

Regards,

Mac.
 
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