adjusting cast and drop on an 870 wingmaster

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romurra

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I have a 1959 wingmaster which is lovely, but was not a perfect fit for me. i had to really lean in and down to get the fit and sight picture i needed.

i used some electricians' tape on the steel stock spacer at the wrist between the stock and the back of the receiver to adjust the cast and drop a bit, which has really helped the fit. it took just 2 layers on the LH side applied staggered and overlapping to make a slightly oblique 'ramp' to offset for cast and drop the stock a bit. it really helped my shooting today (or was a great placebo).

is this 'ok' or can i expect something to blow up as result of the modification?
 
The only thing blown out of the water is aesthetics. But if it works for you and improves your shooting go with it.:)
You eventually might wish to take off the tape and permanently alter your gun's stock after finding the right fit.
 
actually, the only change in aesthetics is a slight gap (about the thickness of a credit card) between the stock and receiver on the left hand side, which is pretty easy to live with. the tape is all on the metal spacer plate in the wrist of the gun and is out of sight.
 
romurra said:
actually, the only change in aesthetics is a slight gap (about the thickness of a credit card) between the stock and receiver on the left hand side, which is pretty easy to live with. the tape is all on the metal spacer plate in the wrist of the gun and is out of sight.
Click to expand...

Ah, out of sight is cool.:D
 
As Bogman says, there may be a chance of splitting the stock. This seems to be a frequent problem with 870 stocks that are not properly fit and develope a crack because one point takes all the recoil. The way to do this is to re inlet the wood and assure that the no one side is taking the brunt of the recoil and to insure the center is taking the recoil instead of the wood at the cut joint. To balance it you may try creating the same angle inside the butt stock under the bolt washer. Many alterations I have seen are done by removing wood from the comb and where the cheek rests to achieve the same desired result. Good luck. 870 stocks are plentiful and easily replaced if you go too far.
 
none of the visible wood at the wrist bears on the receiver, the whole bearing load is on the (now shimmed) bearing plate inside the receiver's aft end, so I think I am ok for cracking/splitting the butt. I will keep an eye on it for subsequent compression and the development of new bearing points.

thanks all for the input.

on a style note, if the tape i used was visible, I would have used duct tape for red green style points. :D Since all the tape is hidden in the wrist, there is no style component on the modification.
 
Many stock makers and fitters will change the cast, drop etc of a stock by carefull adjustment of the inletting of the wood where it meets the receiver. The same as what you just did with tape. So If asthetics and bearing surfaces remain a concern, now that you know the amout of ajustment needed the appropriate amont of wood can be removed to acheive the desired results with no gaps between wood and metal.
 
romurra said:
I have a 1959 wingmaster which is lovely, but was not a perfect fit for me. i had to really lean in and down to get the fit and sight picture i needed.

i used some electricians' tape on the steel stock spacer at the wrist between the stock and the back of the receiver to adjust the cast and drop a bit, which has really helped the fit. it took just 2 layers on the LH side applied staggered and overlapping to make a slightly oblique 'ramp' to offset for cast and drop the stock a bit. it really helped my shooting today (or was a great placebo).

is this 'ok' or can i expect something to blow up as result of the modification?
Click to expand...

No it's not perfect, no it's not recommended, but it works. This is actually a well known and often used quick fix for adjusting cast & drop to the 870 and moreso the 1100. I've done it myself with no ill effects to the butt stock, shooting target loads only. (I've no idea if it would hold up to repeated firings of heavy loads or slug shooting without cracking the stock).
I will advise you to add a dab of blue loc-tite to the threads of the stock bolt and try not to over tighten it. (Basically just enough to compress the lock washer and yet be snug against the receiver with no wobble or movement between the stock/receiver)

Good shooting to you!
 
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